Just a quick note to let you know that the Computer Music team are now all on holiday until the beginning of January, so there won't be any activity here until then.

We hope you have a great Christmas and New Year and look forward to seeing you all in 2010!

KJ Sawka, the live DnB drummer, has teamed up with Ableton to give Live owners an early Christmas present. Head over to Ableton's site to get hold of two exclusive Live Packs: the first consists of a bunch of drum, bass and melodic loops for throwing into your own projects, as well as some groove templates and MIDI grooves recrded by KJ during a live session at the Art Institute in Seattle, USA; the second contains a Live Set of KJ's latest tune, Void of Truth, for either learning a little more about the tub-thumper's music-making process or for remixing in any way you want. Note that you can't release a remix of KJ's tune yourself without permission, and you'll need Ableton Live 8.1 to run the sessions.

www.ableton.com/madbeatz

Veteran music software developer Steinberg has created a virtual online museum with a host of media from the company’s 25-year history.


As well as the cool pics of the now ancient Steinberg Pro 16 for the Commodore 64 and vintage visuals from old version of Cubase, the site is worth checking out for its entertainingly baffling interface. You can find it here.

There seem to be plenty of companies giving away free goodies at the moment, so here’s CM’s roundup of the best stuff you can get your hands on without making a dent in your wallet.


Cakewalk - SFZ+, Square I, AudioFX 1, 2 and 3 (PC VST)


Native Instruments - Holiday Selection 2009 (Kore / Kore Player soundpack)


OhmForce - Symptohm:Melohman Performance Edition (PC RTAS and VST, Mac AU, RTAS and VST


Wave Alchemy - Drum Tools (samples - this one requires you sign up for Wave Alchemy newsletter)

If you’re a regular reader of our blog you’ll remember our news that CM synth and sample users The Dirty Chimes were in the running to appear in C4’s teen soap Hollyoaks.


Voting is now open for the contest, so please help support the band and CM by voting here. Voting ends at midnight on Wednesday the 16th of December, so please vote as soon as possible!

Don't despair if your finished tracks don't stand up next to your favourite commercial mixes. Our brand-new Computer Music Special brings you the solution, with 38 step-by-step mixing techniques you can put to work on your tracks right now!

You can produce polished, pro quality mixes with your home setup and the help of our team of mixing experts.

Here's just a taster of the pro tricks that are revealed in the magazine/DVD:

Making it loud
Dynamic mixing
Attention-grabbing effects
Sitting a vocal
Separation techniques
Processing tricks galore
Super-wide mixes
Snap compression
Parallel compression
Making space in the mix
EQing the bottom end
Transient shaping
Fat compressed beats
Boosting the energy
and more!

Plus:
How to mix a complete track from start to finish
The Fast Guide to Monitors - how to get your listening setup right

Don't delay - the last time we released a CM Mixing Special it sold out in record time, and this one is even better!

CM Special 39: Fix Your Mix!
Onsale dates:
UK - out now
Europe: 17 Dec
North America: 7 Jan
ROW: 21 Jan

Computer Music Specials are available from selected WH Smith, Barnes & Noble, Chapters and independent newsagents.

Or by mail order from: http://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/store/displaystore.asp?sid=551

Computer Music 146, December issue, gives readers the chance to win a bundle comprised of a Cakewalk V-Studio 100 and a copy of Sonar 8.5 Producer Edition, worth £1064 in total. The Sonar software provides everything you need to record, compose and produce on your PC, while the V-Studio 100 works as an audio interface, DAW controller, mobile flash recorder and even a mobile mixer.

Turn to p85 in the current issue (CM146) to find out how to enter and to read the full details of the competition.

Be sure to check out www.cakewalk.com and www.v-studio.info for more info on Sonar and the V-Studio series!

There's been a seismic shift in music technology throughout the last decade that's seen the pro-quality studio transformed from a room-full of expensive hardware to a laptop-full of affordable software. Since it's initial release in 2000, Propellerhead's Reason has been at the forefront of this revolution, offering all the flexibility, power and convenience of software in a virtual rack-based system that even the most old-school of producers would feel right at home with. It's without doubt one of the most popular music-making applications in the world, with plenty of big-name fans and a thriving online user community.

Whether you use Reason on its own, in conjunction with Propellerhead Record, or ReWired into a 'traditional' DAW like Logic, Cubase, Live or Pro Tools, Reason: The Ultimate Guide will sharpen your skills, feed your creativity and give you plenty of ideas to bring to your productions. Comprising tutorials, tips and advice drawn from the pages of Computer Music and Computer Music Specials, and including a DVD packed with sounds, videos and tutorial files, it's an indespensible resource for Reason users of all ability levels and musical tastes.

Reason: The Ultimate Guide is available in good newsagents and online at www.myfavouritemagazines.com now.

If you’re not already excited about ACE, u-he’s awesome-looking new synth, check out the bonkers video developer Urs Heckmann has created to show it off and you soon will be…





Pies, cats, stop-motion Lego – this video has got it all! A demo version of ACE can be downloaded from the synth’s webpage.

