DUBturbo Samploid2
DUBturbo is announcing a forthcoming version of their beat making software by releasing a set of freeware instruments and effects in VST plugin format for Windows. Following this release, a fully refurbished DAW version of the DUBturbo is scheduled for release in 2015.I know what you’re thinking. I’ve seen all of those ridiculous DUBturbo promo videos which were all over the place back in the day and the whole thing still looks like a bad joke. But I believe that people deserve a second chance and these guys seem to be getting on the right track, at least judging by their announcements for 2015.They’ve admitted that their marketing campaign was a disaster. They’ve announced a new version of DUBturbo which won’t be based on Flash. The new version will support most of the features which are expected from a modern DAW. And this definitely looks interesting, at least on paper.Of course, it’s possible that we will just get another ridiculous marketing campaign and a subpar piece of software from them. But then again, these guys might pleasantly surprise us, too. We’ll have to wait and see!Anyways, let’s get back to the topic. At the moment, we have five free DUBturbo flavored plugins to choose from:SINDRONE (a polyphonic synthesizer aimed at EDM producers)SAMPLOID 2.0 (a free sampler instrument)ROMPLOID (a free rompler instrument based on SAMPLOID)SAMPLOID SFZ BETA (a beta version of a SFZ sample player based on SAMPLOID)EQTURBO (a mastering EQ)These plugins are offered for free download at the moment, although there’s a possibility that this offer will end once the new version of DUBturbo is released. I’m not sure whether this means that the plugins will become commercial products, or if they will be completely removed from the website.Anyways, I’ve watched the demo videos and I’ve tested these plugins in order to write a very brief review, just to give you a basic idea of what they’re all about. Here are my first impressions! Again – this is just a basic review, based on a rather brief test.Why is it free?A few reasons, I feel the last series didn’t live up to par and I swore someday I would redo them, improve them, and release them free for the first x months/years? AND – we’re in the mids of overhauling DubTurbo4 which is now going to be a real DAW and VST host so this is going to be used within our new version and you’re getting a copy because we love good promo and we want you to check us out when we launch DT4!No email list to add yourself to, no tricks at facebook, just straight great free VSTi to say thank yo to the world for supporting dubturbo, to say sorryfor the last versions not being up to snuff (even though they were also a freebie), and to hopefully get the industry talking about DT again once we’ve launched – enjoy!!Best practice :: If you have a hyped out machine, this might not matter that much (I actually imported a bunch of stress test folders – with full .wav songs in them, probably well over 500mbs of data and it still didn’t cap out). If you want best performance, that makes sense, and you’re using vst’s which means you have a good understanding of audio/setups etc., then this shoulud be easy for you.If you already have a sample library/management of some kind and are familiar with samples – simply choose any folder/file and it will automatically line up all your samples for you on your keys. If you’re new to this stuff – basically you’ll want to create a folder first, and start compiling your samples (meaning actual one shot drum hits/snares/kicks or instruments on a C note so they can span up/down on the keyboard properly).In the example wav folder provided with the preloaded version you’ll notice how we setup the names numerically so they show/play in groups on our midi keyboard and just so they are grouped nicely for quick access to drum/snare combo’s or instrument sections to audition and play. This doesn’t mean you can’t import other sounds or even try full songs if you just want to zone in on a certain point and sample/span/sequence it.Enjoy this first release of the Samploid2 and have fun making music!The DT Team.
