XILS-lab is a new French company, focusing on virtual instruments with an analog touch.
A few weeks ago we've reviewed their first release, XILS 3, a synth inspired to one of any synth lover's wet dream, the EMS VCS3.

EDIT: we've just partnered with XILS-lab and they're offering a special deal to ANR readers, 25% off the regular price. Get XILS 3 at 111 euro, click here to read more...

While I'm usually not too keen on the emulation trend, I have to confess XILS 3 is really a brilliant and inspiring musical instrument. It captures the spirit of an age where unpredictability and non-linearities were the norm, adding all the goodies you would expect from a modern software. Mission accomplished!
We've asked a few questions to Xavier Oudin, the man behind XILS-lab, read on...

Hi Xavier, would you like to tell us something more about your company?

XILS-lab, based in Grenoble, France, is a music software company I started around the end of 2008.
Having developed some of the best-known virtual instruments and effects on the market for Digigram, Arturia and various companies over the past 20 years, I'm now bringing my passion for music, audio, sound and instruments to my own company.
In order to make top quality software, I decided to work with highly qualified professionals, including Yannick Bonnefoy (graphic design) and many other musicians and sound designers. I think of these collaborations as a sort of expertise network for music software creation. XILS-lab is a node of this network, where I can focus on my main job, the development of new products and concepts
For all the commercial and marketing aspect of its development, XILS-lab works with Michael Logue from MiiM Corp for North American and Ian Morton from Smart Distribution for the European zone.

You mentioned that you worked for Arturia. Why did you leave? Is there something about the synths you helped develop that you'd like to change today, if you had the chance?

After more than 6 years of working for Arturia, I felt that I was always doing the same things and I wanted to achieve something else. So I decided to leave, and began working on this new adventure. After some time spent developing effects with Eiosis, learning a lot about filtering algorithms, I came back to my main passion, synthesis.
My time at Arturia was quite a while ago. They've since released new versions and I can't say anything about their products now.
XILS-lab algorithms are based on important improvements of some well known algorithms, different from those I used when I worked at Arturia.
That's why the sound is not the same, even if something of the same spirit can be shown.

Making the XILS 3 (inspired by the VCS-3) and now the PolyKB (based on a more obscure eighties synth called PolyKobol), it seems you enjoy challenges.
Why do you think nobody has tried to re-create such beasts of the past and what do they have to offer that can't be replicated by more modern synths?

Challenges are what keep us awake and vibrant. So yes, I enjoy the challenge, especially when creating musical instruments which have never been remade, or that have been realized without enough features to make them all they could be.
There are already some other soft synthesizers that have been created, based on the VCS3/AKS architecture, and the challenge for me was to keep its very special and acclaimed character, which is so difficult to reproduce in the digital domain.

With the polyKobol, things are different; The RSF synthesizer was the only analog sound machine capable of a creating a modulated morphing waveform, creating wonderful new sounds. The challenge was to recreate this specific oscillator in the digital domain without aliasing, keeping all the modulation and synchronization features as well as its warm and big sound.
By the way, I'm not sure RSF and Kobol was that obscure - J.M. Jarre used 8 connected Kobol expanders for his China concerts, it was only the polyKobol that wasn't well-known due to the factory problems RSF had.

I have a love-hate relationship with your XILS 3. While I love its organic and lively sounds, I really find the matrix too small. Do you think a future release could offer a different GUI approach?

The size of the matrix seems to be a problem for some users and this will be addressed in one of the next updates. A first obvious method should be to increase the overall size of the XILS 3. For those who work with high resolution, this could be more comfortable. Other GUI approaches could be taken if this doesn't work.

While reading up on the history of the VCS-3, i noted that the synth was famously inconsistent, especially in the reproduction of sound - it seems that it was almost impossible to re-create the exact same sound. What about adding some sort of 'inconsistency' element to the architecture of XILS 3? Like a selection of 'broken' patch pins, for example?

Adding some more drift or creating a special keyboard follow to detune it in a sort of random way could be interesting. While I want to keep the sound and the character of analog synthesizer, I don't think there is interest in keeping some of the more disagreeable things. For example - emulating the time a analog synthesizer has to be powered up before being used correctly and in tune with their other plug-ins wouldn't be appreciated by users.

Now that most classic synths of the past have been covered, I'd actually love to see skilled developers working on original concepts, possibly more performance oriented (i.e. with a less traditional GUI). What's your take on the touch-based synths developed for iPhone, for example?

