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Computer Music Special is the bi-monthly spin-off of Computer Music magazine, and we're now offering you the chance to subscribe to it and save 20% off the cover price!
Dedicated to helping you make better music with your PC or Mac, each issue focuses in-depth on a particular topic or music production software package, with step-by-step tutorials, advice and a disc packed with samples and software. Previous CM Specials have covered: Mixing, Ableton Live, Propellerhead Reason, Dance Music, Synthesis and Recording.
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COVER FEATURE
The CM Guide to Reason 5 + full review
? Get inside the ultimate music production studio with our massive guide to Kong, Blocks, sampling, Dr. Octo Rex, and Record 1.5's Neptune. Then read our full review!
ON THE 7.6GB DISC
? Time+Space samples: 1249 royalty-free hits, loops, basslines, pads, FX, vocals, constructions kits and more!
? 2001 24-bit drum 'n' bass samples
? Producer Masterclass tutorial and video: DJ Fresh
IN THE MAG
? Jamming in Live: How to use Ableton's performance DAW for improvisational masterpieces
? Pushing the envelope: Breathe new rhythmic life into your synth patches
? Make it funky: Our guide to the fine details of mixing a funk band
? CM Focus: Go Eastern with our how-to on Goa trance
? Interview: Lorn
? Reviews: Propellerhead Reason 5 ? Propellerhead Record 1.5 ? Steinberg HALion Sonic ? Slate Digital FG-X ? Cakewalk V-Studio 20 ? Softube Tube-Tech PE 1C ? Expert Sleepers Spectral Conquest ? Roger Linn Adrenalinn Sync v2 ? Artificial Audio Quartz ? EastWest/Quantum Leap Hollywood Strings ? and more
?AND MUCH MORE!
cm156 is on sale now in the UK. Overseas dates are roughly: USA + 4 weeks after UK / Australia +8 weeks / Europe +2 weeks / South Africa +6 weeks / Canada +4 weeks. Alternatively, order online at www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
Tickets to Producer Sessions Live, our must-visit music production weekender, are selling fast, and now there's another reason to snap one up today: If you buy a ticket for either Saturday or Sunday, you can get into the Ministry of Sound on the Saturday (September 25th) for free!
Electronic music connoisseurs will be delighted to learn that the awesome and eclectic Will Saul will be playing that night, along with Dan Ghenacia, Mat Playford and more.
You don't want to miss out on this awesome offer, so head on over to the Producer Sessions Live site to see more details of the event and book tickets.
Producer Sessions Live, the brand new event from Future Music and Computer Music, has announced two more artists for their live production masterclasses.
James Hockley is a talented music producer, engineer and musician working from his base in the UK. He run's his own studio and record label, has signed and released tracks on Ministry of Sound, and worked with DJs such as Tall Paul and Brandon Block. More recently James has become a major part of Chicane, co-producing the top ten hit 'Poppiholla' in 2009, co- writing and producing the new album 'Giants' and remixing for Darren Styles, William Orbit, BT, Armin van Burren and Frankie goes to Hollywood. James is an Apple certified Logic Specialist.
Next, Steve Mac is a UK House music veteran. DJing since the age of 11, he co-founded Disfunktional Records in 1995, releasing artists such as Danny Tenaglia, Junior Sanchez, Paul Woolford and Giorgio Moroder. Steve has continued to release on Cr2, regularly featuring in the Beatport top 10, had his track Lovin' You More feature on the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto, remixed artists such as Jamiroquai, Wally Lopez, UNKLE and Simply Red, and hit number 17 in the UK singles chart last year with his tongue-in-cheek hit Paddy's Revenge. Steve is a Logic master, so watch him do his thing on Saturday at 10:30.
Producer Sessions Live ? September 25th and 26th ? www.producersessionslive.com.
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If you fancy using your iPhone, iPad, Android device or Windows Mobile phone to explore new territories in composition, bring more freedom to your live shows or simply streamline your kit bag, you need our new cm Special, 101 amazing apps.
From gig-friendly tuners, metronomes, chord books and guitar FX pedals to synths, sequencers, grooveboxes and beat-creation tools guaranteed to get producers re-inspired, we've got it all covered. There are tutorials on the more complex apps, plus techno legend Richie Hawtin reveals why he's already adopted theiPad into his setup for the eargasmic Plastikman tour. And if you don't have a smartphone or iPad, we've got your back: we reveal how to optimise your netbook for mobile music-making too.
cm Special 43: 101 amazing apps is on sale now in the UK. Overseas dates are roughly: USA + 4 weeks after UK / Australia +8 weeks / Europe +2 weeks / South Africa +6 weeks / Canada +4 weeks. Alternatively, order online at www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk.
