Rick Rubin: “There’s a real difference between being a technically great player and creating music – those are two different things”Def Jam Records co-founder Rick Rubin and hip-hop producer Kenny Beats have suggested that studying at an elite music school doesn’t always result in success as a musician because there’s a difference between being a technically proficient musician and a creator of music.

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The two made the comments during the latest episode of Tetragrammaton, Rubin’s own podcast. In it, the two discuss discovering music as teenagers, getting into the music game, studying music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, intricate swing techniques and loads more.
At one point, Kenny Beats has a candid discussion about the pressures faced by many graduates, shedding light on the reality that few of his peers from Berklee are still pursuing music because, although they may be “technically great players”, it hasn’t turned them into unique songwriters or musicians.
“[There’s] a real difference in the head between being a technically great player and creating music. Those are two different things,” says Rubin.
“I think that’s probably why Berklee doesn’t do so much alumni stuff with me,” Kenny responds, “because I talk about how often none of my friends – none of them – are making music now. None of the people that I went to school with who are unbelievable players now are in music because they never wrote their own songs.
“Then they got out of school and there is no job to play other people’s music super well, besides, you know, an open mic night or they play in a symphony orchestra or something. I think a lot of people felt the same pressure I felt leaving music school and not knowing what you were going to do with music to pay bills.”
Also in the podcast, Rick Rubin goes deep on the importance of “feel” in rhythm, saying, “the way sounds interact on a micro level to create something is the whole game”. Both Rubin and Kenny Beats also agree that Chris Dave, drummer and band leader, is one of the greats at achieving a unique sound out of even the most simple of rhythms.
Listen to the full Tetragrammaton podcast via YouTube.
The post Rick Rubin: “There’s a real difference between being a technically great player and creating music – those are two different things” appeared first on MusicTech.

Splice Desktop v5 includes updates that keep you in the zone, plus our inspirational Create mode
Splice Desktop v5 unlocks Create Mode, Companion Mode, and Light Mode, seamlessly integrating the Splice Sounds catalog with your production workflow.

Which days of the week should you release music?Just like how some social media posts due better at peak engagement hours, the timing of a music release is just as crucial for its initial success. Here’s what you. Continue reading
The post Which days of the week should you release music? appeared first on Hypebot.

PSP stepDelay Is A New FREE Delay Plugin By PSP Audioware
PSP released PSP stepDelay, a freeware tape delay plugin with built-in saturation and several other exciting features. PSP stepDelay is the first freeware product we’ve seen from PSP Audioware in a long, long time. It’s essentially the old CM Delay plugin, but now it’s free for all, directly from the developer’s website. Before checking out [...]
View post: PSP stepDelay Is A New FREE Delay Plugin By PSP Audioware

UK Music Chief asks PM why AI’s impact on the music industry is not on the agenda at AI Safety SummitAhead of this year’s AI Safety Summit, a letter to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was sent by UK Music’s Interim Chief Executive, Tom Kiehl. In his letter, Kiehl address his concerns regarding how AI affects those in the music industry.
As you may already know, The AI Safety Summit 2023 is taking place across today and tomorrow (1 and 2 November). The summit is the first major global event on Artificial Intelligence hosted at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire in the UK.

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The summit, according to the UK Government website, brings together international governments, leading AI companies, civil society groups and experts in research to consider the risks of AI and discuss how they can be mitigated through “internationally coordinated action.”
In Kiehl’s letter (via Mixmag), he states, “We note the impact of AI on the UK music industry – despite the multi-billion-pound annual contribution to the UK economy by our sector which provides jobs for over 200,000 people – is not explicitly on the agenda at this summit.”
Elsewhere, he outlines consent and transparency as two key principles which should be considered by the government when it comes to the music industry, both at domestic and international levels.

