Recording - June 2014 - 22

&
Cubase's Instrument Rack. In the past this was simply a
nondescript gray container that, when pulled up,
showed you what soft synths were selected and used in
your session.
Now updated, it's bigger and visually more appealing. It adds new Quick Controls to each synth in the
rack, and merges Instrument Tracks with the Instrument
Rack and keeps them in sync. When you add a synth
in the Instrument Rack, Cubase creates a track for it
(which now supports multi-outputs and multi-inputs if
your soft synth is so equipped), and when you add a
new Instrument Track, Cubase adds the relevant instrument to the Rack, Quick Controls and all.
HALion Sonic SE 2: Speaking of soft synths, HALion
Sonic SE gets a huge upgrade in version 2, with not
only a refreshed appearance but with a host of new
features ranging from new and improved Quick
Controls to a slew of updated effects. These range from

the normal suspects like Reverb, EQ, Chorus, Phaser,
Multi-Delay and Flange to the more modern and esoteric like a Morph Filter, Tape Saturator, Octaver, Step
Flange, Envelope Shaper and more. Unlike what was
built into your hardware keyboards of old, these effects
are every bit as good as the bigger versions found in
Cubase-I think they sound really nice!
Of course the SE designation means that this is a
scaled-down version of the full HALion Sonic 2 (which
I hope to test-drive in a future issue), but despite that it
still sounds fantastic, especially for a freebie. Lastly,
whereas the older SE was essentially a virtual ROMpler
of sorts, SE 2 is a hybrid that now includes the brand
new Trip virtual analog synth engine as well... complete with a full featured old-school arpeggiator.
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RECORDING June 2014

Groove Agent SE 4: This is the other new software instrument in
Cubase 7.5, and it is a colossal leap forward from the older Groove
Agent. It starts with 30 new drum kits with new sounds and samples, plus
an improved and much fuller-featured MPC-style interface. Everything
Groove Agent did, SE 4 does better-from dragging and dropping samples onto the pads, which includes taking hitpoint-sliced beats straight
from your tracks, and creating either a full kit or multi-layered samples;
to precision editing of said samples, adding effects, and playing those
sounds back with preset or user-created patterns that can also be laid out
in a second MPC-style pad window, for both quick studio track creation
or live performance. Phew!
The scary thing to me here is that if the SE designation means, as with
HALion Sonic, that this is a cut-down version of something greater... then
there may well be a new Groove Agent 4 coming around the corner.
And if this plug-in is "just an SE version," then the full version is likely to
be an absolute monster that may well rival some of the best MPC-based
virtual drum stations on the market!
One quick story: I had a client come in recently who brought his pair
of beagles (yes, the man's best friend kind) and had me record their tails
thwapping on a drum head. He hoped to use them in one of his songs.
Not the weirdest thing I've ever recorded in my studio, either. (Don't ask.)
Of course the dog tail rhythms were sporadic and off time, so I used the
new transient/hit point detection in Cubase 7.5 (more on that in a minute),
sliced and diced them, selected and dragged them into Groove Agent SE4,
and proceeded to play and sequence a new dog tail groove in real time
using the Cubase CMC PD pad controller (reviewed March 2013). From a
strange new sound to a groove composed and ready to use, in no time flat.
By the way, if sampling dog tails is not your thing, Steinberg has
included a bunch of brand new EDM Construction Kits in 7.5 as well.
New effects
LoopMash FX: Moving to the trio of
new effects added to 7.5, the first up
is LoopMash FX. While the name and
paradigm are similar to Cubase's
LoopMash soft-synth beat mangler,
LoopMash FX is a simple yet effective
real time playable DJ-style effects plugin, complete with tape stops, stutters,
reverse and breakbeat-style effects.
The thing not to miss here is that this
plug-in is not just for drum grooves
and synths! It will happily work on
any channel, on any source you want
to creatively mess with.
REVelation: A few years back, when a full-function convolution reverb
named Reverence was added to Cubase, you could tell Steinberg was
getting serious about reverb. That trend continues with the new
REVelation plug-in. It's a new classic-algorithmic based reverb that is
leaps and bounds beyond Cubase's original reverb.
This is a full fledged reverb plug-in with controls that move beyond the
usual size, length, pre-delay and such, and include the ability to edit the
modulation of the reverb tail, blend between the early reflections and the
reverb (a function I have only ever experienced with Softube's TSAR reverb
plug-in), have separate low- and high-frequency decays, and more.
Sonically I was flat-out amazed by REVelation. I am a reverb snob and love
to use reverbs not only in minimal situations behind vocals and instruments, but
also pushing them to their limits for sound design and electronic music applications. I won't say that REVelation beats out many of the vintage reverb emulations and plug-ins that cost almost as much as Cubase on their own, but what
REVelation does do well is hold its own by offering its own unique sound.
It can go from small, thin, and ringy to long and smooth and effecty
with ease. When pushed to its max for time and tonal complexity, I liked
that it retained a crisp sizzle to its top end, but one that sounded like it
was enveloped in a smooth warm shell. It's a very unique and interesting sound that I'll be making use of a lot in the future.
I only had one real complaint about REVelation: other than Pre-Delay
and Reverb-Delay, nothing is labeled in terms of milliseconds or any unit
of time or beats as I would expect in a modern DAW. Instead, REVelation

Recording - June 2014

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