You can now subscribe to cm Specials here!
On September 25th and 26th the SAE Institute in London will play host to Producer Sessions Live, a one-of-a-kind music production event featuring seminars from some of the biggest and best producers in the biz (including Freemasons, Dave Spoon, London Elektricity, Jon Carter and Alex Blanco), plus tech demos from Korg, Cakewalk, Digidesign and more. For more details and to buy tickets, click here.
Computer Music has tickets for Producer Sessions Live to give away to 20 lucky competition winners ? 10 for Saturday 25th and 10 for Sunday 26th. The closing date is the August 22nd, so get your entry in now!
What's the ultimate computer music song? That's the question posed in this week's CM Facebook poll ? check it out right here and have your say! The poll is just for fun, so you can post whatever song best encapsulates what "computer music" means to you.
You're passionate about great music, and maybe you're ambition is to produce a hit record, but how do you learn to record and produce music of your own?
One of the seminal moments in the history of music and audio engineering was in 1976 when Engineer/Producer, now Dr Tom Misner, launched the world's first practical audio engineering school in Sydney, Australia. Since then, SAE Institute has broken new boundaries in audio creativity ? students are experiencing some of the most incredible techniques using state-of-the-art equipment in word class facilities.
As a music fan you have already benefited from SAE's vision: SAE graduates have worked on hundreds of gold, platinum, and Grammy-winning albums since the school was founded, and every day alumni continue to be involved in music and push the envelope of production.
If you're ready to start your dream career and gain a Diploma or Audio Production Degree BA / BSC (Hons), then discover exactly how and why SAE is the quickest, most powerful way to give you the knowledge needed to continue your studies for a career in audio engineering.
Remember your education is just the beginning - SAE is for life!
For further information, please visit www.sae.edu.
If you're been enjoying Guru CM, available only on issue 155's cover DVD, you'll no doubt be interested in picking up the full version of this amazing virtual drum machine, which includes tons of extra sounds and audio engines, amongst other things.
Well now's the time to take the plunge, because FXpansion //link// are offering an upgrade to the full version for an absurdly bargainous £64.00/?99.00/$124.00 ? a whopping 50% off the retail price. To take advantage of this offer, simply register your Guru CM serial number and you'll receive an upgrade offer via email direct from FXpanion. It's a truly superb piece of software, so get your copy of CM155 while you still can from www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk.
Here at CM we love to sample spot, but this exhaustive list of Beastie Boys samples impressed even us with its unabashed geekery.
If this awesome feat has whet your appetite, make sure you check out The-Breaks and WhoSampled for more train-spotting fun!
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COVER FEATURE
Problem solved!
? Tune up and troubleshoot your music computer. Maximise stability, optimise your DAW, minimise latency, prevent crashes, and more.
ON THE 7.2GB DISC
? FXpansion Guru CM: Special edition of FXpansion's legendary plug-in groovebox for Mac and PC!
? 2021 24-bit Jazz Club samples
? Producer Masterclass tutorial and video: Nick Thayer, Black Noise & Wizard Sleeve
IN THE MAG
? Hardware vs software: Gary Numan, John Foxx and Pentatonik weigh up the pros and cons
? The beginners' guide to drum synthesis: Step-by-step guide to creating drum sounds from scratch
? Touch & go: Use your iPad as a wireless MIDI controller
? CM Focus: Filters explored
? Interview: Joey Negro
? Reviews: Steinberg Nuendo 5 ? Toontrack Beatstation ? Waves HLS Channel ? Waves PIE Compressor ? Audio Damage Discord 3 ? NuGen Audio Monofilter 4 ? 112dB Big Blue Limiter ? Abbey Road Plug-ins RS124 Compressor ? Cakewalk A-300 Pro ? MeldaProduction MMultibandChorus ? MeldaProduction MMultibandDistortion ? and more
?AND MUCH MORE!
CM155 is on sale now in the UK. Overseas dates are roughly: USA + 4 weeks after UK / Australia +8 weeks / Europe +2 weeks / South Africa +6 weeks / Canada +4 weeks. Alternatively, order online at www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
Web consultancy musikame has released an early version of a web app that allows users to mix between tracks from audio hosting site SoundCloud.
