Computer Music 191 – Classic Keys Cover Feature (with Video) plus KR-Delay CM & VPS Philta CM

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged B3, Billy Joel, Classic Keys, CM191, Computer Music, Cover Feature, Hammond, keyboard sounds, new issue, Piano, Rhodes, Stevie Wonder, Supertramp, tutorial, Wurlitzer • Leave a comment

Huge excitement today as my massive, 13-page ‘Classic Keys’ cover feature hits the shelves at last on the front of Computer Music’s June 2013 issue. Beginning on page 32, it’s all about how to get the best from today’s finest virtual keyboard instruments and create convincing piano, electric piano and organ parts using your computer.

Covering:
• How real pianos, electric pianos and tonewheel organs work.
• How to recreate certain playing styles in a MIDI sequencer
• Programming dance piano chords
• Programming convincing sustain pedal performance data
• Using drawbars on a virtual Hammond B3
• How to choose the best virtual piano, Rhodes & organ plug-ins
And much more besides.

Every walkthrough guide also has an accompanying video on the cover DVD (or downloadable from the website via the digital editions). I’ve been dying to see this in print since I wrote it back in January, so if you want to get sounds like the likes of Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Smith, Billy Joel, Supertramp and other classic keyboard wizards into your tunes, grab a copy and check it out!

As a bonus, elsewhere in the issue, starting on page 16 I also take the helm of the regular ‘cm plug-ins Quick Guide‘ slot. Two pages each cover how to navigate your way around the front panels of KResearch’s KR-Delay CM stereo delay unit and Vengeance-Sound’s Philta CM superb dual filter plug-in. Both these special edition plug-ins are only available with the magazine, along with an ever-growing stable of other high-quality virtual instruments and effects.

17 pages in one issue – I think that might be a new personal best…… at least until next month’s issue!

MacUser Vol. 29 No.5 – Computer-Generated Vocals in GarageBand

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged GarageBand, how to, how to vocode in GarageBand, Mac User, new issue, Vocoder, vocoding in GarageBand • Leave a comment

One Thursday night back in 1978, when I was 10 and first really getting into music, I witnessed a band on Top of the Pops called ELO playing a song called Mr Blue Sky. The middle 8 came in with its vocoded vocal and my pre-adolescent mind was instantly blown. Vocoders have been one of my favourite things on the planet ever since, and it’s long been a mild frustration of mine that GarageBand, a piece of software that I know and love well through my monthly iCreate tutorials, has not had the ability to produce a decent vocoded vocal. So, I made it my personal mission to try and perfect a technique that would not only make this possible, but that would produce great-sounding and properly useful results.
Yes, in the May 2013 issue of the new-look, bigger, monthly MacUser magazine, I take up six whole pages of the posh, shiny new paper with a step-by-step guide to producing coherent, computer-generated vocals in GarageBand without a vocalist or microphone anywhere in sight. It’s all thanks to one particular freeware third-party plug-in that happens to function in such a way that GarageBand’s lack of signal routing options no longer poses a problem to cash-strapped would-be vocoderists.
Beginning on page 78, this colourful and informative guide takes you through the entire process from scratch, starting by generating the source vocal as spoken text and ending up with a finished lead or backing vocal generated entirely within your Mac.
So if you’re a GB user who fancies a bit of vocoding fun (and it’s great fun, trust me!), get your May 2013 copy of MacUser today!

iCreate 119 – GarageBand Ringtones & Logic Editing Tips

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged GarageBand, how to, iCreate, iCreate 119, iPhone Ringtones, Logic Drum Editing, Logic Vocal Editing, new issue • Leave a comment

The latest issue of iCreate can now be glimpsed on a newsstand near you, be it analogue or digital, and if you flick through it you’ll find a few contributions in there from me. I get a couple of half-page mini-tutorials in the ‘How to Record an Album in a Week’ feature that begins on page 30. Page 33 features an item on how to work with MIDI drums in Logic’s piano roll editor, while on page 37 you’ll find some advice on the tools that Logic provides to get better results when recording and editing vocals.

