Category Archives: Virtual Musicians

Arturia Intros Wurlitzer V Electronic Piano Virtual Instrument

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Arturia Wurlitzer

Arturia has not been resting, lately, with recent introductions including the MiniBrute and the Oberheim SEM V virtual instrument.

Now they’ve introduced Wurlitzer V, described as ‘a high end software recreation of the classic Wurlitzer 200A electric piano.’

Unlike sample libraries, Wurlitzer V’s physical modeling engine reproduces the very acoustic properties of reeds, key action and amplification, delivering realism while offering maximum flexibility on sound. The Wurlitzer V goes further by giving you 70’s style stompboxes and tube amps.

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Is The Tupac Hologram The Future Of Remixing?

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The strangest music technology news in a long time has to be the digital reincarnation of Tupac.

The performance that generated the most buzz at this year’s Coachella wasn’t from a rising star, but from a virtual version Tupac Shakur, who’s been dead 16 years.

Thanks to Dr. Dre and visual effects company AV Concepts, the ‘Tupac Hologram’ was able to perform with Snoop Dog at the festival, as shown in the video below.

Here’s what AV Concepts had to say about the Tupac Hologram:

After months of design, engineering, and creative consultation,  AV Concepts delivered a perceived 3-dimensional, life-sized holographic projection of Tupac to perform on stage with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, during the renowned desert festival.

Utilizing the Musion Eyeliner system, the 30′ x 13′ screen was customized by AV Concepts to descend onto the stage in mere seconds between sets of the performance to bring the infamous, deceased singer back to life.

Here’s Holographic Tupac and Snoop Dog in action:

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Music Robots Play The Beatles’ Come Together

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These music robots, The Hubos, may not be ready to replace The Beatles, but they are hot on the heals of the Blue Man Group.

The HUBOs, from  Drexel’s Music & Entertainment Technology Laboratory, are operating autonomously (not human-controlled). Their movements are directed by student-developed software to perform the gestures necessary to produce the appropriate notes and beats as dictated by a musical score. Every sound in the video was performed by the robots.

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Arturia Spark Vintage Drum Machines Recreates 30 Classic Beat Boxes

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Arturia has introduced a software-only version of its Spark drum machine, Spark Vintage Drum Machines. 

Spark Vintage Drum Machines combines samples and virtual analog synthesis to ‘capture the unique soul of these instruments.’

Features:

  • 30 legendary drum machines including: Roland TR-808, TR-707, TR-909, CR-78, Korg KPR-77, Mini Pops 7, LinnDrum, Yamaha RX5, Maestro Rhythm King MKII, Simmons SDS V,…
  • Easy workflow: one interface to learn, thirty drum machines to play
  • Made for live performance: XY Pad, Beat Looper, Slicer, Real-time automation on all parameters
  • 14 high quality effects : Multiband Compressor, Reverb, Bit crusher, Multiband EQ, Chorus, Delay, Distortion, Phaser, Plate reverb, Destroyer, Flanger, Space pan, Limiter, Sub generator
  • Spark’s Step Sequencer makes track creation a breeze
  • Perfect integration: 16 independant audio outputs, midi I/O
  • Unparalleled sound quality based on virtual analog synthesis (TAE®) and high resolution sampling
  • 64 patterns pre-programmed for each drum machine

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PowerFX Intros Virtual Choir Boy, Oliver

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PowerFX has introduced a new virtual vocalist, Oliver, based on a 12 year-old choir boy.

Oliver is a Vocaloid 3 virtual instrument, doing vocal synthesis based on a sampled vocalist.

Features:

  • Piano-roll style note editor, importing functionality from a standard MIDI file (limited for 1 track and 17 bars).
  • Inputting lyrics and automatic conversion to phonemes.
  • Assigning musical expression templates from an Icon Palette.
  • Sending notes, lyrics and musical expression to the Synthesis Engine as set forth below and activating synthesis.
  • Saving vocal data as a wave file.
  • Changing synthesis parameters.
  • Effects (Reverb only).
  • Playback .wav files.

Oliver is available now for US $129. See the PowerFX site for an audio demo and details.

Free Combo Organ Virtual Instrument For Mac, Windows

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Free Combo Organ

Martinic has released Combo Model F, a free virtual combo organ for Mac & Windows.

Features:

  • 4-octave C-to-C keyboard
  • Harmonic range 6 polyphonic octaves
  • 4 footage tabs: 16?, 8?, 4?, 2??
  • 3 treble voice tabs: Dolce, Principale, Strings
  • Multi-Tone Booster voice with All Booster tab
  • Knee lever control
  • Bass voice (grey keys)
  • Vibrato unit with adjustable speed and depth
  • Volume pedal
  • Adjustable tuning per note
  • Fully modelled (no samples inside)
  • Model includes oscillators, dividers, crosstalk, noise, filters, key contacts and key click
  • Velocity-sensitive key contact attack and release
  • Fully automatable
It’s available in VST or AU format at the Martinic site.

