Metropolis - ONE Virtual Instrument by: AMG


Metropolis - ONE Virtual Instrument	£120.00

Artist: Lukecage
Style: Hip Hop
Instrument: ONE Loop-based
Format: VST2, AU & Standalone

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About:
Universal Binary versions of Audio Unit & Standalone formats for Intel Mac users!

SIMPLY POWERFUL: SEARCH - INTEGRATE - CONTROL - EDIT - CUSTOMISE
HUGE LIBRARY - Over 1400 Brand New Hip Hop Loops - Tens of thousands of Hits - 312 Multis - TBC FX Presets - Over 4 Gigs of cutting edge hip hop
ADD YOUR OWN LOOPS AND EASILY WORK THE WAY YOU WANT = THE COMPLETE LOOP SOLUTION

8 part MULTI-TIMBRAL Groove Activating Virtual Instrument. Each part comprising one loop channel, additional edit channel and 32 step-time parts so up to 272 fully programmable (16 groove-based, 256 step-time) loops in total, per instance!
Includes MASSIVE FULLY DYNAMICALLY INDEXED 4+ gig PROFESSIONAL SAMPLE LIBRARY featuring over 1400 brand new loops, plus an almost unlimited selection of single shot sounds and hits. Presented as full mixes with isolated elements to quickly and easily mix and match for amazing results, FAST!
LOADS Propellerhead Recycle™ REX and REX2 files & ACIDized® loops plus WAV and Aif Files so you can use your own samples too!
Hugely POWERFUL SAMPLE BROWSER with user definable filters to quickly and easily find the sounds you want the way you want to! Never waste time finding your beats again!
INSTANT CONTROL - Loops automatically sync to host tempo with single-key trigger and real-time pitch shifting, loop slices can be individually triggered or MIDI data exported to edit in your host sequencer for total flexibility
FULL BEAT EDITING - remove, mute, reverse, substitute or export any hit from within a groove! Nudge single hits or groups around, edit every hit or place controls assignable over MIDI on a note or groups of notes for amazing results - all in real time too! Great for interactive beat building or even live applications! When we say complete beat control we really mean it!
STEP-TIME SEQUENCER - TR-Style Step Sequencer with 32 slots you can load with your own samples or any hit from any loop in this library
Complete control & Powerful processing options - Powerful resonant multi-mode filter, 4 64 bit FX processors, all parameters controllable via user-assigned MIDI controller data
Loads of SMART FEATURES - that mean low CPU use and ease of use, this baby is very low maintenance and easy-to-use
SCALABLE CREATIVITY! - great results with very little input, but put in time creating your own edits and get paid back in spades - this is an instrument you can get really deep into!
Can be used directly inside any VST2 or Audio Unit compliant host sequencer program, a standalone version is also now included as standard for users who can't use VST or AU versions. Now Intel Mac compatible via Universal Binaries of AU and Standalone versions, VST UB update hopefully coming soon.

REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

"On this showing, AMG is fairly entitled to consider ONE “the complete loop solution. - 4 out of 5 Mice.” - MacUser, May 2006

"simple to use...comprehensive...some excellent options for manipulating slices...ONE behaved itself impeccably...fully load several instances of ONE and the Performance Meter barely gave a flutter...the user interface is straightforward, and AMG have struck a sensible balance between the creative options offered and the level of complexity...for loop-heads everywhere, it is well worth checking out." - Sound On Sound August 2006

CONCLUSION - "ONE is undoubtedly a very useful tool. With a decent library onboard, the promise of future expansion packs, the easy addition of your own collection and creative control over every slice, ONE pretty much covers most people's looping needs. It's integrated, cross-platform, multi-sequencer-friendly approach deserves to win ONE new friends, and the hidden depths help curb the interface bloat of some of its completitors. Nice ONE.
Stablility - 9
Value for money - 8
Ease of use - 9
Versatility - 8
Quality of results - 9
Verdict - ONE could be the creative and stable multi-timbral file player you've been looking for." - Future Music, April 2006

UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS FROM ONE USERS

"The core library SOUNDS GREAT!! - Jean-Claude, France

"Enjoying the new beats, great stuff man... keep it coming" - Paul Haslinger, Tangerine Dream & Grammy nominated film composer, USA

"this AMG ONE is do DOPE!!!! I can't stop using it!!! CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY!!! I did some edit on Synth Loop rex file. Result is 10000%. Thank you so much!~!!!" - Mike Cho, USA

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- Windows, PIII 1ghz processor, 512mb RAM, 16bit sound card
- MacOS OS-X 10.3.9 or better, 800 MHz G4/G5, 512mb RAM
- VST2 plug-in compatible host program

