Nice-looking free plugin from Audio Damage

Audio Damage's second cel-shaded (i.e. cartoon-style) plugin is out, and it's free. If you lusted after Dubstation but were to cheap to pay $39, you can get FuzzPlus 2 for free. It's a nice-sounding fuzzbox, which I found works particularly well on drum loops.

The PCDJ DAC-2 controller

Portability is the “new black,” as the fashion-smart would say if they spent time behind the decks. That wasn’t too hard to see in practice at this year’s Winter Music Conference, where several marquee DJs dissed vinyl and opted instead for flip books full of CD-Rs. For those willing to take things one step further and go the route of the MP3-loaded laptop, PCDJ’s new DAC-2 controller puts a new portable hardware face on PC-based mixing.



Weighing in at only 7 pounds, the DAC-2 brings proprietary, multifunction soft-touch control to its popular PCDJ software packages. Once you wire the unit to your PC with a USB cable, you can use the DAC-2 to mix MP3 and WAV files on the fly from the virtual Recordcase with one of three PCDJ software packages. The unit can be rackmounted if necessary and sports two large durable jog wheels, pitch-control sliders and bright-green backlit displays. Individual button controls for cue memory, looping, beat matching and pitch bending are also onboard.

SETUP
As detailed in the Quick Start guide, firing up Windows and attaching the DAC-2 sets off the standard Found New Hardware Wizard as soon as the unit is connected by a USB cable. (There is a fancy Flash-based option included on the installation CD that will accomplish the same procedure.) From there, you’ll need one of the PCDJ packages to get your music in motion. For the purpose of this review, I explored PCDJ FX, the latest in the line of PCDJ releases from Visiosonic. FX features a new master tempo feature that allows for changes in bpm without affecting a track’s pitch. There are also four multiparameter effect add-ons (echo, chorus, flange and reverb), a new Loop Editor module and improved file management built into the PCDJ Recordcase. The older PCDJ Red and Blue packages are also DAC-2–compatible.

You can authorize your software with the CD key that comes with the software and an online registration process that will deliver an “unlock” code to your e-mail account almost instantly after you fill out the registration form on the Web page. With both keys in place, you can now start up the software. Once the software is up and running, you have to enter the Hardware tab in PCDJ’s configuration editor to identify which port the DAC-2 will be connected to. It took a couple of minutes to figure out which port the USB connection point was mapped to, and then I was ready to roll. If you have multiple outputs on your sound device, you can use the same tab to assign specific output pairs for the Cue Mix, the Loop Editor and the Metronome.

SOFTWARE INTERFACE
The slick PCDJ interface boasts virtually every feature you need to do real-time mixing with the DAC-2 controller. You can pretty much drive PCDJ from the DAC-2 remotely, but there is a certain amount of groundwork that must be done to get things to a point at which you’re not reaching for your mouse button. Six modules make up the DAC-2, and each is activated by the toggle switches at the top of the interface. The LP switch displays the loop section, where you can set the varying length of a loop. MXR is used to unveil the 2-channel PCDJ mixer. The mixer now features a 3-band EQ for each player, complete with kill switches for dropping out frequencies on the fly. You can perform automatic crossfades, control the overall output for each channel, press Cue buttons for previewing via headphones and use the Cue Mix slider for mixing the cue volume and the main output volume. The four available effects can be hidden or seen with the FX button, which will also give you access to the individual parameter and bypass switches for each. The LE button launches the Loop Editor, and the RC toggle will display your PCDJ Recordcase.

The player windows are particularly full-featured, each including a complete display for track name, bpm, elapsed time and mode display. Each player is also equipped with a brake; pitch-bend sliders (which can be customized to any particular increments you wish to use); and master-tempo switches, which enable you to retain a track’s original pitch during shifts in tempo. The transport controls for each player feature a nifty Reverse button (which can be the jumping off point for some cool loops), as well as a Reloop button to restart a loop that is already playing.

IN USE
If you are not a current PCDJ user, loading music into the Recordcase is the first step toward working with the DAC-2. You can drag-and-drop standard Windows folders into your Recordcase as a Group, or you can open a separate Recordcase window by clicking on the Edit Recordcase button and importing them there. The Recordcase Editor window can also be used to quickly build multiple waiting lists in which you can store upcoming tracks in any order. Both the Recordcase and the waiting list can be sorted by various fields (bpm, artist, track name, genre, album, time, version, comments, file format and path) to make finding music fast and easy. PCDJ can also scan your tracks or groups to determine precise bpms before you begin mixing. (That is highly recommended for beat matching and beat stepping.)

Once your Recordcase is built, grouped and sorted to your satisfaction, you can hit either the left or right Load buttons on the DAC-2 to select a track for the corresponding player. Use the inner jog wheel to scroll up and down and highlight your selection. Pressing the Load button a second time loads the track into the player.

