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Traxmusic's Frankfurt 2004 MusikMesse Special Exclusive!
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(Our coverage of Musikmesse 2003: here.)
Frankfurt 2004 MusikMesse Special. Traxmusic's Frankfurt 2004 MusikMesse Special
Each year the world's music manufacters gather at Frankfurts' MusikMesse to introduce their greatest and latest products. This year was no exception. If any trend was in evidence, it was the increasing convergence of the hardware and software worlds. Keyboards, mixers and other hardware are increasingly offering software-like interfaces. Likewise, a number of software synths were available complete with mini-hardware controllers. The other significant trend was major manufacturers entering the brave new world of software instruments and effects. Our intrepid reporter Rudi Cazeaux was there to capture it all in pictures and text... Spectrasonics A bit of a scoop here, and one of the highlights of the MusikMesse 2004. This was the first European demonstration of their upcoming SAGE technology (Spectrasonic Advanced Groove Engine). What it boils down to is that you can manipulate groove elements, speed, and sound independently of each other and yet retain full synchronisation and feel. Spectrasonics supremo and sonic legend Eric Persing pictured with industry legend Roger Linn. Eric was demonstrating the first application of the technology in the form of Stylus RMX, the successor to their acclaimed Stylus. Stylus RMX includes its own built-in browser that lets you quickly audition any groove easily and by category. Once you have found one that takes your fancy, you can do all the things that you could previously do i.e change tempo, pitch etc. but take it to a totally new level. You can manipulate each element of the grove independently i.e the bass drum element, snare, percussion etc. This makes it much more useful than ordinary loop libraries which can only be modified as a whole. Hearing the backbeat being changed while the rest of the groove remained the same was quite a magical experience. Add to that control over effects, levels, multiple grooves playing at the same and in perfect synch. A new "chaos" facility lets you add a controlled element of randomness to each element of the groove in realtime. For instance, if you thought the current snare pattern was a bit staid or tame, by bringing-up the chaos control some new and interesting variations would be introduced. For me, the beauty of the whole SAGE system was that it mimics the way you interact with other musicians, i.e can you make the beat a bit faster, tune your bass drum lower, make the hi-hats less busy and can you add some congas and percussions... and all in real-time. Since the whole engine is multi-timbral, it means you can do some impressive layering and because each groove is divided into individual elements you can also use the snare pattern from one groove over the bass pattern from another one. Total flexibility. Of course all this would come to nothing if the sounds didn't cut it, but fear not, it all sounded great with the sort of sonic quality we've come to expect from Eric Persing and his team. Add to this double the amount of sounds compared to the current Stylus, thousands of grooves, hundreds of kits, separate outputs, FXs etc., and it looks like this one is going to be a real winner and will sell and sell. We will try to bring you more details and a review as soon as we can. Oh, and one last thing... among the preview audience was none other than Roger Linn (the one on the left in the picture), one of the great innovators of music-technology and the creator of the famed Linndrum. His comment: "I want one!". You can't ask for a greater endorsement than that...
Korg Korg were showing their legacy collection. Basically, what you get is a virtual re-creation of three of their most famous creations: the MS20 and PolySix synths, and the WaveStation. I must admit I was a bit sceptical about their worth owing to the current glut of virtual synths, but a quick play with them convinced me that they can compete with other virtual synths. Having the three synths together also provides a new synergy and plenty of sonic power, and, despite its age, the WaveStation still sounds as fresh and unique as the day it came out.
