Axial - Roland Synthesizer Sound Libraries

Today is the debut of Axial, our official sound library for Roland synthesizers. Now, more than ever, musical styles and tastes seem to change by the minute, and it was only yesterday that Dubstep and Electro were on every TV commercial and hot remix (only to be replaced by Moombahton and Trap). Roland’s top programmers are now giving you access to this fresh new stream of creative tools that will keep you ahead of the curve!

What is Axial?

Axial is the official Roland tone library site where you can download new sounds for your Roland synthesizer. These sounds have been specially designed by top synth programmers and are available to Roland synth owners. From recreations of vintage analog classics to modern, cutting-edge tones used in the latest music styles and beyond, Axial is an ever-expanding selection of unique and exciting new sounds for your Roland synthesizers.

About the Tones Featured on Axial…

With the wide range of completely new sounds available on Axial, you’ll find a growing universe of creative inspiration for live performing and music production. The sound downloads on Axial are grouped by musical genre and concept, making it easy to find the tones that will work best with your music. The site also features demo videos and sound clips, so you can check out the sounds and examples of their uses. One of the great thrills of using synthesizers is being able to create your own original tones. With Axial, you now have a starting point for the creation of your own tones to suit your personal taste and style.

Which Instruments Can I Use Axial With?

For now, you will be able to download additional sounds for the INTEGRA-7 sound module, the GAIA SH-01, the JUPITER-50 and the JUPITER-80.

What sounds would you like to see on Axial? Please drop us a comment below.

P.S. Thank you for your patience Musicman100, Adam Smith and Craig MacDonald!

Additional links and articles:

• V-Combo VR-09 – Made for Live Playing
• TB-303 Acid Flashback
• Roland Synth Chronicle: 1973 Through 2013

V-Drums kit for lefties

Author: Roland UK Features Team

As in the acoustic drum world, it’s easy for left-handed players to feel that they’re forever made to adapt to playing on a kit set up for right-handed players. We show you how to setup a V-Drums kit for lefties.

Wich V-Drums kit is right for you?

If you’re a left-handed player, it’s important that you can set up your kit, whether it’s acoustic or electronic, for your comfort and playing style. It’s certainly possible with every single Roland V-Drums kit to adapt the drum stand or rack for left-handed playing. Here’s how to setup a V-Drums kit for lefties:

Here’s How You Set Up a V-Drums Kit for Lefties…

MDS-4V (TD-11 kits and previous TD-4 kits)

The MDS-4V is perhaps one of the easiest V-Drums stands to set-up for left-handed playing

• Step 1: Remove the cables from each of the pads and cymbals initially, and unsecure the wiring harness from the stand. You will plug the jacks back in and re-secure the harness with the supplied clips and Velcro tapes after step 5, once the module has been moved
• Step 2: Move the pad clamp and hi-hat mount, located on the left-hand side of the rack over the right-hand curved pipe. You will need to undo the pipe clamps at the end of left, and right pipes using a drum key, to slip the pad mount off and on. Also move the FD-8 foot controller to the left-hand side of the kit
• Step 3: Switch the crash and ride cymbals on the cymbal arms, so that the ride is on the left and the crash is now on the right
• Step 4: Move the snare pipe and pipe clamp from the inner left leg, to the inner right leg. To do this, loosen the clamp and slip off the rubber feet at the bottom of each leg, replacing after use
• Step 5: Switch the module from the left hand side to the right hand side pipe and the tom 3 pad from right to left. Do this by loosening the pad clamp that holds the module and tom pad 3 (floor tom) and switch them over

MDS-9V (TD-15 kits and previous TD-9 kits)

The MDS-9V stand, although bigger than the MDS-4V and looking slightly different, actually transforms to a left-handed stand in exactly the same way as the MDS-4V, as described above.

MDS-25 (TD-30KV and previous TD-20KX)

The MDS-25 is perhaps the easiest to setup and doesn’t require much effort or time. The internal cabling only runs through 2 of the 3 sections of tubing on the MDS-25, and although these 2 sections are connected by the internal cabling, they are both easily “flipped” or reversed in order to be clamped to the appropriate legs in a left-player orientation and, so the cable ends (exiting from the tube sections) are positioned correctly for connection to the pads, cymbals, and module.

V-Drums Kit for Lefties MDS-25

V-Drums Kit for Lefties TD-20SX

MDS-20BK (TD-20S-BK and TD-20S-WT kit)  

Like the MDS-25, the wiring harness is also built into the MDS-20BK rack. However, the left conversion method for the MDS-20BK requires a few more steps. Simply follow the steps below and you’ll switch the MDS-20Bk rack from right to left in no time:

Start with the stand unfolded as shown.

