CME Xkey

HoRNet
TrackShaper €15
Web www.hornetplugins.com
Format PC/Mac, VST/AU
A “mix on autopilot”
plugin that, via the
operation of just one
central knob, claims to
be able to improve the
sound of individual
instruments, busses
and even full mixes.
Simply load it onto a
track or buss, select a
suitable algorithm from
the Track Type menu
(Kick, Snare, Synth, Drum Loop, Master Bus, etc), dial in as
much Efect Amount as you feel works, and set the Input and
Output Level controls to level things out or click the Auto
Gain Input and/or Ouput buttons to have it done for you
automatically. Each algorithm applies a dynamically
responsive ‘secret sauce’ of EQ and compression, and while
obviously, the sonic tastes of the developer govern the
process, it does smoothly boost the presence and energy of
the source material to often impressive efect.
TrackShaper is a useful and cheap tool for getting good
demo mixes together quickly – just don’t expect miracles.
n7/ 10n
Impact Soundworks
Juggernaut $179
Web www.impactsoundworks.com
Format Mac/PC, Kontakt 5/Kontakt 5 Player
A 4.5GB sample library made
up of 100% synthesised
sounds (but no drum
machines, interestingly) and
aimed at media composers
and electronic musicians,
Juggernaut is split into two
instruments: Bass and
Drums/FX. The former
comprises over 50
categorised source sounds,
processed with eight efects
modules and rhythmised with the onboard step sequencer.
Drums/FX is built on about 450 samples (with ten round robin
variations each), split into drum, percussion and FX categories,
and brought together in a 32-channel mixer. Audition mode
maps your selection across the keyboard, helping you explore
each instrument category.
Sound-wise, Juggernaut is hard-hitting, high-impact and
unapologetically ‘electronic’. While it might not boast the most
extensive sample set we’ve ever heard (particularly with the
Bass instrument), what it has sounds very good, and the
editable parameters and efects allow decent customisation.
n7/ 10n
Web www.timespace.com
Format EZdrummer, Superior Drummer 2
Toontrack’s biggest EZX expansion for
EZdrummer and Superior Drummer 2 yet, Rock!
consists of eight ive-piece drum kits, each with
three crashes, ride and hi-hats, all of which are
freely mix-and-matchable via the menus on
each kit piece in the main interface. The 1.7GB
sample bank draws on (and adds to) the
countless multisample recording sessions done
by Toontrack over the last decade or so in
studios including Blackbird (Nashville), Allaire
(New York) and 2khz (London), for the
production of Superior Drummer and its various
expansions. Rather than just port all this good
stuf straight to EZdrummer (which would still
have been pretty cool!), however, Toontrack
have handed them back to original engineer
Neil Dorfsman (whose other credits include Dire
Straits, Paul McCartney, Sting, Bruce
Springsteen, Bobs Dylan and Marley, and many
more) for recompiling, remixing and general
overhauling. The result is pretty special.
Perhaps the most
remarkable thing about the
eight kits is the breadth and
variety they ofer. From the
massive attack of Bright
Ambient, through the vibe
and grit of Vintage Punch,
the dirt and clatter of Ringy,
and the slamming power of
80s Rock, to the funky edge
of Tight Punch, the dark,
snares-of bounce of
Woody, and the
thoughtfully-included blank
canvas of Classic Dry, it
really is all killer. The mixer
includes both dry and compressed channels for
the kick and snare, as well as Ambience, Drive
and SubSqueeze channels for adding room,
distortion and SSL Buss compression to the
whole kit, all in parallel.
The usual song-based roster of grooves and
variations is in place, ably performed by Martin
Kristofersson and giving non-drummers a solid
set of authentic beats and ills to drop into their
tracks. Drummers, meanwhile, will ind Rock!
every bit as playable using triggers or e-drums
as the other members of the EZX family. Big,
bombastic and beautifully produced, this is a
must-have for EZdrummer users, and worth a
serious look even from Superior Drummers.
n10/10n
Toontrack
Rock! EZX £52
November 2013 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 107
mini reviews / reviews <
CMU197.rev_mini.indd 107 9/25/13 7:03 PM