[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Free electric piano for the free Kontakt player:




Free for about another week---royalty-free audio samples as well as sampler patches for Ableton Live, Logic, and Kontakt (full):

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Voculon 3000 is a retro-futuristic vocal machine. By combining repitch synthesis with analog processing, Puremagnetik has created a compelling library inspired by the Mellotron and 1960s science fiction sound design.

Voculon 3000 | Vocal Machine | Ableton Pack, Kontakt & Logic Samples | Puremagnetik

Bought the UAD Pultec collection on sale recently... here's an interview with a Grammy-award winning engineer about how to use it on vocals (with examples):




Love this part:

Quote

With lead vocals I love to get 'em as big and commanding as possible in the track, so I'll just push as much low end as I can. Everybody thinks the key to vocals is to sculpt off the bottom end, to do a filter and chop off the bottom---I want to get as much chest and warmth and size [as I can], so I'll push a bit of hundred cycles [100 hz].

Remember an engineer telling me once 'you don't want to sound like a Leviathan' and I was like 'oh no I do'.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 26 September 2023 - 09:48 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Free set of virtual instruments for the free Soundpaint player:

Soundpaint Adastra String Ambiences - Free Soundpaint String Atmospheres Samples


Audio demos start at 2:30 (after some decent jibber-jabber by 8dio head dev and acclaimed Danish TV/film/video game composer Troels Folmann):



Free synth with nice presets and good editing options:

Vaporizer2 Unleashed! | VAST Dynamics Software (vast-dynamics.com)

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Quote

How San Francisco Punk Reacted to Dianne Feinstein in the 1970s

[...] Dan White's slaying of his former Board of Supervisors colleague Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone [...] Moscone's murder leads to Dianne Feinstein becoming the mayor of San Francisco.

[...] there's an almost immediate change in the police's handling of crowds outside of the [punk club] Mabuhay. They're rolling up, harassing people, arresting people. There's a kind of raid on the club, in which even [...] the owner, is arrested. That's a week or so after Feinstein takes office.

[...] police padlocked the venue the night of the show [...] as part of cleaning up San Francisco, she had it in for the punks.

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is arguably the San Francisco punk scene's first full-length statement, and Feinstein is [...] the album's antagonist [...]

She's the target in "Let's Lynch the Landlord." The song could've been called "Let's Lynch the Mayor." They felt contempt for her as a landlord mayor, married to a real-estate developer, and as
a mayor friendly to the police.

How San Francisco Punk Reacted to Dianne Feinstein in the 1970s | KQED

Quote

Efficiency and progress is ours once more
Now that we have the neutron bomb
It's nice and quick and clean and gets things done
[...]


No more welfare tax to pay
Unsightly slums gone up in flashing light
Jobless millions whisked away
At last we have more room to play
All systems go to kill the poor tonight

[...] Behold the sparkling of champagne
The crime rate's gone, feel free again
Oh life's a dream with you, Miss Lily White
Jane Fonda on the screen today
Convinced the liberals it's okay
So let's get dressed and dance away the night
While they kill, kill, kill, kill, kill the poor
[...] Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill the poor tonight

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 30 September 2023 - 02:22 AM

[QuickTidal]

Olivia Rodrigo is no joke....when her first single dropped and went viral I assumed she was one of a million other pop stars trying to grasp the T-Swift crown or get as close as they can...but her latest album GUTS is incredible and gives T-Swift 1984 vibes for not only playability, but catchiness and enjoyment. Spectacular album.

Not saying she's ready to catch Taylor...but I've not seen anyone strive as hard as Rodrigo does...

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

QuickTidal, on 03 October 2023 - 04:25 PM, said:

Olivia Rodrigo is no joke....when her first single dropped and went viral I assumed she was one of a million other pop stars trying to grasp the T-Swift crown or get as close as they can...but her latest album GUTS is incredible and gives T-Swift 1984 vibes for not only playability, but catchiness and enjoyment. Spectacular album.

Not saying she's ready to catch Taylor...but I've not seen anyone strive as hard as Rodrigo does...

