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IK Multimedia announces Syntronik
38 iconic synthesizers and string machines sampled to utter perfection and immortalized in one powerful, cutting-edge virtual instrument
May 25, 2017 – IK Multimedia is proud to introduce Syntronik™, the new cutting-edge virtual synthesizer for Mac/PC, which will be available in July 2017 and is now open for pre-order. Syntronik raises the bar in virtual instrument technology, sound quality and flexibility thanks to a brand new combination of the most advanced sampling techniques with a new hybrid sample and modeling synthesis engine, an arsenal of high-quality modeled effects and innovative instrument features that provide players and producers with the ultimate and best-sounding collection of vintage synthesizers to date.
A breakthrough in the world of virtual synthesizers
Syntronik includes 17 amazing instruments, available as a collection or separately, with over 2,000 preset sounds covering a wide selection from 38 of the most iconic to ultra-rare and painstakingly multi-sampled vintage synthesizers. Syntronik’s synthesis engine goes well beyond traditional sampling thanks to a brand new analog modeled filter section built with the highest expertise from IK, the pioneer in virtual circuit modeling. This is coupled with the new exclusive DRIFT™ technology to accurately reproduce the behavior of oscillators from real hardware synths. All of this combined with an effects section that is unrivaled in the world of virtual instruments along with advanced features like 4-part layers, splits and arpeggiators make Syntronik the ultimate source of inspiration with the widest palette of synthesizer sounds ranging from exact reproductions of the originals to sounds never heard before that will stand out from the crowd in productions covering any genre and style.
Capturing the synthesizer DNA of a collector’s dream
IK Multimedia has spared no effort in crafting an instrument that provides the highest standard of sound quality. Only the best synthesizer models have been sourced from private collections and carefully selected prior to being meticulously multi-sampled using the most advanced techniques developed by the IK team to ensure that the authentic character of the originals is captured and reproduced down to the tiniest nuance. 70,000 individual samples and 50 GB of extreme-quality sounds later, Syntronik is ready to set a new standard in the world of virtual instruments.
The 38 instruments included in Syntronik are: Modular Moog, Minimoog Model D, Moog Voyager, Moog Taurus I, Moog Taurus II, Moog Taurus 3, Polymoog, Moog Opus 3, Moog Rogue, Realistic Concertmate MG-1, Multimoog, Micromoog, Moog Prodigy, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, Sequential Circuits Prophet-10, ARP 2600, Oberheim SEM, Oberheim OB-X, Oberheim OB-Xa, Yamaha CS-80, Yamaha GX-1, Yamaha CS-01II, Yamaha SY99, Roland Juno-60, Roland Jupiter-8, Roland Jupiter-6, Roland Jupiter-4, Roland JX-10, Roland JX-8P, Roland JX-3P, Roland TB-303 Bassline, Alesis Andromeda, PPG Wave 2.3, ARP String Ensemble, Elka Rhapsody 490, Hohner String Performer, Roland RS-505 Paraphonic, Roland RS-09 Organ/Strings.
Hybrid Synthesis Architecture
IK Multimedia developed a new synthesis engine for Syntronik that models 4 of the best sounding analog filters of all time: Moog transistor ladder, (found in the Minimoog and Modular Moog), Roland’s IR3109 chip (found in the Jupiter-8 and Juno-60), the famous Curtis CEM3320 chip (found in the Prophet-5, Oberheim OB-Xa and Memorymoog) and the Oberheim SEM state variable filter. This hybrid architecture allows for pristine reproduction of the most critical section of every synthesizer. Plus, every filter is selectable within each included synthesizer, enabling users to create their own combinations by mixing or matching at will – like using a Moog filter with Oberheim oscillators – to produce sounds beyond imagination. Syntronik also provides powerful digital filters like Formant and Phase filters that can take the analog source oscillators into other dimensions for modern timbral exploration.
New DRIFT™ Technology
When it comes to accurately reproducing the real sound of vintage synthesizers, sampling their oscillators is the only way to ensure truly authentic results. IK developers have worked tirelessly to capture multiple round robins of single oscillators as well as oscillator combinations (including sync and FM sweeps). Syntronik also includes a new DRIFT algorithm that breathes more life into the sampled oscillators themselves. Typically sample-based synthesizers have the limitation of having always the same exact sample attack, something that does not happen in their true hardware counterparts. IK’s DRIFT technology varies the phase, color and pitch of the sampled oscillators to keep them moving just like the real analog oscillators do. Much more than simple detuning or even multiple-source modulation, DRIFT emulates the way real analog circuits behave over time. The result is the organic, living sound of analog that is the start of any classic synthesis chain.