Meanwhile, in a separate double-page tutorial on page 58, I demonstrate how to use GarageBand to create a custom iPhone ringtone from practically any piece of audio.

Aside from the ‘Album in a Week’ feature which is chock full of great advice and tips, there’s also a huge guide to how to get the best from iCloud, which I know I found extremely useful, along with the usual awesome collection of hints, tips, features and reviews.
So if you haven’t already, add issue 119 to your collection forthwith!

Avid Announce Pro Tools 11 at NAB 2013

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in News • Tagged 64-bit, AAX, Announcement, availability, Avid, NAB 2013, New Features, Offline bouncing, Pricing, Pro Tools 11, PT11 • Leave a comment

One of the most exciting news items to come out of the NAB show in Las Vegas this week has been Avid’s announcement of the all-new Pro Tools 11. A completely rewritten, 64-bit application with all-new code and a brand new Avid Audio Engine (bye, DAE!) under the bonnet, this audio and music production, editing and mixing powerhouse takes things up to the next level, with the promise of more processing power, more tracks, more virtual instruments, more complex instruments – just more, basically. The 64-bit architecture promises better memory management, with the ability to address as much RAM as your computer can hold, and all-round much slicker performance, particularly in complex sessions with lots of virtual instruments and effects. But, apart from being 64-bit from the ground up, what else is new? Has someone at Avid been listening? Has all the stuff that’s driven us PT users nuts for years finally been addressed? Here’s a closer look at some of the new bits and pieces to be found in Pro Tools 11.

Offline Bouncing
Offline bouncing is here at last, which will have many users literally jumping for joy. The days of watching the progress bar crawl across the screen as the computer wrestles with a real-time bounce of a complex orchestral mix or an hour-long podcast, (only to throw up an error at the last minute, requiring the whole process to be started again through a blurry veil of frustrated tears) are finally drawing to a close. Offline bouncing promises to deliver mixes at speeds up to 150 times faster, which means an hour-long program could be rendered in under one minute. This is sample-accurate offline bouncing to boot, so you always know exactly what you’ll end up with. Stem creation looks like it’s about to get a lot less painful, and it looks likely to be useful as a track freeze function too, a quick way of lightening the CPU load caused by memory-hogging virtual instrument tracks. You can also bounce a .WAV and a .mp3 version simultaneously in PT11.

Timing Tweaks
Elsewhere, Avid have sought to stamp out latency issues by implementing both an input and an output buffer, so that delays introduced by complex processes can be compensated for at the output stage. This all happens transparently, so that by the time it reaches your ears, everything should be in perfect time. To reduce monitor latency when recording, PT 11 has domain latency switching which allows for input-enabled virtual instrument and record channels to employ a super-low, 32-sample buffer while playback tracks operate at whatever your current system buffer settings are. Clever!
Time-stamped plugin parameter automation means that now every automation move will happen exactly when it’s supposed to, rather than a few frames either side of the intended position, which can apparently happen with some current systems when a bounce is rendered.

From Meter You
Pro Tools 11 introduces a batch of new metering systems for Pro Tools HD users – a total of 17 industry-standard metering options are available in the top-end version of the software, including standard VU metering, BBC and Nordic PPM metering, and even Bob Katz’ K System. The master track meters can have their format set independently from the rest of the Mix window, and mini meters now appear on the plugin slots in the Sends view. You’ll also now find a configurable gain reduction meter for dynamics plugins on each channel in the HD version. The channel meters themselves are much higher resolution and also 30% taller than those in PT10.

Video Star
Video handling is also much improved, with Pro Tools 11 adopting the same video engine as that found in its sister app Media Composer, which was also updated this week. You can now monitor and even edit HD video directly within your Pro Tools sessions. You can add a variety of broadcast level formats (XD Cam, MXF HD, Avid DNxHD) directly to your session without transcoding, which is a real timesaver. There’s also improved support for a much wider range of video interfaces than before, including equipment from AJA and Black Magic.