I developed some programs for iPhone and began to adapt a synthesizer for this platform. I think it is a funny controller, but the available CPU power doesn't allow a very wide range of possibilities and keeps the application on the toy side.
But I agree that the way programs are controlled by the iPhone, especially using a touch screen and an accelerometer, is very interesting. When more powerful computers get these kinds of control parameters (a 19 inch touch screen and an accelerometer wireless mouse for instance, or better some sort of sensitive gloves) things will be different.

About classical synthesizer VS new oriented sound machine, I think both are important and are worth developing. Each classical synthesizer has its own character and is a source of inspiration for the user. There are a lot of machines waiting to have their chance to inspire creative people: we just need to make their best features available again, setting their issues aside.
But I'm thinking of a new plug-in with a totally new approach. I just need the time to improve the concept and develop it, keeping in mind my main purpose: creating an easy, powerful and inspiring musical instrument for musicians.

Which are the artists (just a few names) and musical genres you're into? And how, if it happens, do your musical passions influence your products?

I love classical music, especially Schubert, Mozart and Brahms, but when I was younger, I enjoyed listening to Pink Floyd, Zappa and Ange. It was also during this time that synthesizer sounds grabbed my attention, with Tangerine Dream and Vangelis.
Much more than my listening interests, I found that playing the clarinet for years led to my understanding that the synthesizer IS a musical instrument, provided its sound keeps freedom, and influences the development of my products.

What are the weirdest/funniest requests you've received from users?

I never receive very weird requests from users; it's usually requests that I can't achieve, involving CPU power or GUI possibilities.
For instance, one request was for getting the XILS 3 reverb polyphonic, which would mean getting 18 instances of the reverb running all the time (due to the tail, it is not really possible to disable voice after the note off). Another was a request for a total polyphonic sequencer including the clock management (for sequences with various clock speeds and step numbers running at the same time). This would be funny, but creating a GUI to make it easy to use would not be so obvious (although I may keep this idea in mind, to maybe offer a part of this feature for a future version of the polyKB).

Maybe the weirdness comes from myself; a musician once told me I'm insane...

Austin, TX gets extremely busy over spring break every March, as SXSW rolls into town. Originally a showcase festival for musicians to expose their art to the industry, it has greatly expanded into the areas of film and interactive technology. The borders of the different disciplines tend to blur, and this was reflected in the choice of topics for many of the hundreds of panels and discussions available to the attendees. One that received quite a bit of interest was entitled: How Will We Listen to Music in 2020?

The way we listen to music has changed significantly over the last ten years and will continue to do so. This panel tries to look into the future and assess the issues that come with the move away from physical recordings and how different sectors of the recording industry are affected.
Jonas Woost, former head of music at Last.fm, moderated the discussion between the three panelists:

• Alexander Ljung, Founder/CEO, SoundCloud

• Ben Perreau, Founder, Gigulate

• Steve Savoca Dir Digital, Domino Recording Co

The first question put to the panelists was on how we will consume music in the future. Ljung commented first, on how he thought that the 6 to 9 million-song catalog would be mostly streamed from the ‘cloud’. He said, “I really think that all significant music consumption will come from a source that’s online. Everything will be streamed. Downloads are dead.”
He thinks that the idea of ‘ownership’ of a song will become completely irrelevant in the future. Why buy a song, download it and then stream it from your hard drive, when you can just quickly stream it from online, and let someone else take care of all the storage? The other panelists disagreed slightly, leaning more towards the idea that the future of music is all about how it is packaged – as Savoca put it, ”How will we listen to music in the future? Any way we want to.”
If we want to live off the grid, and have some packaging, or other artwork, then that should be as available as instant streaming.
Another argument put forth against the ‘streaming only’ idea, is that due to the extremely unique preferences of each listener, it would be impossible to create a system that has filtering that is powerful enough to deal with individual tastes. Ljung responded by commenting that hopefully the music on the cloud wouldn’t be coming from one source, and filtered by that same source, but would be a component system, with different people building different parts, that will enable a very efficient system – one that is very possible to cater to each individual taste.

