Native Instruments released a slew of soft synth updates today – thanks to everyone who sent this in. The big news is that Absynth, the alien-sounding synth that has become a darling of sound designers, gets a big update. But with so much to cover, here’s the in-a-nutshell version so you can grok it all in one place.

The other big news – Komplete’s price is down to EUR499/US$559, with cheaper upgrade pricing to match. That makes the suite much more aggressive, and certainly as far as software instruments, as much as you can get in any one box, anywhere, for that amount of change. It’s not all good news, though – there were some cuts of instruments from the lineup. Correction: These products are in fact discontinued. Pro-53, Akoustik Piano, and B4 II are being terminated, though unlike the previous vocoder and spectral delay, it sounds as though the replacement is effectively sample libraries in Kontakt.

Disclaimer: I’m reading this from a press release and peppering it with what either might be considered my expansive experience and finely-honed instincts or, in technical terms, “randomly made-up speculation.” Less review, more fauxview. Expect more once we’ve used these in the flesh.

Absynth 5

The synth Jim Aikin once described to me as a “rabbit hole” has just gotten deeper. New in this release:

• Supercomb filter for “physical-modeling-type” sounds – think exquisite new resonance.
• Cloud filter for granular-based modulation.
• Filter feedback paths for “gritty” “unpredictable” …well, you know, filter feedback.
• “Aetherizer” for breaking up and rearranging sound particles, apparently derived from granular models but implemented in an unusual way.
• More presets, in case you want a guide exploring the stuff above.
• Mutator for morphing presets based on musical keywords – an alternative way of navigating presets.

Those new filters and processors sound really extraordinary to me. I have a small selection of “desert island” synths. Absynth might qualify for when you move to a different planet.

Kontakt 4

Here’s a surprise. You see, Native Instruments only updated its flagship sampler to 3.5 as recently as July. That was no minor update, either, featuring 64-bit memory support (on Windows) and greater 32-bit memory (up to 32 GB on Mac), plus improved from-disk streaming, multi-core support, MIDI learn, and other enhanced features and compatibility. In less than a month and a half, they’re back to announce version 4.

And it does sophisticated live convolution of samples. Somewhere, someone is thinking of realistic purposes for that. I’m thinking Absynth may have company on that alien planet.

• Authentic Expression Technology (AET)  What? A process that mimics authentic instruments – with an obscure acronym to match? Is NI channeling Roland? AET isn’t quite like anything I’ve heard before, with a “phase-corrected convolution” based on an analysis of the original acoustic instrument sample. (In other words, it squishes your sample together with the analyzed behavior of a real-world instrument.) It’s a unique-sounding process, and one I’d love to hear warped to unusual sound design purposes – not just faking real instruments, but inventing new ones.
• Vowel morphing for choirs. (Yeah, see what I just said? You’re going to want to route synths through AET, too, aren’t you?)
• A sampled Mellotron.
• Sample compression to save on resources – without losing audio fidelity or taxing the CPU, says NI.
• Multi Scripts for Kontakt scripting users.
• A new sound browser with “more musical” terms.
• A stack of belgian waffles, dripping in syrup. (Okay, I made that one up. Mmmmm… waffles.)

Guitar Rig 4 (Pro and otherwise)

Where do you go in a crowded guitar emulation market, with a package that’s already crammed with sound tools? NI has chosen to focus on the speakers/cabinet/mic. There’s more talk of convolution – here, “latency-free” convolution – but I know NI’s tools often use different techniques for the different products, which means this may not be exactly what’s showing up in Kontakt; more on that once I find out exactly what they’ve done. New in “Pro”:

• Advanced cabinet, mic modeling: NI says they’ve applied latency-free convolution in order to get more precise models from their software. (Well, okay, digital processes inherently add latency, so let’s assume extreme-low-latency).
• Control Room mic + cabinet matching: Other guitar amp emulations do effectively this – there are some simple combinations in Apple’s new Logic 9, most recently. But NI says that, again, their technology is special, with phase-aligned studio mics for each cabinet and work by German guitar and recording guru Peter Weihe.
• New tube amps: “Hot Plex,” “Jump.”
• Two new delays, two new reverbs.
• Dedicated master effects section.
• True-stereo processing throughout the signal chain.
• Better sound quality for pitch-based effects.
• More host automation, controller assignment.
• Use the Rig Kontrol 3 pedal board as a MIDI controller with anything you like.

