BACKCHAT
Welcome to our newly (re)instated Letters page (okay, Emails page) to which you have been writing in your droves. Here are some of the best, and if you have something to say, good or bad (but good helps) email andy.jones@futurenet.com
Dear
Great idea to bring back readers’ messages! I always enjoyed reading them even though I felt my interests were often a bit different from most, ie to combine music technology with classical/ contemporary/art music.
One topic I’d love to learn more about is how exactly some composers (professional or amateur) combine electronics – already pre-recorded would be my preference, but live too, maybe – with traditional orchestral instruments, in their work. What software they use, etc.
It would also be great to have a beginners’ series on how some people use/incorporate sounds/ patches/effects made with music programming languages like PureData, Max/MSP, Supercollider, Chuck and so on in their music.
Also, the descendants of Koan (the generative music software) could even be discussed. But I realise you may feel that this kind of thing may not be appropriate for the readership for which this magazine is mainly intended.
It would also be lovely to see more from rachMiel after all these years... He was a font of knowledge and original ideas and wrote regularly for ! I wonder where he is now? Finally, it would also be great if Musicradar.com got its forum back again! Anyway, great mag and what with all the goodies it always offers, it’s a bargain!
Neil (only a dabbler in the vast
world of music technology)
Some excellent points there which I will lazily answer with some brief replies.
1) We’re hoping to explore some of the ‘real mixed with electronic’ world with a series of soundtrack composer interviews we have lined up, starting soon.
2) And a beginners’ series to that will follow just as soon as we’ve
COMPUTER MUSIC
extracted/nicked enough ideas from their replies.
3) Totally appropriate as there are some excellent such apps appearing all the time.
4) Consider that a callout!
5) I’ll ask Radar!
A little more conversation
Dear
Just got the latest , and I’m pretty disappointed! What’s happened to
Experts; always one of my favourite sections in . Two parts for Apple users only – I wouldn’t touch an Apple with a barge pole personally, even if I was wearing a black polo-neck, but each to their own – and the other piece on a
£500 quid bit of software. That’s really useful to us all. I hope this isn’t the shape of things to come. Yours, now going back to past issues…
Leigh Mellor
OK, yes, we rested Dave and Scot for a couple of issues thinking we’d get away with it with my ugly mug instead plus a couple of DAW-specific features, but fear not Leigh (and others), they are very much coming back with two additions in two issue’s time. And with the wonders of technology, Leigh gets back to us with the following reply…
You can’t say fairer than that. I can see, with a bit more reflection, that it must be more difficult to get software independent articles written. I imagine everybody and their second cousins is more than willing to bang on about the merits of their favourite bit of software. Thanks for replying and keep up the good work.
Very good point. I had dabbled with the idea of getting a page or two in for each DAW but as it transpires, that would take up the entire magazine.
And as if we haven’t just answered this…
Dear
And hi Andy. I always loved your humour and brilliant, effortless writing. [ Right, this is going in no problem – Ed] Glad you are now at the helm at .
However, [ Oh – Ed] can you please make /experts DAW agnostic? I always skip the ones that don’t apply to me in * AN–Other magazine*, then feel I haven’t got my money’s worth.
PS Do I win a toilet roll?
Mat Ward, Sydney matward.bandcamp.com
OK, OK. Expert Guides will be agnostic from now on, and yes, they’ll be back in bigger force very soon indeed. Unfortunately the toilet roll offer was only open to residents of my village. (He says after weighing up postage costs to Sydney…)
Making Trax
Dear
I’m currently reading the Make a Track In An Hour issue and Freeware issues and wanted to use Thenatan Trax CM for making a trap track. However, I can’t find Trax CM in the Plugin Suite? Neither via Filesilo or on (older) DVD’s.
Could you tell me how I can locate this plugin?
Gilles, via email
Thanks for letting us know Gilles. That one slipped out of the
Plugin Suite for some reason (possibly because it’s a big download) but it has been reinstated and also available for those issues on FileSilo. Talking of which, it’s our all-new…
Most oft-asked question of the month
Dear
I have recently subscribed to the magazine digitally. How do you access the sample downloads with a digital subscription?
I’m using a PC and there are no links in the issue through the reader from Pocketmags.
Thanks for any help.
Todd Gordon (and others)
Yes, we do get this asked a lot, so will be making it more obvious. All digital issues can access all the download content – samples, software, videos and more – from filesilo.co.uk. You’ll need to set an account up and then answer a question related to the issue you are trying to access (it’s easy, don’t worry). There’s between 12 and 15GB a month, so register, log on and fill your boots/drive.