This one made me LOLFR:




As did this one:

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Quote

I report today from beyond the grave. I've been made quite dead by my tweenage daughter, who recently informed me the term preppy equates to "people who wear Nirvana shirts." I'd lived long enough for Carlton Banks' ethos to be confused with Kurt Cobain's.

[...] Nirvana LLC owns the copyright to the iconic smiley face with its X's for eyes; these fast-fashion realtors transform the smiley, and other images associated with the band, into infinite variations on a theme, forming part of a growing, billion-dollar band merch market.

So grunge. [...]

I'd begun to think my daughter had perfectly crafted a word misusage designed to majorly break my brain, but then a few other parents chimed in that, yes, their own offspring describe other youngsters who wear, ahem, "old" band shirts as "preppy."

[...] "Nirvana is my favorite clothing brand btw." A commenter noted, "my fav clothing brands are nirvana,queen,metallica,kiss and guns n' roses."

Nirvana shirts are preppy now: An Xennial writer comes to terms with a horrible fact. (slate.com)

AI Kurt Cobain:



This one also has AI generated animation:




... and of course I have a decent Kurt Cobain AI-generation RVC, so I can morph it with my own voice---and maybe a few others....

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Quote

Recently when I went up to Knobcon [...] I tried to sample something from every booth at the convention to make a new sample instrument[...]

Part challenge to myself, part thank you to the awesome exhibitors for demoing their gear and letting me pester them for samples, part 'hey I should make something cool that's free for everybody', Synthbox is the result.

This instrument contains 20 different patches created with various modular gear and hardware synthesizers to create a 'box' of utility sounds perfect to add to your next track or just strike up a bit of inspiration

Synthbox // Free Synth Collection (gumroad.com)

Audio:

https://www.youtube....rts/sKA8hAs1uzM

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 07 October 2023 - 07:22 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Free this weekend (virtual instrument):

Quote

Arkinaut is a fictitious electroacoustic instrument, inspired by ancient sounds and materials (zither, wood stone, glass and crystal), while employing modern synthesis techniques. It excels at producing timbres ranging from plucked and bowed strings to mallets and more. It was designed to create percussive and bowed articulations combined with idiophone transients and synthesizer modulations.

With an array of controls [...] Arkinaut lets you sculpt a vibrating string instrument tailored to your taste. Choose from "Metal", "Wood" or "Elastic" resonators and use the "Mallet" to add struck bar transients such as those found in a vibraphone or marimba.

[...] fed into a soft overdrive. An optional ring modulator provides augmented and chaotic tone design that can create a wide palette of timbres. The final stage of the signal passes through a Moog-style low pass filter and a fixed delay "doubling" module that simulates string loosening.

Arkinaut | Plucked Resonator Device | Puremagnetik

Thinking of buying this while it's on sale:




The Prime kit is my favorite in this demo, though it sounds a bit similar to Getgood Drums Modern and Massive that I've been thinking of buying for BF. Have also been leaning much more towards electronic drums recently, but of course I can layer acoustic with electronic. The other kits might sound better in the context of a fuller mix; I do like some of them more with the Slam turned up.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 14 October 2023 - 02:11 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

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album-ready drums for your metal productions — for free. Krimh Drums Free is a software instrument that delivers fresh and modern sounding metal drums [...]

[...] sound-designed by renowned metal producer Jens Bogren (Arch Enemy, Opeth, Kreator, and many others) in close collaboration with outstanding drummer Kerim “Krimh” Lechner. Krimh has lent his drumming skills to acts such as Behemoth, Decapitated, and Dååth, and is currently a member of the symphonic death metal band Septicflesh.

[...] Advanced algorithms for adding realism to programmed drums

Includes MIDI grooves performed by Krimh

Works in [... ] the free Kontakt Player

Krimh Drums Free – Bogren Digital

Free until October 31st---virtual LA2A tube compressor:

Teletronix LA-2A Tube Compressor | UAD Audio Plugins | Universal Audio (uaudio.com)




Teletronix LA-2A Tube Compressor | UAD Audio Plugins | Universal Audio (uaudio.com)

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Free for a limited time:




SynthMaster Player

[worry]

When are you gonna post your Bandcamp?

