Software That Makes Home a Music Studio
As you read this, I’m leaving my heart in San Francisco at the Macworld Expo, along with my feet and the remnants of a New Year resolution that had something to do with dieting. My Expo wrap-up will appear here next week. This week, I’m writing about some lesser-known software packages from small software firms, most of which don’t have booths at Moscone Center. You may not have heard of these products, but you’ve probably heard their end results.
I’m referring to music and audio software--programs that turn the Mac into a digital music studio. A noisy revolution in music and audio software has taken place, and the results are showing up on CDs, in TV and movie scores and, best of all, in thousands of home studios built around Macs.
Macs have been able to record and play sound for years. These days, they’re also able to act as musical instruments. Synthesizer and virtual studio programs take advantage of the speed of the G3 and G4 processors to enable a Mac to imitate electronic synthesizers and audio hardware, such as mixers and effects units.
And I mean imitate: These programs faithfully reproduce not only the sound of high-end music and audio gear but also its appearance. Music and audio programs sport some of the most engaging interfaces around: On-screen volume meters dance with the beat, and virtual sliders and knobs look and work like their real-world counterparts.
One of the best virtual studios is a new, $399 program called Reason, from Swedish developer Propellerhead Software (https://www.propellerheads.se). Reason puts an entire rackful of synthesizers, drum machines and audio-effects boxes on your Mac’s screen. Press a key, and the rack turns around to expose dangling virtual cables that you use to route sound from one virtual device to another.
Equally stunning is the $199 B4 from German developer Native Instruments (https://www.native-instruments.com). B4 re-creates--with astonishing accuracy--the sound of the legendary Hammond B3 organ. Its user interface: a meticulously rendered image of the mighty Hammond, complete with knobs that you drag to control the organ’s sound.
Assembling a Mac-based studio usually means pairing one or more of these software synthesizers with a sequencer program, which enables you to layer track upon track to build up complete arrangements. Today’s top sequencer is the $795 Digital Performer from Mark of the Unicorn (https://www.motu.com). It’s available only for the Mac.
Like all sequencer programs, Digital Performer accepts plug-ins, software add-ons that create special audio effects, such as reverberation. Some of the best effects plug-ins come from Israel’s Waves (https://www.waves.com), Germany’s TC Works (https://www.tcworks.de) and Santa Cruz’s Kind of Loud Technologies (https://www.kindofloud.com).
Of course, even a virtual studio requires some physical hardware. Most musicians use a music keyboard equipped with MIDI--the Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a standard scheme for interconnecting electronic instruments and computers. You’ll also need a MIDI interface for your Mac. I use Mark of the Unicorn’s $79 FastLane, which connects to the Mac’s Universal Serial Bus port. And you’ll want to connect your Mac’s speaker jack to an amplification system, or at least a good set of external speakers.
As for the Mac itself, even a low-end iMac will run the programs I’ve described here. They also run on PowerBooks and iBooks, which thrills musicians whose backs can no longer bear the burden of heavy hardware. A G4-equipped Mac is preferable. Most music and audio software developers have optimized their wares to exploit the G4’s Velocity Engine technology. And whichever Mac you use, you’ll need plenty of memory--at least 128 megabytes, preferably 256 MB--to simultaneously run multiple music and audio programs.
Music and audio developers may not have a large presence at the Macworld Expo, but they’ll rule the floor at the National Assn. of Music Manufacturers (NAMM) trade show, which begins Jan. 18 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
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Jim Heid is a contributing editor of Macworld magazine.
