LABFREQ - Digital Lifestyle Curators

October 18, 2019June 15, 2021

Presonus ATOM Pad Controller : Premium Affordability

Drum Machines,MIDI Keyboards and Pad Controllers are bountiful in the market today, some will say they come a dime a dozen. However, few controllers – the likes of Native Instruments, Necktar, and Akai’s MPC Live/Touch/Studio line up offer standalone features and tight, industry-wide integration with majority of DAWs due to extensive mapping capabilities; If not right out of the box. Presonus aims to add the Atom Performance Box/Pad Controller to the latter.

Atom is fully integrated with Studio One’s instruments, particularly Impact XT.

Atom is a velocity-sensitive,LED powered,16 Pad Controller with four customizable knobs. It’s a capable piece of kit when used with any DAW or music production software of your choice, but it shines best when used with Presonus’ own DAW Studio One. That’s because it was made first and foremost for it. That’s not to say it’s not as useful when to perform pieces in Reason or Bitwig Studio, it just comes mapped out of the box to control practically every parameter of Studio One outside of naming your song or project.

Atom’s pads are surrounded by buttons arranged into columns have them organized in groups with similar functionality. There are Transport, Instrument, Event, Song and Navigation groups. as well as a mode section that let’s you switch between Full Level and Note Repeat on the pads. Lastly, there’s a Shift Button that gives you access to the double functionality assigned to the Pads- and many of the buttons. Pad response with Studio One works seamlessly, providing instantaneous timing for live performance and an excellent Note Repeat function for rapid hi-hat and trap drum patterns.

The two bottom rows of pads work in conjunction with the Note Repeat button in the Mode section to the left of them, which also contains a Full Level button- which registers all pads at full velocity (Disabling the Full Level button activates the pad’ velocity sensitivity). As mentioned previously, these features work flawlessly with Studio One, but I noticed a hit and miss in other DAWs. For example: while Atom seams to MIDI/Tempo sync with Reason 11, it did not in Bitwig Studio 3 – rendering Note Repeat useless in the latter.

Conclusion

The Atom is an enticing proposition, particularly if you use Studio One 4 – as it integrates so tightly that you could create a full composition without touching your mouse/touchpad. Quite similar to the way the MPC or Maschine’s hardware software ecosystem does, Atom is seamless with Studio One – it’s when you step out of it’s DAW breathren that you lose the sense of oneness. If PreSonus can add custom mapping abilities to the software for tight communication to other software on the market, Atom could become an undeniable proposition.

September 13, 2019September 23, 2019

Propellerhead relaunches as Reason Studios,announces Reason 11 available Sept. 25th

Propellerhead – the software firm behind music production programs like Reason and Recycle, announced their rebranding on August 26th. Tim Self of marketing at Reason stated, “It didn’t take much research to figure out that the world knows us for Reason. When I get introduced by industry peers at conferences they often say, “Meet Tim from Reason”, never Propellerhead. Reason is what we do and who we are now, so why not be direct and own it outright?”

The 11th version of Reason was also announced along with some of its new features. The Reason Rack Plugin – turns Reasons instruments and effects to VSTs to be used in other DAWs.

Reason Rack Plugin running inside Bitwig Studio

Bitwig Studio running Reason’s Grain Synthesizer

Quartet Chorus Ensemble
Sweeper Modulation Effect

Other features for Reason 11 are new device additions like the Sweeper Modulation Effect and Quartet Chorus Ensemble, as well as a slew of new tools to speed up your workflow. In song arranger view – new features like curved automation and muting MIDI notes are on deck. There is also a new purchase tier, Reason Suite – which comes with 16 extra Rack Extensions for a total of more than 70 devices.

While it’s too early speak on Reason 11 in detail, we’ve been beta testing for a bit.We will give a hands-on preview as soon as it’s updated to the release channel, and an in-depth review shortly after the release!

Visit Reason Studios for more info on Reason 11.