[Maark Abbott]

worry, on 17 October 2023 - 02:10 PM, said:

When are you gonna post your Bandcamp?

https://balgurrauk.bandcamp.com

Looks like I got there first

[QuickTidal]

It will never cease to amaze me that almost 40 years after founding one of the earliest synth bands in the world that Vince Clarke and Andy Bell (ERASURE) still go hard...to th point that the last few albums (NEON, NEON: Remixed, and DAY-GLO) all sound like they could have been made in the 80's/90's heyday....it's bloody incredible the creativity these two dudes have engaged in since their teens.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Free until November 15th: Ultrasonic Death Whistle LE for the free Mantra player:

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Captured by our founder, award-winning composer & multi-instrumentalist Brian D’Oliveira, UDW-LE provides a window into our curated collection of unique pre-Colombian Aztec Death Whistles. Researched and handcrafted by Brian over several years, these sounds have been pivotal in the soundtracks of numerous renowned AAA video games he has contributed to.

UDW-LE features a video-game audio-inspired interactive scene, enabling non-linear, multidimensional control and patch creation, facilitating intuitive and seamless musical expression.

Each death whistle tells its own tale, with their names embodying distinct personalities. Meticulously handcrafted, every whistle produces a unique sound, its own signature.

UDW-LE - MNTRA Instruments


And here's a nice free synth:

Quote

Featuring many synthesis techniques, a great selection of filters, a flexible modulation engine, a smorgasbord of effects, and modern features like MPE and microtuning.

Surge (surge-synthesizer.github.io)

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Free 'tool for crafting dark spine-chilling soundscapes with ease. Eerie atmospheres or suspenseful audio is just a touch away':



Little Amber Free Edition By SwishSwoosh For Kontakt Player – Sonora Cinematic

Quote

Taylor Swift is officially a billionaire [...]

[...] the calculation is likely conservative and is based "only on assets and earnings that could be confirmed or traced from publicly disclosed figures."

Taylor Swift is officially a billionaire thanks to her record-breaking Eras Tour and re-recording project, according to Bloomberg (msn.com)

And since no human being needs that much money, she's going to start giving most of it away... right?

Nah, she's investing it in closed-end funds. When she should be investing it in AI! Horrible.

And also of course in quantum computing. Has no one told her that quantum computing and AI might be able to solve aging and disease (at least for the very wealthy), and so help her become immortal?

Quote

How, in just one year, did Swift transition from a Fall Out Boy guest star in a goofy costume to a [...] pop princess [and Victoria's Secret model ...] Swift had already been spending her whole summer [...] with a coterie of new best friends, almost all of whom were models and who had seemingly come out of nowhere[...]

By surrounding herself with gorgeous models, Swift seemed to be telegraphing that she was qualified to be counted as one of their number, and the obviousness of this play memorably ground the gears of many during Swift's "Squad Era."

[...] Clad in lingerie mirroring Kloss's, she doesn't just look like one of the models; she is one of the models [...]

In order to make her coronation as Pop Princess of the World complete, Swift knew in 2014 that she couldn't just drop an immaculate album and let the songs speak for themselves; she had to transition her public-facing identity away from Lovelorn Dork (the type who'd noodle over many different genres to spell out heartbreak, as she did on her previous album, Red) and towards Model-Gorgeous Single Girl, a Pop Princess archetype if ever there was one.

[...]

What if I told you she's a mastermind?

How Taylor Swift Turned Herself Into a Victoria's Secret Model (yahoo.com)

The monster on the mountains of money!

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 27 October 2023 - 12:01 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Free for a limited time (less than 3 days left):

Quote

the Wurlitzer Model 120 portable electric piano from the 1950s, one of the earliest electric pianos to find its way into the pop music charts. Wurlitzer electric pianos use hammers striking a metal reed and electromagnetic pickups for their distinctive tone. Ray Charles used the Model 120 to great effect on the songs, “What I’d Say” and “Unchain My Heart.”