Bits n Bobs
There’s a host of other tweaks and enhancements alongside the big guns. Dynamic Host Processing cleverly reallocates processor resources away from tracks when there’s nothing playing on them. There’s an updated workspace browser with a faster, improved search feature, and you can now input automation data whilst recording – great for recording live sound. This automation data can also be converted to clip gain when mixing a project.
There’s a set of new, single-handed shortcuts for bypassing inserts – great for quick before / after comparisons of channel strips with long plugin chains. You can bypass all inserts with one keystroke (Shift +A), or use different commands to bypass by placement or category. Graphically, the system now supports Apple’s Retina displays and there have been some visual tweaks to the Mix window.

Notably, PT11 only supports the AAX plugin format – RTAS & TDM plugins are no longer supported from this version onwards because they are all 32-bit code. PT11 is all 64-bit code, so older plugins may need to be sacrificed for the sake of progress, at least until AAX upgrades of those plugins become available. A tough call for UAD users. Interestingly, you can run both PT10 & PT11 on the same machine, which offers a temporary workaround to bridge the transition, but if you’re a Mac Pro user, that machine has to be newer than the March 2009 (Mac Pro 4,1) model. Pro Tools 11 requires OS X 10.8.3 or newer, and an iLok2 USB dongle is required for copy protection.

So, no new plugins or instruments then, but rather a completely overhauled application that promises to provide a smoother and faster workflow, as long as you can take the ‘no RTAS’ hit. Pro Tools 11 is expected to ship in May / June 2013, but anyone who purchases and registers a copy of PT10 between 7th April and the release date will receive a free upgrade to 11 when it ships.

Pricing
Pricing will be as follows:

Pro Tools 11 software (full version)— $699 USD
Pro Tools 10 to 11 upgrade— $299 USD
Pro Tools 9 to 11 upgrade— $399 USD
Pro Tools Express to Pro Tools 11 cross grade— $499 USD
Pro Tools HD 10 to 11 upgrade— $599 USD
Pro Tools HD 9 to 11 upgrade— $999 USD

For more information, see http://apps.avid.com/protools11

Computer Music 190 – HorNet Fat-Fet & LinPlug CM-505

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged analogue drum synth, CM190, compressor, computer music magazine, Hornet Fat-fet, LinPlug CM-505, new issue, tutorial video • Leave a comment

Computer Music magazine hits the shelves with a particularly high-viz cover this month, and all of my bits and pieces can be found near the front of the issue this time around. In the DVD Tutorial section, I get to introduce you to this month’s free plug-in, the excellent HorNet Fat-Fet. This virtual analogue compressor plug-in is modelled on the famous Universal Audio 1176LN Blue Stripe hardware compressor from 1967, and even though the front panel bears no resemblance to the original, it sounds pretty great. You’ll find a full description and in-depth 18-step guide to how to use it on pages 6-8, together with an accompanying video on the cover DVD.

Elsewhere, the CM Plugins Quick Guide feature delves into the innards of the LinPlug CM-505, an exclusive, custom-built analogue drum synth offered as part of the free suite of plugins that comes bundled with each issue of cm. A detailed four-page breakdown of what all the knobs and buttons do, this is the first time I’ve had a go at this kind of feature, and you can see how it turned out on pages 16-19.

So don your shades and get stuck into CM190, available from today in both print and download editions.

iCreate 118 – Slowdown FX in GarageBand, Combine PDF Files in Preview, Sony Sound Forge Pro Mac Review

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged AUPitch, Combine pdfs in Preview, GarageBand, how to, iCreate, new issue, review, slowdown effect, Sound Forge Pro Mac, tutorial • Leave a comment