“Machine learning involves numerous rights, including copyright, which in most countries are not subject to an exception that restricts creators and rights holders’ abilities to exercise their rights,” Kiehl says. “As a general principle, the use of music during the ingestion process (in the past, present and future) should always require permission from the creator and the rights holder.”
He adds: “Failure to ensure this basic human right will jeopardise thousands of UK jobs and threaten the fragile talent pipeline on which the music industry relies to nurture the music professionals who are the envy of the world.”
Addressing the importance of transparency, Kiehl also argues that AI platform providers should keep auditable records of the music they use to train machines before the algorithm can generate new music: “This is the only point in the process when these data points can be duly documented,” he says.
“Music generated by AI should be labelled as such to protect the consumer from confusion. Consumers need to be able to make an informed decision before acquiring goods or services.”
Read the full letter from Tom Kiehl via UK Music.
The post UK Music Chief asks PM why AI’s impact on the music industry is not on the agenda at AI Safety Summit appeared first on MusicTech.

Max MSP Beginners Guide: Adding envelopes to a software synthIn this tutorial for our Max MSP Beginners Guide, you’ll learn how to build an envelope system to attach to the oscillator, so that the notes being produced by the monophonic synthesizer stop playing once you release the MIDI key.

READ MORE: Max MSP Beginners Guide: How to build a monophonic software synthesizer

If you haven’t caught up on the previous two tutorials in which we show you Max MSP’s basic tools, and how to build an input/output and oscillator, please check them out before you embark on this tutorial.
Open up your patch from the last tutorial and ensure that the page is setup correctly before we get going. Unfortunately, these do not save, and need to be reset each time you open up Max MSP. You can refer back to Part 1 of this tutorial series if you need any guidance.

Next, create a new sub header on your patch, named Envelope. Due to it’s function, it’s best placed underneath the input.
The Envelope
Remember the velocity information sent from the MIDI device in the last tutorial? This will be the basis of the envelope; this tells your synth when to start and stop playing a note.
There are four typical components to an envelope: attack, sustain, decay, and release. Luckily for us, there is an object that allows us to set each of these variables in a very simple way.
Create the object ‘adsr~’. If you open up the help file (by holding down alt/option and clicking on the object), you can see that there are multiple ways to trigger the envelope, and also set the arguments of attack, sustain, decay and release. First, you’ll create a simple envelope before learning how they can be triggered by messages and bangs.
You might find that an object is red. This means that Max MSP cannot understand the object and it will need to be corrected. This will also pop up in the Max Console on the right hand side of the patch, and should tell you why Max MSP cannot read what you have created.
As we just want to create a simple envelope for the moment, we’re going to insert the variables directly into the object. This is a useful option if you only want your envelope to have one setting. You can choose whatever numbers you would like, but we will use 20, 80, 0.5, and 2.
Connecting the Envelope
Now we have created the envelope object, it needs to be connected to the rest of the patch. As mentioned previously, it needs to receive the Velocity information being received by the ‘notein’ object. To do this we need to connect a wire from the velocity outlet on the ‘Kslider’ to the ‘asdr~’ trigger which is the inlet on the left hand side, as when the velocity changes, it needs to trigger the envelope to turn on.
Next, you need to connect it to the output, so that we can hear the envelope work its magic.
We recommend that you add the envelope to the left side of the multiplication object inlet, to make the process clearer for you going forward.
However, when you play your note, it might play again when you release your note. If it does this, don’t worry. This means that the envelope is being triggered for both ‘note on’ and ‘note off’. A simple fix for this is to add in the object ‘

Is Beatport about to launch a DAW with Plugin Boutique and Loopmasters?Loopcloud, a music technology company within the Beatport Group, has teased Beatport Studio on its Instagram, touting it as a “new music production experience.” Could it be a new DAW, building on some of the key concepts of the Beatport DJ App? Probably.
READ MORE: Max MSP Beginners Guide: How to build a monophonic software synthesizer

Plugin Boutique, Loopmasters, Loopcloud and Beatport are all part of the Beatport Group and are all named in the teaser video published on Instagram. The brands really haven’t shared much info, but there are a few clues we can extrapolate from their promotional clip.
What is Beatport Studio?
Loopcloud’s video says that Beatport Studio gives you “everything you need to make music”. But what does that mean?