• Step 1: Loosen the hand knob on the T-fitting that holds the right side horizontal tube.
• Step 2: Swing the right tube and vertical post out and around to the back and tighten the knob.

MDS-20BK-Reverse-Step-1-2

• Step 3: Use a drum key to loosen lug bolts 1 and 2 on both T-fittings holding the right tube.
• Step 4: Rotate the right horizontal tube outward approximately 1/3 of the way around until the vertical posts are parallel. Tighten the lug bolts.

MDS-20BK-Reverse-Step-3-4

• Step 5: Use a drum key to remove the T-fitting on the outside left vertical post (under the module mount).
• Step 6: Loosen the hand knob on the T-fitting on the front left vertical post that holds the left horizontal tube.
• Step 7: DO NOT SWING THE TUBE OUTWARD! To prevent cable damage, swing the tube in and through the front horizontal tubes.

MDS-20BK-Reverse-Step-5-7

• Step 8: Loosen lug bolts 1 and 2 on the T-Fitting on the front left vertical.
• Step 9: Rotate the tube outward 1/3 of the way around.
• Step 10: Attach the T-fitting to the vertical post and the horizontal tube. Carefully position the cables in the T-fitting (as shown). Also, make sure the T-Fitting is angled up (the numbers near the holes will be upside down).

MDS-20BK-Reverse-Step-9-10

MDS-20BK-Reverse-Step-10-close-up

• Step 11: Loosen lug bolts 1 & 2
• Step 12: Rotate tubes
• Step 13: Reinsert the tubes and tighten the lug bolts.
• Step 14: Attach pad mounts, pads, and module. Have fun!

MDS-20BK-Reverse-Step-11-14

Related links and articles:

• V-Drums Friend Jam Improves Your Drumming
• TD-4KP V-Drums Portable Wins MIPA Award
• V-Drums World Championship 2 Finals

Author: Roland UK Features Team

Due to constantly advancing digital technology, even the most die-hard tone masters enjoy the benefits of amp modeling products. Even famous artists now rely on the convenience and range of tones available from amp modeling while performing, practicing or writing. If you’re looking for a modeling amp, here are a few things to consider.

Hardware with Amp Modeling technology: The VG-99 Inspires

What Does Amp Modeling Actually Do?

The term modeling usually refers to emulating or recreating the sound of something digitally. Amp modeling is basically Digital Signal Processing (DSP) that emulates the sound of different amplifiers and speaker cabinets. Amp modeling isn’t exclusive to plug-ins, in fact, modeling started with hardware – the Roland VG-8 V-Guitar System. Today’s guitarists can find a host of guitar amplifiers, pedals and rack-mounted gear – all with the ability to model a variety of different amps.

VG-8 V-Guitar System

So, what are the main advantages of amp modeling? Broadly speaking, there are four areas: convenience, reliability, flexibility and cost. One amp modeling product can provide the sound of hundreds of amps, speaker and even microphone combinations; way more than you’re ever likely to be able to buy, store, maintain and transport.

The potential Behind Amp Modeling…

Tube Amp

Imagine being able to combine the tone of a hot Fender Twin with two different 4×12 cabinets for your lead sound and a stereo Roland JC-120 with a sweet reverb effect for a clean tone, just by dialling up a preset.

The other advantage is that amp modellers tend to work well in most scenarios. Tubes sound great, but remember they are a decades-old technology and come with limitations. They sound best when they are running hot and cranked up all the way. But hot tubes usually mean serious volume and vice versa! The tubes also need to be treated much more carefully and require time to warm up; also the tubes will need replacing from time to time by someone with the right equipment and knowledge. An amp modeller can imitate the coveted characteristics of a hot tube amp at very low volumes or even through headphones, meaning you can play for longer and at much more unsociable hours with a full-on tone.

Emulating an Amplifier’s Characteristics…

Thanks to the latest DSP technology, it’s now easy to emulate virtually an infinite range of amp and speaker combinations. Complex algorithms have been designed to give ultra-realistic responses that simulate the result you get from a mic’d-up cabinet in different size rooms, with adjustable mic positioning and amp character that responds naturally to the way you play your guitar. This provides the player with an almost limitless tonal canvas on which to experiment, potentially saving thousands of dollars and years of tweaking and experimenting. They sound exceptional, straight out of the box.

Most legendary tube amps are also famous for a particular sound or characteristic but amp modeling can build on these by being able to adjust parameters of the modelled amp beyond what the original can do. For example, you could have a much more adjustable EQ, more gain, less hum, an effects loop or different speaker configuration.

