More Improved Kontakt Libraries from Hollow Sun
Hollow Sun Newtron Bomb
Blimey, when Steve get’s stuck in, he gets stuck in! Hot on the heels of the String Synth package comes updated Kontakt versions of two of my all time favourite HS libraries, Vintage Samplers & Newtron Bomb.
Hollow Sun Vintage Samplers
Vintage Samplers
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Tron Boys Choir
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Tron Brass
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Tron Choir
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Tron Flute
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Tron Mixed Strings
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Tron Violins
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Tron Watcher
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Featuring the same seamlessly looped samples as the originals, Steve has created some really great programs in Kontakt, utilising it’s scripting features and powerful FX. These samples have never sounded better!
But don’t just take my word for it, try listening to the demos and then go buy these babies at next to nothing prices 
New Order/Peter Hook – The Happy One (aka Spot the synths!)
Just lately I have been re-immersing myself in the whole world that is Joy Division/New Order/Factory Records/etc.. in fact, anything from that golden age of musical renaissance that was the New Wave revolution of circa 1979. This has involved re-purchasing Joy Division back catalogue, books, documentaries and films, as well as scouring the interwebs for anything remotely JD/NO related. I’ve even bought myself a ticket to go see Peter Hook give a talk on his life & times as bassist with the aforementioned bands as well as being part owner of the legendary yet doomed Hacienda night club in Manchester.
Anyway, whilst pootling about the web tonight, I came across the following video that, albeit in poor quality, shows us the legend that is Tony Wilson (co-founder of Factory) presenting a segment on a show (The Other Side Of Midnight) that has Peter Hook playing a track called “The Happy One” live, along with a bunch of synth geekery behind him. See if you can spot anything that I haven’t already seen.
I can make out an E-MU Emulator EII, a Roland D-50, Apple Macintosh SE/30, Yamaha TX-816 & Akai S900
Things afoot at Hollow Sun
Some new and interesting developments over at Hollow Sun recently.
First up, Steve has started a blog. Now, if you know Steve as I know Steve, this is certainly not his “thing”. He views blogs, much like Twitter and any other form of Social Networking, as a lame and vacuous, self serving waste of time! Personally, I don’t agree, but that old Welsh git, purveyor of fine sampling products though he is, can be an old stick in the mud at times. So, for him to do this must mean something bigger lays behind it. And I can confirm that it does, although I can’t say what it is, but it will be good, I can guarantee you that!
Next is the Reaktor Korner, a small but perfectly formed repository of Reaktor ensembles, created over the years by Steve. Recreations of an ARP Axxe, ARP Odyssey and an emulation of classic string synths await you, all free of charge!
The following two new libraries I know VERY well! When I first met Steve, all those years ago, it was these samples that were my foot in the door, so to speak. Being a complete Fairlight whore, I wanted as many top notch samples as I could get, and Steve had loads of ‘em. It’s these samples that now feature, along with a big bunch of samples that also made me salivate uncontrollably, the Emulator EII, in his new release, Vintage Samplers.
Here’s the instrument list…
EII Arco Strings
EII Blown Bottle
EII Choir
EII Orch Chords
EII Shakuhachi
EII Strings
EII Waterphone
IIx ARR1
IIx ArrBass
IIx Bar
IIx BasClear
IIx Basso
IIx BassRick
IIx BobStrin
IIx BowdBass
IIx Drums
IIx ElBass
IIx FltCf
IIx Glock
IIx Kalim
IIx MarBlock
IIX Orch 5
IIx Piztwang
IIx Quartet
IIx Shatter
IIx StlBell
IIx Swanee
IIx V3Sus
IIx VibMid
IIx ViolHi
IIx ViolSus
IIx Wineglas
String Synths is a small, yet prefectly formed library featuring samples of such classics as a Moog Opus, Eminent 310, ARP String Ensemble, RS202 and a Roland VP330.
01 ARP String Ens
02 ARP String Ens Phaser
03 Eminent 310 Strings
04 Eminent 310 Phaser
05 Moog Opus 4′
06 Moog Opus 8′
07 Moog Opus 8+4′
08 Moog Opus 4′ Phaser
09 Moog Opus 8′ Phaser
10 Moog Opus 8+4′ Phaser
11 RS202 Strings I
12 RS202 Strings I+II
13 VP330 Choir
Finally, the Freepacks section of the Hollow Sun site now features, courtesy of Joeri Peters, the awesome PolyMoog Vox Humana patch, as well as the PolyMoog Strings I & II patches, all available in Akai, Alesis Fusion & Kontakt formats.
EmulatorX2
Call me a heathen. Call me a splitter. Call me a deserter. Call me a dessert (I find Tiramisu pretty inoffensive).
But, I’m really getting into software instrumentation.
Everything I seem to do just lately is done with software and only the occasional appearance of hardware.
I have gone on & on about the benefits of hardware over software and then become a fence sitter, saying they can peacefully, and fruitfully, co-exist. And now I find myself almost shunning hardware, not consciously, but I just seem to be able to get what I want directly from software !
And this was no more evident than when I recently acquired E-MU’s EmulatorX2 software sampler. Ok, so the bargain bucket price of £69.99 (New) was an absolute deal maker, but it’s feature set and reputation drew me closer and after playing around with it for a few days now, I’m nothing short of impressed, and dare I say it, converted !