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With a full announcement coming on 2 November 2023, we presume that Beatport Studio is set to be a cloud-based DAW and/or music production suite that will be integrated with Loopmasters and Loopcloud’s sample library. That might mean that, much like current online music-making platforms such as BandLab, Soundtrap and Splice, you’ll be able to import samples and sound packs directly from Loopmasters’ catalogue into a production project while you’re working on it.
Given that it’s set to give you “everything you need” to make music, we can also see a suite of effects, instruments and plugins to be available within the platform. Who better to provide pro-grade plugins than Plugin Boutique, one of the industry’s major plugin retailer sites? Of course, at this stage, we imagine that any plugins available will be PB’s own-brand variety, rather than third-party software like Serum, XLN Audio’s RC-20 or Arturia’s V Collection. So, we’re probably looking at plugins such as Scaler 2 and Carbon Electra, along with some new stock plugins.
In addition, we imagine Beatport Studio is set to be an online affair following the innovations in Beatport’s DJ App Party Mode. Currently, this allows you to perform back-to-back with up to three other DJs (four in total) anywhere in the world, with up to 100 live listeners available to join. The Beatport Group likely want to extract this principle, much like BandLab, and offer some kind of online, real-time collaboration for music making.
Of course, we could also be completely wrong and it’ll just be some new kind of subscription-based plugin service. Let’s hope not.
Beatport Studio is set to be revealed tomorrow (2 November 2023).  
[Editor’s note: BandLab and MusicTech are both part of Caldecott Music Group]
The post Is Beatport about to launch a DAW with Plugin Boutique and Loopmasters? appeared first on MusicTech.

A daring move to Germany gave Vagabon “purity” to write her first album in four yearsVagabon, AKA Lætitia Tamko, is a Cameroonian-American multi-instrumentalist and producer who has recently transitioned from making dreamy guitar-led music to dancefloor-influenced dance-tinged pop ranging from disco to drum ‘n’ bass. Her latest album, Sorry I Haven’t Called, produced by Tamko, with Teo Halm and former Vampire Weekend member Rostam Batmanglij, was released in September and followed a moment of personal grief for Vagabon. She made the album after moving from New York to the remote countryside in Germany in an attempt to overcome the grief. Influenced by German dance music while there, this album demonstrates her evolution from one genre to another, reflecting an artist embracing a new, unique vision and reclaiming her joy after a period of loss.

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In this interview, Vagabon discusses her music production and songwriting process, emphasising the symbiotic relationship between the two. She elaborates on the impact of her move to the German countryside on her creative approach and shares insights on her preferred music production plugins, which include Soundtoys’ AlterBoy and the Valhalla Shimmer. All of these plugins come together to form a new and exciting sound for Vagabon.
Sorry I Haven’t Called by Vagabon
Hey, Vagabon! How much of your time is spent producing compared to songwriting?
My songwriting and production work in tandem – I write with production in mind and in practice. I use production as a tool for my songwriting, such as formant shifting a vocal before I’ve written the words or using varispeed to slow some chords, improvise melodies, speed it back up, and discover new melodies to use that I couldn’t have thought of without the aid of varispeed.
Where is your music made?
Eighty per cent of my process needs to take place in my home studio. To make Sorry I Haven’t Called, I moved to the countryside of North Germany and set up a home studio in a beautiful wooden house with 1970s carpets and floor-to-ceiling windows. I don’t know a word of German, but that was the right atmosphere for me: quiet, private, dream-like surroundings, and almost… boredom. More generously, boredom can mean there’s no room for distraction.
Vagabon in Rostam’s studio. Image: Max Knight
How did the move affect your approach to making music?
The move to the countryside added purity to the music I was making. It served to suspend the pressure of time and making records quickly. It’s been four years since my last album, and I wanted to return to this work without the baggage of that hiatus, and Germany afforded me that.
What’s your latest plugin purchase?
Soundtoys’ Little AlterBoy. It’s a classic, but I’ve only just bought my copy. I used it on Passing Me By on the record. I really enjoy working with formant shifters and voice alterations, and AlterBoy is the best for it. It’s absolutely worth the money and very reliable. Playing with voice alteration helps me come up with new and fresh melodies I wouldn’t have otherwise considered. It’s especially useful when I’m experiencing writer’s block.
What’s the best value plugin you own?
Sketch Cassette, for sure, at only $30; I find myself using it often. I really like how expansive the tones are, and at such an accessible price. From bedroom studios to huge studios, Sketch Cassette can sit with the rest of them.
Vagabon and Rostam in the studio. Image: Max Knight
What’s the most expensive plugin you’ve ever bought?
Antares Autotune. I use it as a songwriting tool; when I’m writing a melody, I like to use Autotune to feel free to explore worlds that I may otherwise feel unable to explore with my voice. After coming up with something, I take the Autotune off and sing it again without. It just helps me with roadblocks in the process.
What’s a DAW stock plugin you use all the time?
[Laughs], Logic Pro’s Ultrabeat. I learned to program drums with Ultrabeat, and it’s not even that I prefer it; it’s just so familiar, and I can work quickly with it, and that’s good for me, at least for now.
What plugins go on your master bus without fail?
SSL4000E, Rule Tec EQ1A, keeping it pretty simple.
Vagabon and Rostam. Image: Max Knight
What plugin would your album be incomplete without?
FIX Doubler.
Do you have any secret sauce plugins?
Valhalla Shimmer.
What about a guilty pleasure plugin?
It’s not really a guilty pleasure, but Nicky Romero’s Kickstart for sidechain compression.
What do you use without fully understanding?
Sugar Bytes EFFECTRIX.
Check out Vagabon’s music via Bandcamp.
The post A daring move to Germany gave Vagabon “purity” to write her first album in four years appeared first on MusicTech.

