Autor: Producer Gang
Four Chords. Thousands of Songs. “Music is the space between the notes.” — Claude Debussy Some chord progressions feel instantly familiar. Not because they belong to one song. Because they belong to hundreds of them. Two of the most useful are: 1-5-6-4 and: 6-4-1-5 They contain the same four chords. But changing the starting point changes the emotional story. Quick Answer 👉 1-5-6-4 begins on the major home chord, giving it a hopeful and resolved feeling. 6-4-1-5 begins on the relative minor chord, making it feel more emotional, reflective, or dramatic. Both are common in pop and…
JADE from The Usual Suspects is a Roland JD-990 simulator currently in alpha, and it’s available for free. You can download this alpha version from the developers’ Discord channel in AU, VST2, VST3, LV2, and CLAP formats for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Once an official release is announced, you’ll be able to download it directly from the developer’s website. We’ve covered similar projects from The Usual Suspects, including JE-8086 (Roland JP-8080) and Xenia (Waldorf Microwave II/XT). JADE brings us the sounds of another Roland classic, the JD-990 (Super JD). The JD-990 earns the Super JD name as an enhanced rackmount…
Plugin Boutique is offering Native Instruments FM8 for $10 until August 16th. This is the lowest price I have ever seen for FM8. We have covered some great Native Instruments deals on BPB before, including FM8 at $24.50 last year, but I don’t remember seeing it drop below $10. If you have been waiting to add NI’s classic FM synth to your collection, this is probably the best price you will get. The deal also comes shortly after our article about the Native Instruments Reaktor Synthesizer Bundle, another Plugin Boutique offer that is available until August 16th. We have also…
From developer Tomasz Głuc comes the alpha version OMNi, a free Rust-based DAW. While our favourite plugins may change over time, it’s not uncommon to stick with the same DAW for the entirety of our musical lives. After a brief spell with Cubase, I made an early jump to Logic Pro, and other than making the odd exception for specific projects/collaborations, I’ve never strayed, for better or worse. However, in this current climate, when new plugins are appearing by the minute, we’re also presented with many new options when it comes to our choice of digital audio workstation. One of…
Shadaloo Audio DSP has released APD Compressor, a free/pay-what-you-want vocal compressor plugin for macOS and Windows. We recently covered several plugins from Fabio “Shadaloo” Caterino, including the free H tone and loudness enhancer, the Wide spatial enhancement plugin, and the excellent Vinland Drive tape emulator. APD Compressor continues the developer’s pay-what-you-want approach. You can enter zero on Gumroad and download it for free, then come back and support the project later if it earns a spot in your workflow. Fabio says he developed APD Compressor from scratch and has been using it in every mix over the past few months.…
ZL Audio has released ZL Spectrum Equalizer, a free and open-source dynamic spectrum equalizer plugin for Windows, macOS, and Linux. I already expected something like this coming from ZL Audio at some point. The developer is behind the excellent ZL Equalizer 2 and ZL Compressor, both of which received some fantastic feedback from the BPB community. I wrote earlier this year that free EQ plugins are getting close enough to paid tools that many producers may no longer need to buy a commercial EQ. ZL Equalizer 2 is one of my favorites, alongside TDR Nova and the excellent Jeesonic EQ…
Plugin Boutique is offering the Native Instruments Reaktor Synthesizer Bundle for $99 until August 16th. Reaktor Synthesizer Bundle normally lists for $1,109, so this is a pretty heavy discount if you want a lot of Reaktor-based instruments in one purchase. Native Instruments has had a complicated year, as James recently covered in our articles, including the one about iZotope leaving the Native Instruments family. So, I completely understand if some users are more cautious about NI purchases these days. That said, there is still a lot of excellent software here. Reaktor as a platform never really clicked with me personally,…
Nakst has made Altitude, an advanced hybrid synthesis workstation for Windows, macOS, and Linux, available as freeware. We have covered several nakst instruments on BPB over the years, including Apricot, Regency, ExtraBold, and the now-free Integrate. Altitude was previously one of the developer’s paid instruments, so this is a nice, and somewhat unexpected, addition to the free lineup. Thanks to BPB reader mrg for sharing this with our community! Altitude combines subtractive synthesis, sampling, and FM-style sound design in one instrument. It has eight generators in total, split between four virtual analog oscillators and four sample layers. The synth also…
Auburn Sounds has released Psypan 2 Free Edition, a free stereo multi-effect plugin for Windows, macOS, and Linux. We have covered several Auburn Sounds plugins on BPB over the years, including Panagement, Lens, and Inner Pitch. Psypan 2 follows the same Free/Full model, with a very usable free version and a paid upgrade for the complete feature set. As with all Auburn Sounds plugins, I am in love with the interface. The developer’s tools are some of the most interesting on the market in terms of visual design, and Psypan 2 continues that trend with a playful but clear layout.…
Powerful techno is never about one magic sound. It comes from how your lead, drums, bass, background layers, and arrangement lock together. This breakdown pulls a peak-time acid techno track apart into five lessons you can drop straight into your own productions: the acid lead, the drums, the layered bass, the background layers, and the arrangement. Lesson 1: Build an Acid Lead That Drives the Track The acid lead is the engine for relentless energy. The MIDI is deliberately simple, moving between root, octave and third with one small end variation, so the drive comes from the FX, not the…