DIGIDESIGN TRANSFUSER: Assault on Reason?

HANDS-ON
1. I’ve loaded 24 Transfuser instruments into the rack; the top four are minimized . . .
2. . . . but even with all 24 playing, check out how little CPU is being used.
3. Each instrument has a “synth” section where you can edit the sound. 4.This is the Slicer section.
5.The “Smart Knobs” and Trigger Pads can be tied to multiple MIDI controllers at once — great for performance tweaking.
6.Each instrument has the option for four effects; some effects (like the BeatCutter) are extremely cool.
7.Do you like Groove options? Transfuser’s designers do, too.
8. Each instrument’s master section controls volume and pan, chooses an output bus, and gives you two effects sends.

THE TOOLSET
Transfuser uses a rack paradigm, taking an initial cue from Propellerhead Reason, Ableton Live, and FXpansion Guru. However, the way it works is quite different from any of them.
Three main instruments can load into the rack: Slicer, Phrase, and Drum — when you drag in content from the browser, Transfuser automatically creates the right instrument. If you drag in your own audio, the program will convert it into (your choice!) a sliced sequence, time-stretched audio, or drum kit by spreading individual hits across the drum pads.
Each instrument has five main modules, four of which show additional parameters in an Editor pane:
Track. Controls how MIDI drives Transfuser: Sets the channel, note range, etc., and handles automation. The Editor pane shows automation data.
Sequencer. This sequences the instrument’s notes. For Slicer, the Editor shows a MIDI piano roll, with a REX file-like note arrangement. Drum appears as a step sequencer (see “Drum Sequencer” on page 82); Phrase time-stretches digital audio and includes a piano-roll editor for changing the notes of riffs.
Synth. This generates the sounds. With Slicer, the Editor shows where the audio is sliced (you can edit slice points) and provides filter and amp envelopes. Phrase similarly displays filter and amp envelopes, and while you can’t edit transient markers, multiple stretching algorithms mean you can usually find one that works well. Drums’ Editor resembles NI’s Battery, and has a lot of sound-bending DSP.
Effects. Add up to four effects (out of 20) on each instrument, with series or parallel routing. The Edit window shows all the processor parameters, with strategic ones located in the instrument itself. That’s smart: You can make vital tweaks even if something else occupies the Editor.
Mix. This output stage has volume, pan, two effects sends, metering, and choice of stereo output buses (1-8 and “cue,” which can all show up as Pro Tools tracks).

COMPOSING WITH
TRANSFUSER
First off, Transfuser never hiccups: Drag in instruments, swap out effects, alter parameters — the music just doesn’t stop. If there’s a way to make Transfuser choke, I haven’t found it yet. I strongly recommend adding some kind of hardware control surface — it changes Transfuser from a “loop creator” to a real musical instrument.
Although there are many ways to “play” Transfuser, I start by bringing over dozens of loops that, when I audition them, sound like they’d work well together. Next, I figure out which ones complement each other, then separate the loops into “keepers” and rejects, until I have 16 loops.
I then tie the 16 faders and 16 buttons from my Peavey PC-1600x to the Mix section’s volume and solo parameters, respectively. Assigning is simple: Right-click on the control, select “Learn CC,” wiggle the physical knob or fader, done. Then, I hit “Play” so that all loops play all the time, and use the faders to mix them in and out and build arrangements. Using the solo buttons adds breakbeat effects that isolate a loop for a measure, after which everything else comes crashing back in.

WHAT ABOUT ONSTAGE?
That approach works not only for “playing live in the studio,” but onstage as well. Sometimes I use fewer loops so some faders are free to control effects. My favorite effect, BeatCutter (see page 82) has buttons for Repeat, Reorder, Gate, Scratch, and Freeze. Other effects are more ordinary (Chorus, Delay, Distortion, Filter, etc.) but there are additional goodies like Lo-Fi, Pumper (“compressors gone wild”), and Vinyl simulation.
Another killer feature: Each sequencer’s M.A.R.I.O. button, which triggers a semi-intelligent rhythm randomizer. You can choose various target settings for it to affect, as well as how random the behavior is. Even better, suppose you invoke M.A.R.I.O. and the results aren’t too thrilling — so you hit it several more times, but eventually decide you like the second one best. No problem: Hit the back button (of the forward/backward pair) to “step backward” through M.A.R.I.O.’s changes until you return to the one you want. M.A.R.I.O. is great for breakbeats; apply it once for a measure, then step back to where it was.

