mdaDubDelay - Dub madness from the VST Stone Age!

I do not know when this VST effect saw the light of the world. It must have been long before the time when I even thought about to produce music digitally. And it even gathered dust in my collection for quite a long time without ever being used. This was, because there were enough shiny plugins with a well-designed user interface, which had, in my opinion, everything I needed for my Dub adventures. It was just some time ago, when I realized that this plugin has some good, already "well wired" features, is very resource-saving and simply great fun to work with.

mdaDubDelay brings no own GUI, which is why only the look in FL Studio is shown above. This plugin uses the VST GUI representation of the respective host application. As briefly mentioned above, I have neglected this baby because (Image Line and the fans of the FL GUI may forgive me) the representation of native VSTs in FL Studio simply is not appealing. Yes, even I am sometimes guided by the appearance of something ;). The developers at Smartelectronix probably did not want to waste much time on superficialities.

Under the hood, the mdaDubDelay has a lot to offer. As the name suggests, everything is centered around the delay effect. Anyone expecting an all-in-one Dubmachine is wrong here. Allow me to describe the controls one after the other:

• Delay - Sets the time interval between the repetitions. Since the effect is based on old tape-based effects, herewith also the pitch of repetitions is determined.
• Feedback - In the positive range, as for any delay effect, this determines the length of the effect. The negative range allows the so-called Delay Feedback saturation.
• FbTone - Determines using a simple filter, the sound frequency of the repetitions.
• LFODepth - Sets the oscillation amplitude of the modulation.
• LFORate - Sets the oscillation frequency of the modulation.
• Output - Allows a decrease or increase of the signal at the output

Here I would like to say that I, as someone who likes to automate effects, do not use the LFO functionality for modulation. Somehow the mdaDubdelay unfortunately cannot be synchronized to the VST host. When using the LFO functions, this causes the effect to sound different, each time the song is played. What is perhaps even desirable for live dubbers, drives you rather insane when automating. My solution to this is, to automate the "Delay" knob, which actually produces the same effect. If you want get the same effect of the built-in LFOs without synchronization problems, just automate the "Delay" knob using a corresponding sine function.

Another thing to note (at least for less experienced people in using extreme effects ) is as follows: The use of certain, especially extreme settings can very quickly cause very loud or extremely low- or high-frequency sounds. A limiter and the well known equalizer precautions should not be forgotten here. TIP: If certain automation causes very loud signals, this can be easily solved by automating the "Output" knob... and that before the signal crashes rampantly into the limiter ;)

As always, I close this posting with the stability and resource use: For a dinosaur amongst the VSTs such as this, I do not really need to say anything about the use of resources. What ran smoothly on a Pentium of the first generations and with minimal RAM, runs more smoothly on today's equipment. Also crashes or freezes of the DAW never occurred. I can not say anything about the use of multiple instances, because I never had more than one instance per song project in use.

The mda DubDelay comes together with many small useful VSTs in the free Smartelectronix VST Bundle. It can be downloaded (for Windows and MacOS) HERE.

Have fun !

Looking for the absolutely simplest VST synthesizer ? Here is "Charlatan"!

When I tried to explain the basics of sound synthesis recently to a friend, I had a bit of a problem: Most of my beloved sound generators are quite complex. It is absolutely not a good idea to use a monster synth, overloaded with functionality, to explain this to somebody, who just wants to get into the basics. Not only that, in order to begin, one must first reset each parameter to its initial state. Everything is quite quickly becoming confusing.

So I was now looking for a synthesizer which was preferably reduced to the basic functions. Not so easy as one would think. I found some sloppy clicked together VSTs, made with SynthEdit, quite soon. But these had mostly the disadvantage that the sound was accordingly bad, and/or the user interface was a nightmare. Others swallowed, despite their simplicity, an amazing amount of CPU power and were therefore also useless.

In my distress another friend helped, who told me about a plugin with the unusual name "Charlatan". And here everything was just right: "Charlatan" has a clear and logical user interface, structured in the way of vintage synthesizers. It has everything that is necessary to enter the realms of sound synthesis:

• 2 oscillators
• a simple structured modulation section
• a Noise Generator
• a filter section with the common functions and filter types
• LFO section
• Settings for polyphony/monophony, legato, Retriggering etc.
• typical ADSR section for the sound and modulation envelope

The only missing feature was an oscillator setting for pure sine sounds but that was to get over the end. The "Charlatan" provides an excellent sound and performance characteristics through the efficient use of resources. It also has native 64-bit support what avoids the dreaded "bridgeing" in FL Studio, which pretty much got each and every  FL user at least once into a bit of trouble.

I use the "Charlatan" since then quite often, when it comes to just quickly do a sound experiment. This VST is certainly not for the musicians, who prefer complex monster sounds "out of the box" or are really happy only with extensive preset banks. But hey: That thing is free, high-performant, resource saving and extremely stable and in addition, it also delivers a great sound.