The addition of the micro-controller or alternatively the mini Korg-MS20 controller adds a new dimension. It was probably psychological, but tweaking the mini MS20 controller knobs and controls while playing the keyboard seemed to add a new dimension to the sounds. Steinberg Steinberg had a couple of major releases up their sleeves. The first one was the surprise announcement of HALion 3, their award winning software sampler. New features include a much requested combined browser / database that lets you search and tag sounds, standalone mode, 27 internal effects, and a new feature called RAMsave. This scans the current project and unloads any unused samples, ensuring the best use of RAM and minimal load times. The number of supported import formats has been increased and now includes Kontakt and Kurzweil formats. The GUI have been revamped and alternate mode has been added to the list of facilities (this triggers alternate samples when playing the same note to simulate acoustic instruments better). The software should be be available around the end of May and comes complete with new contents from Wizzoo. The other surprise was the arrival of Wavelab 5. The major feature has been the addition of DVD authoring and a "smart video thumbnail track" to facilitate matching sound and video. Multi-channel audio is fully supported and it also lets you create onscreen video menus. It is now possible to author, master and burn DVD audio formats from within the one programme. This confirms the recent trend of convergence between audio-only and video-only software from all the major companies. Shipping is expected towards the middle of April. Midimax/Minimax I must confess to being very intrigued when first setting my eyes on the Midimax hardware controller from Midisoft. At first glance it looks like a proper mini-Moog that has been given the Austin Power's "mini-me" treatment and has been shrunk in the wash. It has a dinky panel that replicates its more famous and upsize inspiration. All the knobs, switches and controllers appear to be present and all had a nice action. The mini-keyboard is a two octave job. The hardware is available as a mini-keyboard, desktop (without keys) and rack format. It is used to run a "minimax" plugin that actually produces the sounds. The price is a slightly eye-watering EUR 1,198 for the keyboard, EUR 698 for the desktop version and EUR 718 for the rack version. Virsyn Virsyn continues its onward expansion with the addition of Cantor, an example of the new breed of "virtual singers". You type in your lyrics, use your keyboard to enter a melody and add some expression, humanise etc. Unlike the line of products unveiled by Yamaha, this virtual singer is not based on real singers or samples but is modelled in software. The main advantage is that its much more flexible and you are not limited to a single model but can add or even define your own phonemes (the basic building blocks of spoken language) to create different sounds. It is still a bit early to tell if it will sound significantly better than its rival but it looks very promising, if still a little light on intelligibility. Availability is expected to be in May. UltimateSoundbank (USB) UltimateSoundbank were there with the Ultra Focus multiple synthesis plugin. It provides a huge number of sound generation facilities: analog, FM, formant, Vector, Additive, PCM, and even analog modelling. The software comes with over 2,000 presets and 8GB (!) or sounds. New user presets are made available each month. They also had their Plugsound range, focused on specific groups of sounds, Synths, Keyboards, Drums etc and Charlie their virtual "retro-organ" plugin. Arturia This must have been the year of the Moog emulation. You can have it all: the real thing (check the Moog section), or a virtual version in the form of Arturia's own two Moog plugins. The Moog Modular V is a faithful recreation of the giant modular synths of yesteryear. Be prepared for a forest of virtual dials, jacks sliders and switches, or just rely on the presets. Whatever approach you use be prepared for a treat. This sounds smooth (or at least as smooth as it can sound in a huge and noisy place like the MusikMesse). Of course, Arturia also had their version of the Minimoog. I must say that it looked very tasty indeed in all its virtual glory. Once again Bob Moog was happy to lend his name to this re-creation of the most famous of his creations. Besides the sonic quality of the software, it also features a choice of three different tasteful wood effects (Walnut, Mahogany and Maple) and some nifty extras not found on the original such as a modulation matrix, arpeggiator, chorus and stereo delay. It will be very interesting to find out who comes trumps in the war of the Moogs. Interestingly the Yamaha hall (yes, they have a whole building just to themselves!) included an original CS80 synthesiser - unfortunately since it was in a different building and behind a roped area it was impossible to compare it with Arturia's emulation directly! By way of consolation here is a picture of the real thing from the Yamaha hall (notice the ribbon controller above the keyboard):
Native Instruments Expectations were high for these trailblazers of the virtual instrument world. The reality was slightly underwhelming. Not that there was anything wrong with the software unveiled, but it didn't seem quite as edge-cutting as it could have been. The famed NI booth (as per their trailer campaign) turned out to be fairly ordinary and rather dark to boot. Nonetheless, what was there sounded good. The two main ranges were the "Express Keyboards" line and the "Guitar Rig". The Express range are in effect cut-down versions of their existing virtual instruments (B4, FM7 and PRO53 plugins) featuring the "best of" sounds of their fully-featured brethren (32 in the case of B4Xpress, 64 for the other two). From a brief play with them they sounded very nice indeed, and a lot can be said for having simple, dedicated instruments that do one thing well. Still in the realm of virtual instruments, NI introduced Elektrik Piano, providing Rhodes, Wurlitzer and Clavinet samples. It sounded quite good and was quite responsive but faces major competitions from similar products. Continuing with mini-hardware theme, NI also had a mini-drawbar hardware controller the B4D that can be used to control their B4 in real time. This did sound and looked pretty impressive. In a new departure from their usual offerings, NI had a guitar amp simulation software named Guitar Rig. It looked somewhat like a Reason rack but dedicated to guitar FX. It was difficult to judge how good it sounded in the noisy environment of