Mysto and Pizzi

So I was doing some research for my blogging paper, and came across these guys Mysto and Pizzi. They are two young producers (21 & 22) that have become quite popular in recent years. They have done commercials for Virgin Mobile, Geico, and others. They have even done a song for R. Kelly. They do a weekly video called Beatmaking Wednesdays. Check it out! They're pretty sick dudes!



Mysto and Pizzi Website

VST Effect: FrettedSynth Free Amp v3

Free Amp v3 is a crazy powerful amp simulation plug-in, loaded with awesome presets and effects.

Features:
-100+ presets
-about 10 built-in customizable pedal effects (delay, wah, flanger, etc)
-Speaker selection
-tempo/tap for delay, phaser, etc
-EQ
-sweet GUI

Sound:
This plug-in sounds great. Anything from a downright funky wah to a screaming metal tone, FAv3 can do it all. For a practicing guitarist, it is the perfect tool. It takes up literally no space, has all the features you need, and sounds great. I began by messing around with the plug-ins, and found some great ones, and some "eh" ones. For a lot of the Drive presets, I found that the EQ needed to be adjusted to get a solid sound. The Effected presets use the pedal effects in varying combinations, one of which I used in the demo below.

Ease of Use:
This plug-in requires both knowledge of guitars and knowledge of standard VST plug-ins. It's not difficult to use, but it may take some getting used to. I am not a guitarist by any means (you'll hear that in the demo), so some of it was over my head. It's not overwhelming, and it's fun to play with, so get going!

Overall:
Download this plug-in. It has got to be one of the best free amp simulation plug-ins out there. It sounds great, it's fun to use, and is really powerful! End of story.

Check out my demo of Free Amp v3 (watch in HD so it doesn't sound as bad)


Download Free Amp v3

It's really not a joke!

Most people think it's ridiculous to play the drums on the keyboard. This is a skill I have acquired through years of messing around on keyboards. It's not as weird as most people believe, and it is actually quite practical. But trust me, I'm definitely not the best at it. Check these videos out to see some serious keyboard drum skills!

This dude has some serious skills. You can't tell it's a virtual drum kit.


Though I kind of put this one up for its humor aspect, the guy can play too. "Play bass drum on the first and 'turd' count!" Priceless!

Harmony Improvisator

Though I've had years of theory classes, I find it difficult to write new and creative harmonies. I'm no harmony expert, so I definitely need a little help. I discovered a tool called "Harmony Improvisator," that seems to do all the work for you. When you really think about it, developing a powerful or interesting chord progression is as much mathematics as it is creativity. So having a tool like this takes care of all the mathematical aspects of harmonies. Here's a video I found on YouTube of someone fooling around with Harmony Improvisator. I want it.




Check out this link to a short article about Harmony Improvisator

VST Instrument: MeowSynth

Really.......just don't ask.

Features:
-Envelope, vibrato, portamento, noise, chorus controls
-One oscillator
-Polyphonic/monophonic button
-5 outstanding presets
-The best GUI of any soft synth I've ever seen

Sound:
If it sounds like a cat, and looks like a cat, it's probably a VST called MeowSynth.

Ease of Use:
There's 5 presets. Even your grandmother can handle this.

Overall:
Download this VST and your life will be complete.

Check out my Demo of MeowSynth (WATCH IN HD!!!!!!)


Download MeowSynth here, as well as some other cool VSTs!

MusicLab RealGuitar

I recently found a site called Sample Craze that has a lot of cool audio production tutorials and reviews. I was particularly interested in their review of a plug-in called RealGuitar. Now this is a $200 guitar plug-in. With that price tag, you'd better be expecting something awesome! I checked out some YouTube videos of cats using the plug-in. It can do some really sweet stuff, especially with strum patterns.

Check out the review here: RealGuitar Review



RealGuitar Demo:

VST Effect: Soul Force!

This is the worst plug-in I have ever used.

Features:
-Shape and Feedback controls
-Env and Wave switch
-On Off switch

Sound:
This plug-in sounds disgustingly awful. I couldn't get any good sound out of it. The description I read of it said "Can get pretty loud and obnoxious." It couldn't be said better. I'm not entirely sure what the Env/Wave switch does. They both sound gross to me.

Ease of Use:
It's easy to use, and easy to delete from your hard drive.

Overall:
Don't download this plug-in PERIOD! It's just plain bad. Only watch the demo if you want to cringe. 



Find Soul Force! here (there are useful plug-ins at this site. Go there, it's a good site. Don't download Soul Force!)

Sonar Session Drummer 3, PX-64, etc

So I've decided that I'm going to start writing some posts that aren't full out reviews of VSTs and such. Instead, I'll be interjecting some links to cool videos, articles and clips of DAW related stuff I find interesting. This week, I've embedded a video of a five part Sonar Drum Master Class. The stuff you can do with a drum track is incredible. Check this out, and look for some exciting stuff to come!