That’s just the flagship; some updates apply across the range to other packaged versions of the Guitar Rig line, with different sets of features and hardware that are a bit too complex to compare now.

Komplete 6

For those keeping score at home, here’s what you get if you prefer the whole box.

New versions:

• Absynth 5
• Kontakt 4
• Guitar Rig 4

And the existing lineup:

• Battery 3
• FM8
• Massive
• Reaktor 5
• Elektrik Piano (now simply as Kontakt samples, but that’s fine)

And those upgrading who felt burned in the past by the process, NI seems to be giving something back this time. All the way back to Komplete 2, you can upgrade for US$169, and Kontakt and Reaktor owners – any version – can Komplete themselves for US$339/EUR299 through the end of 2009.

The full Komplete package is now just US$559/EUR499.

So, what got cut:

• Akoustic Piano
• B4 II
• PRO-53

These three products are in fact discontinued. Pro-53 was a bit out of place in the suite, it’s true, and looking (and sounding) long in the tooth; NI is generally more about creating new synths than emulating old ones. The B4 and Akoustik Piano, though, I think are going to be missed. Akoustik Piano has some great piano samples and controls that aren’t really replaced by the piano samples in Kontakt. And while the C-3 samples in Kontakt sound terrific, you miss out on the variations and sound design options in B4 II. I’m guessing someone may be passionate about that, seeing as how they’re handcrafting full-sized controllers for it with custom stops and DIY electronics just to play it. It sounds like the direction is toward sampling, though, so perhaps we’ll see some additions in the Kontakt sample library to compensate for these omissions. Meanwhile, if you’ve already got these products, you can hang onto them.

I still think this gives Komplete an extra edge. And let’s not lose the real story here – real time convolution and crazy filtering in Absynth. I’ll sleep on that.

Oh yeah, and iPhone apps? Cool, but when you want to put more supercomputer-style processing on your tracks, your desktop computer is still your friend.

Native Instruments

Normally, pricing announcements and sales press releases bore me to tears, but this is actually news – Native Instruments is selling Komplete for July only at just US$/EUR 399, instead of $1139/EUR999.

That means if you were looking for Reaktor alone – about as good a desert island music software choice as you can find – this would be a good deal. You also get Absynth, the absurdly deep (if sometimes baffling) synth with surround sound envelopes and a workflow that could change how you think about sound, the very nice effects and loop recording in Guitar Rig, and the scriptable sampler Kontakt, as well as the Battery drum sampler and lovely Massive synth.

As recession specials go, this is a tough one to beat.

http://www.native-instruments.com/komplete5.info

In other news, we’re opening up more discussion of tools like Reaktor (among many others) to the community here on noisepages; check out Peter Dines’ recent modulations blog for thoughts on Reaktor (and the free and open source SuperCollider), or his just-formed Reaktor group, on which he asks, “what problems are you solving with Reaktor?”

Native Instruments’ Guitar Rig Hero video contest winners were unveiled today. At the top of the charts, players not surprisingly demonstrated fine craft, sharp execution, great playing, and so on. But let’s skip straight to the oddities in the bunch. Like the girl with the violin on a pogo stick. And there is an appearance by the NS/Stick, which earns stringed-geek cred the more-predictable entries lack.

Now, normally I’m not so interested in the online contests various developers produce. But these entries stand out enough to have a good look here. Word of warning: you may be less inclined to buy a boxed copy of Guitar Rig as to buy yourself a nice, new pogo stick. (I could use the exercise… hmmm… Santa?)