Another thought was that music would become more participatory. At this point in history, we listen to music in a “lean back”, passive way. Perhaps in the future, music will be a more involved experience. Soundcloud is really interested in music going in both directions. (For example, they already have several bands on Soundcloud that are encouraging their fans to make their own meaningful music from the band’s source music) There are apps out there to encourage participation (T-pain’s iPhone app being a good example), and companies are starting to develop different formats that have high levels of interaction alongside improved sound quality. A couple of companies that were mentioned were RJDJ, and MXP4. Savoca mentioned that this idea of listener participation might not be popular with everyone, but it’s another way of ‘packaging’ music, it might appeal to a certain demographic, and should not be ignored.

Several other subjects were covered, but the theme that kept returning throughout the rest of the discussion was the idea of openness within the industry, from the software makers, to the record companies. In answer to a question about the future of the devices that we’ll listen to music on, Ljung said that there were no specific devices that they were building, they were just trying to make their software so that it can be used in connection with many different components of the industry, from the web, to the mobile web, to the record companies, to the car, etc. Soundcloud’s software is all open API, so people can incorporate Soundcloud into whatever they’re using. For example, there’s a recording app that’s been built for the iPhone, that saves the audio directly to Soundcloud.
Perreau mentioned that the best way of providing music recommendation is for all the different platforms of music recommendation from social groups such as twitter, to more traditional music journalism, to combine forces, and work together. His company, Gigulate, works off that exact premise, combining search algorithms, journalism and social networking to provide (hopefully) a more accurate music recommendation service.

The way we listen to music has changed significantly over the last ten years and will continue to do so

Because the conversation was about the future, no-one could say definitively what was going to become of the way we will listen to music in the future. It is however an exciting time, with the development of new models and software, that will hopefully provide a myriad of ways to continue to listen to our favorite music, by whatever means we desire.

by Andy Dollerson

Starting with this article, we're going to have a (more or less) regular monthly freeware section here on ANR.

This time we'd like to introduce a couple of excellent new releases: FreqEcho from ValhallaDSP (a new company, created by Sean Costello, who worked also on AudioDamage Eos, one of our picks of the year in the recent Sonic Joy Awards), and the Rocksichord from SonicCouture.

FreqEcho, available as VST, AU, RTAS for both OS X and Windows systems is a "Bode-style frequency shifter + analog echo emulation = skull melting chaos. Perfect for dub, Dr. Who and all of your psychedelic needs. Sonic results range from subtle chorusing and double tracking to barberpole phasing and flanging to endless glissandos and runaway echos."
Actually I think this description is spot-on, I'd have no better words to describe the FreqEcho. By the way, the plug-in has been available for some time without graphical interface, but I'm sure this simple and effective GUI will make it more appealing to users.
I'm really having fun with this little plug-in lately. I'd recommend trying it on different sound sources, from piano to percussions.

Get FreqEcho here

Rocksichord is a Kontakt library (requires v.3 or 4). The instrument sampled is the Rock-Si-Chord, or 'Rocksichord' electric harpsichord, made in the sixties by RMI.
This keyboard has been used by artists like Beach Boys, John Lennon, Genesis, Yes, Stereolab, Radiohead, Wilco, etc.
There's a funny story behind this sample library, on SonicCouture's website: "a certain Mikael Jorgensen from Wilco mentioned to us that he had started sampling his ancient RMI Rocksichord keyboard, but hadn’t the time to finish the looping and programing. We asked him how he would feel if we finished the job and offered it as a free download from the Soniccouture site.
Happily, he agreed, and if you’re reading this, you now have the result..."

Get the Rocksichord here

P.s: feel free to share with us your favorite freeware stuff...

SPL has just announced five new products (four hardware, one software), and I think there's something for everyone here. Stay tuned for further details (price/availability).

By the way, if for plug-ins 2009 has been a year of reverbs, it seems in 2010 we'll have plenty of new drum replacement tools to try. Well, given SPL's experience with transients, I bet their DrumXchanger will be a hit (ehm...!)

Outboard

• M/S Master: M/S management processor
• Transpressor: The ultimate dynamic processor
• RackPack 4: RackPack frame for four modules
• Dual-Band De-Esser: RackPack module against sibilance

Software plug-in

• DrumXchanger

Here's a short description of each device...

M/S Master

• Fully adjustable separation of L/R signals into middle/side signals
• Frequency filter for bass and room ambience control
• Stereo width control
• Inserts for external processors. Switch your outboard from stereo to M/S processing – with a single button and without cabling.

Transpressor

• Transient Designer & Twin Core Compressor
• Both modules can be used in any order
• Transient processing starts at the limits of compression, e. g. to emphasize dynamic structures in spite of compression.

