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Algonaut Atlas 2 Turns Samples Into Music (WINNERS ANNOUNCED)

By 825 Comments5 Mins Read
Algonaut Atlas 2

Algonaut has released Atlas 2, the newest version of its powerful sample management software. We are taking a closer look at Atlas 2 and giving away two (actually four! 😊) FREE copies to two lucky BPB readers.

Atlas 2 ($99) results from a lengthy two-year development period and taking on board popular user requests.

If you are like me and have more sample-filled folders scattered around your drives than you can remember, Atlas 2 is the solution for you.

The drum-optimized AI algorithm takes samples from selected folders and cleverly organizes them into clusters/groups.

Samples are grouped by sound/type and positioned based on similarity. The clusters are reminiscent of stars or an electricity grid on a map, hence the name. So, if you focus on a particular sample, the other sounds in the closest proximity are the most similar variations.

I can see how this workflow can be a massive time-saver, even if it just reduces the time needed for browsing and auditioning samples. It would also encourage me to use some of the forgotten sounds that I might not get around to otherwise, and that’s a significant gain.

Atlas 2 comes with the option to download 1,500 drum samples and add them to the Content Browser. The download also comes with premade maps, sequences, and loops. New content packs will appear in the browser when available for download.

We loved Atlas 2's drum kit creator.
We loved Atlas 2’s drum kit creator.

Atlas 2 is more than just a creative sample manager, though. It features a handy Drum Kit creator, a Sample Editor, and a Drum Sequencer with humanization, polyrhythms, drag-drop import, recording, export to DAW, and more.

The Sample Editor has a well-thought-out feature set. You can easily adjust various parameters like gain, resonance, pitch, reverse the sample, and alter the trigger velocity between fixed and variable.

The polyrhythmic Drum Sequencer (MIDI import/export) is fast and flexible without being needlessly complicated. It doesn’t have a massive feature set, but it’s flexible because it makes the essential things easy to do.

Steps can be drawn or played in, and the time-saving Mirror Edit (mirrors a set number of beats) removes some tedious mouse-clicking. The Drum Sequencer works great for building and developing rhythms and sequences with your newly discovered samples.

Once you have created some sequences, you can modify or combine them easily. The sequences can be exported to the DAW for further editing and integration with your projects.

Atlas 2 features a capable drum sequencer.
Atlas 2 features a capable drum sequencer.

To the left of the Drum Sequencer, you’ll see the virtual drum pads. You can use the pads to create kits or trigger sequences, etc. I really like that you can change the layout between 1×8, 2×8, 4×4, and 8×8. The idea here is to match your MIDI controller (MPC, Launchpad, and so on) and make the interaction between the software and hardware feel seamless.

Atlas 2 has made some significant upgrades since the original release. The new Galaxy Mode lets you see every sample at once, the Sequencer is brand new, and the Content Browser is far more efficient.

Perhaps two of the most significant upgrades are that Atlas 2 now has a standalone version and a Linux version.

I love anything that helps you work faster and easier, but like many, I’m sometimes too set in my ways. That said, I’m keen to check Atlas 2 out more; it’s got me thinking about the hoards of forgotten samples collecting dust on my hard drives.

Atlas 2 is available in AU and VST3 formats for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

The Giveaway 🤩

Algonaut kindly offered to give away four FREE copies of Atlas 2 to four lucky BPB readers, and we would be crazy to say no! 🥳

UPDATE #1: The giveaway initially included two FREE copies of Atlas 2, but Algonaut loved the feedback from BPB readers and doubled the prize pool. So, we now have four FREE copies of Atlas 2 that will go to four lucky BPB readers!

Entering the giveaway is easier than ever. To enter, simply leave a comment below answering this question: What is your favorite genre of music?

Only one comment per person is allowed. We will randomly (using a software-based random comment picker) select two lucky winners on Monday, July 26th.

Good luck, everyone, and a big THANK YOU to Algonaut for this awesome giveaway! ❤️

UPDATE #2:  Drum roll, please! 🥁 The lucky winners are:

1) S. Nikolic: N******x@ggmail.com
2) Bengi: b***********u@gmail.com
3) John: c******************n@gmail.com
4) J Munro: e*********0@outlook.com

Congratulations! 🏆

Thank you to everyone who participated. We have more giveaways and other surprises coming soon, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading BPB! :)

More info: Algonaut Atlas 2 ($99)

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James is a musician and writer from Scotland. An avid synth fan, sound designer, and coffee drinker. Sometimes found wandering around Europe with an MPC in hand.

825 Comments

  3. Abner Khuzwayo

     on

    Sick Individuals’ mix of Progressive house and future bounce that has started gaining popularity lately. Top-class music

    Reply

  11. Hoof

     on

    I have been making #MusicEveryday in July as a challenge to myself, with every weekday having a theme. The result until now is 15 different genres. Honestly, I think my favorite genre is “no boundaries”. But I did like working on techno, minimal techhouse, syntwave and yesterday’s worldmusic callagefest to be really great.