August 15, 2019March 9, 2023

Magix Vegas Pro Review – An Visionary’s Video Toolbox

I literally filmed and edited a music video in 48 hours using Magix Vegas Pro. Well, I still have color grading and layover effects to apply to the project so it’s not totally done. But the point is, I took three takes and one B-Roll and edited the takes to a final edit- that was to the artists and his teams satisfaction. I don’t think I could have worked as fast and efficient in another NLE as I did in Magix Vegas Pro.

Vegas Pro is a Non-Linear Editor similar to Adobe Premier Pro, Avid Media Composer and Apple Final Cut Pro. Created by Sonic Foundry in 1999 as a Digital Audio Workstation, Vegas was bought by Sony in 2003, who then sold it to Magix in 2016 – who has continued developing and supporting the software ever since. And MAGIX has done just that with the newly released Vegas Post, which includes Vegas Pro 17, Vegas Effects, and Vegas Image – that brings the Vegas brand to a whole another level of video editing post-production. This is Vegas Pro 17.

Vegas Pro uses a traditional NLE interface and with a few tweaks that allow for a quicker workflow and faster than usual turn around. It’s user interface consists of the traditional NLE timeline, the video preview screen and browser which contains multiple tabs. Vegas’ browser tabs contains extra views for the media in your projects timeline, the Explorer for bringing media into your project, and lastly the transitions, video fx, media generators and project notes tabs for authoring your content.

Aside of it’s $599 price tag, Vegas Pro 17 can also be purchased by subscription, for $16.67 a month.To show off the features of what I feel is the best NLE on the market, I’ve included a short video to demonstrate the power of Magix Vegas Pro. Check it out below:

Get $40 off the new VEGAS Pro 17 Family with the coupon code: VP17Release – Save $50 today!

There is also Vegas Pro Suite which contains additional software like Sound Forge, Steinberg SpectraLayers Pro 6, BorisFX Continuum Lights Unit, Continuum Key and Blend Unit, and Continuum 3D Objects Unit, for $799.

New Release: VEGAS Pro 17 SuiteGet the New Vegas Pro 17 Suite!

Conclusion

Having been a Vegas user since before Sony bought the brand from Sonic Foundry, and a user of multiple tiers of the program (Vegas Movie Studio, Vegas Edit,Vegas Pro,etc.) – I like that Magix (the company behind Video Pro X, Samplitude, and Sequoia) has taken the brand by the reins. Magix has already introduced innovations in the all-in Vegas Post suite, which contains two new programs – Vegas Effects and Vegas Image, going straight for the jugular of Premiere Pro, After Effects and Photoshop – Adobe’s triad of image editing and filmmaking software.

Add to the fact that Vegas Pro is already a very capable, self contained program with a video engine that handles visual media the same way Acid handles audio loops, an architecture that doesn’t just handle Alien Skin, ProDAD and Boris FX plug-ins; Buy Vegas can also utilize VSTs effects to spice up your film’s audio as well. It doesn’t take the next Lucas or Spielberg to see that Vegas going to get even better with time.

Not that it wasn’t already good enough. In a industry where more popular NLEs like Adobe Premiere, Final Cut, Media Composer and even Davinci Resolve may be standard in the post-production studios of Hollywood- Magix Vegas Pro remains one of the best kept secrets of film editors and post producers for now. Though I doubt it will remain on the cusp of obscurity and being a household brand for much longer. It’s unique way for handling video files and cutting-edge feature set demands otherwise.

August 13, 2019August 13, 2019

Roli Equator Synth review: Adding dimension to sound

Adding Dimension to Sound

The Roli Equator is an interesting virtual instrument. Not only because of it’s sounds, but because of the way the sounds are generated. You see Roli, the company behind Equator, not only makes software- they also manufacture MIDI controllers such as BLOCKS and Seaboard. They have also innovatively created new expressions in electronic music theory, which they call MIDI Polyphonic Expression. This awesome technology adds new dimensions to your scores and compositions, and introduces new modes of playing.

