SaxLab - a vst that makes you a brass specialist

  The original SaxLab was a software instrument that, with a bit of work on the user's part, was capable of producing not just decent saxophone sounds (of the soprano, alto, tenor, bass and baritone variety), but also a pretty good approximation of a flute.  In truth, it's never really been bettered, but that hasn't stopped LinPlug from attempting to deliver some improvements in this update. For the most part, SaxLab 2 sticks to its predecessor's successful blueprint, but adds a number of features that are designed to lend a breath of fresh air to your projects.

This is a sample-based plug-in, and sounds – which are monophonic – are produced using three layers: Main deals with the pitch, Keys emulates the sound of the saxophone's metal keys being played, and Air covers breath and airflow sounds. You can balance the levels of these layers in SaxLab 2's interface.

Next up is the Body section, which contains a filter that modulates the sound using an envelope, an LFO and real-time MIDI controllers. There's also a Deviation setting, which ensure that every note sounds subtly different – as they would if they were being played by a real saxophonist.

SaxLab Plugin

    Then there are chorus and reverb processors, a tuning section and an easy-to-use MIDI Learn system. At first glance, little seems to have changed on the SaxLab interface, but investigate a bit more thoroughly and version 2's improvements reveal themselves. In the Envelope section, the Velocity to Envelope control has been replaced by an Enhance control (this adjusts the attack transients of notes), while the Volume, Keys and Air controls are now routed in parallel.

The Performance section, meanwhile, has been totally redesigned, and offers many more control sources and destinations to increase realism. The Growl effect is a welcome addition, while the LFO boasts a new waveshape and a better attack characteristic. In the Deviation section, there's a dedicated control for the Air parameter, while there's an improved Reverb algorithm in the Effects menu. Finally, the microtuning system now supports TUN files, and LinPlug has included its preset management system. SaxLab 2 doesn't look or feel like a massive update, but then it didn't really need to be. The improvements in this version aren't exactly eye-catching, but should please both new and existing users. The supplied presets sound pretty good out of the box – it's possible to get some really beefy growl in the lower registers, while soft, sweet top-end tones are also easy to produce – and if you spend some time getting to know the more advanced features of the software, the results get even better. While we can't really recommend using this plug-in for solo performances, it's a winner when employed as part of a mix. It's also refreshing to find a 'real instrument' emulation that doesn't require you to install a huge amount of sample files before you can use it. SaxLab 2 is undoubtedly a specialised product – casual fans of the instrument will enjoy using the presets in their ROMpler of choice – but if you need to use saxophone sounds regularly, it remains an excellent buy.

MIDI Controller - 101 guide for a beginner

 MIDI keyboard controllers are becoming more and more popular today, seeing that technology continues to improve and musicians everywhere are slowly beginning the migration process of switching to a digital setup. I know people who still abide by analog equipment for mixing and mastering, but still use their MIDI controller frequently for various functions in their studio. We’re huge fans of keyboards and although we still love vintage synths and what not, you just can’t beat the cost-effectiveness and overall usefulness of a keyboard that is custom depending on which virtual instrument you’re using, creating an endless amount of possibilities for sounds and effects. Let’s review the top 10 best MIDI keyboard controllers available today — both for those who want the best of the best or are on a budget and want the most affordable.

How to choose your MIDI keyboard controller

First thing’s first: you need to take a few valuable questions into consideration when you’re choosing your MIDI keyboard controller. Here are some important questions to ask yourself before taking a look at what’s out there:

What is your budget? This is the most important question to ask. There are numerous choices for any price range, from under $100 to $500 or more.

How many keys would you like your controller to be? There are numerous options, such as: mini-compact 25, 32, 37, 49 (the most popular), 61, or even 88 (the highest — the equivalent to a real piano).

What type of key-make would you like? Whether it’s synth-action, semi-weighted, full-weighted or equipped with aftertouch, it all comes down to preference.

Is portability important to you? If so, you need to keep the overall size into consideration.

Do you want your controller to have MIDI pads? A lot of keyboards coming out nowadays include drum pads, typically within the 8-16 count range with 3-4 possible banks.

Are any other functions desired? Such as knobs, faders, buttons, arpeggiators, mod and pitch bend wheels, or various other performance controls.

Does the software bundle included with the keyboards matter to you? Some come with hefty programs and VST’s while others do not.

Is there a brand preference? Akai, Alesis, Arturia, Novation and Korg are quite popular, but there are also some lesser known brands who make high-quality MIDI controllers.

AVID ProTools

AVID PROTOOLS

"if you have protools and you're thinking of just saving for a digi 002/3 or some other digi interface. Just get the protools 10" 

Protools 10 & 11 with the Avid-Interface

Sound: Well, you can't really characterise the sound of the DAW, its all based on the D/A conversion from the interface. However, with an iLok PT9 can operate as a stand alone edit/mix/master DAW and the sound coming out of my monitors directly from my computer's audio out is pretty good, I'd still like to trust the conversion from my interface rather than from whatever driver PT uses between it and the computer's audio out, I'm using a Macbook Pro's 1/8th" headphone out as the line into my monitors for this example. Typically my interface is an Echo Audio fire 8 into my monitors and there is certainly a higher level of clarity when the interface handles the conversion. This Product COMPLETELY helps me to achieve the sound I'm looking for. I've been using ProTools since 7.2/ 7.4 HD and LE. My home studio (LE) is really hooked up with PT9, backwards compatible with all of these versions of PT and it works with everything flawlessly, edits, mixing, mastering. I love it. still getting used to multitrack Beat detective but its great great great! one of the questions is how does it sound Live versus a recording. Its a DAW. But with a digi002/003 console you actually could just make all aux tracks and use the ins from the digi and route audio to other aux's that have reverbs and compression and parallel processing. 

So long as your comp can handle that...you could actually do some great live mixing with ProTools 9 and an interface with line ins/outs and a multichannel power amp. I've used PT9 in two different rooms with monitors (same echo audio interface, different sets of monitors) and with some sony headphones and just the laptop speakers, works well across all platforms. my only tip to make this product to sound better is more of a complaint with the Echo company, PT10 only recognises the outputs of my interface as valid outputs, which makes sense. but my audio fire won't route the signal out through the headphone jack so monitoring overdubs of some solo guitar stuff or what have you has become a tedious task. I've had to route signals to my other outputs of the audio fire to a mixer and then sub mix that stereo signal to an aux for headphones...which actually wound up being a good way to get multiple headphones to do tracking live. Again all of this is mostly due to the feature of the Echo not having the Headphone out being recognised as an "output" in PT.

Feature: ProTools is the best. Thats why its called Professional Tools...its the best 

Ease of Use: Its protools. Mix window- Mixer! edit window-(if you will) Tape deck, for edits 

Quality: PROTOOLS! thats all there is to it. Value: Worth it. 

Manufacturer Support: Never needed it. there was a hang up with getting the ilok authorization. Don't use Chrome ilok's website doesn't support it just us Safari or IE 

The Wow Factor: always have to stay on the up and up with technology these days....especially with music production... if you're a musician, learning the language of protools helps when you get into a real studio, if you're and engineer than this is a must have. 

Overall: Its Professional Tools...or Nofessional Tools

My Favourite Audio Sites

Freebies:

http://hiphopmakers.com/ --- VST & Royalty Free Music