CLICK HERE TO GET TO THE CHARLATAN WEBSITE WITH THE DOWNLOAD LINK ->

Tone2 Firebird - The only VST synthesizer you really need!

The Firebird with my favorite skin

After a long time I 'm writing in this blog again. Yeah, my other projects keep me quite busy ;). And this time I present a real pearl amongst the free synthesizer VSTs. And as already announced in the title of this post, this should not be missing in any VST collection. I personally use this synthesizer recently very often, especially for my project "Willma Poppen" . If you want to hear an example, in which I make excessive use of the Firebird and its many possibilities, please listen, for example, to my latest production "Blauer Montag". But also in my other projects there is for quite some time hardly a piece for which the Firebird was not used. The possibilities of this synth allow to use it for virtually all styles of music.

My absolute favorite features of the Firebird include the huge amount of filters (altogether 38 types), and in particular the "M-Shape Filter". Especially to those of you, who always wanted to create those nice rough and screaming filter experiments, I strongly recommend this filter. But beware: A limiter is recommended for virtually all sound experiments of this kind, but especially here. And the usual basic EQ settings which avoid extremely low and high frequencies should also not be forgotten. But to which serious sound fiddlers do I really have tell this? ;) .

The user interface can be described justifiably as innovative. At the first glance the interface looks pretty simple, but hidden under the hood there are truly inexhaustible possibilities for any form of sound design. Many effects which require quite complex settings in other synthesizers can be very easily and intuitively be achieved with the Firebird, such as a vast variety of modulation effects. The Firebird offers a perfect starting point for every level of skills and you can then, just as you like, dive deeper into the sound fiddeling. For the pure preset user, the 437 factory presets already offer a nice sound arsenal. But I tell you: You will definitely start to experiment, because, as I said, the innovative user interface will seduce you to do so. Since I usually love to put every single note carefully by hand, arpeggiators are usually now something that I look back at with a nostalgic smile ;). But the arpeggiator of the Firebird drives me recently, at least at the beginning of a production, to use it. Together with the already mentioned various modulation options, your absolutely unique groove is just a few clicks away.

One of the absolutely baffling key features of the Firebird is, in my opinion, its absolute resource friendliness. Particularly with several automated parameters, most powerful synthesizer VSTs force even the strongest studio computer mercilessly to its knees. Not so the Firebird. I've actually, even with many automated parameters, never managed to get my studio computer to a huge CPU usage. This also applies to multiple instances of Firebird in a song project. Yes, and the Firebird is also 100% multi instance capable. Whereas other synthesizers often reveal funky side effects when using multiple instances, I never had any with this VST. Also the stability is top notch. I have not experienced a crash of the plugin, a freezing DAW or other well known and feared effects.

If you want a complete overview of the features of this masterpiece, you find a detailed list on the Firebird website, linked below. I have used the Firebird in FL Studio 10 and 11. I can not say anything about the usability in other DAWs .

Click here for the website of the Firebird with a detailed description and the download link.

Hardware Review: Audio Technica ATH M50 vs. Shure SRH 840

This is the first hardware review on this blog and I write it because of popular request. I wrote the allmost same text yesterday as a status message on Facebook, and some thought it would be a good idea to write the whole thing in this, recently completely neglected, blog.

Occasion of this review is the failure of my Audio Technica ATH M50 Studio Headphones. After less than 2 years of use of the right stereo channel was gone, which I attribute to a cable damage. Some time ago, the spring, which normally protects the cable from breakinge slipped out of the connector and could not be reattached. But first things first:

Not even 2 years ago I bought a pair of Audio Technica ATH M50. These are some kind of the standard studio headphones these days. Since my Sennheiser DT770 (with permanently attached ear pads) due to dirt, after 5 years of use constituted an epidemic threat, a replacement was urgently needed. Of course, it should be closed headphones, at work I like to be shielded from all "outside noise". I already knew that the Audio Technica ATH M50 constitute the de facto standard in the area of ​​studio headphones and so I didn't listen to the few warnings from some colleagues. The most commonly used argument was the attachment of the cable and the weak way it was done. Yes, allready when buying the headphones I sceptically looked at this spring, which is attached to the plug to prevent excessive tensile load and cable damage. This spring cried out "I am the first thing to break" ... what finally happened after all. The next downside, I was warned about, did not become apparent until, when I had worn the headphones worn for about 1 1/2 hours: The ear cups of the ATH M50 are of so small that I seriously wonder, whose ears had served here as a reference measure. For sure not those of an an adult man. The ears are squashed into the ear cups. The material of the ear pads is also quite stiff, so the ears hurt after a while. I had described to the guy at the musical instrument shop really in detail, what kind of music I produce. BASS is important, and actually the ATH M50 provided a bass that impressed me very much. These headphones delivered the bass frequencies extremely good. I did, frankly, not really recognize back then, that the other frequencies were far less well presented. But to set things clear: No, the efect is not so serious that one therefore should refrain from buying the ATH M50. It's just, in my opinion, not a correct representation of the overall frequency range.