There are, however, different types of modeling algorithms, all of varying quality. Some provide a ‘snapshot’ of the tone that initially sounds great, but once you start tweaking, they become much less authentic. Other modeling systems such as Roland’s COSM system actually model different aspects of all the individual components that make up your modelled rig, as well as the associated effects that countless guitarists have come to love.

But remember, all this technology requires hardware that can handle the job. If you’re using software, make sure your computer can do the number crunching or you’ll get poor performance and even latency. Generally, purpose built hardware with dedicated DSP chips and algorithms will reward you with the best experience and tone. You can find this technology in our CUBE series amps and other hardware such as the VG-99 V-Guitar System, GT-100 Amp effects Processor, GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer and others.

Related links and articles:

• Play an Entire Live Set With Just the GT-100
• Digital Guitar Amp Roundtable
• The Arrival of The Digital Guitar Amp
• The VG-99 Inspires

V-drums Friend Jam

First, a bit of a disclaimer and a short story. I work for Roland as a sales rep and have been playing electronic drums since 1994. I was first introduced to V-Drums Friend Jam in Los Angeles at a Roland sales and product meeting. Steve Fisher, V-Drums innovator and drummer extraordinaire, showed us this innovative drumming program, which was already fairly popular in Japan. I immediately wanted to try it, so I jumped right in. After it was over, a number came up, something in the 600s. “What is that?” I asked. Steve said, “You’re ranked 600.” “600 what?” I asked. “600th best drummer,” said Steve. “Out of how many?” I asked. “Oh, I dunno, a couple thousand.” That’s all I needed to hear to light up my competitive chops.

V-Drums Friend Jam for Kids

In my experience, drummers are obsessed with two things: drumming and other drummers. We learn from other drummers, and we always want to get better. Every drummer wants to get better, but how do you know you’re improving? That’s where V-Drums Friend Jam can help. Not only does it shell out immediate feedback about areas of improvement, the program also monitors your workout time and progress. The thrill for me is when my score is posted, and I can see where I rank against other Friend Jam players worldwide.

V-Drums Friend Jam Explained…

Friend Jam is a free download program for Mac, PC or iPhone that analyzes your drumming while you play to your MP3s or included songs. The program is compatible with all V-Drum kits and measures your playing in five key areas of drumming: Kick, Beat, Stamina, Technique and Variation. Each area has a weight of 120 points for a total of 600 points. Your drumming score is automatically published on the V-Drums Friend Jam website via your Twitter account. See additional V-Drums Friend Jam features.

Roland TD-15 drum kit

Become a Better Drummer…

Friend Jam makes you a better drummer by measuring you against the program and other drummers. Friend Jam is not a video game, even though it has cool graphics of your playing in real-time. It’s your own personal drum trainer. One of the most interesting things about Friend Jam is how it stretches your abilities by getting you out of your comfort zone. For example, if you’re a Rock player, try the Jazz Songs. If you’re a Pop style player, try the World Songs.

So there you have it. Now you know what Friend Jam is, who’s is playing it and how to join in the fun. If you already play Friend Jam, or if you have questions, I want to hear from you. My Friend Jam user name and Twitter handle is @RolandSFlorida or drop me a comment below.

Related links and articles:

• V-Drums Friend Jam for Kids
• Choosing a Roland V-Drums Kit is Easier Than You Think!
• The Benefits of Electronic Drums

What’s the difference between overdrive and distortion? Learn the difference and how to get great tone with either stompbox.

Get Great Tone With OverDrive and Distortion

As guitar players, what are we all after? What do we struggle to describe, work to attain, but always know when we hear it? And what is all that gear out there for? The answer to all three of these questions is the same: great tone. With so much equipment available today to help in creating tone, how do we go about making it do what we want? Let’s take a look at some simple and effective ways to get killer tone with overdrive and distortion.

The first question is which should you use: an overdrive or distortion? The answer isn’t quite that simple. Like many things in the tone-quest world, there aren’t too many fixed rules here. The real answer is: it depends. Maybe an overdrive is what works for you; maybe it’s a distortion. So the next question is: What’s the difference between an overdrive and distortion?

Learn how to chain your guitar effects pedals.

BOSS OD-1 OverDrive

Generally, an overdrive is designed to work and sound like an old tube amp turned up loud. A good overdrive can produce the same overtones and harmonics that an overdriven tube amp produces, hence the name Overdrive. BOSS started the overdrive revolution with the legendary and very collectible OD-1.

