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UniqueSquared
May 9, 2013

iPad Into An Advance Drum Pad

Ok, let’s be real with ourselves for a second here. How many more boring repetitive apps do we need for the iPad? There are hundreds of apps out there which basically do the same thing as the guy next to them; only, it comes in a pretty package with different labels and claims. Samplers are oh so common these days, and I can understand why Akai is getting their piece of the piece taken from them at every other corner. On the half software, half hardware side you have items like the Maschine which do a fairly good job at what they claim it can do, and on the 100% software side you have thousands of apps competing for your five dollar purchase.

If these app developers really want to make move and shake the ground beneath us, they need to do it different. I don’t care what it is. …

NEWS

UniqueSquared
April 28, 2013

iMaschine And Making Drum Kits in the Sun [Tips]

Creating music from an iPhone app rather than a true and tried desktop creates some unique problems yet it also creates some unique situations that can be a benefit to your workflow. For one, the typical workplace or studio is something that we are too used to. By that I mean that there is nothing very special about the place you sit or the objects you sit in front of. This familiarity can be tiresome and even a bore, and even though it is nice to have each of your instruments in arms reach, it can be hard to feel inspired when there is nothing new or novel about your setting.

It is when you introduce something new and unknown that your creativity is often sparked. Thinkers often need to take a walk outside and clear their heads before they can begin postulating a new idea. Musical ideas are often …

PRO AUDIO

Paul
April 23, 2013

Elektron Machinedrum SPS-1 MKII Review

Very recently, Taylor found himself trapped in a situation reminiscent of Groundhog Day where I was repeatedly rattling off complaints about my drum situation. Having gone to an entirely hardware synth driven arrangement recording, my drums situation had started to seem like more of a time sink than ever. I had been alternating between using Maschine and some old favorites in a loopmasters sample library for a while, and then gradually got around to beating up the same set of samples from 505, 606, 707, 808, and 909 sample sets for every track. Sometimes I would drop these samples straight into an Ableton timeline, or I would use them in Maschine, Drum Racks or Reason’s Kong, depending on what software combinations I was using for the project.

Lucky Taylor sat through quite a long process of me rambling about why this or that device didn’t work.

While I will swear …

NEWS

UniqueSquared
March 25, 2013

Live DJ Remixing #1

Sampling is something that producers at home and in the studio are already aware of – it’s what makes their MPC a MPC. But sampling in modern times goes past the idea of editing tracks on an alternate computer, only to use then live in a different machine. With certain DVS features, a DJ can actually sample audio from their collection of music, without having to use a complicated editor. What’s more is that these samples can also be banked and controlled by the same controller used to DJ. A DJ can essentially produce music on the fly, using nothing more than what they already have – the trouble is that not many DJs will ever use the sampler for more than a few dings here and there.

Maybe it’s a DJ shout out or a reggae bell – but that might be the extent of it.

In order to …

NEWS

UniqueSquared
March 22, 2013

Alesis Vortex Keytar Review

Controllerism is beginning to move from the static world of desktops and counters, to the mobile world where microphones and guitars traditionally belong. One of the arguments against controllerism in general, is that the devices seem so lifeless. Turntables constantly spin, so the crowd has a clue what the DJ is doing. Motion behind the decks equals motion on the dance floor. A controller with buttons cannot achieve the same effect without much more effort. Colored buttons sort of helps to show the crowd what the DJ is doing, but not completely. You may have noticed a trend where controllerists like to tilt the controller towards the crowd, as if they are playing to them, rather than to the machine itself.

I like that idea.

An old idea may be what is needed to refresh the community – how about the old Keytar? For a split second in the late …