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DOWNLOADS

MANUAL
You can download the User Manual here now to get full details of all the features available in ONE. These will be kept up to date and always be available to download in the future.
Download Manual

METROPOLIS LIBRARY GUIDE
Download Library Guide

DEMO SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS

WINDOWS

Download Demo Version - VST
Download Demo Version - Standalone

MAC

Download Demo Version - VST
Download Demo Version - Audio Unit
Download Demo Version - Standalone

DEMO CONTENT

Download Demo Content - Demo OPF

Please download, unzip and place the entire folder and contents inside the 'AMG ONE' folder inside your 'Documents' folder. Load the demo version of ONE and they will appear in your browser!

Please note:
You can only download the above demos if you are logged in.
More demos and some QuickTime demos are coming soon!

AUDIO DEMOS

So why choose ONE?

ONE for simplicity
ONE doesn't give you hundreds of options you really never need. ONE encapsulates all the best thinking and technologies out there to make the dream loop player not only powerful but easy to use. You control what you want the loops to do and how you want them to sound and if you want to really get down to nuts and bolts you simply turn off the loop, export the MIDI file and do whatever you want to the data in your sequencer. We could easily have 'created' our own technologies by dressing things up or customising content to perform amazing 'tricks' that prove absolutely nothing at the end of the day. The most amazing thing about ONE is the music you will create with it.

ONE for functionality
All the amazing feats some other virtual instruments perform all have a price. Their design is unnecessarily complex, they're unstable to use and eat RAM like there's no tomorrow. ONE is simple, powerful, and undemanding on your computer because it's based on solid, established technologies you're not going to be beta testing our supposedly clever ideas for us.

ONE for musicality
When it comes to loops AMG is the undisputed king. No other producer has the same pedigree and reputation for authenticity and consistent quality. At AMG you'll find not only live drums loops from some of the World's greatest drummers but also peerless percussion loops, programmed beats, hip hop, funk, dance, drum&bass, the list is almost endless. More importantly the quality is always top-notch too. No one needs more loops these days. Those sample producers who place more emphasis on quantity over quality have seen to that. Today having thousands of loops to choose from is more of a problem than a solution. These days people need to have the best and be able to find it quickly. ONE contains only the finest loops and has a customisable search engine so you can decide how you search so you find what you're looking for quicker and what you find has the quality you were looking for too. ONE offers a unique combination of power and simplicity and an interface that works with and for you and you alone.

ONE by AMG will offer you not only the finest new samples but also expandability, complete control and an extremely intuitive user interface. ONE will evolve as you want it to and become unique to you, a vital resource seamlessly integrating into the creative process and growing with you.

THE SOUNDS
AMG is certainly not the best known sample developer in the World these days, but the people who do know about AMG know our library stands comparison with any other out there. We have a huge and growing catalogue. Each Cd is unique, AMG doesn't get involved in the artistic process at all it's all about the CD's producer. A few CDs might have benefitted from a more 'hands on' approach but generally giving the producer full artistic licence pays dividends in spades. We have more 'five star' libraries than any other producer spread over more than 15 years in the business and more diversity than you'll find from anyone else. In general however our speciality is loops, we have a few other titles we're proud of but our greatest strength is our loop library.

THE INSTRUMENT
We aren't under any illusions that the task building a 'vehicle' worthy of our content and customers is going to be easy. However we fully intend to apply the same standards we demand of our sample library in this endeavour and believe this will ultimately ensure the desired result. We might well have the best specified plug-in when it's released but we already know things we want to add to future updates and will be looking for input from our users so we can add the features you want too. We intend to start with technology that matches the best out there and will stay shoulder to shoulder with the leading developers in the years to come. Our primary goal is for ONE to evolve over time and become almost 'invisible' - we firmly believe it's the sounds that are of greatest importance, we want ONE to deliver them to you and let you control what you hear without thinking about it, by 'magic'.

It's better to register ONE via the Options screen (top, middle, slightly right of centre on GUI) however here's the direct link to the Registration Page if necessary.

FULL REVIEW TEXTS

ONE Groove Module - 4 out of 5 Mice - MacUser May 2006

PROS - Large loop library + eight-rack device + easy to use + stable + endlessly expandable + fair price
CONS - Core Library’s electronic bias + hard-wired FX configuration

Following last year’s Kick-Ass Brass! plug-in (reviewed MacUser issue 21, number 20), developer AMG has now released ONE, a combined groove module and sample library. The company is pitching ONE as a cross-platform, sequencer-friendly, groove-activating instrument, with low CPU demand and a “simply powerful” approach to getting the job done, whereby it sounds great and is easy to use but is also effective, intelligent and flexible enough not to inhibit a user’s creativity. To its credit, this is precisely the experience that ONE delivers.

