Waldorf is preparing the latest version of it’s soft PPG… version 3.V. They have added sample playback from the awesome looking and named Waveterm. I really liked the previous versions of the plug-in because they definetly sounded different. I admit though I never ended up using the PPG in a song. That’s not going to stop me from trying again.

“Besides the well-known features of the PPG Wave 2.V our new plug-in offers sample playback based on the classic PPG Waveterm technology. We have added some nice stuff like an opulent effects section, filter drive as well as an extensive sound browser. Not enough? Well, what would you say if we added the complete Waveterm B sample library and more than 130 wavetables (a lot of new stuff created by Wolfgang Palm).” – waldorfmusic.de

For more info: waldorfmusic.de

I love vintage hardware reverbs. My sole use of Altiverb is to load it up with old Lexicon Impulse Responses. There’s a lot of hype going around about a new plug-in from Relab called the LX480. It’s a obvious recreation of one of the all time best hardware reverbs the Lexicon 480.

Here’s a comparison between the original and the new softy:
www.rhythminmind.net/presetblog/2010/07/480l-or-lx-480/

A long Gearslutz thread discussion about the Relab LX480:
www.gearslutz.com/new-product-alert/plug-leak-relab-lx480

For more info: plugindiscounts.com/LX480LITE

Yamaha RX11 and Ekdahl Moisterizer by thingstocome

Here’s some samples and photos from my latest eBay splurge. There’s something special about a vintage drum machine. I can’t place what it is but the sound and groove is just “it”. The recorded waveforms have more valleys and peaks than ITB synthesized drums. Panning seems wider. This Yamaha RX11 from the early 80s is really large, heavy and built like a tank. Pure joy for $50.

“The RX11 was one of Yamaha’s early drum machines (maybe even their first?) and as you can see from the panel cosmetics, it comes from the same era as their DX synths. At the time, it was a marvel – a (relatively) low-cost programmable drum machine with 29 ‘real’ drum samples and no less than 12 individual audio outputs.” – hollowsun.com/vintage/rx11/

For more info: harmony-central.com/reviews/RX-11/

If I had unlimited cash I would go onto eBay right now and buy every single drum machine I could find. The next best thing is a good sample collection. Puremagnetik has an interesting subscription model that delivers you monthly “Micropaks” of sounds all ready to go in Ableton Live. This month they hit my sweet spot with some nice 80s digital drum machine sets. Here what you get:

Korg DDD-1: A programmable drum machine from 1986. Includes 18 drum sounds with a famous 12-bit crunch. Alesis HR-16: One of Alesis’s first drum machines manufactured in 1987. Includes over 40 unique drum and percussion sounds. Kawai R50: Legendary 12-bit sound from 1988! Includes a selection of over 20 dirty drum and percussion sounds. Sound: A very rare Soviet era drum machine manufactured by Zhitomir electronic factory in 1989. Includes sampled percussion sounds with a tightly compressed flavor. – puremagnetik.com

For more info including a video walkthrough and audio clips: click here