Depeche Mode, OMD, Pet Shop Boys - Synth Pop generation documentary Watch |
Virtual synths that somehow went under the radar Read article |
Free and affordable NI Kontakt libraries Read more |
165 modern presets, created by me, for Lennar Digital Sylenth synth. Visit |
Tons of presets that will bring a new life to the Novation V-Station synth Visit |
155 Synth / lead and bass presets inspired by many modern electronica genres. Visit |
Best, free organ synths / multisamples Read more |
Interesting soft synths released in 2011 Read more |
Freeware String Machine plugins Read more |
Another nice article published on Electronic Musician. "It's Only a Phase" article, written by Brian Heller (he teaches in the Sound Arts program at Minneapolis Community and Technical College), is about understanding and controlling phase issues that can arise quite quickly, especially in the real world environment. It's a nice portion of knowledge :)
Simon Langford is a professional songwriter, producer and remixer who, as part of Soul Seekerz, has worked for some of the biggest names in pop music, including Robbie Williams, Rihanna, Sugababes. Thanks to Sound On Sound magazine we have a chance to read very informative series of articles about remixing business.Remixing is a modern phenomenon that has turned into a viable way for hi-tech musicians to make money from their skills. But how do you get heard, how do you land a job, and how much should you charge to do it? We get you started with the insider’s guide.
Looking for some hi quality & free NI Kontakt samples ? Brickwall Audio has released Deviant States library which contains some amazing sounds (such as custom percussion, hand drums, kitchen gear and pure electronic elements)! Library is suited for Kontakt 3,5+ (it works with Kontakt 4 Player too). 
Bit Tick Rainbow was released about ... 10 years ago. It was a commercial product priced at 70 EUR but not anymore. About a month ago Big Tick changed it's license (as well as their other 'old' products such as Angelina, EP-Station) to freeware, which means it requires a some attention :) 
Flux Stereo Tool is another plugin for adjusting the Stereo Image of your Channel / Mix. It's not necessary better than other plugins introduced in Stereo Image category. It offers all the standard stuff plus it has phase inverter available on each channel and, yeah, there's nice visual presentation of stereo signal :).Are you bored with all of these standard articles about compression ? "Advanced Techniques That Go Beyond Dynamics Control and Subtle Coloration" article, published on Electronic Musician, is much more ... creative.Over the years, much has been written and discussed about compression. Everyone has a passionate opinion about how and when it should be applied, and what types of compressors should be used. Some people have gone as far as to say that the overuse of compression has destroyed the process of recording beyond repair. Personally, I love compression. To me, it's one of the great wonders of the production world.
Christoph Hart has released free Kontakt 4 (full version is required, not just a player) instrument: Volker - the funky melodica.
Two days ago I wrote about current AudioMidi.com "No-Brainer" deals. One of the deals was "Two-For-One" Crysonic plugins: SpectraPhyLe and nXtasy V3. But it's not over. To make this offer even better, Crysonic announced that the third plugin of your choice is freely available to any customer who purchased Crysonic plugins via "Two-For-One" deal. 
It's been a while since last VstCafe update but hopefully I'll have more spare time to write here :) Expanding home studio not necessary means huge costs. There are ways to get commercial plugins cheap. AudioMidi.com "No-Brainer" deals are great example. 
Angular Momentum Freehand is quite unique freebie - I find it useful especially for basslines. First of all - Oscillators. There are three oscillators with 135 factory waveforms each. Each oscillator has a wavedraw ability which means that you can draw your own waveform or generate the random one. Neat :) Like I said, AM Freehand is nice for all kind of evolving sounds but, in my opinion, it shines especially for wobbly bassline sequencies. Why ? It offers double FM CV Sequencers as well as pitch sequencer. Each sequencer has neat "smooth knob" which creates the smooth curves (it reminds NI Massive curve abilities a little bit but of course it's not as sophisticated - it's just a smoothness).Phase describes where in it's cycle a periodic waveform is at any given time. The relationship in time of two or more waveforms with the same or harmonically related periods gives us a measurement of their phase difference. Phase cancellation occurs when two signals of the same frequency are out of phase with each other resulting in a net reduction in the overall level of the combined signal. If two identical signals are 100% or 180 degrees out of phase they will completely cancel one another if combined.Phase cancellation is handy if you want to, ie. extract vocal part from the song. You just need a track with vocal part and instrumental (dub) version of same track. If the signals are identical, you just need to invert phase of the instrumental version and every signal (except vocal) will be canceled.
