Recording - June 2012 - 45
unlike them its sounds were stored on spinning translucent discs that were read by a light beam. The light beam technology had the advantage of infinite sustain (unlike Tron tapes that ran out after 8 seconds), but was lo-fi at best, with weird crackles and pops and tonal glitches that spelled “marketing disaster” in the ’70s but “severely retro-cool” in the 2000s. The OptiTron library contains 25 rhythm collections from the original Optigan discs, from “Banjo Singalong” to “Polynesian Village” and everything in between, plus five playable “Lead” sounds—choir, flute, “harmonic extra”, marimba, and organ. GForce has adapted the Optigan sounds to the M-Tron Pro interface, carefully beatmatching the samples to all be at the same tempo (110 PM for 4/4 time, 80 BPM for 3/4) and using the keyboard to play back the rhythms that used to be accessible via the buttons. As you can see in the OptiTron screenshot, the keyboard’s range is colorcoded for rhythm effects, 12 each of major and minor looped chords, and 6 diminished chords, each key playing a looped snippet of music in the appropriate style. GForce cheerfully acknowledges the retrogeek factor of these rhythms, which are uniformly goofy beyond belief. But the ability to layer them, mix them, and reverse them gives rise to all sorts of cool sounds—a treasure hunter’s delight.
However, as much silly fun as that all is, I have to say that the real gems of the OptiTron collection are the Lead sounds. The marimba is marred by way too much vibrato, but the other four sounds are exquisite, especially the flute and choir. These are the sounds of Kraftwerk’s albums from the 1970s, although those were played on the rare professional-market descendent of the Optigan, the Vako Orchestron. They easily take OptiTron from the status of a cool toy for constructing weird neo-retro grooves and turn it into a very playable and musical instrument in its own right. I consider OptiTron a fantastic add-on to any M-Tron Pro user’s palette. The Streetly Tapes Vol.1 Have we saved the best for last? If you’re a Tron purist, absolutely. This collection of 24 original Tron sounds from the folks at Streetly Electronics, the original UK-based makers of the Mellotron, was curated via a process that purists consider the closest one can ever get to the real thing—the original session recordings, transferred to Production Masters, then to Protection Copies, then to Working Masters, then to the tape racks sold for installation in the final product. If you’ve kept count, that’s a fifth-generation tape copy of the original sounds, with all of the attendant degradation that gives Tron tapes their magic.
Reading the product page on the GForce website is a trip down memory lane, as the creators reference famous bands that have used many of these sounds, from the Beatles to Barclay James Harvest to Genesis to Tangerine Dream. My personal favorites include the Halfspeed Brass, recorded slowed down for massive low end presence; GC3 Brass, a triple-overdubbed trombone performance with naturally occurring phase shifting from the three passes; the huge and somber String Section; the sweetly grungy Boys Choir; and Gothic, an earthshaking train wreck of strings, organ, and 8voice choir playing in unison. All of the sounds have a paradoxical mixture of familiar Tron tape-based warmth and a striking hi-fi clarity from the careful recording and playback process. None of these sounds precisely mimics an already extant M-Tron Pro tape set, making them both familiar and yet powerfully new. If you love the history and character of the Mellotron and use M-Tron Pro in your studio, I can’t imagine you not wanting to hear what The Streetly Tapes has to offer. Prices: ChamberTron, $95; OptiTron, $55; The Streetly Tapes Vol. 1, $80 (prices approximate, converted from Pounds) More from: GForce, www.gforcesoftware.com
http://www.gforcesoftware.com
http://www.cras.edu
http://www.cras.edu
http://www.audiorecordingschool.com/consumer.html
Recording - June 2012
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - June 2012
Recording - June 2012
Fade In
Contents
Talkback
Fast Forward
Finale 2012 As A Tool For Sample Playback
Mark De Clive-Lowe
Applied Acoustics Systems Chromaphone.
Reviewed and Revisited: PreSonus Studio One 2.0.
Toontrack EZkeys Grand Piano
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 6: Introduction to Microphones—Part Three (From Proximity To Plosives)
Recording’s Showcase Of Sounds
Steven Slate Drums 4.0.
Sample Magic Electro and Hed Kandi: Disco House Samples
MOTU MachFive3
Reviewed and Revisited: audiobro LA Scoring Strings 2.0.
Milab DC-96B and DC-96C Condenser Microphones
Sennheiser MK 4 Condenser Microphone
Olympus LS-20M and LS-100 Portable Recorders
Readers’ Tapes
Advertiser Index
Fade Out
Recording - June 2012 - Recording - June 2012
Recording - June 2012 - Cover2
Recording - June 2012 - 1
Recording - June 2012 - 2
Recording - June 2012 - 3
Recording - June 2012 - Fade In
Recording - June 2012 - 5
Recording - June 2012 - Contents
Recording - June 2012 - 7
Recording - June 2012 - Talkback
Recording - June 2012 - 9
Recording - June 2012 - Fast Forward
Recording - June 2012 - 11
Recording - June 2012 - Finale 2012 As A Tool For Sample Playback
Recording - June 2012 - 13
Recording - June 2012 - 14
Recording - June 2012 - 15
Recording - June 2012 - 16
Recording - June 2012 - 17
Recording - June 2012 - 18
Recording - June 2012 - 19
Recording - June 2012 - Mark De Clive-Lowe
Recording - June 2012 - 21
Recording - June 2012 - 22
Recording - June 2012 - 23
Recording - June 2012 - Applied Acoustics Systems Chromaphone.
Recording - June 2012 - 25
Recording - June 2012 - Reviewed and Revisited: PreSonus Studio One 2.0.
Recording - June 2012 - 27
Recording - June 2012 - 28
Recording - June 2012 - 29
Recording - June 2012 - Toontrack EZkeys Grand Piano
Recording - June 2012 - 31
Recording - June 2012 - 32
Recording - June 2012 - 33
Recording - June 2012 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 6: Introduction to Microphones—Part Three (From Proximity To Plosives)
Recording - June 2012 - 35
Recording - June 2012 - 36
Recording - June 2012 - 37
Recording - June 2012 - Recording’s Showcase Of Sounds
Recording - June 2012 - 39
Recording - June 2012 - 40
Recording - June 2012 - 41
Recording - June 2012 - 42
Recording - June 2012 - 43
Recording - June 2012 - 44
Recording - June 2012 - 45
Recording - June 2012 - Steven Slate Drums 4.0.
Recording - June 2012 - 47
Recording - June 2012 - Sample Magic Electro and Hed Kandi: Disco House Samples
Recording - June 2012 - 49
Recording - June 2012 - MOTU MachFive3
Recording - June 2012 - 51
Recording - June 2012 - Reviewed and Revisited: audiobro LA Scoring Strings 2.0.
Recording - June 2012 - 53
Recording - June 2012 - Milab DC-96B and DC-96C Condenser Microphones
Recording - June 2012 - 55
Recording - June 2012 - Sennheiser MK 4 Condenser Microphone
Recording - June 2012 - 57
Recording - June 2012 - 58
Recording - June 2012 - 59
Recording - June 2012 - 60
Recording - June 2012 - 61
Recording - June 2012 - Olympus LS-20M and LS-100 Portable Recorders
Recording - June 2012 - 63
Recording - June 2012 - Readers’ Tapes
Recording - June 2012 - Advertiser Index
Recording - June 2012 - 66
Recording - June 2012 - 67
Recording - June 2012 - 68
Recording - June 2012 - 69
Recording - June 2012 - 70
Recording - June 2012 - 71
Recording - June 2012 - Fade Out
Recording - June 2012 - Cover3
Recording - June 2012 - Cover4
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