May SoundBytes
Announcing the May issue of SoundBytes Magazine, our twenty-fifth issue.
Read it here:
http://soundbytesmag.net/ With this issue of SoundBytes Magazine, we enter our fifth year of publication – happy birthday to us!
Let’s start with sample library/instruments, of which there is a bumper crop in this issue. One of the more unusual offerings we’ve seen in this category is Impact Soundworks Super Audio Cart for those of you who’ve got “game”. Action Strikes percussion is just what it sounds like. Then there’s Straight Ahead Jazz Horns – ditto. Next is a wonderful virtual grand piano, and accompanying that review is an interview with the library’s creator, Hans Adamson. Three orchestral libraries are included, two of them rather interesting string sections offerings and we also conclude coverage of Spitfire Audio’s comprehensive symphony of strings, brass and woodwind sections. In the gray area of libraries/instruments (which do you call it?), there are two sound well-endowed sets relying mostly upon samples, one from Spectrasonics and one from UVI.
But, don’t worry, we’ve got a few conventional soft-synths here as well, starting with the brand new Synthmaster One from KV331 Audio. Then there’s u-he’s brilliant and recently-debuted mono-synth Repro-1, guaranteed to get your vintage receptors all a-tingle. Lastly, we follow up on Oxium with updated coverage of version 1.5.
Notable FX, and we really do mean “notable”, have their place here as well. First we look at Eventide’s innovative Fission, a transient designer with something extra. For reverb connoisseurs with refined (read expensive) tastes, Altiverb 7 is here. Cytomic’s highly regarded filter, The Drop is covered, and finally the definitive Fender 2 Collection from IK Multimedia is fully surveyed.
Wrapping up, there’s our typical collection of columns. Let’s start with Points of Kontakt (this time we let esteemed writer Dave Townsend take the reins). A notable Freebie of the Month is next. In Music on Tablets, we look at the latest Audibus technology. Then there’s Cinemania – oh no – yet another string library! Oldies but Goodies takes a look at the venerable Sylenth 1 synth. And to wrap it up, Ginno is back with another hefty collection of sounds in which you may like to consider investing.
Enjoy!
Your SoundBytes music magazine team