Engineers and programmers often find themselves conjuring sounds out of thin air for artists and producers. With tonnes of orchestral libraries, bass and drum instruments out there, we check out a rarer creature; the virtual guitarist…
Our Favourite Plugins For Faking Real Players
Some sample-based virtual instruments make it possible to summon convincing individual instrument performances that would otherwise be out of reach. Here is our pick of virtual musicians across four fundamental instrumental categories: drums, bass, guitar and keys.
Why Should EZdrummer 3 Users Get Superior Drummer 3?
With even mid-level virtual instruments ticking more boxes than some users might ever need, what reasons are there, if any, for users to make the leap up to an expanded feature set? We consider some reasons to save or spend…
Choosing A Drum VI For Fast Radio Ready Sounds
There are many drum virtual instruments out there, with the number of options within each being enormous. With some solutions offering to do more with less, we look at getting release-ready sounds with just a handful of parameters.
Toontrack Hitmaker SDX - Expert Review
Owners of Superior Drummer 3 could be forgiven for thinking that the instrument has everything, but Toontrack thinks not with its latest expansion. Offering some of the most recognisable drum sounds on record, three experts give their verdict…
Three Ways To Add Realism In Virtual Instrument Mixes
Virtual Instruments have made totally authentic sounds a reality for composer, arranger, and engineer alike. Despite their increasing realism, there is still much room for some simple production moves to help really sell the sound. We show you three simple moves.
Too Many VI’s? Check Out This Modular One
For many engineers and musicians, having an ever-expanding number of virtual instruments brings choice, but also complexity. We explore a novel new solution that might just have the answers by cutting the clutter…
Why You Shouldn't Ignore The IK Multimedia MODO Bass 2
With so many great sounding, playable bass VI’s around, choosing between them can be difficult. We look at one instrument that has all the sounds with a different way of doing things.
Handy Drums - Perhaps The Simplest Drum VI Around
Sometimes, composers and producers need the quality of a drum VI, with the immediacy of a machine. One new developer aims to give you both…
Toontrack EZdrummer 3 - Expert Review
The third incarnation of Toontrack’s EZdrummer promises to bring even more to its well-loved combo of ease and sounds, but what do these bring to your production? Three Experts give their verdict…
Can't Play The Piano? Check Out This VI That Does It For You
Creating expressive piano parts for your song doesn’t need a virtuoso performance from the writer thanks to this new VI… Hear it for yourself.
Using UJAM Slap For Energy And Realism On A Track
When it comes to songwriters getting ideas for instrument parts across to others, up until recently the options have been limited. For many, meaningful bass parts are especially hard to convey… Unless you have the right tool for the job.
Can EZdrummer 3 Bandmate Work With A Whole Mix?
Toontrack’s recently released update to their drum VI favourite saw a surprise new feature in Bandmate, the groove generator that actually learns the music. Can it deal with a whole song? The results are in…
Toontrack EZdrummer 3 - First Look
Musicians and composers have never had a greater choice of tools to make tracks with emotion and realism. Do great sounding drums have to be complex? We get our hands on EZdrummer 3 to find out.
AIR Music Technology Announce Seven New Virtual Instruments
AIR Music Technology has announced what they describe as “NOT ONE but SEVEN new inspiring Virtual Instruments.” We have the details.
Toontrack Announce EZdrummer 3 Drum VI
Swedish developers Toontrack have announced the long-awaited release of EZDrummer 3, rebooting the well-loved drum virtual instrument for 2022 with some new innovative twists. We have all the details…
6 Tips For Producing Superb Sampled Strings
Today, you’re more likely to hear a virtual string section in any given movie, video game or music production than a real one. Here are half a dozen tips and pointers to get you started on the path to faux orchestral excellence.
G-Force Oberheim OB-E v2 Announced
Synth plugin masters, G-Force, has announced Oberheim OB-E v2, what’s more it’s endorsed by Tom Oberheim. We have the details.
UVI Vintage Vault 4 Announced - Huge Vintage Synth Library And More
UVI, creators of virtual instrument plugins, has announced Vintage Vault 4, a collection of 36 UVI products, 14,000+ presets, 800,000+ samples.
Cinesamples Announce New Sample Library Platform - The Smartest Thing Since Samplers
Cinesamples, who are renowned for their superb orchestral and cinematic virtual instruments such as CineBrass, VOXOS Epic Choirs and Drums of War, have announced a new plugin platform – Musio.