Sonic State Studio / Virtual/Soft synths /
 Jeskola Buzz At a Glance  
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arrowReleased: Early 1999  arrowVersion:
arrowRated: 6.3/10arrow User reviews: (20)
arrowLinksarrowsubmit a link
arrowSoftware: Win 95/98, Win XP, OSX,
arrow Plugin formats: VST. Audio Units. RTAS
Scott Adair writes:
Buzz is a great virtual studio that connects machines to effects in a virtual modular sort of way using shift+left click to connect the virtual cables. You can route any generator (like a drum module, sampler or waveform) to unlimited number of effects machines (including single and multitap delays, reverbs, chorus, flange, amplitude and frequency modulated effects and many more...).

With a slight learning curve, but no where as hard to learn as say Reaktor, you can create interesting tracker style tunes in no time. Recommended as a great way to get your feet wet in music, especially if you know theory much better than you can actually play. You can get a lot out of the program by using your real hardware to create loops, edit them if necessary for exact length/bpm and bring them into the environment. Buzz can be used as a real time effects processor, and later versions of the Beta include a slider recorder that will allow you to tweak virtual dials and have those modulations recorded as hex code, so you can build songs like in the real world, only without dealing with Midi. With a wide variety of effects, notably good are the delays and filtering. Many talented programmers have given their time to affording Buzz users a vast array of generators and effects to give them access to the tools of emulating a full blown analog/digital studio. The major differences between Buzz and a program like Cubase, is no visual crap like chrome and waveform views. If you can think in patterns and sequences like an oldschool tracker, this is a great tool. It's also a good start for people who are interested in things like the Nord Modular, but afraid they aren't going to understand how to use it. Buzz will make you think differently about music, giving you freedoms not available in most of the hardware and software I've seen. But after over a year using it daily, I probably know it better than most.

You can use Buzz machines to output midi to other programs also, I have had it running notes to AS-1.

Save your song as a buzz specific bmx file and it keeps the samples with it. You can also use the included hard disk recording feature to drop a stereo CD quality wave on your harddrive.

VST effects have to be used in a 'wrapper', since it supports only its own machines as native. I think there is also a direct x version of the VST loader, but I am not certain.

Amatuer and pro coders can get the right code to build there own machines for use in the program as well.

This could be the future of synthesis, or at least a great bit of fun.

Hear buzz in action at www.mp3.com/trippinginthefall.

Scotty

p.s., go to preferences and change the output from Silent to another option, like Direct X Sound Driver. :)

Good Points
Modular style with dozens of generators and effects to choose from. Great tracker style interface for those who remember Screamtracker or Fasttracker. Records direct to disk. With loader generator supports Soundfonts, VST effects. And it's all FREE. Worth paying for.
Bad Points
Limited Midi. Not a multitracker. Some generators have rough edges. The best machine the Rout 909, is no longer distributed since Roland requested them to stop (really!).
 

 Jeskola Buzz Specifications:

Digital IOs:

Max tracks: Hardware dependant - k62-300 w/192 mb ram system has run over 32 tracks fairly neatly.
Maximum Resolution:44.1khz/16 bit
EQ:
effects modules for 3 and 10 band eq, as well as parametric
Dynamics:
Many
Filetypes supported:
import mono or stereo 44.1k/16bit samples
Hardware supported:
Midi In/Out though a bit primitive - best to step sequence
Upgrades/Extras:
http://www.buzzmachines.com has all the latest modules

 Buzz Links

buzzmachines.com Here you can find all the machines for Buzz.
Buzz FAQ 2004 Learn About how Buzz has Grown in the last 7 years
BuzzXP.com BuzzXP is a portal offering resources for the always growing tracker based digital studio Jeskola Buzz. You will find latest djlaser buzz distributions, articles and tutorials.
Buzz Wiki The official Wiki for the Buzz scene!

Try the Virtual/Soft synths links page for more..