4-part layering and arpeggiators
Syntronik’s streamlined interface allows for quick layering and combining of up to 4 different synthesizer parts, quick mapping and playing sounds simultaneously as well as creating advanced splits for maximum flexibility and performance. In addition to this, each synthesizer part features a powerful note and chord arpeggiator with its own assignable range and settings as well as the ability to store all information for instant recall, enabling users to build complex rhythmic textures and sequences in a snap.
An arsenal of effects
Syntronik comes with 38 high-quality effects derived from IK’s world-class T-RackS mix and mastering suite and AmpliTube guitar workstation plus new effects like the new Ensemble Chorus and vintage analog Channel Strip. 5 effects can be simultaneously inserted on every instrument via an attractive “lunchbox-style” interface that allows for immediate visualization and editing of every parameter from a single screen.
SampleTank-ready
Syntronik’s sounds can be opened seamlessly in SampleTank 3 allowing them to be used together with the ever-growing number of acoustic and electronic instruments included in the industry-standard sound and groove workstation, to build complete soundtracks for any style of music.
Pricing and availability
Syntronik is expected to ship in July 2017, and will be priced at $/€299.99* with a crossgrade version available for $/€199.99 (eligible to any registered IK users with a purchase of $/€99.99 or greater). The 17 instruments comprising Syntronik will also be available separately for $/€49.99 each upon release.
Syntronik can be pre-ordered now at a special 50% discount introductory price of only €/$149.99 with crossgrade for as low as only €/$99.99.
*All prices excluding taxes
For more information, please visit:
www.ikmultimedia.com/syntronik
For audio and video demos of Syntronik, please visit:
www.ikmultimedia.com/syntronik/video
www.ikmultimedia.com/syntronik/audio
Bass Videos
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes…
It is always great to meet a super busy bassist who simply exudes a love for music and his instrument. Erick “Jesus” Coomes fits this description exactly. Hailing from Southern California, “Jesus” co-founded and plays bass for Lettuce and has found his groove playing with numerous other musicians.
Join us as we hear of his musical journey, how he gets his sound, his ongoing projects, and his plans for the future.
Photo, Bob Forte
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www.lettucefunk.com
IG @jesuscsuperstar
FB@jesuscoomes
FB @lettucefunk
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“These stories from the front are with real-life, day-to-day musicians who deal with work life and gigging and how they make it work out. Each month, topics may include… the kind of gigs you get, the money, dealing with less-than-ideal rooms, as well as the gear you need to get the job done… and the list goes on from there.” – Steve the Bass Guy and Shawn Cav
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This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
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Click to follow Bass Musician on Instagram @bassmusicianmag
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New Album: Jake Leckie, Planter of Seeds
Bassist Jake Leckie and The Guide Trio Unveil New Album Planter of Seeds,
to be released on June 7, 2024
Planter of Seeds is bassist/composer Jake Leckie’s third release as a bandleader and explores what beauty can come tomorrow from the seeds we plant today.
What are we putting in the ground? What are we building? What is the village we want to bring our children up in? At the core of the ensemble is The Guide Trio, his working band with guitarist Nadav Peled and drummer Beth Goodfellow, who played on Leckie’s second album, The Guide, a rootsy funky acoustic analog folk-jazz recording released on Ropeadope records in 2022. For Planter of Seeds, the ensemble is augmented by Cathlene Pineda (piano), Randal Fisher (tenor saxophone), and Darius Christian (trombone), who infuse freedom and soul into the already tightly established ensemble.
Eight original compositions were pristinely recorded live off the floor of Studio 3 at East West Studios in Hollywood CA, and mastered by A.T. Michael MacDonald. The cover art is by internationally acclaimed visual artist Wayne White. Whereas his previous work has been compared to Charles Mingus, and Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet with Charlie Haden, Leckie’s new collection sits comfortably between the funky odd time signatures of the Dave Holland Quintet and the modern folk-jazz of the Brian Blade Fellowship Band with a respectful nod towards the late 1950s classic recordings of Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis.
The title track, “Planter of Seeds,” is dedicated to a close family friend, who was originally from Trinidad, and whenever she visited family or friends at their homes, without anyone knowing, she would plant seeds she kept in her pocket in their gardens, so the next season beautiful flowers would pop up. It was a small altruistic anonymous act of kindness that brought just a little more beauty into the world. The rhythm is a tribute to Ahmad Jamal, who we also lost around the same time, and whose theme song Poinciana is about a tree from the Caribbean.