CONTROLLER AND GROOVE SECTIONS
The dedicated performance control section provides more realtime action. The six “Smart Knobs” can control multiple parameters with a single, MIDI-assignable knob — for example, bring up a track’s level while simultaneously increasing delay feedback and boosting the mids. Or, use one Smart Knob to control filter cutoff on multiple instruments. Smart Knobs are “above” MIDI channel assignments, letting you control different instruments on different channels. Speaking of controls, a crossfader fades between buses 1 and 2. In addition to DJ-style crossfading, you could transition between two songs, each programmed to feed a different bus.
Each sequencer stores 12 patterns, and the controller section maps these to an octave of keyboard keys in the controller section — click on the virtual keyboard, or use a physical one, to change patterns. Another sequencer-related option lets you choose a Note Range for a particular Sequencer, and trigger the sequence by playing notes within that range. So, one drum loop could respond to half the notes and another drum loop to the other half, but even more instruments could be triggered by individual notes. This’d let you keep a constant drum beat while changing other elements within that pattern. Eight trigger pads can trigger patterns in specific sequencers, or generate MIDI notes for triggering sounds.
The Master section provides Groove (timing) options, such as swing, on a per-track or global basis. This is where you’ll also find the send effects section; each send effect can have four effects in parallel or series, and there’s a similar section for master inserts that process the entire output.
ISSUES
The only real issue I have is that there’s no standalone option. Even though you can virtually ignore Pro Tools while playing Transfuser, you still need to have PT running for Transfuser to live in. Since you don’t really need Pro Tools for much live gigging, maybe Digidesign could allow standalone operation, but tie it to having Digi hardware connected (like they do with Pro Tools) if they’re concerned about legit usage. This’d be a great idea for all their virtual instruments, in fact.
I’d also quibble with some interface choices. Dark blue text on a black background? The typeface is unnecessarily small sometimes. Sure, it looks clean, but in the heat of the gig, I don’t want to squint.

CONCLUSIONS
Transfuser banishes static and boring loops by letting you do everything from changing the sequence itself, to adding random changes, to applying novel processing — without interrupting your flow. While Transfuser didn’t invent the “let’s get inside the loop” concept, it offers a different — and valid — take on the process.
Granted, there are features we haven’t covered because I wanted to give more of Transfuser’s “feel” than a list of bullet points. Besides, you can download a demo version and make your own discoveries. Just remember that Transfuser is for groove-oriented music like trance, techno, and hip hop. I could see using it for new-agey or experimental music too, but not rock or jazz.
Is it a “Reason-killer” for Pro Tools fans? No. There’s nothing in Transfuser like Reason’s Thor. On the other hand, Reason has nothing like M.A.R.I.O. I wouldn’t want to choose one or the other any more than I’d want to choose between piano and organ: They have surface similarities, but different souls.
Transfuser is a very intelligently-designed instrument that’s just enough like what you’ve used before that it’s not totally alien, and just enough unlike anything you’ve used before to inspire new hooks and grooves . . . and be metric tons of fun in the process!


Drum Sequencer
It’s basically a step sequencer, and can edit velocity, time, pitch, filtering, amplitude decay, and panning for each event in each step. Drum loops can be up to four measures long; note the M.A.R.I.O. button in the lower left.

BeatCutter
Click on Freeze for a buzzy sound, or Scratch for DJ-like pitch changes. Reorder changes the pattern, while Repeat — duh — repeats particular beats.

PROS & CONS
Pros
Brings a Digi-approved world of groove into Pro Tools. Great realtime control and signal-processing. Easy on your computer. Useful included grooves. Handles any file format that matters. “Gapless” performance for on-the-fly creation live or in the studio. As expected, great integration with Pro Tools.
Cons
No standalone mode. User interface can feel cramped.
$295 list, www.digidesign.com

NEED TO KNOW
What is it? A cross-platform, RTAS plug-in “groove machine” instrument for Pro Tools.
How does it make grooves? There are three “instrument” modules — beats, loops, and phrases. Load as many into Transfuser’s “rack” as your CPU can handle.
So I need a powerful CPU? No. Transfuser is amazingly CPU-friendly.
What does it need to work? Pro Tools 7.0 or later, an iLok dongle, and Internet access.
Does it play well with Pro Tools? You can work just in Transfuser, or integrate them tightly — drag-and-drop Pro Tools regions into Transfuser, sync up with your PT session, and more.
Does it come with content? About 1.65GB of excellent raw groove material. You can also import REX, Acid, WAV, AIF, and Apple Loop files, as well as process audio tracks.
Effects? A strong point — plenty of options for processing individual modules, buses, or the whole shebang.
What other software does it resemble? It’s philosophically similar to Ableton Live, Propellerhead Reason, and Cakewalk Project5.
So can Transfuser replace them? Transfuser doesn’t have Reason or Project5’s complement of instruments, or anything like Live’s brilliant Session View. However, if you use only subsets of these programs, then Transfuser might be all you need.
Can I control it with knobs? Absolutely. Just about any parameter responds to MIDI control messages.
Suitable for live use? Very much so. It doesn’t hiccup, no matter how much you drag in audio and work the controls.
Should I buy it? Download the free demo and decide for yourself!