ONE presents a good-looking interface, with three main areas to focus on: the browser on the left, global controls at the top and the main display window (featuring Racks 1-4, Racks 5-8, FX and Options buttons) in the centre. Straight away, it’s pretty obvious how things work. Using the browser, you can search and filter the Core Library (plus the My Files and Favourites folders) by genre, producer, format, BPM, effect-type etc; preview loops directly from the browser, and load your selection to a chosen rack by double-clicking (drag and drop won’t work). As ONE automatically syncs to host tempo, auditioning loops during playback is a breeze.

ONE will load REX, ACID, WAV or AIFF files (although the latter two cannot be time-stretched in real time), so any content you already own in these formats is immediately compatible. ONE also ships with a Core Library of 4.5Gb of loops and samples and – given the audio-mangling capability on offer for every slice in every loop – this raw material alone should provide considerable distraction. The only caveat is that there is an electronic bias to the Library, with a consequent lack of acoustic drum samples, although this issue is to be addressed by one of AMG’s (inevitable) forthcoming expansion packs to supplement ONE’s content.

There are eight discrete racks in ONE, all of which can play back files simultaneously. Each rack can be triggered either by a single MIDI note or across up to two octaves for instant keyboard sample mapping. ONE’s output (and your performance) can be recorded directly in to your sequencer or you can export the MIDI file for further manipulation. All operational aspects of ONE are also MIDI controllable.

Each rack offers three different modes: synth, waveform or step sequencer. The synth controls cover everything you might reasonably want to do to a sample or slice, especially via the comprehensive and excellent multimode resonant filter section. The waveform page shows all slices in a file, colour coded to indicate current state (e.g. dark blue = muted; purple = reversed). A neat Show Layers option produces a blank row of slices beneath the existing loop, into which new sample data (taken from anywhere) can be pasted. Existing slices can also be copied and pasted to any slice in any rack or pasted into one of the 32 step sequencer slots within every rack.

The step sequencer page houses a traditional 16-step sequencer, with individual accent control per step, 32 sound slots (with independent volume, pan and pitch) and step swing per cent and accent strength controls for each rack. As before, the steps are colour-coded to indicate their state (on/off) and samples can be pasted into them from the 32-slot matrix to build up your grooves.

ONE also has a total of four 64-bit FX units (two insert, two send, all post-fader) and 16 effect algorithms. While you cannot add more effect units, ONE at least offers flexible routing (up to four stereo outputs) so that you can combine insert and send FX devices as necessary to route the audio as you choose.

ONE has plenty to offer, sensibly arranged such that everyday tasks are easily accomplished while deeper editing is only ever a mouse-click away. Some might find that the Core Library is not entirely to their taste, but anyone who already has a large REX or ACID-ized file collection could quite conceivably never use a single loop from the included Library, yet still find ONE becomes an indispensable part of their music making. On this showing, AMG is fairly entitled to consider ONE “the complete loop solution”.

FUTURE MUSIC REVIEW - April 2006

Intro
Gotta lotta loops? Looking for a multi-timbral player to warp and trigger them? Jonathan Wilson wonders if he’s found just the right ONE for you.

Having established its plug-in credentials with last year's enjoyable horn-fest, Kick-Ass Brass!, AMG returns with ONE, a combined groove-activating loop module and sample library which bundles three tools in, er, one: a file player that accepts REX, REX2, ACID, WAV or AIFF files; a waveform slice editor, and a 16-step programmable sequencer.

First Impressions
Tidily housed in ONE's stylish interface, each function has its own dedicated editing screen and controls. From the eight instrument racks that ONE offers, you simply click the icon in the top-left-hand corner: the rack's current state is indicated by either a MIDI keyboard icon (sample trigger and filter mode), a waveform icon (slice mode) or a number matrix icon (step sequencer mode).

There's also the small matter of the 4.5Gb Core Library (which is encrypted and only authorized for use on one machine). With over 3,500 loops and thousands of individual hits, there’s more than enough here to keep most groove monkeys off the streets for some time. There are plenty of usable drum sounds and instrument samples, plus there's also the audio-mangling capabilities of ONE's filters and FX on hand, so that 4.5Gb of content is really more of a starting point limited only by your own imagination.