Learn how to get great tone from an OVERDRIVE stompbox.

A distortion usually goes beyond the amount of gain and harmonic crunching typical of an overdrive. They tend to get more distorted, are usually (but not always) louder than typical overdrives, and often have multiple gain stages for abnormal amounts of sustain. The BOSS MT-2, probably the best selling distortion pedal ever, is a good example of a distortion pedal with those features. Now that we know what they are, let’s look at making them do what we want: getting great tone. First, let’s start with overdrive and after you’re finished reading that check out the distortion article.

Learn how to get great tone from a DISTORTION stompbox.

So there you have it, what is your preference? What do you use to get your tone? Leave us your comments.

Related links and articles:

• Get Great Tone With BOSS OverDrive
• Get Great Tone With BOSS Distortion
• Billy Duffy: The Cult of Tone
• 10 Original BOSS Stompbox Design Elements

Have you ever been frustrated setting the input levels for a recording session? Getting the levels “just right” can be time consuming and gets in the way of the creative process. To solve this problem we developed AUTO-SENS technology for our audio interfaces. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or new to recording, this technology will save you time, headaches and even stream line that all-so-coveted creative process. Roland’s STUDIO-CAPTURE, OCTA-CAPTURE and QUAD-CAPTURE all feature AUTO-SENS technology which automatically sets the recording levels for optimal recording into your DAW.

5 Tips For Choosing an Audio Interface

Before AUTO-SENS you had to manually set the level of each individual input prior to recording. This was both tedious and time-consuming. Now, you simply activate AUTO-SENS and play the connected instruments. AUTO-SENS will automatically set the optimum input levels for each source.

AUTO-SENS on QUAD-CAPTURE

Here’s how AUTO-SENS works…

Initially the level of each input is not adjusted to match the input signal.

• Press the AUTO-SENS button on the front panel or in the software Control Panel, and then select the input channels you want to set.
• When you play the instruments or sing into the mics, the input levels are set automatically. This unique and innovative function is a real-world time saver and makes getting ready for a session quick and easy.
• The latest model STUDIO-CAPTURE has a graphical AUTO-SENS window that lets you adjust 16 inputs simultaneously.

So there you have it; one push of a button eliminates the tedious effort of setting input levels, which allows you to get recording right away with any DAW. Roland strives to develop gear that will work hard for you so that you can worry about more important things like finding your groove. What do you think about this technology? Is it something you’d find useful?

Related links and articles:

• See What’s New in SONAR X2 Producer
• New Product: STUDIO-CAPTURE Audio Interface
• Windows 8 Drivers for OCTA-CAPTURE
• Roland Synth Chronicle: 1973 Through 2013

BOSS Distortion

A distortion pedal usually goes beyond the amount of gain and harmonic crunching typical of an overdrive. They tend to get more distorted, are usually (but not always) louder than typical overdrives, and often have multiple gain stages for abnormal amounts of sustain. The BOSS MT-2, probably the best selling distortion pedal ever, is a good example of a distortion pedal with those features. Since distortion pedals tend to be louder and have more inherent distortion than overdrives, it is a little trickier to use them in conjunction with the amp’s own distortion sound. It might be what you want, especially if you’re after a nu-metal, super heavy, or very grungy sound. If you use your pedal this way, you are distorting distortion. This can get pretty ugly, but sometimes it’s just the thing. Set your pedal similarly to using an overdrive to use it this way: For example, set the BOSS DS-1 level up, the distortion somewhat down, and the tone for neutral.

What’s the difference between Overdrive and Distortion? Find out!

BOSS DS-1 Distortion

Distortions tend to be more effective when you use your amp set for a clean sound and let the pedal’s own tone sing through. Good distortion pedals, such as the BOSS Metal Zone, are quite sophisticated. Under the hood is some powerful circuitry that can create multi-stage distortion just like a high-end boutique tube amp. The MT-2 even has studio quality EQ: a 3-band tone section with parametric sweepable mids for duplicating pretty much any distortion tone you might want. For blazing metal tones, try this setting with a Metal Zone and your amp set for a clean and neutral sound.

BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone

Adaptive distortion does what?…

Another cool distortion pedal is the BOSS DA-2 Adaptive Distortion. Powered by Multi-Dimensional Processing technology (MDP), the DA-2 Adaptive Distortion delivers ideal distortion tones wherever you play on the guitar neck. Diverse guitarists like John 5 (Marilyn Manson / Rob Zombie) use the DA-2 to achieve amazing tones. Check out this video of John 5 and the DA-2 in action.

