July 2019 /COMPUTERMUSIC / 101mini reviews / reviews <
Nembrini Audio
LoFi Vintage Clipper $79
Web nembriniaudio.com
Format PC/Mac, VST/AU/AAX
Given away for free earlier in the
year – give yourself a good hard,
heavily distorted kick if you
happened to miss it – Nembrini
Audio’s analogue-emulating
clipping and saturation plugin
does its thing via the adjustment
of just three knobs. Distortion
pushes the signal ever harder into
a soft clipper, while Saturation
dials in tube-style saturation, and
Output sets the post-processing volume level.
Both of these algorithms sound phenomenal, delivering
everything from gentle warming through chunky thickening to
face-smashing overdrive, and we just can’t get enough of it on
drums in particular. The Saturation process cuts away a hell of a
lot of top end very quickly, though – a problem that could have
been alleviated to some extent by the inclusion of a dry/wet mix
control – and, covering as broad a range as they do, the two
distortion knobs are very sensitive, making the application of
subtle changes tricky. It’s also quite expensive for what it is.
However, this one’s all about achieveing authentically analogue-
sounding colouration and fatness, and on that score it certainly
doesn’t disappoint.
n8/10n
Acon DIgital
Verberate 2 £80
Web acondigital.com
Format PC/Mac, VST/AU/AAXFive years ago, v1 of Acon Digital’s
reverb plugin aimed to outperform
convolution-based alternatives in
spatial realism through proprietary
algorithms which generate totally
convincingtails.It achievedits
goal,too,andscored8/10in- Verberate 2 adds a whole new
late reverb algorithm, called Vivid
Hall, that simulates the tiny, non-
repetitive variations in tail
progression introduced by air currents and the movement of
audience and performers in a space. It also enables more
filtering options in the Decay Editor, and incorporates Swirl
and Bloom parameters for old-school frequency modulation
and adjusting tail build-up time relative to room size. There are
seven new early reflection algorithms (for 15 in total), too, and
a frequency Dispersion parameter for improved plate
modelling. Add all that to everything that made the original
Verberate so good – the aforementioned Decay editor (for
shaping decay times across the frequency spectrum), the
Output EQ, the Stereo Spread control, etc – and you have,
unquestionably, one of the most beautiful, dense and natural
sounding algorithmic reverbs around, at a great price too.
n9/ 10n
mini reviews
Webnative-instruments.com
FormatPC/MacAsimpressedaswewerebyNativeInstruments’
A-SerieskeyboardsforKompleteKontrol(10/10,
263),ouronecriticismoftherangewasthat
thesmallest– the25-keyA25– wastoobulkyto
beconsideredtrulyportable,duetoitsfull-size
keysandwheels.Well,wecouldn’treallyhave
askedfora moreeffectivefollow-upthanthe
latestadditiontotheKompleteKontrol
pantheon:theM32.
Deliveringalmosttheexactsame
functionalityastheA-Series,thiseminently
mobileUSB2.0bus-poweredkeyboard
managestosqueeze 32 minikeysandthefull
complementofKompleteKontrol...controlsinto
its457x167x50mm,1.45kgframe.Thepitchand
modwheelshavebeenreplacedwitha pairof
shorttouchstrips,buttheeightcapacitive
knobs,4Dencoderandnumerousbuttonsare
uncompromisedintheirsizeandfeel,givingthe
fullexperiencewhenit comestobrowsingand
manipulatingpluginsviatheKompleteKontrol
software(included),operatingMaschine,and
gettinghands-onwiththetransportandmixer
ofyourHostIntegration-compatibleDAW
(Logic,GarageBandandLive,currently).The
surprisinglyinformativeOLEDdisplayfromthe
A-Seriesisalsoinplace,asistheSmartPlay
feature,enablingscalesnapping,chord
triggeringandarpeggiation.Andofcourse,it
alsoworksasa regularconfigurableMIDI
controllerkeyboardwithanyothersoftware.
TheM32isastonishinglysuccessfulinits
realisationofanon-the-goKompleteKontrol.Sure, those tiny keys aren’t as playable as their
full-size counterparts, and aftertouch isn’t
supported, but when you’re sitting in a cafe or
on the beach, busting out basslines in Massive,
you just won’t care – it’s ace.
Being a fair bit longer than the average mini
keyboard, It does require you to have a fairly
large bag or backpack for toting around, but
that’s a small price to have to pay for those
seven extra keys and having so much portable
production power. Essential.
n10/10nNative Instruments
Komplete Kontrol M32 £99