So as another month rolls around, two much-anticipated events occur: the arrival of Spring and another issue of iCreate. There are two tutorials and a software review from me this month: on page 56 you’ll find my step-by-step guide to creating the popular vocal slowdown effect in GarageBand using the AU Pitch plugin and the automation system. There’s barely a song on the radio at the moment that doesn’t feature this kind of effect somewhere, so if you’re a GB user, this is how you too can get in on the act.
Elsewhere, on page 78, you’ll find a tip for something you probably didn’t even know was possible – how to combine multiple PDF files into a single document using the Preview app that comes as standard as part of OS X. Once you’ve pulled off this trick once, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it!
Meanwhile, Sony Creative Software have rewritten their popular Sound Forge Pro audio editing app for the Mac. Far from being merely a port of the software that PC users have had access to for years, this version 1.0 release looks set to surprise a lot of people, and probably not for the reasons you’d expect. To find out what I thought of it, turn to page 124.

So to check out these pieces and a host of other useful tips, tricks and how-to’s, get hold of a print or digital copy today!

iCreate 117 – Podcast Stings & Spruced-up Spreadsheets

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged how to, iCreate, Numbers, podcast stings, sound effects, Spreadsheets • Leave a comment

Issue 117 of iCreate magazine is out now, and nestling amongst its feature-packed pages this month are four pages of tutorials from me. On page 48 I show you how to get to grips with producing your own podcast stings, bumpers and sound effects in GarageBand, while a second tutorial on page 58 demonstrates how to use colour and shapes to liven up the visuals in your Numbers spreadsheets, following on from the weight loss tracker illustrated in last month’s issue. All in all, another brilliant issue from the iCreate team, so pick one up today!

Computer Music 188 – Cubase 7 New Features Tutorial (With Video)

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged Channel Settings Window, Channel Strips, Chord Assistant, Chord Track, Computer Music 188, Cubase 7, MemZap, Mix Console, New Features, new issue, VST Connect SE • Leave a comment

Issue 188 of Computer Music magazine includes, amongst much other music software-related goodness, my 5-page guide on how to work with the most prominent new features in Steinberg’s Cubase 7. Found on page 62 and covering the new MixConsole, Channel Strips, Channel Settings Window, Chord Assistant, Chord Track, VariAudio 2.0, MemZap and VST Connect SE, the guide is designed to get you up to speed with the new aspects of the software as quickly as possible, whether you’re a Cubase newbie (a Cubie?) or a seasoned veteran. Together with the accompanying video walkthroughs I produced for the cover DVD (which can be downloaded from http://vault.computermusic.co.uk for those who subscribe to digital versions of the mag) it makes for a detailed introduction to all the great new stuff that Steinberg have packed into this release.

So to find out more, nip to Smiths, Tesco or any other favoured news boutique for a print issue or download a digital copy from Newsstand or Zinio today!

MacUser Vol.29 No.2 – How to Sidechain in GarageBand

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged effect, GarageBand, how to, MacUser, new issue, Praktik, sidechaining, tutorial • Leave a comment

Sophisticated though it may be for an entry level DAW, GarageBand does have some limitations, one of them being a lack of any kind of provision for side-chaining effects – you know, like the bit in Titanium where the track pulses up and down in volume in time with the beat. So in this latest issue of MacUser magazine, you’ll find my six-page, step-by-step guide outlining three different techniques to work around this limitation and get this popular pumping effect in your own GarageBand projects. Accompanied by a neat little mention on the front cover, the piece starts on page 78, so if you want to ‘Guetta’ similar effect, you know what to do!

This is also the final bi-weekly issue of MacUser, because from February 14th 2013 this prestigious publication will be shifting to a monthly format, so I guess this means that there’ll be an extra week to get hold of this issue!

