Rain Computers

Edrum Monitor

www.edrummonitor.com

Click to enlarge

Advisory Level: Like MIDI Trigger Duct Tape

This tool falls in a unique category: it's essential for the purpose for which it was designed, but it could be equally powerful for other things entirely. It's the "duct tape" of the list. (Think about it: when was the last time you used duct tape on actual ducts?)

First things first: the primary purpose of Edrum Monitor is, as the name implies, to "add more options to electronic drum modules." The idea is, you hook up your digital drum kit or drum sensors (like piezos on real drums), and Edrum Monitor process its incoming signal to help you get better-sounding results. It'll filter out glitches like unintentional hits, create zones, prioritize certain sensors, and balance and calibrate levels, with a whopping 300 channels.

But even if you don't use drum triggers, some of its features - obsessive data monitoring and visual meters - are useful for calibrating any MIDI input. Furthermore, the developers kept going, adding keyboard, mouse, and even joystick inputs. If you've ever played with a high-end, flight simulator gaming joystick, you immediately know the appeal.

Its drum-centric design could also be ideal for triggering samples in software like Ableton Live, Battery, and others.

It's free, but badly in need of donations, so give the developers what you feel it's really worth.

Audio and Production Power Tools

Jack for Windows

www.grame.fr/~letz/jackdmp.html

Advisory Level: Bleeding Edge But Worth Exploring

Jack is a powerful "low-latency audio server." We think of servers as being something sitting on a network, but in this case, you can use the client/server model to arbitrarily connect audio streams between applications, on one computer or multiple computers. In other words, if you ever wished it were as easy to pipe audio between software as it is with hardware cabling, this is the tool for you. JACK was born on Linux, and remains stronger on that platform than any other because of OS and host features unique to Linux music software. (In fact, it's one of the best reasons to give a Linux distribution a try, if you're feeling experimental.) Fortunately for anyone wanting to use their favorite Windows software, there is a capable port for Windows. It takes some effort to learn, but its deep capabilities make the work worthwhile.

Wormhole2

code.google.com/p/wormhole2

Click to enlarge

Advisory Level: Ideal if you need to defy space-time between computers

Somewhat like Jack but using an "effects insert" metaphor, Wormhole is a VST plug-in that allows you to route audio between computers or hosts. It's the creation of the developers at plasq, who moved on from audio to Comic Life and Skitch but kindly open-sourced this tool. Wormhole2 does only audio, not MIDI, but it's extremely flexible with audio, and can even work between platforms. For instance, you could start with Apple's Sculpture as a sound source from a Mac, but route it into a PC-only effect on a different machine, tracking the results into SONAR. You can sync the two machines, and even route audio back to the first machine, all without the use of a single physical cable. This could be especially nice if you want to collaborate with someone on a different OS.

Wormhole is easier to understand than JACK, and its use as an effects insert can work well. They're looking for a new leader on the project, so any developers reading this, go have a look.

MCmu

www.wisemix.com/mcmu

Advisory Level: Extreme Controller Power Tool

Technically this isn't free, but it could add value to gear you already own.

Mackie Control is a wonderful thing: it allows you to interact with music software using hardware control surfaces in ways MIDI alone cannot. Unfortunately, a lot of hardware doesn't support it, and even with Mackie's gear, Mackie Control can be overly rigid. MCmu allows you to use any hardware to emulate Mackie Control Universal mode. That means if you have hardware that lacks Mackie Control compatibility, you can use it as if it did. And if you do have a Mackie Control-compatible device, you can now customize the way it works rather than being stuck with the default. MCmu comes with an essentially unlimited trial, so there's really no reason not to give it a shot -- and likewise, no reason not to pay up if you like it. EUR39.