Here’s a new idea for an iPhone-based musical puzzle game, where the player has to listen to a piece of music and then copy the beat using a simple step-sequencer.





Surely if there’s on game designed for CM readers, this is it!

Get the cover image for your desktop here.

7.7GB OF CONTENT ON THE DUAL-LAYER DVD

• Toontrack EZdrummer Lite
A superb virtual drum kit plug-in for PC and Mac that puts a high-quality, fully mic'ed drum kit and session drummer at your command! EZdrummer Lite offers two kits: the general purpose Pop/Rock kit and, for those seeking something slinkier, the Cocktail kit. Not only that, but there are over 500 MIDI grooves supplied, making it a doddle to create terrific drum tracks!

• 2032 24-bit Uplifting Vibes samples
An exclusive collection of uplifting, soulful and euphoric samples. From soulful gospel organs and hand-raising piano riffs to silky pads and powerful polysynths, everything you need to make feel-good songs and anthems is right here!

• Producer Masterclass tutorial and video: Phonat
A rising star of the electronic music scene, Phonat – aka Michele Balduzzi – welcomes the CM cameraman into his studio to film him at work. Watch the video to see him create his trademark sounds using such techniques as pumping sidechain ducking and crazy cut-up vocal work.

IN THE MAG

• Mobile Music
Tiny netbooks, multitouch smartphones and handheld games consoles make pocket-sized music production a truly viable option at last. Our massive guide reveals the hardware and software that makes it possible and dispenses advice on how to use it for composition and live performance.

• The CM Guide to Hip-Hop Vocal Production
Get your hip-hop jointz hitting harder than ever with our top-to-bottom guide to creating full, clean, stand-out vocal tracks.

• Mastering for beginners
Pump up your mixes with our step-by-step guide to the final stage of the music production process. Our walkthroughs explain how to use mastering processes such as EQ, compression, multiband compression and limiting to put that professional sheen on your mixes.

• The CM Guide to backing tracks
Create a compelling live show accompaniment and sidestep technical headaches with our no-nonsense guide.

• Gareth Jones interviewed
The producer and engineer for the legendary likes of Depeche Mode and Erasure gives his take on how computers have changed the business of music-making.

• Reviewed!
Native Instruments Kontakt 4 • PreSonus Studio One • Cakewalk Sonar 8.5 • iZotope Alloy • Cytomic The Glue • Intelligent Devices Slip-N-Slide • D16 Group Toraverb • Rob Papen RP-Verb • Scan 3XS P55 liteDAW …and more

Plus!
• CM Focus: Everything you need to know about breakbeats
• Sound Essentials: Scot Solida's remit broadens into general sound design
• Off The Dial: rachMiel brings out your 'beginner's mind'
• The Easy Guide: We take a first look at the harmonic series
• The Burning Question: Are all digital EQs the same?
• And much more!

You can order this issue (as well as recent back issues) by calling 0870 837 4773 in the UK, +44 1858 438795 everywhere else, or emailing future@subscription.co.uk.

Subscribe to Computer Music now and save over 23% (UK only) at the following address: www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk.

Readers in the US save $90, subscribe at www.imsnews.com.

Readers in Europe and the rest of the world, subscribe at www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk

Brainworx are offering customers a discount with their unusual “Reverse Advent Calendar” promotion. Starting with 24% off the usual price of their products, each subsequent day the discount is reduced by 1%.


We’re not quite sure how this is the “reverse” of getting a bit of chocolate or a different nativity-themed picture every day, but we do know that if you’re interested in Brainworx’s range of plug-ins you should head over to their site sooner rather than later.

Get our brand-new CM Special and get to grips with synthesis from the ground up.

Are you guilty of using your soft-synth collection as nothing more than a bunch of devices to play back presets? With our current CM Special you have the chance to finally get to grips with synthesis and take complete control over your sounds.

This easy, step-by-step guide will give you the firm foundation every skilled electronic musician needs. From the basic fundamentals of synthesis right through to patch design – you’ll learn to customise your presets with expertise and design your own patches from scratch.

All the software you need is on the included disc, along with ten exclusive CM video tutorials that show you how to create the most popular and cutting-edge sounds of today.

Inside!
• The history of synth music
• Synthesis fundamentals
• How to create classic riffs and cutting-edge sounds, step-by-step
• Free start-up synth kit - everything you need to create your own sounds with your PC or Mac
• Ten exclusive CM video tutorials on disc

Get it now! Final week on the newsstand in the UK!
Computer Music Special 38 is available now world-wide from selected WH Smith, Barnes & Noble, Chapters and independent newsagents.

Or by mail order from: http://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/store/displaystore.asp?sid=551

Well, no, because it’s not a real bit of software, but it's amusing at least. Prepare yourself for the awesome power of DreamOn Pro from the mind behind www.informationisbeautiful.net.