Native Instruments - The Razor's Edge

With an already impressive product lineup, there's one more thing to to add to the Native Instruments pile.  Razor is their newest VST that lets the user visualize as they shape sound.  The interface remains just as clean and easy to use as the rest of their product line and sticks to the unspoken motto of functional before fashionable.  Razor also uses additive synthesis as its method of sound generation.  Additive synthesis uses the principle of the fourier theorem that any waveform may be created from a series of pure sine waves.  As nerdy as that previous statement was, that means ridiculously crisp sound for you, the musician.  Check out Razor on the NI site!

Traktor Scratch Pro 2: Delving into the Software

So with the interfaces out of the way, we'll dig a bit into some of the new features of the software that run them.  The single color waveform display has been a gripe of users for some time now.  Not anymore.  The new "TruWave" display is more crisp then ever as you can customize the degree of color separation for different frequencies and transients.  Some screenshots are below of the new waveform.  The first is an example of more of a subtle approach and the second will look somewhat familiar to the Scratch Live users out there.  Giving the user more customization options can be a double edged sword since some users just want a "plug and play" solution which has everything just right for them out of the box.

Another feature is the loop recorder.  You can overdub your recordings as well as route any or all channels to it, completely customizable.  The loop recorder can also function as a 5th deck, snatch your loop, overdub it, then shoot it into the sample player for playback from there.  Crazy possibilities here without a doubt.

Additional feature examination to come in the next few days:  looping, sample players and more!