Cherry Audio PS-3300’s is a bona fide classic Korg polysynth resurrected for a new era$49 (street price), cherryaudio.com
Cherry Audio’s relentless pace of releases still shows no signs of slowing, with its latest soft synth excellently recreating a near-mythical hardware unit of which only 50 or so were ever produced.
Released in 1977, the Korg PS-3300 cost $7,500 at the time, which adjusted for inflation is around $40,000 in today’s money. Suffice it to say, the cost and scarcity of units made it available only to a very small but elite and legendary group of musicians – Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk and later, Aphex Twin, to name a few.

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The real deal
Cherry worked with the Electronic Music Education and Preservation Project (EMEAPP) and its original PS-3300 to model this software version which, like all the American developer’s instruments, comes in standalone and all major plugin formats. It also features Cherry’s innovative interface layout including Focus to zoom in on and navigate the interface – particularly useful with this large and busy front panel – as well as up to 4x oversampling, tooltips and a MIDI mapping system for easy management of MIDI assignments.
The Korg PS-3300 in the private collection of EMEAPP (Electronic Music Education and Preservation Project) used by Cherry Audio to model their virtual instrument. Image: Cherry Audio
The PS-3300 has some remarkable design features which are even more impressive when you consider the era in which it was built. Not only was it a polysynth in an age of monosynths, but it has three separate ‘signal generator’ panels (what Korg called oscillators), each one a polyphonic synth in its own right. Each included 12 independently tunable, divide-down oscillator banks and an independent, discrete voltage-controlled filter, envelope generator and voltage-controlled amplifier for every note. Incredibly, this meant all 48 keys of the external keyboard could be simultaneously played with distinct articulation.