The Pogo. Yes, the self-dubbed “Pogo Girl” is a very young girl playing violin and Guitar Rig in her living room. For some reason, the embittered YouTube world has savaged her in comments and given her a 2.5-star rating. I think she deserves far better. You know what I was doing at her age? Playing the piano. Sitting down. Now, granted, today I’d probably make a much more entertaining YouTube video on a pogo stick, but that’s because it’d include extended slow-motion footage of me falling off said pogo stick. And that’s even before I try to play an instrument at the same time. So, Pogo Girl, we salute you.

By the way, novelty of this aside, guitar amp emulators can sound fantastic with instruments like violin or even sitars. I’m sorry to see more alternative instruments didn’t make their way into the NI contest results. And to Pogo Girl, I have two words for you: contact mics. Feed the sound of pogo stick through Guitar Rig, too, and you’ll have a real hit on your hands.

The Preset Cliche Man. This brilliant entry had the brainstorm of dressing up as the stereotypical players most associated with each of the presets. Lesson learned: don’t use presets. (Well, that’s the lesson I take away, anyway.) Now, on some level, this is actually a parody of Guitar Rig. I think. It’s actually possible these presets are so powerful, they will transform you into these dudes when you play them. Since I’m about as good with frets as I am performing open heart surgery, I can’t tell you – I leave that to you to find out.

Just be careful. I’ve seen Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Once you transform, you may not change back.

The NS/Stick. The most interesting entry musically to me was this extended composition on the eight-string NS/stick [wikipedia], as performed by “eccentric master” Sekiguchi Takao. Yep, leave it to the Japanese dude to do something musically inventive. (Tokyo readers, and you know who you are, I’m totally ready to come tour to your fine town. Just say the word.)

The instrument itself here is as interesting as the software: it’s a tapping instrument designed by Emmett Chapman (of Chapman Stick fame) and Ned Steinberger (of Steinberger instruments and Spector bass fame). The NS/Stick is a cross-breed between the two. It combines two awesome things into a perfect fusion, kind of like waffles and fried chicken. In fact, I’d wager that musically speaking you don’t get much closer to waffles and fried chicken than the NS/Stick itself.

So, did any CDM readers get into the top ten list?

I’m genuinely a big fan of Guitar Rig; it’s my personal favorite of the amp simulators and I’ve used it in a number of my own pieces. But I imagine this contest may prompt someone to say “ha! I’ll go use the 14-stringed microtonal instrument to record a composition with Pd and SuperCollider.” If that’s you, do send us the results. (Did any CDMers ultimately enter the NI contest, out of curiosity?)

NI Guitar Rig Contest Winners

Guitar Rig Hero is a huge contest with some big prizes. Native Instruments notes that users were already, without prompting, posting Guitar Rig videos to YouTube. So, they’ve put together a jury to properly judge the best possible contributions, with jurors including the likes of the Deftones, Dweezil Zappa (yes, the offspring of Frank Zappa), and (one of my personal favorites) Mogwai. Prizes: a quad-core Fujitsu-Siemens laptop, NI software, and (non-software) guitars from Gibson.

NI says participants are “asked to capture a video of their most original and spectacular performance using GUITAR RIG 3, without any sonic or artistic limitations applying.” What’s interesting is that not all the entries are using guitars — there’s already an interesting experimental entry with violin and Guitar Rig, and I suspect if we unleash some of the CDM community on this contest, there will be more.

You don’t have to own Guitar Rig 3 to participate; the demo version will work (and then you can try to, you know, win the full version). The contest ends September 30.

I’ve run synths, keyboards, and even sitar through Guitar Rig, so I’m interested to hear what other not-guitars you can come up with.

Guitar Rig Hero Contest Page @ NI

Guitar Rig Contest YouTube Channel (with various videos up already)

Matthew Dear, performing as Audion, is coming to Minitek in New York this weekend, and we know from reader feedback that you’d like us to talk to him. (Yes, some of the endless minimal entries in Minitek, true to the festival’s name, start to blur together, but Matthew to me is someone really musically special.)