RackPack 4

• Mounting frame & power supply for up to four modules
• Compact, portable and more affordable
• Lateral handle, fitting system for a 19-inch rack included
• New RackPack module: Dual-Band De-Esser
• Kicks "S" with phase cancellation technique
• Extremely sound-neutral
• Increased effectiveness and targeted processing with high and low band
• Auto-Threshold keeps processing level constant even at varying microphone distances
• Male/Female mode perfectly adapts to male or female voices

DrumXchanger

• Optimizes or replaces drum sounds in a mix
• Replaces samples phase-accurately
• Transient Designer technology for level-independent recognition
• Recognizes all drum hits faithfully, including the faintest ghost notes
• Included:
• Two complete Transient Designer processing stages
• High-quality 24 bit/96 kHz SPL sample library
• Launch of the BETA version at Musikmesse (March 24)

If you are interested in modular analog synth sounds, Matthew Davidson, composer and electronic artist, has recently released a free 2GB sample library. The sounds are manipulated through a TipTop Audio Z8000 matrix sequencer.

Davidson, also known as Stretta, said this about the library: “I’ve been using the TipTop Audio Z8000 for a while now, collecting material for a video, but I also kept a DAW file handy and recorded bursts of interesting output at various intervals. This process generated a lot of material, but it is clear to me it would be more useful in someone else's hands.”
The library is free to use commercially, so if you fancy getting your hands on 2gb of useful audio to play with, click here to check it out.

EDIT: we've just partnered with XILS-lab and they're offering a special deal to ANR reader, 25% off the regular price. Get XILS 3 at 111 euro (instead of 149), click here to read more...

The French software company Xils lab has recently introduced a soft synth, inspired by one of the first truly portable modular analog synths - the EMS VCS3. The VCS3 has a rich history of users: Brian Eno, Pink Floyd, Aphex Twin and the Chemical Brothers are on the list. The original synth has a reputation for brilliant inconsistencies, and is famous as a quirky sound-mangler as well as a beautiful sounding instrument. Click here to see the original VCS3 in action.
The XILS-3 modular soft synth was created with a large nod in the direction of the VCS3, while taking advantage of modern and more reliable technology.

Architecture

The XILS-3 is available as a plug-in in all major formats. There is no standalone version, so it has to be used within a DAW. The installation process is a simple download and license transfer. (you need either Ilok or the syncrosoft license dongles to use the XILS-3) The plug-in comes in two forms – one as a virtual instrument, and the other as an effects processor plug-in, that can be used directly on audio tracks in the DAW.
The layout is in the form of two modules: the synthesizer and the sequencer.


The synth module’s GUI is a replica of the original VCS3. There, you will find three analog style oscillators, with level and shape control for sine, saw, triangle and square waves. Shaping the sound waves are 3 low/high pass filters, envelopes (ADSR and Trapezoid), spring reverb, ring modulation, and a noise generator. At the bottom of the module are a signal routing matrix (more details later), and an XY joystick.
The sequencer module has the same retro design style: it contains a 128-step sequencer, and all the associated control elements. On this side of the instrument are also sections for the audio inputs (pitch and transient tracking), a master section (Mono/Poly/Unison, Glide time, etc) and universal effects for the instrument, such as delay and chorus.
For more details on the features of the instrument click here

Sounds

Upon first play, the instrument sounds absolutely fantastic! The company boasts no aliasing on the oscillators, as they are using their own custom DSP algorithm, and I couldn’t hear any from sweeping up and down the frequency ranges. It certainly sounded warm and crisp. The XILS-3 contains several pre-installed preset banks, designed by some heavy hitters in the audio synthesis world. They are of excellent quality, and are a great jumping off point for deeper exploration into the architecture of the synth. The audio examples give an excellent demonstration of what’s possible.

So this synth sounds great, but there are a lot of software emulations of analog synths out there. How does this one make its presence felt? To me, this instrument really stands out with the modular Matrix. The simple grid layout enables over 450 different signal routing possibilities, without the virtual cable spaghetti you might expect (The vertical axis of the matrix being the source of the signal, and the horizontal axis being the destination, you can place a pin at the intersection between source and destination, and there’s a signal path created). I found it to be an intuitive way of quickly routing sound, and with 16 different sources and destinations, you can get very creative! It’s possible to route the same signal to different places at the same time, which has very unpredictable and sometimes beautiful sonic results. The only slight issue I had the matrix was the relative difficulty of placing the virtual pin exactly where I wanted to, due to its small size. But that’s a minor gripe.
The sequencer is also a great component of this synth. It too has a matrix, and you can route the sequences to destinations other than the oscillators, such as to the filter, envelopes or the reverb.
I also enjoyed using the pitch and transient trackers with various audio loops, to create synth and bass lines that locked in with the groove of the loops used. It took some time to figure out the signal path for using incoming audio, and there is some basic video tuition on the website, but perhaps it could be more comprehensive.

