Beat English
Ausgabe 08/2023

Perfect your drums with the 13 best drum machines + 30 hacks for better beats

Drums are the foundation of almost every song, and there are so many tools for making cool beats, from synth plugins and grooveboxes to drums and percussion and even everyday objects you can tap on. But what‘s the best way to record drums and percussion? How do you create your own signature drums and exciting beats? How do you turn the various sounds into a powerful kit for mighty grooves? We provide answers to all questions and an overview of the best hardware drummers in comparison. Individual hacks included!

Beatzille 2023 – get U-He’s supersynth for free with BEAT #211

u-he Beatzille brings the sound of expensive modular synthesizers to your DAW. Like its big sister Bazille, it expands the classic sound spectrum of analog modular systems with flexible digital oscillators and limitless wiring possibilities. If you‘re bored of synthesizers with a predefined signal path and want to really get into sound exploration, the Beatzille will be your best friend. On board are the best patches from our Beatzille Patch Contest.

Copyright and AI – What you need to know!

The wave of copyright lawsuits continues to wash over the music landscape. Some decisions seem more plausible than others. In general, however, the probability that two songs are found to be similar is increasing. A reform of the current system seems inevitable – algorithmic analysis tools may just offer the solution. We found out what you need to know about this topic...

Reviewed: Possibly the smallest studio in the world – Apple Logic for iPad

Logic looks complicated, but after a short learning curve, a lot of things make sense – I, myself, even find the App more logical (yes, I know, 5 Euro in the pun box!) than Garage Band: It's nice that the iPad can now be a full-fledged recording studio! We find out what’s inside...

Hardware review: Sequential Trigon-6 – the next Memorymoog?

The Trigon-6 is in line with the Sequential models Prophet-6 and OB-6 and is the last instrument Dave Smith worked on. Typical for this robust model series is the intuitive complete user interface as well as functional extras like arpeggiator, step sequencer and dual effects section. A modern Memorymoog?

Pitching music – Your way to big playlists?

Whereas in the past you used to send self-recorded tapes to fanzines in order to get your music heard, self-promotion in today‘s digital music world works fundamentally differently because, in addition to postings on social media channels, YouTube videos, e-mail newsletters or acquiring blog and webzine contributions, it‘s primarily the editorial playlists on Spotify and the like that promise to reach a large fan base. But have the new possibilities really made self-promotion easier? Probably not, after all, the oversupply is huge and many artists remain barely heard in the flood. On Spotify alone, they say, 100,000 new songs are uploaded every day (!). But there are a few tricks to improve your own luck. For example, pitching your own songs for playlists. We spoke to Sven Seibert about how it works.