Just concepts…

To wrap up: These are not rules. They are concepts. Regardless of this post’s title, “Get Great Tone With BOSS Distortion” you can use these principles with any overdrive stompbox. The best way to incorporate them into your playing is to experiment. There are many pedals on the market, each with its own characteristic tone. One may be just the thing to make your tone what you’ve wanted it to be. Try some out, both with your own amp and guitar, and with others. The magic combination is out there. Do you have a favorite BOSS distortion pedal? Did you find this article useful? Leave your comments below.

Related links and articles:

• Overdrive Vs. Distortion: What’s the Difference?
• Get Great Tone With BOSS Overdrive
• 10 Original BOSS Stompbox Design Elements
• The VG-99 Inspires

BOSS OverDrive

There are two good ways to get tone from an overdrive. One is to use the overdrive in conjunction with your amp; that is, use the overdrive pedal to augment your amp’s inherent tone. Here’s how this works:

One of the things an overdrive can do is to hit your amp with a bit more level, without adding too much distortion. Sometimes all an amp needs to sing is more input gain than your guitar can put out. It’s like the difference between single coil and humbuckers; hums put out more level, so they tend to create more sustain and distortion from an amp. Stevie Ray Vaughan often used his overdrive pedal in this way. Not much additional distortion, just some additional gain to boost the level of his single coils. To do this, set the amount of overdrive fairly low on your pedal, but set the output volume a bit high. Set your amp for a mild amount of distortion. If your overdrive has a tone control, set it so it doesn’t alter your tone as it is before you turn the pedal on. This mode is also effective for boosting solos.

What’s the difference between Overdrive and Distortion? Find out!

How effective this is depends a lot on the amp. A good tube amp works in this way. Another way to use an overdrive is to set the amp for a clean sound with flat EQ, and let the overdrive’s inherent tone come through. In this case, try setting the overdrive for somewhat more drive (or crunch, or whatever your pedal calls the amount of distortion), and try to match to the output of the pedal so that your volume doesn’t change when you turn it on (unless you want it to, for soloing or just being louder). Remember, there are really no rules! If you like the sound, that’s all that matters. This method is less dependent on the tone of your amp, and players often use their pedals this way. The tone is based on their finger technique and the pedal’s characteristics; the amp is just making it louder.

Just concepts…

To wrap up: These are not rules. They are concepts. Regardless of this post’s title, “Get Great Tone With BOSS Overdrive” you can use these principles with any overdrive stompbox. The best way to incorporate them into your playing is to experiment. There are many pedals on the market, each with its own characteristic tone. One may be just the thing to make your tone what you’ve wanted it to be. Try some out, both with your own amp and guitar, and with others. The magic combination is out there.

Related links and articles:

• Overdrive Vs. Distortion: What’s the Difference?
• Get Great Tone With BOSS Distortion
• How to Chain Your Guitar Effects Pedals – Part 1
• BOSS Showcases at SXSW

As discussed in Part 1, the first rule in connecting guitar effects: there are no rules.
There are, however, some good ideas.

Plugging In
Using our basic guidelines, let’s connect our pedalboard together:

That is one rockin’ pedalboard! But why is this the suggested signal path? Follow along as we go pedal by pedal.

The tuner goes first. This one is pretty easy. It doesn’t want to hear an effected signal; it wants to see the direct input from the guitar. Another reason for putting the tuner first is that if you’re using any true-bypass pedals, the TU-3 will give them a buffered signal, which will protect your tone from loss of signal in the cables when other pedals are off. This is another one of the reasons there as so many TU tuners in pedalboards worldwide, even ones using nothing else but boutique true-bypass stompers.

The next three pedals — PW-10, AC-3, and OC-3 — change the basic tone of the guitar. For the most variety of sound, you want all the other pedals to have a shot at the sound from these pedals, so it’s best to have them as close to the guitar as possible.

After these is the overdrive/distortion, in this case our ST-2 Power Stack. The CS-3 Compression/Sustainer (and the PW-10 V-Wah) can improve the ST-2’s sustain and tone by increasing the signal to it, so they’re placed before the ST-2. Many players use a compressor just for this reason, and the “fixed wah” sound, which is a wah pedal turned on but not continuously swept, is very common in rock and metal lead tones.

Free BOSS mobile phone wallpaper—choose from 10.

The GE-7 Graphic Equalizer is good to have after the overdrive in case you want to use it to scoop mids or bump certain frequencies for solos. (To show that these are not hard rules, it also works pretty well if the EQ is after the compressor but before the overdrive. But this changes how the EQ sounds, since you would be distorting it with the overdrive, so try it in the suggested position first.) Also, it’s good to have the EQ before the noise suppressor, since EQs can add noise as they boost tone at various points in the frequency spectrum, including any noise that is already there.

