5 Music Production Things We Loved In May 2021
May 2021 might have been unseasonably chilly, but that didn’t stop it encompassing plenty of hot new music technology releases. Here are five that particularly caught our attention.
UJAM shake things up with Groovemate One
Adding to their fast-growing catalogue of notably user-friendly plugins, and designed sit alongside the Virtual Drummer line, specifically, UJAM’s new Groovemate ONE (the first in a series, clearly) is a streamlined, sample-based percussion instrument dedicated to generating lifelike shaker, tambourine and clap parts.
It all starts with 30 presets, each one calling up a descriptively titled MIDI phrase (‘Pop Standard’, ‘Quarter Feel Shake’, ‘Offbeat Tambourine’, ‘In your Face’, etc), mapped to three keys in ‘soft’, ‘full’ and ‘busy’ variations, and triggering the aforementioned samples; as well as a suitable pairing of Mix and Reverb settings, the first configuring various under-the-hood compression, EQ and other parameters. Swing and Quantize controls enable adaptation to the feel of your track, and hitting the ‘fill’ key throws in a short punctuative flourish. Alternatively, you can simply play or sequence your own lines using the MIDI-mapped one-shots also represented in the GUI, or drag the loaded phrase out as a regular MIDI file for editing in the host DAW.
A small but perfectly formed package, Groovemate ONE is effortlessly intuitive, sonically delightful and cheap as chips, and we can’t think of an easier way to bring instant percussive sparkle and groove to any dance or pop production.
Universal Audio LUNA goes API
May was a merry month indeed for UAD and Apollo interface owners, as Universal Audio released UAD Software 9.14 and version 1.1.8 of LUNA, the latter introducing API Vision Console Emulation to the company’s fledgling DAW.
Essentially an integrated version of the Vision Channel Strip Collection released for UAD systems in 2013, API Vision Console Emulation builds the API Preamp, Vision Channel Strip and 2500 Bus Compressor plugins directly into the LUNA Console Mixer and Focus views as ‘Extensions’ – a new format that we assume UA plan to support with similar ports in the future. The Channel Strip comprises emulations of six API L-Series modules: the 212L Line Amp, 215L Sweep Filter, 235L Gate/Expander, 225L Compressor/Limiter and switchable 550L/560L EQ Filter; while the 2500 Bus Compressor is made available on Busses and the Main out. In a nutshell, LUNA’s mixer becomes a full-on virtual API Vision console, with no floating windows, no need to open the UAD Console application to use Unison inserts, and automatic switching between native and UAD processing, depending on whether you’re tracking (through the Unison API Preamp Unison) or mixing.
Of course, all this power comes at a literal cost, and although LUNA is ’free’ for UAD/Apollo owners, the API Vision Console Emulation Bundle will set you back a cool £529. It’s quite a bold move, this, extending a free DAW with a premium-priced add-on, but we applaud UA’s commitment to hardwiring such powerful mixing functionality and sonics into their rapidly developing production system. And, of course, you also get the three regular UAD-powered VST/AU/AAX plugins thrown in, for use in all other DAWs.
Toontrack add Fretless to the EZbass toolbox
Ah, the wistful, sinuous sound of the fretless bass… As children of the 70s and 80s, we’ve often lamented the paucity of fretless emulations on the software market, but happily, this month saw their number rise by one with the release of the Fretless EBX expansion for Toontrack’s excellent EZbass virtual bass guitar system.
The bass in question is an Ibanez GWB 1005, and it’s been captured in a 600MB multisample bank that takes in a number of finger-style articulations (no slap options, obviously) and responds beautifully to the all-important pitchbending required to create convincing fretless basslines. Meanwhile, the capacious onboard library of freely editable MIDI Grooves – recorded by Brit session ace Laurence Cottle – ably covers a broad range of styles and flavours, and serves as a great showcase for the authentic sound of the instrument.
All in all, Fretless EBX adds up to a very tidy package for the EZbass user looking to get their Palladino or Pastorius on, and EZbass itself continues to impress with its flexibility and power.
PACE free us from adaptor tyranny with the iLok USB-C
May brought long-awaited relief for MacBook-toting producers, as PACE at last dropped a USB-C version of their ubiquitous iLok copy protection key. Yes, finally we can ditch the USB-A-to-C adaptor and plug that all-important dongle straight into the USB-C ports that have become all but standard on today’s computers.
Apart from the liberating new connection format, this is the same third generation iLok that you already know and love, resplendent in a sturdy aluminium casing, small enough (1.5x0.5”) to not get in the way of adjacent ports, able to store 1500 licenses, and backwards compatible with previous versions. There’s no crossgrade pricing for those already invested in the USB-A model, alas, but we couldn’t open our wallets fast enough nonetheless, and using our iLok without a bloody adaptor hanging out of our MacBook Pro like an emerging plastic tapeworm still gives us a palpable thrill every time.
FabFilter reset the clock with Timeless 3
It might not be garner as much attention as the flagship likes of Pro-Q, Pro-C, pro-L and Pro-R, but FabFilter’s Timeless 2 has long held a place in our go-to roster of tape delay effects (as evidenced by its inclusion in our recent round-up of them) – and the middle of May heralded a surprise full version update with the release of Timeless 3.
Arriving almost 12 years after the launch of v2, Timeless 3 adds a ton of very welcome new features, and sees a full redesign of the GUI. This last not only brings the plugin into line with its stablemates aesthetically and operationally, but also addresses user feedback on workflow. The new interactive graphical delay editor makes adjusting delay times, feedback and panning a far more intuitive process than before; modulation visualising is much improved; and the generally streamlined control panel stands as a triumph of decluttering.
Beyond the transformed interface, our favourite new feature is the rack of five one-knob effects, with which the feedback circuit can be treated to distortion, pitchshifting, reverb-esque ‘diffusion’ and dynamics shaping. We’re certainly not sniffing at the four extra filters, though, or the up-to-16 independently adjusted and modulated delay taps, stereo width control and integrated spectrum analyser… or the improved analogue filter and saturation modelling.
Sounding every bit as good as it looks, Timeless 3 is a comprehensive and action-packed upgrade to an already brilliant plugin that aficionados of creative delay effects should check out post-haste.
Have we left your May highlight out in the cold? Let us know in the comments.