Spectrasonics Trilian total bass module review coming soon!
| Posted in Music Technology
Spectrasonics’ Trilian bass module has arrived in store, and it’s fair to say that among the recording enthusiasts here at DV247 there’s quite a scuffle going on over who gets the review copy.
After all, this particular virtual instrument has been the subject of somewhat fevered anticipation ever since its elder sibling, the Trilogy bass module, added its first low-end rumble to a DAW track and started winning awards. According to Spectrasonic, Trilian boasts a far bigger core library that weighs in at an impressive 34GB, new acoustic, electric and synth basses, and enhanced versions of classic Trilogy sounds. On top of that, the module arrives packing a redesigned front end.
Arguably the most impressive feature of the new release, however, it that it represents the first Spectrasonics 64-bit native software release to have been built on the developer’s STEAM engine core technology, which was initially debuted back in January 2008 at the NAMM show. Because Trilian has been developed using STEAM, it becomes the first virtual instrument that is capable of full library integration with the flagship Spectrasonics Omnisphere synthesiser.
With such an impressive array of features to shout about, the developer is sounding understandably confident in its approach to the market, declaring that Trilian is “simply in a class by itself”. That might seem like a bold statement, but backing it up is a range of functions likely to excite anyone who cares about their recording’s low end.
For a start, Trilian has been designed, says the developer, for “expressive, real-time performance”, facilitated by automatic selection of dynamic legato and release to let players create realistic hammer-ons and pull-offs. Users will also be able to recreate the effect of sliding from one fret to another – the available articulations for the acoustic and electric basses include staccato, legato, sustain, vibrato, slide up, slide down, slide up & down, gliss up, and harmonics.
Elsewhere that 34GB library contains more electric, acoustic and synth bass sounds than can be listed here, but suffice to say that its 10 times the size of the Trilogy library, and the amount of options offered to the user makes it obvious why.
Indeed, on paper the feature-set is remarkable, hence the scuffle over who gets to put Spectrasonics Trilian to the test. Whoever the lucky winner is, we can promise you a full review next week.
About Barney Jameson
A contributor, editor and in some cases creator of more music and pro audio magazines than he cares to remember, Barney Jameson is a veteran of writing about gear, and a pretty keen singer songwriter to boot.
Having started his musical education reading old copies of the Melody Maker while riding the tube to University in the mid-nineties, Barney once sang in a band called Sugarstone, troubling record company chequebooks not quite enough to make it a career option. Instead, he achieved his goal of starting a music magazine of his own when he founded Playmusic in the early noughties. Later on, having exploited VIP access to as many festivals as possible, he wrote about the pro audio industry throughout Europe and the Middle East, travelling to far-flung destinations such as Dubai, Doha and Muscat (nice mountains).
As the latest addition to the DV247 team, Barney has big plans. But when he’s not plotting online domination of the musical instrument world, he keeps himself busy writing songs on a battered old acoustic guitar and playing them to audiences in his home town.
Tags: bass module, computer music, Spectrasonics trilogy, STEAM engine