Novation To Unveil Launchkey Controller Range at NAMM 2013

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in News • Tagged DAW controller, InControl, iPad, Launchkey app, Launchpad app, MIDI keyboard, NAMM 2013, Novation Launchkey, UK Pricing, USB • Leave a comment

Novation will use NAMM 2013 as a platform for taking the wraps off a slinky new range of DAW controller keyboards. Available in 25, 49 and 61-note varieties, the Launchkey series forms a compelling lineup, each consisting of a professional MIDI keyboard boasting 16 velocity-sensitive, multi-colour clip launch / drum pads, bundled with Ableton Live Lite 8, Novation Bass Station and V-Station software synths and a pack of Loopmasters samples. Hardware controls include nine faders (one fader on the 25-key model), eight mute/solo buttons, eight rotary knobs, a 3-digit LED and a dedicated DAW transport controller section.
Compatible right out of the box with all major DAW’s such as Logic, Live, Cubase, ProTools and FL Studio thanks to Novation’s new InControl integration system, the keyboards are bus-powered via your computer’s USB socket, or from an iPad by means of the optional iPad Camera Connection Kit, available for around £25 from Apple.
Each package also includes two new iPad apps, designed to work in conjunction with the keyboards. The Launchkey app is an iPad 2 & upwards-compatible performance synth, while the Launchpad app delivers drag-and-drop loop playback from the pads and real-time filter and stutter effects.

Prices are:
Launchkey 25: £99.99
LaunchKey 49: £139.99
LaunchKey 61: £159.99

The Novation Launchkey keyboards are slated to become available in the UK from March/April onwards.

iCreate 116 – FX Automation & Numbers Fitness Tracker

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged automation, chart, effects, iCreate, new issue, Numbers, spreadsheet, tracker, tutorial, weight loss • Leave a comment

With Christmas and New Year’s Eve firmly behind us, I hit the ground running in 2013 with two pieces in the latest issue of iCreate. If you hit the mince pies slightly too hard over the festive period, you might find my double-page Numbers tutorial handy this month. Found on page 58, it shows in detail how to create a basic fitness, weight loss and BMI tracker, complete with progress graphs and automatic calculations, in Apple’s stylish spreadsheet app.

Elsewhere, on page 48, my GarageBand tutorial this month is all about effect automation – what it is, what it does and how to use it to increase excitement and dynamic movement within your mixes. For an app that comes free on every Mac, I’ve always championed the remarkable latent power of GarageBand’s automation system, and with this easy-to-follow guide to how it works, there’s really no excuse not to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in – so grab yourself a copy today!

Computer Music Issue 187 – Creative Gating (With Video)

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged Computer Music, computer music magazine, Creative Gating, Gate Creative, multiband, new issue, noise gates, rhythmic gating, sidechain, tutorial • Leave a comment

As another year rolls around, so another feature-packed edition of Computer Music magazine rolls off the presses and slithers unobtrusively onto the shelves of your local newsagent and the screen of your nearest iPad. My contribution to issue 187 is a five-page tutorial on how to use software noise gates in a more creative manner than simply removing unwanted noise.

The noise gate is often overlooked as a utilitarian remnant of the analogue age, but the software versions available today have many more uses as creative tools in their own right. Here you’ll find detailed walkthroughs that demonstrate how to gate off guitar amp noise, recreate the classic 80’s gated drum sound, use sidechain inputs and free third-party plug-ins to produce rhythmic gating effects and set up your own custom multiband rhythmic gating system. You can find the piece on page 63, and the accompanying video walkthroughs can be found on the cover-mounted DVD, along with a host of other cool stuff.

So, if you want to explore new ways to ‘gate creative’, pick up a copy today – your tracks will love you for it!

iCreate 115 – GarageBand Notepad & Logic Editing

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged Editing, GarageBand, how to, iCreate, Logic, new issue, Notepad • Leave a comment

I’ve been so busy over the past couple of weeks trying to get all my commissioned work finished in time for Christmas that I’ve got a bit behind on my posting of announcements of published work. One of the issues that snuck out onto the shelves in the meantime was issue 115 of iCreate, which is still available from all the usual outlets, both physical and digital.