Native Instruments Intros Kontakt 5, Guitar Rig 5 Pro & More

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Native Instruments Guitar Rig ProNative Instruments has just unleashed a bunch of new stuff – sort of like they used to at the Winter NAMM Show, when they still attended that.

Here’s what’s new:

  • KONTAKT 5 is the next generation of the leading software sampler. The new version offers profoundly enhanced sound shaping through a host of new high-quality filters and studio-grade effect algorithms, superior time-stretching, vintage sampling modes, and more. Further accommodating its role as the central sample library platform on the market, KONTAKT 5 also introduces major new features for advanced instrument design.
  • GUITAR RIG 5 PRO is the latest version of the versatile effects studio. The fifth generation expands the comprehensive feature set of the software with additional amplifiers and effects, advanced speaker emulation, and various new creative features that make GUITAR RIG even more powerful both for studio production and live performance.
  • STUDIO DRUMMER is a new instrument for the efficient creation of studio-quality acoustic drum tracks. By combining premium sampled drum kits and a comprehensive studio-grade mixing environment with a wide assortment of professional grooves, the KONTAKT-based instrument provides a highly versatile and easy-to-use “virtual drummer” that gives authentic and fast results for pop, rock, metal, jazz and related music styles.
  • The new SOLID MIX SERIES emulates the distinctive EQ and dynamics sections of one of the most revered mixing consoles of all time, while TRANSIENT MASTER recreates a popular hardware processor that provides highly efficient transient processing. Both products can used be used with the free GUITAR RIG PLAYER, or expand the arsenal of the GUITAR RIG 5 software.

See the NI site for details.  Continue reading →

Native Instruments Studio Drummer

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Native Instruments has announced Studio Drummer, a new instrument for Mac & Windows, designed for creating high-quality ‘acoustic’ drum tracks. The instrument provides an easy-to-use “virtual drummer” for pop, rock, metal, jazz and related music styles.

Studio Drummer makes use of the advanced features of Kontakt 5 to provide the ‘necessary components for a first-class studio drums production’. Continue reading →

Retronyms Tabletop Turns iPad Into Modular Virtual Studio

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iPad Music Software: Retronyms has introduced Tabletop – a new virtual studio that turns an iPad into an expandable modular music environment, where you can mix and match different devices.

More than a dozen devices are available, including samplers, mixers, effects and sequencers. Tabletop lets you patch together the virtual gear to create beats, compose songs or perform live.

Features:

  • 15 unique Devices at launch
  • 300 sounds (multisample instruments, loops, phrases)
  • Record sequences, arrange into songs
  • Adjustable quantization (pre- and post-record)
  • Recordable parameter automation
  • Overdub and replace record modes
  • Trigger sequences and patterns live
  • Multitouch instruments and devices
  • Sampling (internal mic, line in)
  • Adjustable tempo
  • Import your own sound library, save presets
  • Support for imported .mid phrases
  • Insert and send/return (master) effects
  • Undo history
  • 44Khz, studio-quality audio
  • Sync 2 iPads running Tabletop or other apps with WIST
  • Import sounds from dozens of apps with AudioPaste

Note: Tabletop comes with a basic set of modular devices, which will be expandable via in-app purchases.

Included devices:

  • Gridlok: Pad Sampler
  • M8RX: Tone Matrix
  • RS3: Polyphonic Stereo Keyboard
  • Mr. O: Master Output
  • Goblin MX8: 8-Channel Mixer
  • Spinback: Turntable Player
  • Recorder M2: All-Purpose Input Recorder
  • Filtr LP: Low-Pass Filter Effect
  • T101 – Triggerator: Sequence and Perform

Tabletop is an interesting concept for an iPad app – taking the idea of Propellerhead Reason and re-imagining it for multitouch computers.

Check out the details and demos below and let us know what you think of Retronyms Tabletop!

Tabletop is available now for $4.99.

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How To ‘Play” An Orchestra With Nintendo Wii Remotes

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Composer Ondrej Pochyly discusses a new orchestral work, Requiem for the Lost, that he will be ‘playing’ live with Wii Remotes at an upcoming concert.

In this video, Pochyly explains how he created and orchestrated the Requiem.

The Exeter Classical Music Event will take place on 2nd July 2011 in the courtyard of Exeter Castle, Devon. Pochyly will be performing his Requiem for the Lost with a virtual orchestra, using Nintendo Wii remotes to control the tempo and dynamics.

More information about the event can be found at the Time+Space site.  Continue reading →