As it happens, among Beatport’s regular contests, there’s an Audion remix contest for “Billy Says Go.” Downloads started this week, and you can submit through the end of the month. This is public voting as opposed to juried voting, but since I know there are some Audion fans out there, let us know if you do something nice. Prizes: Traktor Scratch, $100 Beatport gift card, and a grab bag of Beatport swag. Those of you trash talking Richie Hawtin, maybe this is your chance to show us your skills.

Audion Remix Competition @ Beatportal

Sonoma’s RiffWorks software and accompanying community is apparently popular among readers here, so it seems worth passing this along. The RiffWorks site is awarding RiffWorld.com community members IK Multimedia software and other downloads and goodies. That in itself isn’t that interesting, but what is a bit different about this particular competition is that you can collaborate on entries; if you decide not to go solo, you can invite up to three other people to work with you. I still prefer collaborating in person rather than online, but I’ll be interested to hear how collaboration is working out for people. (Naturally, the reason they’re emphasizing this is to promote the collaboration features of the site — but you’re the best judge of how that works.)

RiffRumble 12

Seriously, do let us know if you choose to participate in these contests, or if there are other online communities you’re working on; we’d love to know. I imagine running this means a dozen PR folks will be breathing down my neck tomorrow with other contests, but these do seem up the CDM alley and … well, for the rest, that’s what the “mute conversation” feature in Gmail is for. Enjoy!

And, of course, there was also his signature, rectangular "Twang Machine" guitar, which is just plain brilliant.

I believe the instinct to experiment with sound is the same, whether it’s with acoustic instruments, electronic instruments, DIY creations, or software. So it’s comforting to know that people continue to look for sometimes-bizarre ways of pushing the envelope of what guitars can do. Here’s a sampling.

Virtual Guitar Sounds

One of the wonderful things about software is that it can be used to create combinations that are impossible or difficult in the real world. I talk a little bit this week on our Kore/Komplete minisite about how I like to add simulated Guitar Rig effects to synth sounds, then continue to modify them in the digital space:

Sound Design for Imaginary Instruments: Kore, Guitar Rig [kore.noisepages.com]

As it happens, none other than Keyboard Magazine just did a feature on the relevance of guitar effects to keyboardists and synthesists. Craig Anderton has some terrific tips, plus a spot-on survey of the relative strengths of available packages for different applications. There are some great bargains in there if you’re looking for cheap sets of multi-effects for computer use. You can read the whole article online, free:

Guitar Amp Simulators In Keyboard? [Keyboard Magazine]

Guitar as 8-Bit Instrument

Philadelphia-based artist Animal Style (Joey Mariano) has developed a unique way of making his guitar into an 8-bit, Nintendo-style instrument. Using a custom foot controller and 8-bit fuzz pedal, he feeds his guitar into 8-bit land and triggers pre-programmed chiptune loops programmed in homebrew Game Boy music system Nanoloop, running on a Game Boy Color. That means unlike many Game Boy artists, you’ll never see Joey hunched over the buttons of his game machine; everything is at his feet.

Meta-Harp Guitar + Computer A/V

Derek Bell (known on YouTube for his Ableton Live driver’s license controller and other projects) has been hard at work building the ultimate meta-guitar. Here, his MIDI harp guitar is controlling:

Different patches tuning using touch sensors

Ableton Live’s Sampler as sound source, with Native Instruments’ Guitar Rig 3 for effects

Quartz Composer for visuals, as sequenced in Ableton Live

This is an early demo — he’s now combining this with additional projects for a massive meta-guitar. We should see the results at the music evening we’re hosting at the HOPE hacker conference.

For more on the Guitar Rig 3 hacks, here he is working his way through Guitar Rig presets using onboard MIDI controls on a hacked electric:

Custom Guitar Controls Guitar Rig Directly [kore.noisepages.com]

I think there’s no better way to honor the history of guitar innovation and the memory of the greats than to keep on plugging on whatever it is you’re doing.

Bo Diddly photo (CC) Diego’s sideburns.