The processing requirements of the synth were quite varied. I was mainly running the plug-in with Ableton Live, on a 2.4ghz core2duo Macbookpro with 4GB Ram. The patches averaged around 10%, but sometimes used up to 40% (Of Ableton’s CPU percentage), especially when the keyboard was on the circular poly setting. So be aware of CPU-intensive patches.

Soul Design

As a part of this review, I imported some presets patches that are available from Soundsdivine, a company that creates sound presets for many of the quality softsynths available today (check out the interview we did with them).
There are two banks available, as part of the package, and they definitely compliment the preset banks that come with the synth. They cover various elements: bass, synth, pad, sequence, and FX patches, and are clearly labelled. The patches are of good quality, a lot of them reminiscent of the sounds used by Boards of Canada, Aphex twin, and Milosh. At $25 they're definitely a worthwhile addition (especially if you'd like to get the most out of this synth without spending too many hours tweaking it). You can check them out here

CONCLUSIONS

For someone with little knowledge of synthesis, this instrument could be fairly intimidating. There is a manual, and a quick start section of the website that helps with understanding the layout of the instrument. If you’d like to understand more about synthesis – the web is a great resource. I’ll start you off here.
The XILS-3 is a great sounding virtual analog synthesizer, which looks to the past in emulating the warm and quirky nature of the VCS3, but also to the present by adding consistency and flexibility to the architecture. Regardless of your experience, if you are willing to invest the time and energy, you will be richly rewarded.

Price: €149.00 (including tax). An iLok or eLicenser dongle is required.
See above to get a special deal on XILS 3

The instrument sounds absolutely fantastic!

Product page

PROS

• Sounds rich and warm – a great analog emulation
• Massive depth and flexibility – the routing possibilities seem endless!
• Can be used as a quality effects processor as well as a synth

LOVE-IT OR HATE-IT

• This is a synth for people who love synths. For the preset junkie, pass on by (and miss out). You need to invest time creating. It’s definitely worth it.

CONS

• Matrix is a bit fiddly
• Steep learning curve
• Video tutorials could be a bit more comprehensive (Spectrasonics RMX tutorials could be an example)

by Andy Dollerson

As noted previously here on ANR (see our Driven Drum Machines and Tape Drum Machines reviews), smart developers are standing out from the crowd by using unique recording chains to create their sample libraries. Enter Wave Alchemy with their latest offering: Drum Tools 01––Minimal Techno & Tech House. Does this two-year-old sound design team based in the UK live up to their name and transform sounds we’ve heard before into something special?
Drum Tools 01 is available as a download containing over 1900 electronic drum samples. The list of sound sources and signal processors reads like a who’s who of classic and boutique studio gear, including top-shelf drum machines (Jomox, Elektron, Roland, etc.), analogue synthesizers (Korg, Moog, etc.), EQ’s, compressors, and filters. But Wave Alchemy didn’t stop there: the sample set also includes “field recordings and the recording of live drum and percussive instruments.”

Organized samples

For sample libraries of this size, a logical and consistent file structure is crucial. On this front, Drum Tools 01 delivers. Opening the library’s main folder reveals that the samples are well organized into six instrument categories. The usual suspects are here, such as ‘kick drums’, ‘snare drums’, and ‘hi hats’. Also included are more exotic samples, via the ‘glitch’, ‘sound effects’, ‘303 licks’, and ‘chords & stabs’ folders (the latter two offered as ‘xtra bonus sounds’).
Rounding out the library are the preset kits, samples for deeper sound design and creativity in the ‘drum tools’ folder, and, finally, this entire library dithered down to good old 16-bit for some lower fidelity goodness. Further, kick, snare, and percussion samples are arranged into subfolders by tone and type. Need a ‘punchy’ kick drum? You got it. How about a ‘layered’ snare? Check. Looking for some ‘blips & pops’? Who isn’t? Go get ‘em. Good file organization = less time searching and more time creating.