Well yesterday I was forced, due to the faillure the ATH M50, to acquire some new studio headphones. And I almost bought the Audio Technica ATH M50 again. Generally, I was in fact happy with the product itself. It really did a great job. But fortunately, I tried then one or the other model, and the one that immediately impressed me was a pair of Shure SRH 840. The sound was powerful and dynamic. While the bass was not quite as brilliant as delivered by the ATH M50, the entire frequency range appeared complete and balanced. The second plus point I came across immediately was the wearing comfort. I had never a tool, giving me a feeling of "you can use that forever." The ear pads should accommodate even the largest ears. The soft material of the ear pads provides extra comfort. The same applies to the headband of the Shure SRH 840, which is padded with cloth on the lower side. This also minimizes the sweating under the headband. Last night I wore the Shure SRH 840 for 4 hours and the wearing comfort was top notch. The biggest plus point compared to the ATH M50 represents for me that the cable of the SRH 840 is removable. This protects the cable from damage during transport and makes it easily replaceable if damaged, rather than throw away the entire headphones or in case of warranty to send it to the manufacturer. The experts will agree with me when I say that damage to connectors and cables are the main cause of failure for headphones in continuous use. Conveniently you find a spare cable and a pair of spare ear pads in the delivery package of the Shure SRH 840. Thus, one is well supplied with spare parts for a good time and prepared for some surprises. The cable with a flexible plastic protection at the jack looks much more durable than the weak spring on the ATH M50. What, however, gives me a little headache at the SRH 840, is the plug connection between the cable and headphones. It is a small jack, which is fixed by a screw cap to prevent slipping. This attachment seems to be predestined for defects caused by material fatigue. The thin cable connections that significantly protrude between the headband and ear cups could be easily damaged. Otherwise, the Shure SRH 840 makes a solid impression.

In conclusion I can only say that the Shure SRH 840 for me is the clear favorite among the studio headphones in the price range of 150 euros. Comfort and sound quality are top notch, the whole product looks overall solid and durable. The delivery package includes all spare parts you need for a period of time.

"Asian DreamZ" - A small but useful Ethno VST!

Of cause, this absolutely free VST can not compete with the big ethno sample libraries, but it is free ;). The sound is more than ok, but the number of samples is rather small. Available are: Pipa (single shot and tremolo), Luan, Guzhen, Erhu and a complete set of asian percussion. You never heared about some or all of the instruments mentioned? Exactly this is the reason why this VST should not be missing in the VST collection of artists who use ethno sounds from time to time. There really is no abundance of free ethno VSTs, and if you are looking for sounds of rare and/or not very well known instrument, you find them, if at all, only in high priced commercial products.

The GUI of "Asian DreamZ" is, as expected quite spartanic. But you don't need more:

• At the left you see a picture of the currently selected instrument. IMPORTANT: Many users do not know first, how to change the current instrument. You do this by clicking on the picture. It then switches to the next instrument.
• In the middle you find the settings for a typical ADSR envelope. You can achieve some pretty interesting effects by using it, because the original instruments of cause have no envelope generator ;).
• Also made for experimental fun is the filter section on the right. You can choose between a highpass and a lowpass filter and there are sliders for setting the cutoff and resonance values.

Quality: The samples are, in my opinion, high quality, but they sound rather flat without using external effects. I personally prefer such dry samples, because they bring less or no own reverb and cause less problems when putting own effects on them. On the other hand I heared about people who were scared away from "Asian DreamZ" because of the rather flat sound it presents to novice users. The builtin filter section is... well... usable. For simple experiments or LoFi oriented projects it is just right.

Conclusion:

• rare and (to most) unknown instruments
• high sample quality
• flexibility because of the dry samples
• absolutely low CPU and RAM load
• easy and well structured GUI
• stable and multi instance capable (FL Studio)

DOWNLOAD ASIANDREAMZ FOR FREE (CLICK HERE)

On my own behalf, March 23rd 2013

Dear readers of the Audio Arsenal, I am excited about all the public interest in that blog. first I thought, that I could abandon this blog quite quickly, because there are so many blogs out there on the topic and I am also not one of the most busiest bloggers in the blogosphere. The success told me a different story. Out of all blogs, including those of my music projects, the statistics of the Audio Arsenal are the best ones.