Bonus video: going the opposite direction, here’s a sample from last month’s Maker Faire of the Guitar Zeros, who have added Max/MSP software hacks to turn the faux guitar Guitar Hero controller back into a synth. Does that make this a keytar? A tartar? Hmmm…

The Asus Eee PC is unlikely to be your first choice of laptops for music. But it’s small, it’s cute, and it’s ridiculously cheap. Some CDM-reading computer enthusiasts are biting, as we found out in March when we asked you if you had turned the Eee PC into a music box.

On the Linux side, you’ve got lots of options. Best among these, CDM reader Dan Stowell has put together a comprehensive tutorial on using SuperCollider, the powerful, free sound synthesis engine. You can even add custom GUIs using a free Java-based tool. There are also plenty of DIY environments for music working nicely (Csound and Pd included, as well), meaning the Eee can very quickly become a programmable, dedicated sound machine and synth for the price of the cheapest closed-box, name-brand piece of music gear.

Linux also supports various music tools that lend themselves to a lower-end machine, like music tracker MilkyTracker. Check it out in videos on the Eee: Eee-PC MilkyTracker Xandros, more. (Thanks, emrox!)

The surprise is, full-blown Windows software holds its own. From the NI forums, a group of intrepid Guitar Rig 3 users have fired up XP and have a pretty usable, self-contained Guitar Rig computer:

Guitar Rig on Eee PC [Native Instruments forums; thanks to Jahmal Tonge for the tip!]

The trick is, you do need modded video drivers to make use of 1000×600 resolution, thus accommodating the user interface. Forum members also suggest avoiding the newer Atom model as they believe it will be slower. Then again, while this proof of concept is tantalizing, I’d probably hold out for more-powerful mini PCs coming out — and the fact that music works this well on this machine means it only gets better from here.

Computer Music Magazine did do a review of the Eee, and were a little more practical about the Eee’s downsides (though the resolution hack here helps at least with that problem). But then, the other way of looking at this is that the Eee is just the beginning. Plenty more budget mini-laptops are coming; already machines from HP and others close the gap with “conventional”, pricier laptops. Linux distributions may soon target these configurations (Ubuntu has promised a “remix”), and Microsoft has committed to keeping XP and Vista going on these machines, as well. And that means the price divide with computer music is getting erased fast.

Native Instruments is releasing some cheaper ways of getting at their software guitar modeler, Guitar Rig, in the form of a cheaper software version and a hardware bundle:

• Guitar Rig 3 XE is a "lite" version of Guitar Rig, focused on the basics — 5 guitar/bass amps, 12 cabinets, and 21 effects. It also some of the "helper" modules from Guitar Rig, including a metronome, tapedeck, and tuner — but no looping module, which is one of my favorites. (See the full list.) US$99 on its own.
• Guitar Session bundles the XE software with Cubase 4 LE, some pop drums for KORE player via a soundpack, and the Session I/O audio hardware. US$250 for the bundle, available June 1 worldwide.

The audio hardware, of course, is the highlight of the bundle. It’s USB 2.0, has some nice converters (Cirrus Logic), and has 2 inputs, 2 outputs — both mics do line and Hi-Z for guitars and basses; one also has mic in with phantom power. 24-bit / 192 kHz is probably overkill for the guitar hobbyist target market — it’s overkill for me, too. But I’ve been really happy with NI’s recent audio hardware, as have the other folks I know, particularly those who have tried their Audio 8 DJ interface. (Ean Golden DJ Tech Tools just did a review.)

Guitar Rig Session Product Page

In fact, there’s nothing that means you have to be a guitarist to get this bundle. Guitar Rig sounds very nice as a general-purpose effects suite; I’ve used it on everything from drums to sitar, and it’s especially nice on keyboards. And the audio interface comes at a nice price.

If you can afford spending more, though, it could be worth it. Guitarists (and others, too) will likely miss Guitar Rig’s foot pedal control, and the tape loop module is one of the gems of the suite. Also, NI’s Audio 8 DJ and Audio Kontrol 1 each have assignable headphone outs for monitoring a separate headphone mix. But for what you pay, this is a pretty good deal for someone. It’ll just have to stand up to competing budget solutions from Line6 and IK Multimedia — there’s some really intense competition in this market.

