Using VST Instruments

VST Instruments can create a huge variety of sounds from the comfort of your MIDI + Audio sequencer, but can also be a source of confusion for many computer users. Martin Walker answers the most common questions, and provides advice about automation, timing, and sound quality. A couple of years ago musicians would have laughed if you had told them that classic synths would be successfully re-created in software form and sold at a fraction of the original price. They would have been even less likely to believe that you might have half a dozen or more of them neatly integrated into your favourite MIDI + Audio sequencer to be summoned at will. Yet VST Instruments do exactly this -- and with the likes of the Minimoog, TB303, TR808, Prophet Five, PPG Wave and Mellotron already available, it's hardly surprising that they're proving extremely popular. However, you rarely get something for nothing, and the situation's no different here. Q What is a VST Instrument, and how do they work?

The 54 best VST/AU plugin synths in the world today | MusicRadar asked, you answered There's no denying that there's been a boom in hardware synth sales over the past couple of years - particular of affordable analogue ones - but if you want to benefit from great sound, convenience and tight integration with your DAW, it's hard to argue with what the best of today's plugin synths have to offer. Sure, many of the cutting-edge instruments impose a considerable CPU hit, and others are either clearly-labelled or thinly-veiled emulations of hardware synths from the past, but being able to call upon a vast range of incredible synths with just a click of a mouse remains a joy, and something that no one who started making electronic music in the pre-VSTi/AU days will ever take for granted. What follows is our guide to the 54 best VST, AU and other native format plugin synths in the world today. Compiled over the course of several years, it’s been updated to reflect the market in 2014, and is bigger and better than ever. Got that? NEXT: Subatomic Software Audulus

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SigmaTizm | Software for Windows SigmaTizm Version 1 Download SigmaTizm Version 1 for Windows 7/Vista/XP SP2+ (5.4 MB) Click here to buy the full version of SigmaTizm ($9.99) SigmaTizm is also available for Ubuntu Linux via the Ubuntu Software Center. SigmaTizm is a standalone virtual additive synthesizer designed for live play. Additive synthesis works by using a large number of sine wave oscillators at different frequencies to create complex musical timbres. No plugin host or additional software and hardware is required to run it. To get started, click the folder icon to load a predefined "patch" and press keys on your keyboard or click the keyboard keys with your mouse to play sound. Current Features: Demo Version Restrictions: - Cannot save new patches. - Polyphony limited to one note. SigmaTizm has had more than 25000 downloads.

Audacity.es Peter Dines: Desert Island Plugins: The Best Virtual Instruments I have too many instrument plugins, like anyone else who uses a DAW. Some are free, some are paid, and put them all together and ya got options paralysis. So I decided to get out the pruning shears. Here's what I consider the top plugin instruments, the ones I can't do without: Reaktor. Duh. Synthmaster - this thing has completely spoiled me for most other "straight" plugins. Geist - a superb plugin for cranking out swinging MPC type beats. Tremor - for a drum machine from the same company that makes Geist, this has very little overlap. Kontakt - like Reaktor this can do things nothing else can do, and approaches much of what Reaktor does in the area of sampling, thanks to its scripting language. Honorable mention: DCAM Synth Squad.

How to Podcast with SoundCloud How to Create a Course Podcast with Dropbox This will be the first of a series of posts where I will share step-by-step tips for some customized online course development practices that I’ve recently attempted and found to be successful in my own online courses. Many of these tips will specifically deal with building a course in Blackboard, but the principles can certainly be applied to course design within other learning management systems. For years, I’ve been a big fan of podcasts and have found them to be a fantastic tools for professional development as well as for fostering “presence” in my blended and online courses. As an auditory learner myself, I prefer to learn through audio in conjunction with text and have for years looked for ways to incorporate audio into my teaching. While podcasts may not be for everyone, there is indeed no shortage of literature on podcast or evidence pointing to the educational benefits of podcasting. Podcasts, whether they be audio or video, are viewable either online or a mobile device.

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