With PCDJ FX, you can set a total of 20 cue points per track, each of which can be labeled using your computer keyboard for easier recall. You have several ways to establish a cue point directly from the DAC-2. For starters, select one of the available cue points for your track using the Cue Memory buttons for either player and then press Play. When you reach a desired point in your music, hit the Play button again to pause the track. Using the jog wheel, you can seek forward or back to find the desired location for the cue point. When you find the exact spot, punching the Cue button again creates your cue point.

You can also establish a cue point on the fly by using the Beat Step feature, which lets you use the beat of a track to determine where the cue point is set. The bpm of the song must be determined for this to work correctly, however. By holding down the Match button and pressing the Cue Memory button on the desired beat, the DAC-2 will set the cue point. Deleting a cue point is accomplished by right-clicking on the corresponding cue point square above the track title or by simply writing a new cue point over an existing one.

Creating loops while a track is in motion is equally easy. If you press the Loop button at any point during the song along with the minus Pitch Bend button, the software creates a four-bar loop instantly. Substitute the plus Pitch Bend button, and an eightbar loop is made. It make take a bit of practice to nail the loop start point, but once you spend a few minutes getting used to the feel of the DAC-2 buttons, you’ll be able to do this without any trouble. Once the loop light is lit, your loop will continue to cycle. Pressing the Loop button again in combination with either of the Pitch Bend buttons will double or halve the loop time. You can create loop lengths as short as a 16th of a beat or as long as 64 beats.

Any loop that you create can be stored on any of the first 16 cue points. What’s great about this is that you can load any of your song’s stored loops and drop them into your mix on the beat and exit out of the loop at any time by pressing the player’s Preview button. The loop will play to its end point and then automatically return to whatever music you have loaded and ready to go next.

Once your basic loops are in order and your tracks are flowing nicely, press the Rec button at the top of the interface to have the software record all of your hard work. There are 12 different WMA, MP3 and WAV file options that you can record to when you’re ready to commit your mix to history.

LOOP EDITOR
One of the new features available with the PCDJ FX package is the Loop Editor, which allows you to load tracks, determine in and out points for a loop and then export them to particular cue points. Not only can you use the Loop Editor for visual reference, it can also be a handy way to check the accuracy of the track’s bpm. By returning to your mouse and keyboard, you can select any track from the Recordcase; then, hit the Load Track button in the Loop Editor, and PCDJ automatically creates a fourbeat loop as a starting point at the beginning of your track. You can change the loop length using the plus or minus signs toward the left side of the Loop Editor. Similar controls are available for setting the in-sample and out-sample points, and these tend to be a lot speedier than the Loop Editor’s sliders for slipping the loop points exactly where you need them to be. Once you pass the 64-beat loop length, though, your track goes into free play. You can employ a cool cheat at this point: The next time you click o the Loop Editor’s plus sign, it will revert back to a four-beat loop. If you time it right, you can land a loop on the beat by virtue of just using your ear. Having tweaked your loop properly, you can then export it back to whatever cue point you like for later use. Another extremely practical use of the Loop Editor is the Fill to Next Cue switch, which will have the Loop Editor make successive loops (of any specified length) once you’ve established the correct bpm. This is a fantastic way to quickly chop up a section of your track and get those parts automatically tied to successive cue points.

Another keen hook for new users is the Record Pool trial subscription that’s offered once you are a registered PCDJ user. The subscription gives you access to a large amount of music that you can testdrive, rate and then download to your PC for use with your PCDJ rig.

Despite the industry movement toward FireWire connections, there was no noticeable lag between the DAC-2 and the PCDJ software through the USB connection. But be advised: The folks at PCDJ are in rapid development, upgrading software at a pace that has at times outstripped the included documentation. So it’s best to keep up with what’s going on at PCDJ.com to ensure that you remain in sync with product growth. When I last contacted the company, the software was several revision points down the line from the documentation I had on hand for testing. At the time of this writing, the Visiosonic people are busy making PCDJ even more robust and sleek. (A more polished interface is in the works, and there is talk of being able to drop huge folders of tracks into the Recordcase to make them almost instantly available for use.) So for those ready to stare down their vinyl fetish and think more 21st century, PCDJ can give you the power and flexibility to turn up at your next gig with literally gigabytes worth of music ready to spin all evening long.

KONTAKT 2 from Native Instruments

KONTAKT was designed by Native Instruments to be the most powerful sampler ever created. KONTAKT fuses an innovative design with an advanced sampling engine. The result is an inspiringly fast and intuitively flexible sampler with exceptional sound quality.

KONTAKT 2 is the second generation of NI´s award-winning flagship sampler. With a powerful new sampling engine, comprehensive surround integration, the unique KONTAKT Script Processor (KSP), integrated convolution effects and unrivaled import capabilities, KONTAKT 2 is simply the most advanced sampler ever.