Didn’t intend for this post to go on this long. Now you know what it’d be like if I worked at Guitar Center and you had to talk to me. (I imagine lots of customers awkwardly walking away, or pretending to get a mobile phone call.)

The best way to get 8-bit sounds is to employ a real NES system or Game Boy for fifteen bucks and go to town — nothing else sounds quite the same. But for the next best thing, and the ability to do evil things to those sounds within a serious host, this free plug-in from Japan that will do the job:

YCMK Magical 8bit Plug [ Official Site ]

Totally free, totally cross-platform (Windows VST, Mac AU). Via Adrian Anders and the CDM forums, where we’re trying to figure out why it’s crashing someone’s installation of Ableton Live. Not Universal: Note that this plug-in is not Intel-native (nor any of the other examples listed here, as far as I know), so you’ll need to go elsewhere for 8-bit sounds on an Intel Mac, ironically enough. Also, as several readers note over on TUAW, GarageBand has its own Atari Sings patch, though I don’t think it clips as realistically as this does for a true NES sound. (Makes sense that it doesn’t, since those patches are built with Logic’s synths.)

Anyway, here’s what it sounds like, emulating the compositional style of classical NES tunes of yore:

[audio:magical8bitPlugSample.mp3]

The authentic sound comes from the choice of 8-bit waveforms, limited to square, triangle, pulse, and noise waveforms, plus envelope shape. This version is simple, sounds just right, and does the job, and the price is certainly right. Here’s one beginner and one advanced example of how you might use this.

Beginner Tutorial: Add Nintendo Love to GarageBand

First off, here’s how to insert this as an effect in GarageBand, giving any Mac free access to an NES sequencer. (Actually, I’m labeling this beginner, but for advanced users who’ve never used GarageBand, it’s not at all intuitive!) You’ll need to first install the plug-in file (the Mac file has a .component extension); drop it in your Library > Audio > Plug-Ins > Components folder. Then, in GarageBand:

1. Create a new track.

2. Click Software Instrument in the New Track window. Click the disclosure triangle next to “Details…” to open advanced options for this Software Instrument track.

3. Choose “Magical 8bit Plug” as your Generator. GarageBand won’t yet let you edit the options for the plug-in, because you need to save this as a preset.

4. Choose a category. There’s no “Vintage Game Consoles” category, so I chose Synth Leads. Click the “Save Instrument…” button at the bottom of the dialog, and choose a catchy name for your instrument.

5. Now that you’ve saved, you can edit the options for the instrument. Click the pencil icon next to “Manual” to open up the editor for the plug-in.

6. The track is active, so you can try adjusting the settings in this dialog, paying particular attention to the “OscKind” setting for choosing different waveforms. The results will actually sound far better than an 8-bit sound should, because by default Apple has some of their high-quality effects turned on. You can relish the delays and reverbs, or go back and uncheck some of those for a pure, dry sound.

Silly “Advanced” Example

Just to demonstrate how much you can abuse something like this, I’ve rendered a couple of bars of a pattern in Ableton Live dry (sounds like an NES), then with various effects presets from Native Instruments’ Guitar Rig 2:

[audio:8bitexample.mp3]

Guitar Rig works really well as an effects package, and can easily be inserted into a track, giving you some evil sounds that emulate running your Game Boy through a giant chain of stomp boxes and amps. The results are utterly ridiculous. Mostly I want to fire up the real thing and play with that. But this plug-in will be very helpful for the occasional 8-bit touch. One idea: try mixing the noise patch with a fuller drum sound, so you alternate 8-bit hats/snares (or whatever that’s supposed to sound like) with other drums.

I’ll see if this finds its way into some real musical projects of my own, but in the meantime, let us know how it works for you here.