The NS-2 Noise Suppressor is best used in the middle, so it can take out the noise created by the amplifying pedals before the signal moves into the modulation and ambience pedals.

Modulation stompboxes like our BF-3 Flanger should be after the tone-producing effects like distortion, wah, etc. so they can process and modify the tone built by the pedals before it. If you put it before the distortion, then you are distorting the sound of the flanger. Maybe that’s what you’re after, but in general, put the BF-3 and other modulation effects after the tone-shaping (and noise–producing) pedals. And then there are the ambience effects: delay and reverb. As we discussed earlier, reverb—and sometimes delay, depending on the space—is the last thing that happens before the sound reaches your ears in a physical space, so these go last. Delaying reverb can sound muddy, so it’s usually better to have the reverb after the delay.

And last, but certainly not least, is the Loop Station. Loopers aren’t effects—they’re recorders. Normally, you’ll want the looper to be able to record and playback any of your sounds. Of course, this means you should place it at the very end of the chain so it can hear and record whatever pedal combinations you use.

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That’s a Wrap
So there it is. To recap, while there are no rules for creating tones, these basic principles will help you achieve tone nirvana. By following the guidelines we’ve laid out here, you will:

• keep the noise to a minimum.
• achieve the most tonal flexibility.
• produce tone in the most natural, organic way, as close as possible to how tone is created without effects.

At the same time, experiment! Maybe the tone you seek is made by the wah after the distortion—it’s noisy, but sounds cool. Ultimately, the only rule is this: what sounds best is best, so get your BOSS pedals and grab your tone. It’s what we make them for!

Related links and articles:

• How To Chain Your Guitar Effects Pedals – Part 1
• Billy Duffy On How He Discovered His Signature Sound
• The VG-99 Inspires
• Digital Guitar Amp Roundtable

If you’ve outgrown your audio interface and want to replace it with something more flexible, you’ll need to look beyond the number of inputs and outputs offered. To help you choose the best audio interface for your needs, we’ve put together a list of five things to consider.

1: You’ll need more than eight inputs
How many inputs do you need? This isn’t as simple as counting your audio sources and making sure you have enough inputs:

• Many musicians consider an eight-input interface to be sufficient. But this is actually the minimum number of channels needed for recording a live rock band: four mics for your drum kit plus guitar, bass, vocals and a mono keyboard.
• If you want to record with maximum clarity and control, a drum kit could easily require eight inputs. So it’s much better to have the extra inputs if you can afford them, so you can expand when you need to (and that point always comes sooner rather than later).
• Remember that although some recording audio interfaces advertise a lot of inputs, they often only include two preamps. If you want to record with microphones you’ll need as many preamps as you have microphone sources – leading to additional cost, cables and connection headaches.
• Check the phantom power situation. Many interfaces have a ‘global’ phantom power switch that either applies to all channels at once or applies to groups of four. Ideally, individual phantom-power for each channel gives you more flexibility, so you can use different mixes of condenser mics, ribbon mics, etc. without accidentally torching a ribbon microphone with phantom power.

Roland STUDIO-CAPTURE

2: Multiple outputs: can you send sound to different parts of the room?

The ability to hear your mix on different speakers (or monitors) is one of the most common reasons for having multiple outputs, but there are many other uses too:

• If you’re recording a band, you’ll need to route a click track to a pair of headphones, while playing the music out of your main monitors.
• Most interfaces with two outputs also feature a headphone output, but the headphones will usually receive the same signal that goes to your speakers. If you send the click track to headphones only, you’ll need an interface that can route independent channels to the headphones.
• For live work, you may want to route the music to a number of different PA speakers, some angled towards the crowd and others used for on-stage monitors so the band can hear their playing.
• To sum up, if you use more than two speakers, you’ll need an interface with more outputs.

Related product: OCTA-CAPTURE Hi Speed USB Sudio Interface

3: Portable audio interfaces are far more practical

If you’re recording or live mixing a band, you’ll need an audio interface that is easy to carry and easy to use once the session begins.

Many multi-input interfaces are designed to fit into a 1U rack – not particularly easy to carry to a gig or put down on a table once you get there. Audio interfaces which are more compact, such as Roland’s STUDIO-CAPTURE, have a smaller footprint so can be carried around easily and are far quicker to set up.

You should also choose an audio interface with level meters, so you can see the level of incoming audio signals and prevent clipping.