In this latest info-packed edition, which focusses on using your Mac for a wide variety of creative projects, you’ll find two tutorials from me. Firstly, as part of a huge music-making feature entitled “Form Your Own Band”, my step-by-step guide to basic editing in Logic Pro can be found on page 18, designed to help get you up and running if you’re exploring beyond the boundaries of GarageBand. Meanwhile, my GarageBand tutorial on page 38 demonstrates one of the application’s lesser-known features, the Notepad, which allows you to save notes about song lyrics, chord ideas and any other notes concerning your session along with your project.

So if you don’t already have a copy, now’s your chance to grab one while it’s still around!

Computer Music 186 – Shortcuts to Success

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged Ableton Live, Computer Music, computer music magazine, Cubase, GarageBand, how to, keyboard shortcuts, Logic, shortcuts to success • Leave a comment

The latest issue of Computer Music magazine features my four-page tutorial on the effective use of keyboard shortcuts and how they can radically speed up your music production workflow. Entitled Shortcuts to Success and found on page 60 it focusses on some of the features offered by Logic, Cubase and Ableton Live that enable you to customise your keyboard layout in a way that puts your most-used tools and commands directly beneath your fingertips. So if you’re looking for some cool ways to increase your productivity when producing your productions, check it out!

iCreate 114 – Set Up Guitar Sessions & Change Master FX

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged GarageBand, how to, iCreate, iCreate 114, Master effects, new issue, Record Guitar, tutorial, Venue Effects • Leave a comment

Although the digital version of this issue has been available on the iPad for almost a fortnight now, the print edition of iCreate 114 has at last hit the racks in your local newsagent.

As well as the usual collection of informed features that this month cast an approving eye over the iPad Mini, the iPad 4, the latest iMacs and iOS 6, you’ll find two of my GarageBand tutorials in this month’s mag.

The first deals with setting up GarageBand to record an electric guitar part, while the second focusses on how to adjust the effects on the master track to make it sound like your track was recorded in a different location, such as a concert hall, church, or stadium. All in all, an info-packed issue that’s well worth checking out!

Steinberg Announce Cubase 7

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Dave Clews • Posted in News • Tagged Chord Track, Cubase 7, Cubase Artist 7, Launch date, Logic Pro X, Pricing, Steinberg, VariAudio 2.0, VST Connect SE, Yamaha Nuage • Leave a comment

Steinberg have unveiled their latest major update to their acclaimed Cubase DAW, barely 8 months after the previous leap to version 6.5. In what appears to be a significant overhaul, the new version gets a completely new, fully-scalable mix page, brand new composing tools, more effects, more content, support for Yamaha’s impressive new Nuage controller and countless workflow enhancements for recording, mixing and editing music.

There’s a new Chord Track that automatically detects the chords within a song, a composing assistant that can intelligently suggest new chord progressions, and a new feature called VST Connect SE that makes it easy to collaborate with other musicians online via a video hookup and a real time chat window. Elsewhere, VariAudio 2.0 gives you the freedom to follow any changes made in the chord track and create multiple harmonies from a monophonic melody, and the new Cubase Channel Strip brings you a built-in noise gate, triple-model compressor, 4-band studio EQ, envelope shaper, tape and tube saturation and brick wall limiter / maximiser on every track.
These and countless other features too numerous to list here make up a substantial leap forward for Cubase, constituting a serious production package that’s scheduled for general release on December 5th, at a suggested retail price of €599 for the full version, with a cut-down Cubase Artist 7 version available for €299. Although upgrade prices are yet to be announced, Cubase 6.5 users who purchased their software on or after October 25th 2012 are eligible to upgrade to the new version free of charge.

You never know, perhaps this might be the prod that Apple needs to stop messing about with telephones and patent infringement lawsuits and get on with releasing Logic Pro X before the end of the year. We live in hope…

Apple Take Excitement to the Macs – New Ivy Bridge iMacs, Mac Mini, 13” Retina MacBook Pro

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Dave Clews • Posted in News • Tagged 13" Retina MacBook Pro, Apple, iPad Mini, Ivy Bridge, Mac Mini, New iMac, UK Prices, UK Pricing • Leave a comment

Apple have unveiled a slew of new and updated products in a special media event in San Francisco. Aside from the iPad Mini and 4th-generation iPad discussed in an earlier post, most notable among the new arrivals was the new 13” Retina MacBook Pro, while the hotly-anticipated Ivy Bridge iMacs and an upgraded Mac Mini also made their debuts today. Here’s a brief rundown of what was in store.