To reflect that success and to reward your loyality, I decided to enhance, extend and generally improve this blog. Of great help in this task is your feedback and the many inspiring mails I received. One of the most stated wishes is, that I should incorporate even more personal tips for VSTs, such as prefered parameter settings etc. This will take place in the future wherever possible. You will understand, that this will be allmost mission impossible with a VST with x-thousand parameters. But wherever possible, I will tell you my prefered settings from now on. The same goes for the detailed description of the components of the graphical user interface of a particular VST. In the case of a small plugin with a handfull of parameters, I will with pleasure describe to you what all of the knobs do. This can, as demanded by not just a few of you, lead to a complete handbook/manual for a particular VST. But if a VST has more than, let's say, 100 parameters, it is not very probably, that I want to describe them all. I know that most free VSTs come with no manual at all, which makes them close to unusable for novice VST users. I want to help you there wherever possible, but please understand that it can be just too much to cover.

Another request is for tutorials, especially video tutorials. Know what? This is allready on my agenda. Because most of the readers of this blog are FL Studio users at all, I do not have to think about people not being able to follow my tutorials because of a different DAW. The planned tutorials will be dealing with different core aspects of digital music production, partly FL Studio specific and partly not. Using these tutorials, I will give you a even deeper glimpse into my everyday studio work and also share one or the other "secret tip".

You see: It goes on. Thanks for your confidence and interest. I will not disapoint you :)

Phenome Soundfont Player - Everything you need and more!

Yes, this Blog has been abandonned for quite a time, but now it goes on with a real goodie. In the ole times, when the Internet was still steam powered and VST Plugins (with sufficient quality) were either rare or not existant at all, there was a file format for audio samples, which went out of fashion these days: The Soundfonts. You can imagine a soundfont pretty much like a script font, just for audio samples. Sounds of real instruments were sampled on different notes and then packed into a soundfont. The format allows it also to store more than one instrument in a soundfont file, thus you can create sound libraries with soundfonts.

Now the musician of the year 2013, who is spoiled by often quite sophisticated simulation VSTs, asks himself, why one should use that "dinosaur format" still today. I found out, that most of the loving handcrafted soundfonts, which are by the way mostly free these days, sound a lot better than some of the quite expensive VST simulators. And you can find real gems out there, and sometimes instruments of which no other digital representation is available.

So, a while ago, I stumbled again across my huge collection of soundfonts and thought I was up for some nostalgy. In the end that proved to be a good idea, because I urgently needed some "ethno sounds" for some songs I was working at for my project Cimelium. And I found exactly those sounds amongs my soundfonts.

The problem now was, that the VST plugin I needed to use soundfonts in my DAW (FL Studio), a Soundfont Player, was only available as a demo version in my FL Studio. So I couldn't save and load projectfiles using it. I needed a good free soundfontplayer VST. I used the SFZ Soundfontplayer by rgc::audio in the past from time to time, but the problem with SFZ was, that if you put more than one instance of it into a project (at least with FL Studio) it creates a hell of a noise. This tells me, that it is not threadsafe coded  and one instance interferes with the other. Because the songs for the Cimelium project required the use of more than one soundfont, I needed a replacement. I browsed thru some forums and only got one answer: "SFZ, what else?".

By surprise I found a link to the Phenome Soundfontplayer and I was instantly excited and puzzled at the same time. I just wanted a simple soundfont player and not that... complicated... looking... THING! Well, I understood right from the start, what the knobs were doing, but still it was more than I expected. After a short while I understood the basic handling of soundfonts with this VST and it worked really well. By and by I learned also about the little addons, which revealed their secrets by and by to me.

The first thing I really liked was the fact, that it would be a really rare occasion to have to use more than one instance of the plugin in a DAW. Phenome offers the possibility to load up to 8 soundfonts and trigger them via MIDI channels. This in combination with multiinstrument soundfonts should do the job. I still tested the use of multiple instances in FL Studio and came across no problems.

Part of the basic feature set of a usable soundfontplayer is the envelope, which of cause isn't missing in Phenome. Phenome is also not the only soundfontplayer which comes with an effects section featuring Reverb, Delay and Chorus, but Phenome delivers, not just for a free plugin, a great ammount of quality here. Additionally there is a distortion effect and a knob labeled "LOFI", which I identified during tests as some kind of a ringmodulator. Those two knobs are in the filter section, which, in a spartanic style, offers everything a filter section needs.

A nice extra is the, also spartanically/classically designed arpeggiator section, which surprises with a nice and usefull chordfunction. The arpeggiator runs solid and does no gaps and glitches. A nice other feature, especially in combination with the arpeggiator, is the pitch envelope section, which allows a variety of interesting sound experiments.

You see: The Phenome Soundfontplayer is not just a spartanic sampleplayer, but a full featured playground for sophisticated soundfiddlers. Many dusted soundfont oldtimers get a second life and the gems from the collection also sound in a brandnew way. Conclusion: A must have!

DOWNLOAD THE PHENOME SOUNDFONTPLAYER FOR FREE!