VST Effect: Dasample GlaceVerb

Dasample GlaceVerb is a powerful reverb tool that is more than capable of meeting most of your reverb needs. It has applications for many circumstances and instruments, including strings, piano, drums, and voice.

Features:
-Residual Vector Modulation (RVM) reverberation engine
-Reverb time up to 20 seconds
-60+ presets
-Texture, Absorption, Reflection controls

Sound:
GlaceVerb is powerful! Honestly, if you can't find what you need from one of the 64 provided presets, no plug-in will satisfy you. As of now, I've only tried the plug-in on a piano sound (watch demo), but I'm confident it will sound great on strings, drums, and pretty much anything else. GlaceVerb operates via a Residual Vector Modulation (RVM) reverberation engine. I won't claim to know exactly how that works. According to kvraudio.com "RVM is a proprietary algorithm developed to calculate the deformations, the vibrations and the acoustic response of surfaces and materials. Imagine a big orchestra playing in a giant box built with thin metal sheets. As the panels are not very rigid, the box will vibrate according to the energy of music and produce an audible spectral deformation. RVM algorithm is able to simulate such deformations and vibrations and apply them to the original signal." Impressive, huh? But forget all of that mumbo-jumbo. Just pull up a preset and get going!

Ease of Use: 
For the most part, the names of the preset hint at what kind of sound you'll get. This is always a plus in this kind of plug-in. Not all of the controls (i.e. RVM, density) will make sense to the beginner. This, however, does not detract from the overall ease of use. Really, it's not difficult.

Overall:
Download this plug-in! It will most likely satisfy all of your reverb needs. It's simple, effective, and pretty sexy looking as well.


(Note: The purpose of this demo is to demonstrate the variety of sound and capabilities of GlaceVerb. Obviously, most of the presets I chose for the demo would not be applicable to a piano sound.)
Download Dasample GlaceVerb

VST Instrument: DSK B3x

ORGAN!! Everybody loves a screaming B3 solo. Anything with the name "B3" on it should have something to show for. This plug-in isn't a total disappointment, but it does come up a little short in some ways.

Features:
-2 layer, 12 waveforms
-Tuning and octave controls
-Delay and Flanger
-ADSR sliders

Sound:
The best way to describe the sound is "eh." Some of the presets are fairly disappointing, while others are kind of convincing. The layer function allows you to get some meatier sound out of the plug-in. It may be good for a background organ on a pop tune, but I wouldn't use this as your "go to" for organ sounds.

Ease of Use:
I appreciate the way DSK sets up their plug-ins. There are still some things I would change (like the ability to turn a layer off instead of just turning it down). Regarding ease of use, It's fairly simple and I can't imagine anyone having too much trouble with it.

Overall:
It's not a complete failure. I got some decent sound out of it, and I probably could have gone further. I'm definitely not stopping my search for a good B3 sounds, but I may come back to it in the future.



Download DSK B3x

VST Instrument: DSK Brass

Most programmers and engineers will shy away from any product that combines the words "free," "plugin," and "brass." And this is quite understandable. These days, you have to shell out thousands to get top of the line brass sounds. Though DSK is not top of the line in anyway, it may just surprise you by how much it can do.

Features:
-2 layer sampler
-23 waveforms/layer
-Tuning and octave controls
-Delay, flanger, and portamento effects

Sound:
As I said, these are not top of the line brass sounds. They are, however, a huge step above general MIDI sounds. So if you are an arranger for marching band, this plugin may be perfect for you. Overall, I'd say the sound is good, but not great. All the presets are fairly convincing. The presets capture the essence of each instrument. Yet, they are "cheap" enough that you wouldn't consider firing your trumpet or sax player. I enjoyed some of the ensemble brass presets. I wouldn't shy away from using one of those in some capacity in a future project. The layer effect is nice, and can produce some "synthier" sounds. If that is the kind of sound you are looking for, you can also play with the "DSK" slider. Oh, one other thing: check out the "Trombone wah mute," it's pretty cool!

Ease of Use:
This plugin is not terribly difficult to use. It took me a while to realize that you can't turn one level off. You can, however, pull the level slider the whole way down. Beyond that, everything else is pretty self explanatory.

Overall:
This plugin puts out some serious brass sound. It's not perfect, but it is probably the best you are going to get for the price. I definitely recommend it, and I'm sure you'll have some fun playing around with it.

Download DSK Brass

VST Instrument: LazySnake

Andreas Ersson's "LazySnake" is a fairly versatile virtual electric piano. It was lots of fun to jam with, and it can produce some very interesting and useful sound.