Frankfurt. Once again, they will face serious competition. Finally, there is a new compilation of their existing product line in the form of the Komplete 2 collection (I was tempted to write Kollektion). This includes, Reaktor 4, Battery, Kompakt, FM7, Pro 53, Vokator, Kontakt, Absynth 2, Intakt, B4 and Spektral delay. Impressive certainly but we'll have to wait until prices are available and see what happens for users who already own one or more of each element of the package. Creamware Purveyors of DSP power Creamware had their full range of Scope hardware on show. It goes from the Home version up to the Professional version. Although PC power is increasing by the month, there is a lot to be said for dedicated DSP cards that provide a guaranted number of effects or synthesis and ultra-low latency. The effects are too numerous to list but there are some very powerful ones in there. The Noah rack was also on show and special mention must be made of the Minimax softsynth available as a plugin - really smooth, and convincingly Moog-like. MUSE Research Another bit of a scoop. MUSE were showing-off their new Receptor hardware/software hybrid for the first time in Europe and I had the pleasure of a long talk with one of their developers. Basically it consists of some powerful hardware running a highly optimised and stripped-down operating system specially written with real-time sound processing in mind. This results in ultra-low latency module that behaves like hardware but is highly flexible as it runs VST 2.0 plugins natively. All the plugin developers have to do, is to provide a compiled DLL version of their software, no special format of programming is needed. The result is that new plugins are added on an ongoing basis. The hardware contains its own iLok copy-protection which can hold the authorisation codes, saving you from having lots of dongles hanging off the back of your machine. Of course this only applies to copy-protected, ordinary plugins can run as usual. You get a number of included VSTs, some time-limited demos and a large bunch of free-ones. MUSE are working closely with the K-v-R community, and in effect, you can think of Receptor as a dedicated hardware VST host. It can be used equally as well in the studio as on the road. All operations can be carried out via the front-panel controls or given the complexities of modern plugins via an ordinary external screen. Very impressive, and one to watch! Prosoniq Many years ago, well 1988, Prosoniq released a great vocoder plugin known as the OrangeVocoder. It sounded smooth, had a unique and very musical character and gained a dedicated base of users. There is now a new version named with great originally: OrangeVocoder 3. This comes complete with a citrus-esque bright orange interface. It retains the "classic" sound modes but also introduces some new ones. New features include a mono-mode, flexible filter baks, formant freeze and so on. It also has a unique "Phoneme" dial that lets you morph sounds between various speech elements such as vowels and consonants. You can also load your own sound files. The short demo I had looked really promising and it sounds as if the character of the original has been enhanced even more. Another one to watch! Gigastudio 3 As you probably already know, Gigastudio was taken over by music giant Tascam. There was some speculation over what would happen to the product after a long period or quasi-silence... well, the result is Gigastudio 3. Major new features include a built-in convoluter (is there such a word?) using Gigapulse. In effect this lets you superimpose a sonic signature over an existing signal. For instance the acoustic properties of a studio or piece of equipment, or even the reverb signature of a concert hall. Multiple channels are also available so you can position your sounds around a room. A number of resonant bodies and mic models are available. This means you could take an existing piano sample and simulate the effect of a sustain pedal by using the right impulse. The result is that sound is modified but doesn't need double the amount of samples. ReWire support has been added to make it easier to use from other sequencers. GS3 now has four band EQ and compression on any channel and lets you use VST effects. Of note is the addition of MIDI rules that provide intelligent legato, round robin, alternation and even random sample playback. You can even build your own rules. Support has been added for unlimited polyphony (based on your PC setup), multi-channel capture of up to 8 waves, unlimited instrument stacking and 128 dimensions. Audio support now goes up to 24-bits/96kHz. In the rapidly evolving world of streaming software samplers, each one trying to catch with the other, it looks like Gigastudio are continuing with their tradition of innovation to stay at the top. MOTU MOTU have always been renowned for their Digital Performer (aka DP) sequencer. They recently entered the software sampler fray with Mach Five. Unlike other exponents of the genre they have decided to go for an "all-in-one-screen" design. The GUI certainly looks impressive, but more importantly it is accompanied by some impressive features. First of all it offers a comprehensive browse and import section. This is the life-blood of any modern sampler as it needs plenty of contents. Sixteen part multi-timbrality is now par for the course, as is surround-sound support. The synthesis engine is built on the UVI audio engine and certainly sounded smooth enough. One handy trick is the built-in tuner that tries to determine the pitch of a sample. All in all a worthy offering from MOTU. How it will fare in what is becoming an increasingly crowded market remains to be seen. On the other hand, they had an interesting software synth, the MX4 multi-synth. It provides analog, FM, AM and something called analog emulation. Besides a nice looking interface you get 16 filter types, hundreds of presets, built-in FX and even an input to treat incoming audio. More importantly it did sound good and could usher a welcome new direction for MOTU. EMU Systems After a long period of silence it looks like EMU are back with a vengeance. The pioneers of hardware sampling were showing-off their complete range of soundcard/software bundles. Basically the cards offer increasingly more powerful facilities in terms of inputs and outputs and take away some of the audio processing burden from the host. The Emulator X capitalises on the extensive sampler experience gained over three decades by the EMU team. With great filters, disk streaming, preset management, FXs, integrated editor, import and more it looks like EMU are once again at the top of the heap.