[...] superbly maintained vintage specimen from 1959, full of mid-century modern style. [...] super deep multi-velocity sampling [...] to capture all its distinctive analog tone and soulful dynamics.

The Model 120 also has [...] vacuum tubes. The result is a super-warm tonality that contrasts well with the later model Wurlitzer 200A electric piano.

Wurly Model 120 by IK Multimedia - Audio Plugin Deals

Free vinyl drum machine samples:

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We took 40 of our favorite machines, from classics to rarities, vintage to modern, and everything in between, and pressed the results to vinyl, degrading the record and sampling the heck out of it along the way, to give you a massive pack of royalty-free, dirty, dusty, punchy and warm vinyl drum machine one-hits

[...] This free version features 2 of the 20 kits from the full pack, fully formatted for your favorite DAWs and samplers.

FREE VINYL DRUMS FROM MARS | Samples From Mars

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Free for the free Kontakt player:

Quote

Cut through the nerves with this extraordinary tool of sadistic sonic mayhem. It's a hauntingly beautiful instrument that will send shivers down your spine. With its eerie sound, it's perfect for adding an ominous, horror-inspired sound to your compositions

THE SAW is stacked with variations in sound, as we attacked the jagged edges with a delicate, horse-haired violin bow in all kinds of ways. Despite all the creepy moans and groans you can get out of the sheet of metal, pitch control is not among the advantages of the instrument.

We added on a tight pitch control system so that you can tune it to your exact needs. Use MIDI controls to make the instrument really sing in your project, as it follows the notes you've assigned. Also, we've included separate speed and tone controls, for extra measures of control. Whether it's a slow, mournful melody or a frenzied, frenetic attack you're looking to make, THE SAW has you covered. [Covered in saws? Hmm... Or covered in jaws swallowing saws?...]

FREE The Saw - Cinematic Textures - Sonuscore

Free until November 5th:

Quote

new dazzling Hyper3 single-stage saturation tool. With its intelligent EQ emphasis and deemphasis, you can enhance your tracks with lush harmonic tones, depth, and a brilliant top-end shimmer!





Halloween | Acustica Audio (acustica-audio.com)

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 01 November 2023 - 02:10 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

So the Beatles have released their "final song" using stuff recorded like 5 decades ago, cleaned up, tweaked and added to. They have used AI to enable them to clear up and isolate John Lennon's voice and some bits from George Harrison.

Now before Azath jumps on it with his stupid AI loving nonsense, I want to say that in these circumstances I don't disagree with AI as a tool to assist the actual artist. Instead of just stealing stuff like what most AI is used for.

In any case, this is a lovely song and a fitting last ever track to possibly the most influential band in music history:

https://youtu.be/AW5...obW7v5AEBMasD__

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Tiste Simeon, on 02 November 2023 - 05:06 PM, said:

So the Beatles have released their "final song" using stuff recorded like 5 decades ago, cleaned up, tweaked and added to. They have used AI to enable them to clear up and isolate John Lennon's voice and some bits from George Harrison.

Now before Azath jumps on it with his stupid AI loving nonsense, I want to say that in these circumstances I don't disagree with AI as a tool to assist the actual artist. Instead of just stealing stuff like what most AI is used for.

In any case, this is a lovely song and a fitting last ever track to possibly the most influential band in music history:

https://youtu.be/AW5...obW7v5AEBMasD__

Don't forget all the wonderful AI Beatles covers of Nirvana songs:





Other ways technology is improving on the Beatles:

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Free for a limited time: Little Plate (metal) plate reverb emulation by acclaimed developer Soundtoys (their plugins are very popular among professional producers and mixing engineers):




Soundtoys | FREE Little Plate 5

Native Instruments' Raum cosmic/experimental/effect reverb is now free, along with their Replika delay, Guitar Rig 7 player, Izotope's Ozone EQ, and a bunch of instruments:




Komplete Start | Free music production software (native-instruments.com)