MacBook Pro
The incredibly thin new 13” Retina MacBook Pro is now just 0.75” thick and weighs just 3.5 pounds – 20% thinner and 1 pound lighter than before. As with the 15” Retina model, there’s no longer room for an optical drive, but at a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels – four times the number of the previous generation MBP – that Retina display with 75% reduced reflection and 178 degree viewing angle makes up for a lot. Also now sporting an HDMI out and flash storage capacity of up to 768GB, the 13” Retina MacBook Pro starts from £1449 for the base 2.5GHz dual-core i5 128GB model, rising to £1699 for the 256GB version. The new 13-incher is available from today, but for those not bothered about the Retina display, the current non-Retina models are still available at the same price as before.

iMac
The new iMac closely resembles its predecessor, at least from the front, retaining as it does the much-maligned ‘chin’ beneath the display. However, the display glass now runs all the way to the edge, and from the rear, it’s a totally different shape, a bulge at the centre of the back panel gradually tapering to a 5mm thickness at the edge where it meets the display. It looks stunning in the images, and promises to be even more so in the metal. The display is fully laminated to the glass, dispensing with the 2mm air gap that formed part of the construction of the previous model. This astonishing 80% reduction in thickness means that the vertical optical drive has finally bitten the dust, as it has in the Retina laptops.
Following much speculation that the new iMac would have a Retina display, consumers may or may not be disappointed with the standard, non-Retina LED displays that the new models sport. However, with IPS technology for a wide viewing angle and a special anti-reflective coating that’s 75% less reflective than before, they should still be pretty impressive. The 21.5” model offers the same 1920 x 1080 resolution as before, as does the 27” with its 2560 x 1440 spec. A 720p Facetime HD camera, dual microphones, stereo speakers, NVIDIA Kepler graphics and 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi round out the specifications.
You can get the new iMac configured with either a 1TB or 3TB HDD or up to 768GB of flash SSD storage, but a third option is to go for Apple’s new Fusion Drive, which is essentially similar to a hybrid drive such as Seagate’s Momentus XT. A combination of a 128GB SSD and a 1 or 3TB HDD, this comes pre-configured with Mountain Lion and all Apple’s native apps on the flash partition, leaving you ample room for storage on the HD partition. This promises lightning-fast performance from the apps you use most day-to-day, coupled with the kind of storage capacity not yet achievable via an SSD alone. It’ll be interesting to see how much this sets you back as a CTO option.

Bundled, as before, with Apple’s wireless keyboard and magic mouse, the new 21.5” iMac will start at £1099 for the base 2.7GHz i5 1TB 8GB model when it ships in November, rising to £1249 for the 2.9GHz model. The base 27” 2.9GHz i5 1TB 8GB will be available in December for £1499, with the 3.2GHz i5 1TB 8GB version coming out at £1699. Quad-core i7 processors will be available as a CTO option on the higher-priced 21.5 and 27” versions.

Mac Mini
The smallest, most affordable Mac also gets a much-needed Ivy Bridge refresh, starting at £499 for the 2.5GHz dual-core i5 version, rising to £679 for the 2.3GHz quad-core i7 model. There’s also a server version available with twin 1TB hard drives for £849. All models ship with 4GB RAM and Intel HD Graphics 4000.