IK Multimedia The prize for the reddest booth must surely go to the IK Multimedia team. Besides their range of existing plugins, the big news was the announcement of their StudioPhonik virtual instrument. The idea is to offer a comprehensive library of "studio-quality" instruments ready to go. They have collaborated with the Sonic Reality team and it looks very interesting. Their other forthcoming instrument is Sonik Synth 2, an improved successor to the original Sonic Synth. The emphasis is more on a workstation-type set of sounds and features the STRETCH system as well as plenty of FXs and layering possibilities. It will be interesting to see how they fare in a very competitive environment. Maybe IK will follow in the footsteps of NI and add the letter K to all their new products! Elektron It must be those long Nordic winters that inspired Elektron to buck the trend and go for hardware when everyone else is going soft. In any case, the result is worth it. The strangely styled MonoMachine may looks like the mutant offspring of an old Amstrad PC, a keyboard and a kitchen appliance but the sound it makes has to be taken seriously! It has a raw, nervy edge to it that makes it ideal for harder dance tracks. The stick-like modulation joystick may look a bit bizarre, but it works well under the thumb. Nice to see that there is still room for originality a world away from the legion of me-too Moog clones elsewhere in the show. Moog Music Talking of which, Moog were there too and what a treat it was to listen to their Voyager synth. It might be psychological, but playing with all those physical buttons was much more satisfying than using a mouse. A few people attempted to play the superb Theremin on show. The results were shall we say "interesting". I wisely abstained but there is no getting away from the sheer presence of that other-wordly instrument. Clavia Clavia, another trend bucking company had their full range of keyboards and drums. Chief among those was the gorgeous looking and great sounding range of G2 keyboards. The extended G2X in particular is very worthy of attention - twice the processing power of its ordinary sibling and a great sound. Their Electro 2 keyboard picked another MIPA Award (Musikmesse International Press Award). Openlabs Once again Openlabs were showing-off their Neko "open" workstation. The idea is to include the equivalent of a laptop, screen, keyboard, and control surfaces in one handy and road-worthy package. It too uses an optimised OS designed to provide low latency. A built-in ethernet port lets the EKO connect directly to the internet for updates. It looks like a very complete package and a bit of a dream machine that can be updated. Hartmann Neuron The Hartmann Neuron looks (and sounds) as stylish and unique as ever. All those yummy controls, knobs and joysticks make for a great playing experience as well as looking great. This is one very deep synth and no doubt it will continue to evolve and mature like a good wine. Get yours now! Behringer Prolific manufacturers Behringer had a couple of USB based control surfaces, the BCF2000 (fader-based) and the BCR2000 (rotary based). Always ones to spot trends, they come in at a budget price and first impression from twiddling with the controls was good - we'll have to wait until production units are shipped over to see how well they hold-up to the rigours of a life in a busy studio. Ableton Ableton continue to develop their sequencer Live, now at version 3. The uncluttered interface and innovative tools and are garnering quite a following. So much so in fact that they managed to bag a well deserved MIPA! Time will tell if they can steal a march from the more established products. With that kind of competition the winners can only be the musicians. Propellerheads Those cheeky Swedes were showing off ReCycle now at version 2.1 complete with REX player, 24bit support and unlimited undos. Reason is at version 2.5 and besides having the longest folding brochure in the history of the music fair, adds the RV7000 advanced reverb, BV-512 digital vocoder, Spider Audio and more. With all that music-making software at their disposal no wonder they need a propeller to keep their heads cool! PSP Audioware PSP Audioware were presenting their full range of acclaimed audio plugins. They continue their onward march and are garnering plenty of plaudits. No wonder the PSP look pleased with themselves in the shot above - they have plenty of reasons to! Fruityloops It's fruity, it loops, it's a studio... it's FL Studio. Another example of a great and innovative programme being developed and improved with each release. While still offering the sort of loop manipulation that made it famous, it is also acquiring a whole panoply of grown-up audio facilities that bring it ever closer to other "serious" sequencers. The sober looking interface certainly looks professional and there is plenty of power to go with it. Another worthy addition to the Fruityloop line of products. Cakewalk Development of the Sonar sequencer continues apace. It has now reached version 3.1. The new features are too numerous to list here, but it looks like a worthwhile update. Such is the pace of development that it is becoming more and more difficult to choose between the various contenders. What they need to be judged on is their ease of working, number of functions and the quality of their plugins. On that count, Sonar is right there at the top. Celemony Following on from their acclaimed Celemony software, a new version was announced at the Messe: Celemony Uno. No, it's not a card game, but a "lite" version of their full software. The main difference is that it operates only on monophonic signals, while still offering the same ease of use and quality we have come to expect from Celemony. Expect to hear more of it (although it might be hard to work out if was used on a track) on a pop-track coming to you!
All graphics and photos (c) Rudi Cazeaux 2004 for TraXmusic . Article written by: Rudi
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