At this stage all the mixing is done automatically by the app itself: the user just picks the tracks and the length of the crossfade between them. While it's not actually possible to beat-match tracks as yet, the software does have pitch control with adjustable range, FX, looping and reverse capabilities, hinting at more advanced functionality in the future. You can check out SoundCloud DJ Player for yourself here.
The time is nearly here for CM's first ever live event! Hosted in conjunction with our sister title Future Music, Producer Sessions Live is happening at SAE London on 25 and 26 September. The weekend is set to be a top one, stuffed with product demos and masterclasses from industry heavyweights and big-name producers.
Many of the music technology industry's giants will be exhibiting their wares and demonstrating how you can get the best sounds from it. Roland, Steinberg and Korg are bringing all their latest gear for you to play with and providing specialists to reveal industry tips and tricks. Ableton and Novation are hosting a workshop on Live 8 and the funky Launchpad controller, while Source Distribution ? UK distributor of Genelec, Universal Audio, Event, Presonus, Moog, Eventide and Lynx Aurora ? are giving in-depth demonstrations of several of their biggest products.
Sound Technology ? UK distributor for Propellerhead ? will be showing off Reason 5, Numark are bringing their range of Serato-compatible hardware controllers to the party, and Akai Professional will be showing off their range of revered beat production samplers. The list doesn't stop there, either: Avid, Solid State Logic, MOTU, Time+Space, FXpansions, ReBEAT Digital, Focal Professional, Jamhub, Fostex and Tascam will also be vying for your attention. For the full list of exhibitors and what they'll be doing, head to the Producer Sessions Live website.
An impressive array of top producers are also holding masterclasses at PSL, of course, including Freemasons, Dave Spoon, Danny Byrd and London Elektricity. So what are you waiting for? Entry is £8 per day, and each Producer Session costs £4. Buy tickets and find out more at www.producersessionslive.com.
Point Blank's online hip-hop production course is led by pro producer Paul Waller, who has worked with De La Soul and Gang Starr amongst others, and you can win a place on it using Point Blank's Music Machine software.
Simply register with the site and use the software to create your own hip-hop masterpiece to be in with a chance of bagging yourself a place on the course, worth £325. For more info check out the preview video here.
The course starts on September 6th, so make sure your entry is submitted by September 1st. The track that gets the most votes wins, so get your family, friends and impressionable strangers on board!
It's been a while since the amazing modular sound design and performance environment has been updated, but a new version of Reaktor is finally on the way!
The new version of Reaktor has been released in beta form, and the list of new features and improvements will put a smile on the face of anyone who has been waiting the age it has taken for Native Instruments to update their pièce de résistance. Highlights include new additive and modal synthesis capabilities, the ability to load instruments as ensemble and vice versa, revised one-window GUI with flexible split view, and new "structure bookmarks" feature. You can see the full list here.
To be eligible to download the beta you need to be a registered Reaktor 5 user, and for more details on the update check out Native Instrument's official forum post.
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The CM fan page on Facebook has become a thriving community in the few months since it launched, with readers sharing links, posting tracks and discussing music production.
Now CM fans on Facebook have another reason to celebrate: XILS-lab are offering them 20% off their stunning virtual analogue synth, polyKB! Check out the offer and become a fan here.
Vocal DnB can be a terrible thing when done badly (sorry Terry), but in the right hands it can work beautifully, as demonstrated by the London Elektricity's excellent "Just One Second" (Apex remix):
Now DnB super-label Hospital Records is following in the footsteps of certain house labels with the release of a collection of accapella vocal tracks from its near-15-year history.
The CD includes tempo and key information for all 20 tracks, and can be picked up at the Hospital Records shop as of Friday 8th July for a bargain £8.99.
The third in our ongoing series of free Make Music Now apps for iPhone and iPod touch is available in the App Store now. The genre this time round is trance, and the bundled loops include drums, percussion, bass, pads, leads and more.
Make Music Now is the perfect introduction to music production on your iPhone or iPod Touch! Slice and sequence the built-in samples into a finished song using the intuitive touch interface, set track levels in the Mixer and impress your friends with the results. All sounds come from the professionally produced, royalty-free sample libraries included every month on the Computer Music DVD, while the App itself has been designed to be easy to use, flexible and creatively inspiring. Get Computer Music: Make Music Now, Vol 3 here.
If you're in the market for some new sounds, now would be a good time to head over to timespace.com because Time+Space are holding a huge sale, with up to 70% off their sample libraries and instruments.
300 products are included in the sale, but it's first come first served, so click here pronto!