Every couple of years a product comes along that seems to take a whole bunch of complex musical tricks and bundle them into a single box. That description could be applied to the much-loved Stutter Edit It’s also true of this second collaboration between renowned producer and technologist BT and acclaimed software developer iZotope. Like Stutter Edit, BreakTweaker is a MIDI-triggered plug-in that’s capable of some quite mind-bending feats of sonic wizardry, though its focus is a little different.
Billed as a drum sculpting and beat sequencing machine, BreakTweaker works as an instrument in all leading DAWs. You are provided with a 2GB library of drum hits and sound effects which are tuned and designed by some of the brightest leading lights in the electronic music world.
Expansion packs are also available at just under £30, including Vintage Machines, Cinematic Textures and Kicks and Snares by Beatport Sounds. Note perfect Your first stop will be the 32-step sequencer, where you input notes into any of the six tracks and 24 pattern slots available for every patch. The sequencer is polyrhythmic, meaning each track can have a different length independently of the others, and a track can also be set to play back at a different speed, from 1/3 the speed of the host DAW to three times its speed. So you are already able to build unusual and complex beat patterns that change over time.
Expect to hear it on some hit records very soon.
Verdict
+ Cutting-edge sound
+ Excellent samples supplied
+ Intuitive and creative to use
+ Simplifies complex-sounding drum programming
+ MicroEdit is clever
+ Hugely playable
+ Great depth of editing features
+ Expand using your own sounds
- A couple more onboard effect types would be nice
A powerful and forward-thinking instrument that simplifies the process of making huge, cutting-edge beats that sound immense.
Original Source Music Tech