Recording - March 2010 - 9

Image-Line Releases a Softsynth that’s Harmless Harmless is a new software instrument from Image-Line Software, makers of the FL Studio modular DAW/loop composition environment. Harmless is unique in that it combines elements of additive synthesis (where the user combines harmonics to build up waveforms) and subtractive synthesis (where the user starts with a complex waveform and uses filters to shape it) in a way never before seen. The Harmless user interface is designed to be as simple as possible, with no tabs or hidden screens, and simplified control options that can almost entirely be automated via MIDI. Sections are grouped into logical areas such as Timbre, Pitch, and Amplitude, and color-coded controls for the Filter and Phaser can be linked to interact with one another and with the generated tones. Fine control of harmonic structure is available for users who want to do finer tweaking, and the plug-in has built-in effects including chorus, delay, reverb, and multiband compression. Harmless is currently available as a plug-in within FL Studio and as a VSTi plug-in for Windows XP/Vista/7. The program is designed for efficient CPU usage and multithreading to minimize load on the DAW. Price: $79 More from: Image-Line Software, www.image-line.com. New Soundware from Best Service and realsamples Best Service has released a new sound library called RealLPC. This virtual instrument offers multiple samples of all six strings at all frets of a Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar, combined with a special playing interface that allows for quick and intuitive imitation of many guitar techniques from a standard keyboard. There’s articulation switching (mutes/harmonics/etc.), built-in effects, chord and pattern management systems, and much more. Also new from Best Service: Phantom Files. This sound design library contains 8.3 GB of sounds—3.3 GB each of WAV and Apple Loops, 1.7 GB of REX files. It includes loops, melodic tracks, processed beats, soundscapes, ambiences, interlocked beats, atmospheres, and other unusual and inspiring sounds for modern dance and other genres. Best Service is also distributing a new line of sample libraries from German maker realsamples, including three historical keyboards formatted for Steinberg HALion, Native Instruments Kontakt 2, Apple EXS24, and Gigastudio 3. The instruments were tuned to their historically accurate references (far below today’s A440), recorded at 24-bit/192 kHz quality and carefully rate-converted to 24-bit/44.1 kHz, and include 8 samples of each note for greater realism—while harpsichords are not touch-sensitive per se, the multiple samples with their subtle differences prevent “machinegunning”. You can choose from the Italian Harpsichord II, an instrument built by an anonymous maker in 1590; the English Spinet II, an instrument built by Benjamin Slade in 1705 that features split C#1 and D#1 keys for different tunings in the bottom octave (see the photo); and the German Lautenwerck, a reconstruction of an only recently rediscovered Baroque instrument, the “lute-harpsichord”, of which no historical examples exist. Prices: RealLPC, 166 Euros; Phantom Files, 87 Euros; Edition Beurmann libraries, 100 Euros each More from: Best Service, www.bestservice.de; realsamples, www.realsamples.de. RECORDING MARCH 2010

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Recording - March 2010

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