4: Flexible monitoring gives your band members their own monitor mix
Separate monitor mixes are essential for studio and live recording. Imagine having different cue mixes for different musicians – more vocals for the vocalist, more bass for the bass player or different monitoring for wedges or in-ear monitors.

Some audio interfaces can even send the sound coming from your DAW or instruments to as many as four separate mixes, which can in turn be sent on to any pair of outputs. This handy feature essentially means you have four separate mixers built into your audio interface.

Related product: DUO-CAPTURE EX USB Audio Interface

5: Build quality matters – the cheaper option can be more expensive
If you plan on taking your interface on the road, it’ll inevitably get knocked around.

Make sure you look for an interface that is well built – cheap plastic casing smashes easily when dropped.

Likewise, poor quality knobs and switches are unlikely to cope with life on the road, so it’s worth paying a little extra for a quality audio interface that is built to last.

Finally, remember that an audio interface will be constantly hooked up to all manner of different input sources. The housings supporting the various inputs and outputs need to be robust and sturdy, and they also need to facilitate high-quality, low-noise signal transfer, ensuring that the audio is of premium quality – which is what it’s all about.

Related links and articles:

• See What’s New In SONAR X2 Producer
• Static Revenger AKA Dennis White – First Look at INTEGRA-7
• Jason Freese: Soft Synths Versus JP-80

Free BOSS mobile phone wallpaper—choose from 10.

So you decided to play electric guitar. Once you get a guitar and an amp, the next step is to explore effects. Effects pedals can be separated into groups based on their functions. Understanding the different pedal groups is the key to getting the best sound when chaining them together. The largest pedal group is probably overdrives and distortions, and BOSS currently makes 16 different pedals in this category. For our example pedal board, we’ll pick the ST-2 Power Stack. Another category with many choices is modulation.These are effects like flanger, phaser, chorus, tremolo, and others. Let’s use the most versatile of these—the BF-3 Flanger. Another group is ambience effects, such as delays and reverbs. We’ll use one of each: a DD-7 Digital Delay and the FRV-1 ’63 Fender Reverb. There are some pedal effects that can add notes or alter the pitch of what you’re playing. For want of a more esoteric name, we’ll call these “pitch-altering” pedals. From this category, let’s throw in a BOSS OC-3 Octave. BOSS also has a few pedals that make your instrument sound like some other instrument. The AC-3 Acoustic Simulator will do the job. Some effects change your sound with filtering. This effect type can be used in different places in the signal path, so we’ll use the GE-7 Graphic EQ. A few BOSS effects defy categorization, but are nevertheless very useful in any signal path. The most common of these is the CS-3 Compression/Sustainer. Loopers fall into this category also, so let’s add an RC-3 Loop Station to the mix. And you might want the NS-2 Noise Suppressor to kill the noise in your rig, so let’s add that in, too. What about a tuner? The TU-3 is the most popular pedal tuner in the world.

So, where does each pedal go in the signal path? Here are some tips to keep in mind before you start plugging pedals together:

How to Chain Your Guitar Effects Pedals – Part 2

Rule 1—There are no rules. The sound you’re after might not be made by what we could call the appropriate or logical signal path, but that’s not always the issue. The issue is this: what does it sound like? If it makes the sound you’re after, then it’s right…although, you may have to do something about the noise. Traditional pedal board arrangements were designed for certain reasons, and keeping the noise down is one biggie. Following the principles of how sound is made in physical space is another (see Rule 4 coming up). But the final choice is yours. As a very wise man said: if it works, don’t fix it.

Rule 2—Some pedal types work better in certain parts of the signal path than in others. Octave pedals or tuners, for example, don’t work as well with a distorted signal as with an undistorted signal, so they should be placed before the distortion.

Rule 3—Noise can be a problem, particularly with high-gain distortion sounds. Pedals that can add volume—such as compressors, wahs, EQs, and overdrive/distortions—will also amplify any noise created by the effects placed before them.

Rule 4—Taking sound-making devices like stompbox pedals out of the equation, there’s an order to the way sounds naturally occur in physical space. For example, guitar amp distortion is made in physical space by turning an amp up enough to cause its circuits to overload, and any echo you might hear happens after the distorted sound hits walls or ceilings and bounces back to your ears. Therefore, logic says that your reverb and/or delay pedals should be last in the signal path, since that is how the sounds they produce actually occur in three-dimensional space.

In keeping with these rules—okay, they aren’t really rules, so let’s compromise and call them “guidelines”—here are some essential concepts for lining your pedals up:

• Pedals that amplify or add noise should go near the beginning of the signal path. This includes overdrive/distortion effects, compressors, and wah pedals. If they’re later in the signal path, they will amplify the noise of everything before them, which can be difficult to control.