Apple expands iPad range with iPad Mini and 4th-generation iPad

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Dave Clews • Posted in News • Tagged 4th generation, Apple, iPad 4, iPad Mini, UK Prices, UK Pricing • Leave a comment

Apple have introduced the eagerly-awaited iPad Mini to its iPad product lineup, together with a revamped version of the full-size model that takes advantage of a faster processor and the new Lightning dock connector. With a diagonal screen dimension of 7.9 inches, the iPad Mini is an entirely new design, at just 7.2mm thick – 23% thinner than the revamped, 4th-generation iPad – and weighing a mere 0.68lbs – 53% lighter than the full size model. Maintaining the original iPad’s 1024 x 768 screen resolution and aspect ratio guarantees that all current iPad apps will work on the smaller device without any extra effort necessary from developers to release compatible versions of their apps.

The dinky new device has at its heart a dual-core A5 chip and boasts both a 720p Facetime HD front camera and a 5MP rear iSight camera. Featuring LTE cellular capability, 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi and a touted 10-hour battery life, the iPad Mini will ship in black or white trim and will be available to pre-order from October 26th. WiFi models are expected to start shipping on November 2nd, with cellular models shipping 2 weeks later.
Prices start at £269 for the 16GB WiFi model, rising to £429 for the 64GB WiFi model. Cellular models will start at £369 for the 16GB, topping out at £529 for the 64GB. There’s also a range of bespoke smart covers, available in a choice of five colours (plus a product RED version), to make the teeny iPad even more dapper.

The new, 4th generation full-size iPad sports a speedy new A6X processor for double the CPU and graphics performance of its predecessor, together with the new Lightning dock connector as found on the iPhone 5. Prices for these start at £399 for the 16GB WiFi model, rising to £559 for the 64GB WiFi model. Cellular models will start at £499 for the 16GB, topping out at £659 for the 64GB.

iCreate 113 – GarageBand Notation View & Flex Editing

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged Flex Editing, GarageBand, how to, iCreate, new issue, Notation View, Score editing • Leave a comment

Creative Mac types will be pleased to note that Issue 113 of iCreate has now broken cover, and this latest issue features two double-page GarageBand tutorials from me. First up, on page 72, you’ll find my guide to score editing using the app’s notation view feature. Focussing on editing notes, correctly displaying time and key signatures, homing in on problem areas such as triplets and accidentals, how to insert rests and pedal symbols, and finally how to print your MIDI parts as a musical score, this two-pager turns the spotlight on an area of GarageBand that’s often overlooked by the majority of users.

Flick over onto page 74 and you’ll find my guide to using flex editing techniques to address wayward timing issues in your projects. I’m always amazed at how Apple have managed to shoehorn so many pro-level features into an entry level DAW that comes free on every Mac, and flex editing, which allows you to freely adjust the timing of audio regions without affecting their pitch, is a great example of this. In this piece, I demonstrate how you can shift individual words and syllables within a vocal region to alter the phrasing.

So, why not take advantage of these and numerous other great tutorials, reviews and features, along with all the latest Apple news, by grabbing yourself a copy of iCreate 113? Like the US Mint – you know it makes cents!

Computer Music 184 – Expressive Synth Lines (with Video) and 2CAudio B2 Review

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Dave Clews • Posted in Published Stuff • Tagged 2CAudio, B2, CM184, Computer Music, computer music magazine, expressive synth leads, modwheel, new issue, pitch bend, portamento, review • Leave a comment

Two contributions from the daveclews.com writing desk feature in the November 2012 issue of Computer Music magazine, now appearing front-and-centre on the shelves in all good newsagents, not to mention available to download digitally. Firstly, on page 60 you’ll find my four-page guide to adding expression to programmed synth lines – we’re talking how to add pitch bend and mod-wheel vibrato after the event to make it sound as if your lead parts were recorded by a seasoned keyboard pro. There’s even a section dedicated to getting the most out of your synth’s portamento control, and the whole thing is backed up with audio examples and video walkthroughs to be found on the cover-mounted DVD.

Also in this issue is my review of 2CAudio‘s new B2 spatial processor plug-in, which is to all intents and purposes a very high-quality algorithmic reverb unit. If you thought early reflections were what greet you in the bathroom mirror first thing in the morning, this thing will change that perception forever. Find out exactly what I thought of it on page 96. (Hint: I kinda liked it!)

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