With MIDI Polyphonic Expression, instruments like the Roli Seaboard allow 5DTouch – which lets you Strike, Slide, Glide, Press and Lift on keys and pads to create some intriguing melodies and chords. Eerie Strings, enchanting pads, and rolling basses are at your disposal with MIDI Polyphonic Expression.

Equator’s Global Panel
The Mixer Panel

Equator has two views in total- the Player View, which is a straight forward mode that lets you get straight to gigging; And the Full View which has six panels within it’s view. Those are Synth, Mixer, Global- then the Modulation Panel and Mod List, along with 5D Touch Zoom. You can check out Equator’s sound engine below.

Conclusion

The Roli Equator is currently one of my favorite VSTs, along with a few others that I will introduce to our readers soon- but that’s not the point. What Equator (along with the rest of Roli’s products) represents to the world of music is something greater. I predict that sonic thresholds will be pushed and new genres of music will be introduced to the world with MIDI Polyphonic Expression and 5D Touch enabled instruments. Here’s to ROLI, and my plan that I have a hand in this future of composing music.?

August 12, 2019September 16, 2019

One Netbook launches beta testing program for new OneMix series device

One Netbook, (https://www.1netbook.com/) a company known for their Ultra mobile laptops that have Yoga hinges, 7 to 8 inch touchscreens and workstation-level internals has it’s sights on the global market. It’s OneMix brand is gaining popularity with it’s latest models the OneMix 2s and OneMix 3.

These small laptops are gaining major interest as we see Chinese tech brands continue to innovate and introduce a new form factors like the OneMix. Known as UMPCs (Ultra Mobile PCs),One Netbook is the leading brand bringing these pocketable ultrabooks into the market.We will be getting our hands on the OneMix 3s for a thorough review soon, but maybe you can get your hands on an even newer model in the OneMix series sooner.

One Netbook is launching a Global Initial Global Test Recruitment Program for a new UMPC, and they want you, you and you to sign up now.

Our readers can contact OneNetbook directly on FB or Twitter, and share your stories or opinions of OneMix and the UMPC.You can refer to the following:

1. Do you have a OneMix, or another UMPC?

2.What do you think about OneMix？

3.What do you know about the UMPC, handheld game console,and other PCs?

They will reach out to you through social media directly if you are chosen for the Global Test Recruitment. Good Luck!

Website: https://www.1netbook.com/ Facebook: @onenetbookofficial

Twitter: @one_netbook

July 30, 2019March 9, 2023

Studio One 4 Professional Review: the Complete Package

Presonus – a company that produces Audio Interfaces, Mixing Systems, Preamplifiers and Control Surfaces, is looking to centralize their product offering with audio recording software that challenges industry standards. And with the newest version – my opinion is they have achieved just that. Studio One, a post-millennial DAW that entered the market more recently- is fast approaching ‘established brand’ status. As we near it’s 10th year anniversary, we take a look at version 4.5 of the digital audio workstation. This is Studio One 4.

Studio One, comes in three flavors- Prime, Artist and Professional. Prime is the free, yet generous albeit limited version compared to Artist and Professional. The Prime edition gives you access to the core features of the DAW and unlimited audio and MIDI track count, but out of the 5 built-in virtual instruments it only offers Presence XT and no 3rd party VST support. S1 Prime also allows .wav, .flac. and .mp3 export of your music.

The Artist Edition gives you access to all 5 of S1’s virtual instruments with an additional 5GB of sounds, while Professional offers more than 20GB of sounds and a Project Page where you can create final masters ready for release.

The Instruments

Impact XT- Multichannel Drum Sampler

Mai Tai- Polyphonic Virtual Analog Synthesizer

Mojito- Monophonic Subtractive Synthesizer

Presence XT – Sample Playback Instrument with Support for third-party sampler format (EXS, Giga, Kontakt)

Sample One XT– Drag and Drop Integrated Live Sampler

Presonus has given Studio One a broad and versatile collection of virtual instruments that helps it stand toe-to-toe with any music production software packages. Impact XT gives you MPC-style drum programming, Presence XT has support for third-party sample formats like Kontakt and EXS, while Sample One XT handles live sampling of any audio content you import into it. Mojito and Mai Tai handles any and all synthesis between the two.

