Sugar Bytes

A rapid-ire round-up of mobile gear and soundware
mini reviews
Web www.timespace.com
Format PC/Mac, VST/AU/AAX
Virtual instruments dedicated to the production
of kick drums seem to be ‘a thing’ these days,
with Vengeance’s Metrum, Sonic Academy’s
Kick and Plugin Boutique’s BigKick the key
players. Essentially a repackaging of the kick
modules from Rob Papen’s superb Punch drum
machine (
167, 9/10), new contender Punch
BD is about as all-encompassing as a bass drum
instrument could conceivably be.
A Punch BD patch is built on six
independently edited pads, which can be
stacked (pitched or unpitched), assigned to
separate notes, or triggered in cycling sequence
(pitched or unpitched). Every pad ofers a choice
of Drum (synth) or Sample mode. The former
draws on a set of four varied synthesised models
(with pitch and amp envelopes, plus optional
Click/Noise and Punch parameters), as well as a
library of sampled kicks. Sample mode lets you
combine two samples – from the included
library, which covers a wide range of drum,
percussion and other sounds,
or of your own choosing – by
layering, mixing or
alternating them.
A very deep level of
control is given over the
parameters of each pad, with
a small bank of Quick Edit
knobs on hand for making
fundamental changes in a
hurry, and the Easy page
giving global control of pitch,
ilter and mix levels. There
are also hundreds of
individual pad presets to use
as starting points, alongside
an abundance of full instrument presets.
Punch BD isn’t wanting in the processing
department either, with distortion (19 types!),
parametric EQ and four efects slots (each
accessing a menu of 31 excellent modules –
ilters, reverbs, delays, etc) onboard, as well as
two envelopes, two LFOs and an eight-slot
modulation matrix.
Punch BD could be reasonably described
as an over-complicated tool for what is a
relatively straightforward task, particularly
in comparison to its more focused rivals.
There’s no doubting the quality and variety
of kicks it can deliver for those prepared to
get involved, though.
n8/10n
Web www.sugar-bytes.de
Format iPad
With the Mac and PC version of Egoist ( 209,
9/10) running at 1024x768 resolution and the
developer having succesfully ported four of
their other plugins to iOS already, the eventual
arrival of Sugar Bytes’ self-contained groove
production studio on the App Store was always
inevitable. Indeed, it’s almost as if it was built
with Apple’s mighty tablet in mind…
Egoist comprises three main, independently
sequenced modules: Bass/Beat, Slicer and
Efects. Beat/Bass plays host to a sample-based
drum machine and a one-oscillator bass synth.
You get 15 drum kits (each accessing 96
samples), covering a vast expanse of sonic
ground, while the synth ofers saw and square
waves and three ilter types. Apart from pitch
control, the drums can’t be edited at all (and you
can’t import your own samples), and the synth is
decidedly basic; but both sound great and are
nothing if not intuitive.
The Slicer module chops samples (from the
impressive bundled collection, your iPad Music
library, or imported via iTunes) into up to 16
slices, at their transients or
manually. The slices can be
triggered via MIDI, the built-in
keyboard or the 16-step
sequencer (set the slider on each
step to the desired slice
number), which features
modulation lanes for controlling
level, pitch, forward/reverse
playback, attack and decay.
The Efects page houses
seven characterful FX modules
(Reverb, Chorus, Comb, Delay,
etc) and an Efectrix-style
sequencer, for rhythmic
processing of the three
sources, collectively.
Egoist’s Pattern/Part/Song-based approach
to track construction is resolutely old-school but
efective enough when you want to string a few
parts together. AudioBus, Inter-App Audio and
AudioCopy/Paste are all supported, projects can
be bounced (unlike the desktop version!), and
there are randomise buttons all over the shop,
for instantly conjuring chaotic patterns and
efects setups.
Some of the iner controls can be a bit iddly
to get a virtual grip on (particularly on an iPad
mini), and exporting project iles to the Windows
and OS X versions can only be done via iTunes
ile sharing, but Egoist is one of the coolest,
most platform-appropriate mini-DAWs on the
App Store – a focused, fun and frequently
inspirational mobile musical notepad.
n9/10n
Sugar Bytes
Egoist £21
Rob Papen
Punch BD £40
110 / COMPUTER MUSIC February 2015
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