What impresses me most is it’s clarity, it’s speed of loading and it’s unique sound shaping and sample acquisition features. Also, the manual is one of the best I’ve read in a long while. Just a shame that it’s a PDF file (which I have now printed out). I was even impressed with the travel pouch provided to carry the USB XMIDI 2×2 around in.
I’m not going to go into any lengthy review on this. You can Google and find many decent efforts. No, I’m just going to say, this is the most fun I’ve had with a sampler (or any other software instrument) since the heady days of the late 90′s when Akai got it so right with the S6000. Just a shame that their VZ8 software sampler never made it past the prototype stage at NAMM in 2003.
All I can say is, if you have a spare £69.99 and are looking for a single, powerful and fantastically spec’d tool, you can’t go wrong with this.
Amazing.
E-MU Announces FREE Proteus VX download !!
Ok, anyone that knows me knows that I just love free stuff !! ;o)
So imagine my excitement when I stumbled across an item telling me that E-MU have decided to release their Proteus VX software instrument completely free of charge ! And to top it all off, they’re including the v2 Proteus X Composer Bank. The only catch is that you have to subscribe to their newsletter. Seems perfectly reasonable 
)
Why are they giving it away ?
Well, of course there’s a reason and it’s because they are soon to be releasing the Emulator X3 Streaming Sampling Synthesizer software. X2 prices have been tumbling as low as £69.99 at Digital Village so it was on the cards. Here’s their blurb…
Yep, that’s right! As we release and launch E-MU’s next generation Emulator X3 Streaming Sampling Synthesizer software, E-MU celebrates and is pleased to announce that we will be providing the full version of our Proteus VX Software Sound Module software which includes the enhanced v2.0.1 Proteus X Composer Bank. (a special E-MU tweaked version of the Composer bank) that can be used in all versions of our Proteus X or Emulator X software. Proteus VX is not copy protected or card locked like other versions of our instrument and sampling software, and can be used either as a VSTi or in stand alone mode. You can get to the free download by clicking on the Proteus VX logo on the front page of www.emu.com
As well as coming with a massive soundbank as standard, you can also load up any other .exb file, which means this instantly becomes a gateway into the wonderful world of E-MU and some of their most unique sounds ! Pop along to Digital Sound Factory to grab a couple of well spec’d freebies and browse their store for more goodies. I can personally recommend their EMAX Collection, which converts beautifully into .exb format (I used Extreme Sample Converter)
So, anyway, grab it while you can !!
Emax Collectors Edition Sample Library
Just thought I’d share this one with you. I treated myself yesterday to a new sample library from Digital Sound Factory. As you may well know, I’m a sucker for any early sampler like an Emulator or Fairlight and I am always on the look out for good sample libraries. So when I found this one, I was VERY interested. However, the $149.99 price put me off rushing out to get this. So, when I got a mail the other day telling me they were offering 30% off all their libraries till July 31st, and with the current exchange rate between the £ and $, it was an opportunity too good to miss. In total, it cost me a shade over £50 )
Not bad for 872 Programs !
These are really cool too. Ok, so there are some average staples in here, but there are some classic E-MU library sounds all over the place. And E-MU’s tendency to exploit the colourisation that their early samplers gave to sounds gives us some cracking stuff to play around with.
Only one problem however. These are all in Soundfont format. Now, I have nothing against this, and I can easily accomodate them within a number of environments, but I really wanted these in my Fusion, and there is a known bug in the free Fusion Converter that doesn’t translate the velocity setting. So each of these 872 programs plays at full velocity and I now face the prospect of manually tweaking each one ( Apparently, the upcoming update to Fusion Converter addresses this issue. I hope it arrives soon.
Anyway, here are some links for you if you want to check them out, and don’t forget, the 30% off offer finishes at the end of July.
Emax Collectors Edition Bundle (the 6 volumes that make up the bundle are also available seperately @ $34.95 each)
There are also audio demo’s all over the site, so check them out…
Peter Gabriel – The making of PG IV (Security)
Found this excellent upload of the South Bank Show (UK arts TV programme of long standing and excellent repute) which documents the making of Peter’s 4th eponymous album, known by most as “Security” or PG IV.
Part 1
Part 2
Some excellent footage of the man in his (then) newly created studio at home showing such beauties as his Fairlight, Prophet 5, CP70, Linn LM1, Emulator II amongst others, as well as his unique approach to collecting (the suitcase) and creating (scrapyard sound design) new rhythms and sounds. There is also some live footage too.
Well worth a gander, if only to remind you that music is something best created by experimentation and by proving new ground. As Melvyn Bragg states in the prologue, “Peter Gabriel has had a number of hits but has never let his successes become formulas”
My missus has a minor claim to fame in that she comes from Chobham, Surrey as does Mr Gabriel ;o) She also went to school with Paul Weller. Certainly a hotbed of musical talent in Surrey !
Some lovely pictures….just because….
All shots from the EBoard Museum
Take a long look at these pictures and the synths contained within. Am I alone in thinking that these are beautiful objects ? Show me a Triton or Motif or whatever hardware synths are left nowadays (except the Alesis Fusion maybe) and they all look the same. These synths of old were all unique not only in sound but in looks too. If anybody wonders why people like me get moist around the gusset for old synths, here are some prime examples….
Emulator I
Prophet 10
Roland SH-101 Blue
Yamaha DX1
Sequential Circuits Prophet VS and Prophet 5
Elka Synthex
Yamaha CS-80