Version 4 – New Features

Some of the standout features new to Studio One 4 include advanced export options including video scoring, the Chord Track, and the Drum Roll.

Chord Track – a new feature that uses Harmonic Editing to change, preserve, and extract chord data from your compositions with flexible transposition, key modulation, and chord substitution for note data and audio.

Drum Roll View – Takes the beloved Piano Roll view and repurposes it for drum programming, making realistic drum sequences easier than ever. Drop Hi-Hats in double time and program your snares with ease.

Project View – (Professional Only)

Exclusive to Studio One Professional is the Project Page- an integrated mastering suite which contains tools for mastering, managing the metadata of, and exporting one or more songs simultaneously, including options for creating Red Book Standard CDs or disk images. The project page puts Studio One in a different space than every other DAW on the market, offering features unavailable in traditional DAWs like Pro Tools, Cubase, and Logic – while surpassing the capabilities of mastering suites like Sound Forge and WaveLab. Melodyne essential also comes bundled with the Pro version.

Conclusion

Studio One is known for being one of the more modern, future-proof DAWs – carrying over all of the useful features of programs with traditional, linear User Interfaces (think Cubase and Pro Tools) introducing innovative features like a multi-touch interface/UI with drag-and-drop functionality to the desktop-class programs. It’s look and feature set, puts it in square competition with DAWs like Pro Tools, Cubase, Digital Performer and Logic Pro- while it’s MIDI programming abilities and instruments make it capable of replacing programs like Reason or Bitwig for music production. I find it’s workflow and look reminiscent of Apple’s Logic Pro more than any other DAW, though the Project page gives Studio One the edge over Apple’s Logic.

It’s Sound Library and Loops offer more acoustic content from real world instruments than electronic, which compliments music production software like FL Studio and Ableton Live – whose sounds lean more on the experimental “EDM” side. While there is no shortage of good DAWs on the market that many great musicians swear by, there is no doubt that there is space on the market for one with as broad of a feature set as this. If I had to pick one DAW, that I had to stick with to create an album from start to finish- it would be Studio One Professional .

July 29, 2019August 10, 2019

Is PUBG Mobile “Fortnite for Grown-Up Gamers”?

There are many Battle Royale games on the market, to such an extent that it’s pretty much become a niche genre in and of itself. This is mostly due to the Fortnite craze that has become so big, that it’s become a social media platform within itself. But it didn’t achieve the feat of making Battle Royale’s alone, it also had the help of Player Unknown Battlegrounds and PUBG Mobile.

PUBG Mobile is a slimmed down version of PUBG for PC,PS4, and Xbox. The premise of the game is straightforward: 100 Players parachute from an airplane unto various locations and scavenge for weapons, ammo and various useful goods to survive. And boy, it can get interesting.

There are a few game modes, the traditional 100 men battle royale, 4 on 4 Evoground mode, and two zombie modes. Check out some game highlights of the Evoground mode below:

Check out PUBG Mobile from the App Store or Google Play

July 26, 2019March 9, 2023

Affinity Photo Review: Watch your back Adobe!

Affinity Photo, is available for iOS, Windows, and MacOS, at a one-off price that matches a one month subscription to Adobe’s Photoshop. Will Affinity’s photo editing tools and features make you question Adobe’s sanity, or is Affinity Photo just another knockoff? Keep reading to find out my take in our official review.

Serif is pairing off it’s Graphic Illustration software Affinity Designer, with it’s photo perfecting, image tweaking counterpart Affinity Photo. It does just what its name implies, and it’s a program that I anticipate amateur and pro Photographers alike having alot of Affinity for.