Features:
-Coarse and fine tuning controls
-up to 16 voices

-Fork section (control over harmonics and fundamental pitch)
-Amp section (overdrive and hardness)
-built in wah effect and tremolo
-the skin is adjustable (if that really matters to you)

Sound:
This is a very good instrument. Though many of the presets are uninspiring, some tweaking will lead you to some decently realistic sounds. I was particularly impressed with the "Ebass" preset. It sounds quite similar to an electric bass (you can hear it in the demo below). I spent about a half hour trying to find a funkier sounding EP, but I couldn't quite nail it. I guess that's something I need to work on. I appreciated the "Fork" section. Controlling the harmonics (with this much ease) is not something I've found in many plug-ins. The Wah and Tremolo are pretty standard, but still allow you to really customize your sound.

Ease of Use:
It's not incredibly easy to use, but I wouldn't say it's difficult to use. Pulling up a preset to get started is simple. It does, however, take some time to understand the functions of all the nobs. It's consistent with a lot of other plug-ins, so the experienced programmer will have no issues.

Overall:
If you don't already have a source for EP's, definitely check it out (hey, nothing beats free!). If you're not the pickiest, this instrument will most likely do just what you need! Give it a shot!



Check out my demo (in HD!)


Download LazySnake!

VST Effect: Auto-Filter v2

"Auto-Filter v2" is a pretty versatile effects plug in. It is pretty much all you could ask for in a filter is a compact package.

Features:

-6 filter options: Band pass, low pass, high pass, notch, peak A, peak B

-Attack, Threshold, Range, Res, and Out Sliders

Sound:

In the video demo below, I used the filter on a drum track. I was able to create some pretty interesting sounds, ranging from the "sub-woofer down the street" kind of feel, to a high pass telephone type sound. There are wide range of options with the different filter settings. As far as I know, it doesn't have an "Auto-wah" feature. As you'll notice in the video, you can sort of accomplish this by moving the slider up and down. This plug-in works great for piano, synth, bass, and other sounds as well.

Ease of Use:

Using this plug-in is very simple. Although I may be embarrassing myself, I still haven't figured out what the "Range," and "Res" sliders do. I assume "Res" is an abbreviation of resonance, but I haven't got a hold on what exactly it does in the context of this plug-in. Other than that, the controls and interface are very easy to understand.

Overall:

If you're looking for a filter that gets the job done, this one works just fine. If you are looking for an "Auto-wah" effect, you may be looking in the wrong place. It's definitely worth checking out though!

Watch my demo of "Auto-Filter v2" (WATCH IN HD!)

Download Auto-Filter v2

VST Instrument: Big Tick Cheeze Machine

"Cheeze Machine" is a string ensemble synth from Big Tick Audio. It's very simple to use (a definite plus), but it is light on variety and possibilities.

Features:
-1 oscillator
-8 presets
-Phaser, modulation, reverb

Sound:
First off, you should know that synth does not create realistic string sounds. It can, however, produce some better than average synth string sounds. It has only 8 presets, so the variety of sounds you can produce is limited. One clever way of obtaining more sounds is adjusting the Brightness and Feedback nobs. The Brightness nob can take you all the way from a warm, velvety bass to a more in-your-face, sawtooth-y sound. Using this method and others, it is possible to create basses, leads, and pads with this synth.

Ease of Use:
Nothing too complicated here. As first I wasn't clear on what "Ensemble" meant in the upper right of the panel. This is just a modulation/chorus effect. For those of you a little less knowledgeable, the "Voices" nob controls how many sustaining tones the synth can play. There is an algorithm that determines which notes will be cut out if you exceed that limit, so you probably just want to set it high in most cases.

Overall:
I don't regret downloading this plug-in, but I can't say I'll be using it much. It works nice as a supplement to other string patches you may have in other synths.



Download "Cheeze Machine" (requires Registration)

VST Instrument: reFX Claw

If I were to describe this little synth in one word it would be "cute." Though it is not heavy on features, it is exceptionally user friendly, and can put out some solid sound!

Features:
-1 oscillator
-32 presets
-built in distortion, delay, portamento, pan settings, cutoff, resonance

Sound:
Although I was not quite impressed with all of the presets, I was able to get some decent sound out of them with little tweaking. Many of the presets feature gratuitous amounts of portamento, which do not make them very playable. It is a monophonic synth, so you won't get much past basses and leads. It has somewhat an auto-pan feature which generates a pretty neat effect. Some of my personal favorite presets are "Fat Bass," "Atari in Space," and "Pretty Queen." The waveform nob turns about 270 degrees, giving you plenty of options for waveforms, which is a feature I greatly appreciated.

Ease of Use:
It doesn't get much easier. Pull up a preset, twist some nobs, and you'll have a handle on it in 15 minutes or less. The download actually includes a comprehensive manual. So if any confusion arises, the manual should clear things up right away!

Overall:
Like I said, this synth is not heavy on features. I'd say it is definitely worth a download. Hey, you might just find that one preset you love, and it'll make it's way into your next track!



(the drum track produced with Cakewalk Session Drummer 2)

Download reFX Claw