“Big Sur Jade” was written on a trip Leckie took with his wife to Big Sur, CA, and is a celebration of his family and community. This swinging 5/4 blues opens with an unaccompanied bass solo, and gives an opportunity for each of the musicians to share their improvisational voices. “Clear Skies” is a cathartic up-tempo release of collective creative energies in fiery improvisational freedom. “The Aquatic Uncle” features Randal Fisher’s saxophone and is named after an Italo Calvino short story which contemplates if one can embrace the new ways while being in tune with tradition. In ancient times, before a rudder, the Starboard side of the ship was where it was steered from with a steering oar. In this meditative quartet performance, the bass is like the steering oar of the ensemble: it can control the direction of the music, and when things begin to unravel or become unhinged, a simple pedal note keeps everything grounded.
The two trio tunes on the album are proof that the establishment of his consistent working band The Guide Trio has been a fruitful collaboration. “Santa Teresa”, a bouncy samba-blues in ? time, embodies the winding streets and stairways of the bohemian neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro it is named for. The swampy drum feel on “String Song” pays homage to Levon Helm of The Band, a group where you can’t always tell who wrote the song or who the bandleader is, proving that the sum is greater than the individual parts. Early jazz reflected egalitarianism in collective improvisation, and this group dynamic is an expression of that kind of inclusivity and democracy.
“The Daughters of the Moon” rounds out the album, putting book ends on the naturalist themes. This composition is named after magical surrealist Italo Calvino’s short story about consumerism, in which a mythical modern society that values only buying shiny new things throws away the moon like it is a piece of garbage and the daughters of the moon save it and resurrect it. It’s an eco-feminist take on how women are going to save the world. Pineda’s piano outro is a hauntingly beautiful lunar voyage, blinding us with love. Leckie dedicates this song to his daughter: “My hope is that my daughter becomes a daughter of the moon, helping to make the world a more beautiful and verdant place to live.”
Bass CDs
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
In a thrilling solo debut, bassist Nate Sabat combines instrumental virtuosity with a songwriter’s heart on Bass Fiddler…
The upright bass and the human voice. Two essential musical instruments, one with roots in 15th century Europe, the other as old as humanity itself.
On Bass Fiddler (Adhyâropa Records ÂR00057), the debut album from Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and bass virtuoso Nate Sabat, the scope is narrowed down a bit. Drawing from the rich and thriving tradition of American folk music, Sabat delivers expertly crafted original songs and choice covers with the upright bass as his lone tool for accompaniment.
The concept was born a decade ago when Sabat began studying with the legendary old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky at Berklee College of Music. “One of Bruce’s specialties is singing and playing fiddle at the same time. The second I heard it I was hooked,” recalls Sabat. “I thought, how can I do this on the bass?” From there, he was off to the races, arranging original and traditional material with Molsky as his guide. “Fast forward to 2020, and I — like so many other musicians — was thinking of how to best spend my time. I sat down with the goal of writing some new songs and arranging some new covers, and an entire record came out.” When the time came to make the album, it was evident that Molsky would be the ideal producer. Sabat asked him if he’d be interested, and luckily he was. “What an inspiration to work with an artist like Nate,” says Molsky. “Right at the beginning, he came to this project with a strong, personal and unique vision. Plus he had the guts to try for a complete and compelling cycle of music with nothing but a bass and a voice. You’ll hear right away that it’s engaging, sometimes serious, sometimes fun, and beautifully thought out from top to bottom.”
While this record is, at its core, a folk music album, Sabat uses the term broadly. Some tracks lean more rock (‘In the Shade’), some more pop (‘White Marble’, ‘Rabid Thoughts’), some more jazz (‘Fade Away’), but the setting ties them all together. “There’s something inherently folksy about a musician singing songs with their instrument, no matter the influences behind the compositions themselves,” Sabat notes. To be sure, there are plenty of folk songs (‘Louise’ ‘Sometimes’, ‘Eli’) and fiddling (‘Year of the Ox’) to be had here — the folk music fan won’t go hungry. There’s a healthy dose of bluegrass too (‘Orphan Annie’, ‘Lonesome Night’), clean and simple, the way Mr. Bill Monroe intended.
All in all, this album shines a light on an instrument that often goes overlooked in the folk music world, enveloping the listener in its myriad sounds, textures, and colors. “There’s nothing I love more than playing the upright bass,” exclaims Sabat. “My hope is that listeners take the time to sit with this album front to back — I want them to take in the full scope of the work. I have a feeling they’ll hear something they haven’t heard before.”
Available online at natesabat.bandcamp.com/album/walking-away