Alternative Options

There are many other options for creating chiptune style music. A few of our favorite plug-in versions: (thanks to W. Brent Latta, our resident gaming music editor, for suggestions)

Triforce, free plug-in from Tweakbench with all the 8-bit fixin’s (Windows only)

Chip32 is unique in that it features editable wavetables (as opposed to the fixed wavetables in the YMCK plug) and a fantastically retro interface:
Chip32 (Windows version, Japanese page but you can figure it out)
Apulsoft Chip32 Mac port (scroll down — or grab some of those other free Mac goodies)

Chip32 and Triforce are completely free, but for a commercial option, you might check out Reaktor’s Oki Computer. Brent notes that it was created “by Timothy Lamb of Trash80 fame – he did some of the music for the game Darwinia. Oki Computer started out as a user-created Ensemble for Reaktor, and then NI later picked it up and had him do an offical version for Reaktor 5.” And, of course, that means if you don’t like any of these options, you could use an environment like Reaktor, Max/MSP, or Pd to build your own.

Intel Mac Users

An updated version of this plug-in is now available with Universal binaries for compatibility with Intel Macs.

Previously:

Mobile Music: Tracker for Nintendo DS, DS Homebrew Music Roundup

Analog Industries Gets a MidiNES Nintendo Music Cart

Avoid Generation NEX; Get a Real NES for 8-bit Music

Prototype Nintendo Music Keyboard from 1984

See also the CDM forums, where you can discuss using real 8-bit systems:

Retro, Gaming, and Oddities Forum

]]> http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/07/10/8-bit-nintendo-sounds-as-a-free-windowsmac-plug-in-add-an-nes-to-garageband-stompbox-nes-fx/feed/ 78 http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/02/01/watch-guitarists-die-horrible-deaths-guitar-rig-2-shipping/ http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/02/01/watch-guitarists-die-horrible-deaths-guitar-rig-2-shipping/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2006 05:00:00 +0000 Peter Kirn http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/02/01/watch-guitarists-die-horrible-deaths-guitar-rig-2-shipping/ How would you sell guitar amp and effects software? In the fall, we watched IK Multimedia resort to the usual, sexist approach: hire a supermodel and make some pun on amp “modeling.”

Native Instruments is taking a different approach, showing different ways conventional amps can kill you. Not since the Spinal Tap drummers has on-screen rocker mortality been this high. I suppose that’s one way to deal with people’s fear of computers for music: remind them why they should be scared of everything else.

Oh, in other news, Guitar Rig 2 is hitting stores right now. (See past coverage. Rival AmpliTube 2 is due in stores in February. Waves GTR, the new entry from a respected plug-in developer, and Line6 TonePort, are also out. So if you’ve been waiting to pick up a computer guitar interface with amp models and effects, now could be the time, since the competition is thicker than ever. And now that you see what might happen to you if you don’t.

]]> http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/02/01/watch-guitarists-die-horrible-deaths-guitar-rig-2-shipping/feed/ 2 http://createdigitalmusic.com/2005/12/01/whats-shipping-retro-pro-12-synth-box-ni-guitar-rig-2-ni-software/ http://createdigitalmusic.com/2005/12/01/whats-shipping-retro-pro-12-synth-box-ni-guitar-rig-2-ni-software/#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2005 05:00:00 +0000 Peter Kirn http://createdigitalmusic.com/2005/12/01/whats-shipping-retro-pro-12-synth-box-ni-guitar-rig-2-ni-software/ We get a little ahead of the curve here, with drool-laden coverage of gear that doesn’t actually exist yet. Here’s what’s now shipping:

Creamware is back with the second of their mini-hardware synths emulated retro classics. This time, it’s I love the 80s: a Prophet 5 emulation they’re calling the Pro-12; see press release on Harmony Central. We’ve heard good stuff from people who got their Minimoog ASB — sorry, “Minimax” — and this looks like a nice, compact, affordable box, too.

Native Instruments is shipping, well, a lot of stuff. The most anticipated of these, Guitar Rig 2 (shown above in a still from their new demo movie, should be hitting stores now, so get ready to rock your computer stompbox. Also shipping is that load of software NI promised us round about AES convention time. It’s I love the 90s time at NI, with a DVD-sized General MIDI library called Bandstand. Traktor DJ 3 just showed up at my doorstep, and B4 II should be hitting. And if all of this Native software is overwhelming you and you just can’t choose, Native has plenty of bundles for you, too.

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