There is just about every type of creative and technical tool for photo editing that you could think of, and some innovative ones that Serif came up with that no one has until now. Extensive Bitmap editing? Check. Negative Image Healing and Restoration? Check. Built-in Histogram with comprehensive level adjusting tools? Check and Check. Just when I thought Designer had all the tools a visual designer would ever need, I’m proven wrong. And I tip my hat to the Affinity Team, in Photo they take the Persona Workflow even further.

Multiple Persona -lity

The Persona tools, is Serif’s way of categorizing common tasks into workflows that simplify the creative process by eliminating the need for excessive right-clicks and menu digging. It’s also about making macro buttons for tasks that are usually a five step process in alternative programs. The first in the toolkit is more aimed at creative uses, the Liquify Persona. It offers the ability to add warping and deforming to your images, a term known as Liquify in Design ciphers

The next tool in the process is the Develop Persona, which gives you more traditional editing tools, such as bitmap doctoring and restoration features. This is the view where most of the “Photoshopping” would take place.

The last in the creative processis the Tone Mapping View, where you can adjust the RGB output and correct any blemishes in your image negatives to get the perfect look for your images.

The Export Persona helps you prepare your design for real-wrold presentation, tweaking your creations for web,print,or animated file formats.

iPad Version

Affinity Photo has an iPad version, which in some ways presents itself as a mobile,complementary app to the desktop version. With features like 2048 pressure- sensitivity, palm rejection and a touch first UI – in no way does it come off as a stripped down tablet version.

Affinity Photo

An Extensive Photo Editor

After spending 6 months working with the Affinity programs Designer and Photo – I conclude that Adobe has an uphill battle on their hands. These two programs (Designer and Photo) cover 77% of the case uses that one would use the Adobe Creative Suite for, but you could purchase either for the cost of a 1 Month subscription to Adobe CS. For 2 month subscription, you could buy both – and I am certain that Affinity Publisher, Serif’s new addition to the family makes question of which pay model offers more value for your money a no-brainer.

For complete Photography Mastery, you might want to look into getting the Affinity Photo Workbook

If you already have your Video editing and Web Design tools covered and need a program that allows you to go all out and cover your post photography needs, you might want to take a look at Affinity Photo. It just may be all the Photoshop you’ll ever need.

Eternal Spring of the MInd by Elena Paraskeva

July 25, 2019March 9, 2023

FL Studio 20.5 Review: The most popular DAW on the block

One of the few Digital Audio Workstations that doesn’t need an introduction, FL Studio has reached it’s 13th version with 20 years of development under it’s hood. Due to that important detail and the fact that 13 isn’t a very popular number (13th floor, Friday the 13th, etc.) Image Line named the latest iteration of one of the most popular DAWs in the world FL Studio 20.

For those not in the know, FL Studio 20 is a music production program from Image Line that enables you to piece together patterns and loops into full on compositions as complex or simple as you desire. One of the first programs to buck the traditional linear tracking workflow, FL Studio (FLS for the rest of this article) is as flexible as they come -which could confuse the beginner and the experienced moving from a new program alike. Also, there is finally an official Mac version, so it just might start popping up on the main computer of professional recording studios soon.

The User Interface is a palette of windows to your own sonic universe

While FL Studio is a complex program, once you get up to grip with the three main window views- The Channel Rack, The Playlist, and the Mixer – is not as daunting as it appears off first impressions. I realized that the best practice is to work with your musical ideas in these windows in that order; perfecting your patterns in the Channel Rack, arranging the patterns in a song sequence within the Playlist. and finally assigning your channels from the Channel Rack to tracks on the Mixer for the final tweaks.

The Mixer has 128 track virtual MixBoard., with each track possessing 10 insert slots that you can drop effects into for the perfect sound. There is also a built in EQ, send, sidechain and bus routing capabilities for each track as well.