OK, time for the main event: the samples. What better way to audition Drum Tools 01 than to load up one of the 13 included drum kits? The developers really went the extra mile here by providing the kits in a variety of popular formats, which we can divide into three main categories. First off, the kit samples are copied from the main library and housed in their own folder, allowing for near universal compatibility with DAWs, samplers, and virtual instruments that load .wav files. Secondly, the same kits are presented in native sampler formats (Battery, Kontakt, Reason NNXT, Halion, EXS24 and SFZ), allowing the user to load the kits quickly into Logic, Reason, Battery, etc. Finally, the drum kits are, uhm, packed into a Live pack, compatible with version 8 of the popular DAW.

The sounds

How do the kits sound? Overall, the audio quality is excellent. The kits easily meet the expectations raised by the library’s impressive specs. And the sonic scope of the kits is inspiring. Each one has a unique character, demonstrating the variety and depth that can be drawn from this library. Standouts include the ‘Berlin Minimal’ kit, with its cone-rattling kick and analogue flavored tones, as well as the ‘World Kit’, with its wide range of percussive sounds. These days, 'fat' and 'warm' are terms that get thrown around quite a bit, but the included kits prove that Drum Tools 01 earns these all-important adjectives.
The included kits are an excellent launching pad for exploring the rest of the library. I began swapping out kit pieces with immediately useful results. While developing my own kits, I was struck by the rich, full sound of this library. While sounding great on their own, these samples are just begging to be tweaked. I placed a filter plugin after some minimal stabs and chord hits, and, well, a goofy little smile crept across my face. I also placed a convolution reverb on one of my DAW’s sends, loaded up some processed 808 sounds, raised the send level, and was genuinely blown away. Wave Alchemy really hit the perfect balance with this library by creating samples that have plenty of character on their own, but without being so unique that the user is given little room to customize them.
Considering the reasonable price of this library (£39.95), as well as the depth and variety of the samples offered, Drum Tools 01 easily falls into ‘must buy’ territory.


Perfection is not of this world

Well-deserved praise aside, though, there are some disappointments. For one, I found the hi hat samples to be slightly over processed. For me, many of these samples sound as if they were recorded with an EQ setting that creates an unpleasant harmonic ringing quality. On a positive note, this effect was less noticeable in the mix. And while I was impressed with the preset kits in general, there is a lack of continuity as to how they are organized. For example, the smallest kit includes 11 pieces, while the largest kit has 33, and the placement of the pieces varies among all of the kits. I think that a clear product concept would have been conveyed by the developer if the kits had been arranged consistently. The added advantage of this approach would have been that MIDI clips could have been included with this library, and even swapped between the kits, to really showcase the usefulness of these samples.
Finally, the Ableton Live pack falls short of its full potential. For example, the installation of the Live pack did not go as expected, since the drum kits were not immediately accessible. Similar drum sample libraries I have installed create drum rack presets, along with corresponding MIDI clips, right in Live’s library. However, I had to search for the drum racks and resave them in the proper folder. Additionally, the drum rack presets do not come with programmed macro knobs and effect chains. I think the developers missed an opportunity here to share their vision of how their already deep sample set can be tweaked to perfection, with a little help from Live 8’s built-in tools.

CONCLUSIONS
Drum Tools 01 offers inspiring, unique sounds that are full of character and ready to be sculpted. This package is a great choice for anyone who is not satisfied with all too often vanilla-sounding drum samples that are included in some libraries. Sound designers and beat makers should find plenty of quality material here too. In particular, the ‘drum tools’ folder contains samples for enhancing sub frequencies, as well as transient type sounds, to help add some complexity to your arrangement.
Finally, while this library has a few minor flaws, the developers appear to be actively involved in listening to user feedback, making improvements, and adding value to the package (see this thread over at kvraudio.com).

Drum Tools 01 easily falls into ‘must buy’ territory.

Product's page
(p.s.: Wave Alchemy products are distributed by Loopmasters)


PROS

• excellent file organization
• high-quality 24-bit samples
• wide range of highly usable sounds
• Lite and Solo options great addition for less powerful computers
• Great value for money

LOVE-IT OR HATE-IT

• tweaking the original machines (if you're lucky enough to have some of them) is much more fun than using static samples

CONS

• the Live 8 pack could be improved
• the hi hat samples sounded over processed
• consistently arranged kits could have communicated a clearer concept of the developer’s vision for this product

Here at ANR we usually don't like copying and pasting press releases. But this one we just got from the makers of Kyma is worth reading. Here we go...