At the heart of KONTAKT 2 lies a powerful new sampling engine that offers virtually unlimited polyphony as well as 64-part multi-timbrality, allowing for the most complex arrangements even within a single instance of KONTAKT 2. Multiprocessor support delivers up to 100% performance increase on dual processors systems, while Altivec optimization gives a further performance boost on Macintosh computers equipped with G4 and G5 processors.

The new surround integration in KONTAKT 2 is the definitive answer to the increasing role of surround in all areas of professional audio production, with support for multi-channel formats ranging from 3.0 up to 16.0, including industry standards like 5.1 and 7.1. All of the 13 effects in KONTAKT 2 are also fully surround-enabled, including a highly capable surround panning module that allows for precise sound field placement as well as sophisticated creative panning effects. KONTAKT 2 also features an output browser that gives a convenient overview about channel routing and output levels, making work in surround as effortless as with traditional stereo setups.

The KONTAKT Script Processor (KSP) is a unique and extremely powerful feature that outfits KONTAKT 2 with an unlimited range of sophisticated performance features. KSP is a fully programmable processing engine that transforms and generates MIDI and control events on the basis of a versatile yet easy-to-learn script language. A KSP module can be an arpeggiator or a step sequencer, a MIDI recorder or a chord generator, a virtual guitar or a harp simulator, or whatever the user wants it to be – complete with definable on-screen-controls. KONTAKT 2 ships with a large assortment of pre-programmed KSP modules that can be used out of the box as well as modified according to individual needs. The NI website will also host a special KSP User Library where KONTAKT 2 users will be able to freely trade their custom-programmed KSP modules.

An especially powerful addition to the acclaimed sound shaping potential of KONTAKT is the new convolution effect unit that allows for ultra-realistic reverb effects, speaker and microphone simulation, and much more. A versatile library of high-quality impulse responses is included with KONTAKT 2.

Thanks to its new "Universal Import" capabilities, KONTAKT 2 is also by far the most compatible sampler on the market. It reads more than 30 different file and sample formats, now also including Acid,Akai S-5000/S-6000, AppleLoops, BATTERY 2, Emu EIV/EOS/ESi, Halion, Korg Triton, Kurzweil, MachFive, Reason NN-XT, REAKTOR, Roland S-5XXX/7XXX and SoundFont 2.

The user interface of KONTAKT 2 is also greatly enhanced, featuring a new “Multi Browser”, a multi-channel-capable loop editor with improved loop slicing, an extended mapping editor with list view and sample replace function, an enhanced group editor, multi-effect-modules for easy effect combinations, and an on-screen-keyboard.

Additional new features in KONTAKT 2 include a "RAM Purge" function that can free up large amounts of memory by unloading individual samples not being used in a track, “instrument banks” that hold up to 128 different instruments which can be selected via MIDI program change, two new filter models that bring the total number of filters up to 19, a new master section with tempo and tuning controls as well as a metronome, and a host of usability improvements including quick preset switching, unlimited undo/redo with undo history, and key commands.

KONTAKT 2 ships with a massive new sample library containing a large number of studio-quality instruments. Included are a full symphonic orchestra, a Grand Piano, an electric piano taken from NI´s acclaimed ELEKTRIK PIANO, a painstakingly multi-sampled electric guitar, a collection of surround effects and more.

KONTAKT 2 will be available in March 2005 for a suggested retail price of $579 / 499 Euro. An upgrade for all previous versions of KONTAKT will be available for $169. Owners of NI KOMPLETE CARE 2005 will receive the upgrade at no further costs.

Reason 3 from Propellerhead Software

Propellerhead Software announced the availability of version 3.0 of Reason. The brand new sound bank, the Combinator device, the new sound browser and the new Remote technology turn Reason into a powerful workstation for both music production and live performance.

The expanded sound bank in Reason 3.0 is more than comprehensive, with sounds spanning from the expected to the obscure and abstract, offering enough material for just any style of music.

Reason 3.0 is now pre-configured with new Remote technology for use with all the leading controller keyboards and control surfaces on the market. To use Remote, all the user needs to do is to hook up any supported controller to the computer and Reason will identify it and handle pre-configured controller mappings for all Reason devices. Reason 3.0 integrates more remote keyboards with tighter implementation than anything that has been ever done before. Reason's Remote technology supports over 35 controllers with more to come.

Reason 3.0 also comes with the MClass mastering tools. The suite consists of a mastering EQ, a stereo imager, a sweet sounding compressor and a maximizer to further polish one's sound.

At the heart of the Reason 3 is the Combinator device. It's a grouping device, a rack within the Reason rack, that lets the user load complex instrument patches consisting of any number of Reason devices then play them as one instrument. The result is an extremely flexible yet simple-to-understand way of playing and creating rich-sounding instrument patches, complete with effects and modulation setups.

Reason 3 is now available for a MSRP of $499.