What’s it do, and what’s new

FL Studio categorizes it’s plug-in bundle into two categories: Generators (Instruments) and Effects (EQs, Echo Delays, Compressors and the like). In version 20, they’ve added the FLEX Synthesizer to it’s hearty collection. FLEX has an advanced synthesis engine, with its own delay, reverb, and limiter. In place of oscillators, there’s a Macro section with sliders for Vibrato, Unison, and Character amongst others that can be added up to eight in total. Another newcomer is the FL Studio Mobile Plug In, which allows you to transfer your compositions from the FL Studio Mobile app to the desktop for the final master.

The Usual suspects and community favorites like FL Studio’s flagship synth-Sytrus, Slicex – a Sample Slicing instrument that lets you chop up wave files and automatically assigns the MIDI of each marker to your keys/pads, and Directwave, the residential ROMpler that adds real world instruments to the FLS sound library.

In reality, there are too many Generators, Tools and effects to cover in this review – and quite a few of them are deep enough to command their own review articles. Some notable mentions are the FPC (an MPC for FL), the Fruity Video Player for score synchronization, and the FL Studio Mobile 3 app as a plug in.

The PlugIn Picker. Yes, every image is a built-in generator, or an effect.

Linear, straightforward Audio Tracks

Fruity Loopers, Rejoice!! After years of feature requests, no more fiddling with the record prompt when you want to record (for audio tracks at least). You can now make tracks in the playlist dedicated audio inserts, no more recording audio into Edison or into the playlists as audio clips – which were downright frustrating processes if you ask me. Now, Image-Line has remedied the issue and FLS functions more like a traditional linear DAW- at least when it comes to recording audio from the real world.

Price vs Value:

FL Studio offers three tiers of entry: Fruity ($99) Producer ($199) and Signature ($299). The version I’m reviewing is the Producer Edition, which comes with full song creation and mic recording. While there is a higher Tier of FL Studio available called the All Plugins Bundle for $899, it’s essentially FL Studio Signature + every Plug-In created by Image Line bundled together.

Another unique perk of purchasing the most colorful program on the market, is that it comes with lifetime updates to the version you purchased. That means if you decided to buy the All Plug Ins Bundle, you would never have to shell out another dollar for future versions of FL Studio again.

The Beatmaking Standard

While it can surely be debated if FL Studio has become the industry standard for electronic music production or not, especially with options on the market like Apple’s Logic Studio X, Ableton Live, Studio One, Reason and many, many more; It certainly is one of the most popular if not the #1 preference for producers in urban music genres like Hip-Hop, EDM, and Dubstep. Which is to say a lot considering it was loathed and mocked as a toy for amateurs and beginners amongst professional producers and beatmakers as recent as 10 years ago.

With an instrument and effect collection that could stand it’s own against any other DAW, and a price to entry that ensures you’re never left behind the curve with software updates – FL Studio just may be all the music production software you’ll ever need.

July 20, 2019August 13, 2019

Audio Evolution Mobile: Video Review

Audio Evolution Mobile is one of the newer DAWs on the rise, with versions for Android and iOS. Developed by ExtremeSD, it’s a linear multitrack audio and MIDI recording program.

Audio Evolution Mobile iPad Pro Screenshot

The Android version doesn’t stray far from the iOS version, with the only real difference is the ability to use other apps like VSTs/VSTis using (AUs) Audio Unit and (IIA) Inter App Audio technology on iOS.

On an iPad/iPad Pro, Audio Evolution could be used to replace a laptop in a home studio setup, provided you had an interface with the right inputs and outs. And you’re willing to invest in third party plug-in apps. You can listen to how Audio Evolution Mobile sounds for yourself in our Video below:

Conclusion

Audio Evolution Mobile is a very useful DAW, it comes in handy when you’re away from a traditional studio set-up and mixtape artists will find it indispensable. But seek more out of it other than it’s superb audio recording features, like MIDI music production and it disappoints. This is even more obvious on Android than iOS, at least you can expand your options with other compatible apps and plug-ins on the latter. AE Mobile can get you by as you primary DAW, as long as you prepare to take up it’s slack with additional software.