PS – it’s fat
This three-oscillator design means the synth is especially adept at fat, layered sounds, something that soon becomes clear when you start to play it. Extensive modulation capabilities and free patching mean it’s possible to create dynamic, animated and vibrant patches with multiple elements going on. The best way to think about the synth is as three identical and powerful sections that come together in the mixer and effects sections on the right-hand side. Here, you can set the volume and pan of each one as well as the overall volume, bend range and master tune.
It can be useful when getting to know the synth to pare it down to one engine by turning down the other two. This means you’re not getting multiple types of signals and can better grasp how the changes you make to a single oscillator are affecting the sound. Then, reintroduce the others when you are more familiar with it all.
The excellent introduction and walkthrough videos on Cherry’s website will give you a definite headstart – instead of trying to pick your way around the potentially daunting interface, at least to begin with.
Cherry Audio PS-3300 presets
Each of the three sections has a wealth of controls starting with a selection of six waveforms, a low-pass filter, three-peak resonators, an envelope with velocity, an amp, two modulation-generating LFOs and per-note tuning.
The resonators can be used to produce vowel and phasing tones, while the syncable modulation generators can be patched around the instrument to create movement and variation. There’s a clever virtual patch system that we’ve seen in similar designs like software-version ARP and Moog synths, where you can pick up an input or output port and drag a cable to another port to send various kinds of signal.
Like other systems, the cabling here won’t allow you to connect ‘incorrect’ ports, such as an output to an output, so incompatible ports are greyed out when dragging. What’s more unusual is the easy assignability of colours to any cable with variable transparency, to keep you sane when making lots of connections, and that clicking and holding on a connection reveals six virtual ports, meaning you can send that parameter to multiple destinations, even across the three individual sections.
This system is beautifully implemented and a nice alternative to using dropdown menus to achieve the same goal. The patching system will take some time for beginner synthesists to comprehend, since it’s a complex instrument. You can, of course, simply use the presets to experiment, but for those new to modular synthesis, a tour of Cherry Audio’s helpful video will be a worthwhile use of time.

Modern vintage
As is often the case, Cherry has added a few extra touches not found on the original. Principally, an effects section with chorus, echo with sync, three types of reverb and a master limiter.
In addition to having a bunch of their own controls, the effects can receive input from modulation and control voltage (CV) elsewhere in the synth which makes them very flexible. The voice panels are also expanded compared to the original hardware with Korg PS- or MS-style filter selection, tempo sync and temperament tuning presets. Last but not least, you can copy and paste settings between any or all of the panels, potentially saving a huge amount of effort.
Sonically, the PS-3300 is very impressive. Each voice panel can work mono or polyphonically, though we find ourselves mostly in poly mode since we love the rich, layered sounds achievable by blending all three oscillators.
Cherry Audio PS-3300 oscillators
While some of the simpler presets can sound a little generic, as soon as you venture into the layered ones, things step up a gear. In fairness, there’s plenty of useful and exciting patches in the other categories too, with some evil basses, pulsating strings and fierce leads to be found. Given that the PS is vintage, it’s not surprising to discover many sounds are reminiscent of Vangelis or of sci-fi soundtracks, but the crazy depth of editing you can perform makes it suitable for a wide range of applications, from electronic music to scoring and contemporary sound design.
There’s a lot going on in Cherry’s PS-3300 – it is, after all, a recreation of a monster, flagship synthesizer. As such, a less experienced user will want to invest some time in finding their way around but once you think of it in terms of its building blocks rather than one huge panel, it’s easier to make sense of.
There’s a 30-day demo available and then, as usual, there’s Cherry’s ‘how do they do it?’ pricing of $49 which makes it a super low-risk investment for anyone looking to add the sounds of this vintage synth, a unique and versatile polyphonic analogue rarity, to their setup.
Cherry Audio PS-3300 cable colours
Key features

Semi-modular synthesizer with virtual jack and cable system
Standalone and plugin modes
3 independent signal generator panels
Polyphonic mode with up to 24 voices of polyphony and 3 monophonic modes
Master signal mixer panel with sample & hold, general envelope generator, and two CV processors
Studio-quality integrated effects
Complete MIDI control and DAW automation for all controls
User-selectable bend range and master tune
Zoom-to-focus user interface
User-adjustable oversampling control

The post Cherry Audio PS-3300’s is a bona fide classic Korg polysynth resurrected for a new era appeared first on MusicTech.

Sonicware Lofi-12 XT on Kickstarter Sonicware are currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation of Lofi-12 XT, an advanced version of their popular Lofi-12 groovebox and sampler instrument.

3 things we might see from crypto as 2023 winds to an endDon’t be surprised if we see more investment, more regulation and more artificial intelligence defining crypto during the last two months of 2023.