My only gripe with the content is the heavy electronic bias of the Library, with less acoustic drum loops. AMG tells me that it’s planning a range of expansion packs to supplement ONE's content and that an acoustic collection will be one of the first, but this does mean that out of the box ONE is not as well-rounded as it could have been.

In use
ONE breaks down into three sections: browser window on the left, global controls at the top and the main display area in the centre, which can be switched to display either racks 1-4, racks 5-8, the FX or the Options screen. Everything starts with the browser, which displays all the content associated with ONE. This can be filtered by genre, producer, format, BPM, effect-type and so on, so you can easily assemble a perfect batch of loops on the fly.

Loops can be previewed from the browser, although one shot samples and full-mix Multi files cannot. Double-clicking (not drag and drop) loads a file into the selected rack. Post-session, your own tricked-out ONE creations can be saved as either single rack program files or as all-rack-packing multi files and previewed from the browser any time in the future.

When you load your own REX and ACID files, they’re stored by default in the My Files folder. This keeps things nice and tidy and facilitates easy browsing, although it also means that if you change your mind about particular loops, you might want to periodically clear out and rescan the My Files folder.

At the controls
With a file loaded in to a rack, it’s tweakin’ time. A loop or sample can be triggered either by a single specified MIDI note or spread across an octave or two for instant keyboard mapping. There’s no way of triggering a file (apart from individual slices) from within ONE itself, so a MIDI keyboard is the only option. All eight racks can be triggered simultaneously simply by setting each rack to respond to the same MIDI channel and note. Talking of MIDI, files can be exported for further manipulation and ONE is also fully MIDI controllable, with a MIDI learn mode which automatically links any control to the next MIDI CC message.

The synth controls are the default selection for each rack, with a three-page system providing access to all the controls, such as ONE’s resonant multimode filter section and envelope ADSR. 10 different filter types are available and used in conjunction with the cutoff, resonance, mod depth and ADSR controls, you’ve got a great deal of creative control over any sample. As with all parameters in ONE, when you move any knob or slider a feedback box displays its current settings. There’s also a filter LFO section, with a choice of waveforms (sawtooth, square, triangle and sine) and the LFO rate and depth modulation parameters.

Clicking the keyboard icon takes you to the waveform page, which displays the loop chopped into its component slices. Each one is colour-coded to indicate its current state, such as dark blue for muted or purple for reversed. Individual slices can be auditioned by clicking and holding and multiple slices can be simultaneously edited using shift+click.

The Show Layers option here is pretty cool: this presents a blank row of slices under the currently loaded file, into which new sample data can be pasted (WAV, AIFF or ONE’s OPS single-shot samples). This is an easy way to beef up a pattern or add accents to a groove. Slices can also be copied and pasted to any position in any rack. There are also one-button shortcuts to swap adjacent slices around if you want to quickly mix up a loop.

The 16-step sequencer is the final page displayed in the rack windows, with individual accent control per step and 32 sound slots (each with independent volume, pan and pitch) for all eight racks: drop a sample into a slot and fire at will. With a separate instance in every rack, you can create multiple pattern variations and trigger them as required or add new beats to existing loops.

As above, steps are colour-coded to indicate their state, plus there are step swing per cent and accent strength controls. It’s limited to 4/4 time, though, unless you get creative with multiple instances of ONE in your track. There are also no playback controls to demo your pattern; you’ll only hear how it sounds when your host sequencer is rolling.

The final aspects of note in ONE are its FX and routing features. Four 64-bit FX units are available, with each rack having an auxiliary send for FX units 3 and 4 (units 1 and 2 are inserts). There are 16 different FX algorithms in total and the parameter knobs change to display the appropriate parameters for the effect chosen (delay, reverb, phaser, flanger, EQ etc).

Output-wise, ONE has four separate stereo outputs and each rack’s output can be routed directly to any of them, so that it’s possible to combine insert and send FX on a rack’s loop before routing the combination to a single stereo output. All FX send controls are post-fader, however, which can’t be altered, so the volume of a rack’s output affects the overall instrument output.

Conclusion
ONE is undoubtedly a very useful tool. With a decent library onboard, the promise of future expansion packs, the easy addition of your own collection and creative control over every slice, ONE pretty much covers most people’s looping needs. Its integrated, cross-platform, multi sequencer-friendly approach deserves to win ONE new friends and the hidden depths help curb the interface bloat of some of its competitors. Nice ONE!

Verdict
Anyone using loops, especially in REX or ACID format, may well find that ONE is the creative and stable multi-timbral file player they’ve been looking for. ONE to watch.

Marks out of 10:
Stability: 9
Value For Money: 8
Ease Of Use: 9
Versatility: 8
Sounds/Results: 9

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