At times it falls seriously short - for example, the description of how sample 'zones', 'sections' and 'alternates' interrelate is not clearly explained. While it tries hard to be comprehensive, it's frequently obscure, partly because of some clunky English translation.
No printed copy was supplied so I downloaded a PDF from the Yellow Tools web site. All in all, it's an effective interface, and I found it easy to get going without needing the manual. Most typefaces used are squared‑off and quite contemporary (in a retro sort of way), but this makes them clear and easy to read at their small sizes. There's also a file browser with search facilities, the built‑in mixer (which can be set to use the whole window, if necessary), and a preferences and help panel. The usual suspects are all here: a mapping editor, synth architecture and insert effects modules, and a Performance editor that controls the subtleties of legato and repeated‑sample substitution.įor easy sound tweaking, a Quick Edit panel puts volume, pan, pitch, a filter, a reverb and real‑time MIDI control up front. On the left, you normally see a list of all the loaded patches (or 'layers', in Yellow-speak), and detailed information relating to the currently selected layer, and on the right, eight different editing areas appear, selected with buttons along the top. The roughly 900圆50 pixel plug‑in window is busy, but well organised. All your usual sample-manipulation functions are available in the Mapping view (on the left), while Quick Edit is the not‑unwelcome 'idiot' screen, which also includes some helpful real‑time MIDI-controller mapping functions.
Two more of Independence's edit screens, accessed via the top row of buttons. Taken together, these will hopefully give you a good idea of just what's on offer. So I'm going to concentrate on what seems to me the really crucial factors of the Independence 2 plug‑in: the operational 'feel', mixing and effects, the sound library, the unique features and the potential for expansion.
Independence Pro is clearly a complex beast, and it would be virtually impossible for a review to dig into every single little detail. There are in the region of 45 processors, effects and 'helpers', including Yellow Tools' convolution reverb, Origami. The plug‑in‑only Independence FX splits off (you guessed it) Independence 2's effects section so that it can be applied to any other track in your DAW. I'll talk more about these later.Īlongside Independence 2, the stand‑alone‑only Independence Live presents a streamlined interface for accessing the sound library in a live situation. Those earlier specialist libraries, Culture, Majestic and Candy (specialising in percussion, electric basses and saxes, respectively), are thrown in, and there are some tempo‑locked arpeggiated and sequenced patches too. However, no‑one would blame you if you only ever used the bundled library, and Independence Pro's runs to a chunky 65GB. It offers a typical workstation‑style spread of instruments: pianos, guitars, orchestral, organs, pop horns, drums, percussion and synths.
#Independence pro 3 mac os
The main attraction is Independence 2, which is a software sampler that runs as a stand‑alone application or as a plug‑in in AU or VST format on Mac OS 10.4 or later, or Windows XP and Vista.Īs with any 'proper' sampler, you get to load, edit and loop your own audio, control the way it's mapped onto the keyboard, and tweak hundreds of other parameters. So what exactly is Independence Pro? It's actually a little suite of software. Multiple multi‑channel layered and split projects can be loaded, and remain pre‑cached for quick program changes. Independence Live presents a simpler face, suitable for live performance. While software‑based samplers and sample players were quite a big deal in 2003, they're not now, and Yellow Tools' current flagship instrument, Independence Pro - the subject of this review - goes up against some industry‑standard heavyweights in today's market. Their involvement with soft sampling dates back to the early noughties - they released the sample‑based instruments Culture, Majestic and Candy between 20, and followed them up with a fully‑fledged sampler, Independence, shortly afterwards. Yellow Tools are a German company who started producing CD‑ROM‑based sample content back in the days when men were men and samplers were mostly white and rackmounted.
This suite of sampling, effects and live performance software, with a bundled 65GB library, is feature-rich but also up against heavy competition.
0 kommentar(er)