Epiphone Partners with Gibson to Recreate Kirk Hammett's 1979 Flying VFor 150 years, Epiphone has been a leading innovator in instrument design. By leveraging its iconic past and leaning into the future, Epiphone has set the stage for the next era of sound for present and future generations. Heavy metal guitars don’t get more iconic than Kirk Hammett’s 1979 Gibson Flying V. Epiphone is proud to unveil its first official global release and partnership with Kirk Hammett, legendary guitarist of the multi-platinum-selling and GRAMMY® Award-winning band Metallica. In partnership with Gibson Custom Shop, Epiphone is bringing the genre-defining sound of Metallica’s early albums to every stage with the Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V – a painstaking recreation of Kirk’s prized original, available in Ebony and Purple Metallic finishes worldwide on www.epiphone.com. “I am extremely honored to be able to put out an Epiphone Flying V today,” says Kirk Hammett. “Epiphone represents great sounding guitars at accessible prices, which is fundamentally important for up-and-coming musicians. I’m beyond pleased that I can offer the ‘79 Flying V in this capacity. It means so much to me to be able to put good guitars in the hands of young players.”  “We’re bringing the collaboration with the legendary Kirk Hammett to every stage for the first time through Epiphone, allowing every guitarist to wield the power and passion of Metallica’s music.” - Jenny Marsh, Director of Global Cultural Influence at Gibson Brands Explore the Epiphone Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V, HERE.

Epiphone Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V in Ebony and Purple Metallic. Metallica fans worldwide are familiar with Kirk Hammett’s 1979 Flying V. It was Kirk’s first Gibson and established his passion for Gibson guitars. Its purchase was inspired by famous Flying V players Kirk admired and because he was looking for a fuller sound. And what a sound! Kirk still plays the original guitar to this day, and used it on all the early Metallica albums, including Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, …And Justice of All, and The Black Album, making it one of the most important heavy metal guitars of all time. Now Epiphone is partnering with the Gibson Custom Shop to release the Epiphone Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V, a meticulous recreation of Kirk’s prized original. It features a mahogany body, a one-piece mahogany neck with volute, Grover® Rotomatic® machine heads with “spade” buttons, and a custom bridge. The electronics are also top-notch, with a pair of Gibson USA Calibrated T-Type humbucker pickups wired to CTS® potentiometers and an Orange Drop® capacitor, and a Switchcraft® 3-way pickup selector toggle switch and a 1/4” output jack. A Kirk Hammett logo adorns the rear of the headstock, and a black hardshell case with a red plush interior is also included. Watch/share the following video for the Epiphone Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V: HERE.

Epiphone Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V in Purple Metallic.

Epiphone Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V headstocks in Ebony and Purple Metallic.

Epiphone Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V in its hardshell case with red plush interior. One of the most iconic rock guitarists of our generation, Kirk Hammett has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the metal band Exodus. For a deep dive into his music influences, the early days in the San Francisco metal scene, and his 37 years as the lead guitarist of Metallica, watch Gibson TV’s “Icons” series interview with Kirk Hammett. This episode of “Icons” features archival and never-before-seen photos of Metallica, with Kirk talking about touring history and personal stories about recording the group’s pivotal albums, including Kill’em All, Ride The Lightning, Master of Puppets, …And Justice For All, and The Black Album; watch and share Gibson TV’s “Icons” featuring Kirk Hammett, HERE.

WeWork reportedly on the verge of filing bankruptcy, stock plummetsWeWork is on the verge of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey, according to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal. If WeWork does indeed file, it shouldn’t come as a shock to close followers of the flexible workspace provider. WeWork warned in August in its second-quarter earnings that “substantial doubt exists about the […]
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9 music production elements common in horror themes
Discover nine songwriting and music production techniques that embody the horror genre, and then check out our collection of 50 Halloween samples on Splice.

Overloud Choptones Bogie F100 CHOPTONES BOGIE F100 - RIG LIBRARY Choptones Bogie F100 is the TH-U expansion library, created by Choptones, seeking to recreate the sound of an authentic Mesa Boogie F100*... Read More