Symbolic Sound Corporation has expanded the list of real-time controllers and software that can communicate with its Kyma sound design environment by adding support for Open Sound Control (OSC) to its Paca(rana) sound engine.
By connecting a Paca or Pacarana to the Ethernet, sound designers, musicians, and researchers using Kyma on Windows or Macintosh computers can establish bi-directional communication with OSC-enabled devices and software on the network to control parameters of Kyma sound synthesis and processing algorithms. Open Sound Control is an open communications protocol that delivers higher speeds, greater resolution, and more flexibility than is afforded by the standard MIDI protocol. (For a partial list of software and hardware currently supporting the OSC protocol, please check this list)

Plus Bidirectional MIDI Streams Over OSC
Don't have any OSC-enabled devices or software yet? Not to worry! You, too, can benefit from the faster speeds, higher resolution, and reduced cable-count of OSC by using Symbolic Sound's protocol for sending bi-directional MIDI streams over OSC. Symbolic Sound is happy to announce that several third-party development partners are concurrently announcing new software that supports bi-directional communication with Kyma over OSC:

OSCulator: Known as the Rosetta Stone of music controllers, Camille Troillard's Mac OS X application OSCulator is already familiar to Kyma users who utilize it for sending individual MIDI controls, OSC, and HID control data over FireWire to Kyma. Now, in OSCulator 2.9.2, you can also send OSC messages directly to the Paca(rana) over the network. OSCulator 2.9.2 also implements Symbolic Sound's Bi-Directional-MIDI-streams-over-OSC protocol, enabling you to send streams of MIDI events from your software directly to Kyma without need for a MIDI interface on your computer and without having to map each controller individually in OSCulator.

vM2 and PacaMidi: Harmony Systems, Inc. is offering two new Mac OS X applications in its Delora product line, vM2 and PacaMidi, that incorporate Kyma's new "MIDI-over-OSC" technology to further enhance and facilitate real-time interaction with Kyma. vM2, a "virtual Motor Mix", enables Jazz Mutant Lemur owners to enjoy automatic, fully integrated tactile control over Kyma's Virtual Control Surface. Recently updated to include several exciting new features, vM2 2.0 employs "MIDI-over-OSC" to eliminate the complication of physical MIDI cables and interfaces. PacaMidi, Harmony's newest product, uses "MIDI-over-OSC" to create a "virtual MIDI interface and patchbay" that adds three merged MIDI inputs and one MIDI output to a Paca(rana). This expands Kyma's connectivity options, while saving you the expense and complexity of using physical MIDI interfaces, hardware mergers, and numerous cables.

Max & M4L: If you are one of the many artists using Kyma in conjunction with Ableton's Live and/or Cycling74's Max, you'll be happy to hear that Andrew Capon has written a Max external for bidirectional MIDI communication over OSC that works with both Max and Max For Live.

For software and hardware developers
Starting from the Open Sound Control definition of a MIDI data type, Symbolic Sound has published additional details that make it possible to define a bidirectional stream of MIDI events sent as OSC messages over a network. Software and hardware developers planning to add MIDI-over-OSC capabilities to their applications or devices are invited to utilize this protocol to ensure compatibility with Kyma and Symbolic Sound's development partners.
For developers utilizing pure OSC who would like to ensure compatibility with Kyma, please check this document.

Who can use OSC with Kyma?
Anyone using Kyma on a Windows or Macintosh computer with either the Paca or Pacarana sound engine can utilize the new OSC features.
Sound artists will find this new feature of interest primarily due to the new opportunities it affords for controlling Kyma using OSC-enabled software running on devices such as the newly announced Apple iPad (and compatible iPhone and iPod Touch), the award-winning Jazz Mutant Lemur multi-touch surface, and numerous other OSC controllers and software.

Pricing & Availability
OSC-enabled Kyma X.74 is a free software update for registered Kyma X owners. OSC communication requires the Paca or Pacarana sound engine. Kyma X.74 also comes with additional features, including an 11-times speedup in the Virtual Control Surface, support for the MOTU Ultra Lite Hybrid mk3, TC Electronic Impact Twin, and Prism Audio Orpheus converters, track-pad compatible menus, refinements to the Tau resynthesis, and more.