• Pedals that produce tone go before things that modify tone. This is logical, because you want to create your basic sound first, then tweak it with some kind of modifying effect. For example, this means that overdrives go before chorus effects.

• Pedals that create ambience go last. This goes back to the “how does sound actually occur in physical space” idea. So, delay and reverb should go after all other effects.

We will continue this conversation soon. In the meantime, click on the image below to experience BOSS effects connected to each other.

Related links and articles:

• How to Chain Your Guitar Effects Pedals – Part 2
• Mike Scaccia: My Pedals
• Billy Duffy on How He Discovered His Signature Sound
• Herman Li of DragonForce: A Master Shredder Hones His Chops with eBand

Take an in-depth tour of the powerful features of SONAR X2 Producer including R-MIX SONAR, Console Emulation, Matrix, BREVERB and Take Lanes.

Cakewalk recently released SONAR X2a, an update adding touch support and other improvements to this already impressive DAW. Brandon Ryan and Seth Perlstein gave a live demonstration of SONAR X2 a few weeks before it was released last fall. This 1.5 hour demonstration is packed with useful tips, tricks and feature explanations. Whether you already own SONAR X2 or are looking to add this powerful DAW to your studio, this video is a must watch.

R-MIX SONAR

This manipulation plugin is powered by Roland’s newly developed V-Remastering technology in conjunction with VariPhrase. It lets you see the components of a stereo mix as color-coded clouds of energy and harmonic matter as the track plays.  Some musicians have described it  as “visual sound.”

Console Emulator

This plug-in emulates some important analog console characteristics. While these effects are subtle, they’re noticeable; and now thanks to the Console Emulator, they’re controllable as well.

BREVERB

This is a high quality reverberation plug-in modeled on the most acclaimed hardware classics and is the ultimate solution to any recording, mixing and live situation.  It comprises four different algorithms, Hall, Room, Plate and Inverse, each one accurately modeled and engineered with no compromises in sound quality, as well as a global EQ section.

Take Lanes 

The ability to loop, record and then edit multiple takes is nothing new. What is new with Take Lanes is the ability to set independent Edit Filter views for each of the lanes. This might seem insignificant at first, but when you think about it, this opens up a world of possibilities.

Related links and articles:

• The Cakewalk Blog
• Learn to Play Electronic Drums
• Roland Synth Chronicle: 1973 Through 2013

Get Schooled in V-Drums!

There are over 50 video V-Drums lessons available for you to learn and improve your drumming technique. Choose by demonstrator, playing style or even V-Drum kit.

You can start by taking a lesson on single paradiddles and then jump to “Texas” Blues shuffle. You learn at your pace and you choose the courses! Here’s the best part, these lessons are completely free. Owners of the  Handsonic-10 or Handsonic-15 can also participate as there are dedicated V-Drums lessons for you too!

Lessons by artist and clinician include:

• Gregg Bissonnette
• Johnny Rabb
• Brad Dutz
• Mike Snyder
• Steve Fisher

Drum kits featured:

• TD-20SX V-Pro® Series
• TD-9SX V-Tour® Series
• TD-9KX2 V-Tour® Series
• HD-1 V-Drums® Lite
• RMP-5 Rhythm Coach
• HandSonic® 10
• HandSonic® 15

Drumming style and categories:

• Latin/World
• Jazz/Swing
• Rock
• Funk/R&B
• Beginner
• Rudiments
• Hand Percussion
• Double Bass

Here is the first video of the series featuring Johnny Rabb.

In this edition of Synth Basics with Ed, Ed describes how to program a lead on the GAIA SH-01. This knowledge could be applied to any synthesizer regardless of make or model by using basic synth components and effects.

Related links and articles:

• Synth Basics with Ed: Programming Strings
• Back to Basics with Ed Diaz
• Synth Basics with Ed: How to Make a Synth Bass

In this edition of Synth Basics with Ed, Ed describes how to program a bass tone on the GAIA SH-01. This knowledge could be applied to any synthesizer regardless of make or model by using the basic synth components of oscillators, filters, and low-frequency oscillators. Aside from making a simple bass tone, Ed goes further by showing us how to fatten up the tone by layering another bass tone over it. Finally, making bass wobbles for Dubstep and Electro music couldn’t be easier. According to Ed, you don’t have to be a synth ninja to follow along.

Related links and articles:

• Synth Basics with Ed: Programming Strings
• Back to Basics with Ed Diaz
• How to Make BASS Wobbles for Electro and Dubstep