February saw the release of Ableton Live 10, the long-awaited and highly anticipated new iteration of the industry-leading DAW. And while we at Reverb have already gotten well-acquainted with the update by looking at three of its powerful mixing tools and exploring how to use Ableton’s Echo plugin to recreate classic echo and delay effects, many other great music software programs and plugins were released that also deserve a look.
These new releases include a professional sound library for all the weaponry one could need for a film or tv show, an easy-to-use orchestral arrangement program, and powerful, pristinely recorded drum samples. If we’ve missed one of your favorite new software programs released in February, let us know in the comments.
Krotos Audio Weaponiser Fully Loaded
The new Weaponiser sound library from Krotos Audio includes professionally recorded shotguns, rifles, machine guns, pistols and more in what the company calls “the ultimate weapon sound design solution." Perfect for film, tv, or video game work, you can take a handful of gunshots, multiply them, and randomize pitch and velocity to easily recreate battle soundscapes. It also includes a full effects section, so that you can fine-tune or wildly change the ultra-realistic sounds.
BeatSkillz Bollywood Maharaja Bundle
If you’ve no desire for Hollywood gunfire, perhaps you could make use of this huge collection of Bollywood Maharaja drums from BeatSkillz. It includes more than 1,200 one shot drum sounds in 100 kits, two virtual drum machines, and Indian percussion instruments like the dhol, dholak, tabla, chang, thad, and more. The collection not only caters to traditional Indian percussion sounds, but also makes kits of Bollywood drums for genres like trap, hip-hop, and electronic dance music.
Tracktion MOK Waverazor
The Waverazor from Tracktion promises jagged, aggressive new synth sounds for “biting leads, glitched-out basses, cinematic pads, and everything in between." Using up to three oscillators and three filters per voice, Waverazor lets you craft precise waveforms by sight with a built-in oscilloscope. The result is the kind of eerie, high-energy futuristic sounds similar to the Synth Sounds of Blade Runner.
Best Service The Orchestra
While many orchestral arrangement programs continue to get more and more complex, The Orchestra from Best Service seeks to be everything you need in a string library without the time-intensive features of other software. Newly updated, it features a full orchestra recorded in correct seating positions, with a complete set of essential articulations, and a “new dynamics humanizer" that brings “ultra-realism to your orchestral arrangements."
Sinevibes Creative Collection
The Creative Collection from Sinevibes brings together six of the company’s most popular effects, including the Corrosion multi-algorithmic distortion, the Dipole flanger, and the Malfunction—an emulation of a circuit-bent filter that will bring glitches, hisses, and other wonderful strangeness to a track.
Kuassa Efektor WF3607 Wah Filter
If you’re a guitarist, you’re probably more than aware with the breadth of wah effects—from classics like the Dunlop Cry Baby to the more esoteric Mu-Tron of funk guitar fame. The WF3607 Wah Filter from Kuassa puts together three types of wah and three envelope filters to give a broad and versatile wah palette. But this timeless effect isn’t just for guitars—you can use the program to bring the sweeping filters to any recorded track or software instrument.
Smack Drum Samples
Multi-platinum, Grammy-winning producer Marc McClusky was always being asked how he achieved his drum sounds, so he set about recording a huge range of drums and styles. Three packs from McClusky's Smack Drum Samples are now available exclusively on Reverb. The Taco Tuesday pack features 963 samples at multiple velocities and vintage mic setups. The City of Sound pack includes 480 similarly recorded at the famous Sound City studios. And TransAtlantic Hard Shots feature 756 hard-hitting drum samples recorded onto a Vintage SSL 4000 board.
The Chicago Electric Piano Co. | Sample Series Vol. 2 - Wurlitzer 200A - Reverb Exclusive
The Chicago Electric Piano Company has released four sample packs of iconic electric pianos exclusively with Reverb. The Wurlitzer 200A pack features the professionally recorded samples of a vintage Wurlitzer, with each key being sampled at three different velocities. Key strike and release samples are included so that you can recreate the natural attack, sustain, and release of the actual keyboard. Similarly, the Rhodes Mark II pack samples a pristine vintage Rhodes Mark II restored by the Chicago Electric Piano Company itself.