    Reply

    • Jesse Soto

       on

      MY FAVORITE GENRE IS INDUSTRIAL, ELECTRONIC,NEW WAVE ,PUNK EXPERIMENTAL ,SALSA, BACHATA CUMBIA REGGAETON.

      Reply

    • Jeff M

       on

      Looks to me like it’s trying to supplant XO, but at a lower price.

      I have XO already so do not include me in the giveaway, but for those who do not win, test out XO too, which often goes on sale for approximately the same price as Atlas 2 and is a lot of fun.

      Reply

  46. mx

     on

    my favourite genre at the moment is doom metal. but i enjoy diving into different genres and finding the differences and similarities to other genres. in this way i can look at the same thing (music) from many different perspectives.

    Reply

  53. Corti.Son

     on

    Not really a favorite genre, but mostly electronic music, from ambient to dirty techno, but also death metal.

    Reply

  55. Jay Kekkonen

     on

    1990/2000 era Hip Hop. Alternatively when I want something faster and grittier it’s Drum and Bass :)

    Reply

    • Jose Mari Ibanez

       on

      My favorite genre is hardstyle!
      I just love how unique this subgenre is and how incredibly driving it is!

      Reply

  105. Lipton Pattnayak

     on

    Personally for me every genre of music is my favorite but if I have to really pick one then it would be epic cinematic music.

    Reply

  118. Jose Mari Ibanez

     on

    My favorite comment is hardstyle!
    I just love how unique this subgenre is and how incredibly driving it is!

    Reply

  135. Esteban

     on

    My favorite genre is Electronic music. There’s just so much to discover and ways to create, it’s very special

    Reply

  163. James Moore

     on

    My favorite genre of music is DEFINITELY Hip Hop. Not TRAP though; I’m talking east coast boom bap that focuses on lyricism, complex rhyme schemes, large vocabulary, and lyrics with SUBSTANCE. Lyrics that matter, and have the potential to inspire others and impact the world positively. I’m not saying the lyrics have to be positive; It could be gruesome horrorcore for all I care- What I mean is, they INSPIRE the next up and coming artist to be GREAT. Music that matters. Music you can feel.

    -Music is what emotion sounds like-

    Reply

    • Jade Brooks

       on

      Wow, there are so many amazing people with some amazing answers, for me it has to be hands down R&B.

      Reply

  194. Ikhsan Perdana

     on

    My favorite genre of music basically whatever that’s written by Yasutaka Nakata. So, jpop with a lot of electronic elements.

    Reply

  202. RCJacH

     on

    My favorite music genre usually contains:
    thoughtful melody,
    rich and occasionally sophisticated harmony,
    groovy rhythms,
    evolving textures,
    masterful sound design,
    virtuoso and soulful performance,
    creative mixing,
    dynamic mastering,
    perhaps with insightful but also fitting lyrics.

    Am I asking too much?

    Reply

  209. Aden Evens

     on

    Just got back from a C-spine MRI. That experience is my new favorite genre of music, maybe, “MRItronica”?

    Reply

  215. Laurence Bellinger

     on

    It’s Hip Hop for me, they say it was birthed out of the struggle and tbh, all great genres of music were perfected by pressure so all is Hip Hop and Hip Hop is all…

    Reply

  221. Marcelo Ribeiro Simões

     on

    My favorite kind of genre of music is the one that carries the feeling of its genre, sounds nice, and doesn’t try to be the best. I mean, if it’s about “house music” it must exhalate that simplicity and rough feeling from those sounds like 909, 808, DX-7, Korg Poly-800, Oberheim, Jono-60, TB-303, etc.
    If it tries to be classic jazz music, it needs to transport the listener to a club, to a bar, and build the image of that place.
    So, I think that my favorite music genre is “good music”. Properly composed and played. Nice and cohesive instrument composition on style/timbres and sparkled with good ideas.

    Reply

  227. HS

     on

    it has to be pop, it is really interesting how it is always morphing between other genres to adapt into what is currently on trend

    Reply

  273. dan

     on

    Progresive and experimental music but not only, It is good to play all the musical styles, in each one there is something interesting that mixed with a different one makes the music beautiful, listen to it or create it.

    Reply

  310. Cory S

     on

    Lately I’ve been into music that’s somewhere between indie and hip-hip, and stuff that breaks genre expectations

    Reply

  338. Peter Perihelia

     on

    Uplifting trance for life (actually progressive house from 2001-2004, but this genre is dead, sad but true)

    Reply

  343. IrionDaRonin

     on

    My favourite music genre is Thrillwave (among others)

    Thanks for the chance and good luck everyone! :)

    Reply

  349. Allen

     on

    at the end of the day, probably just some good ol’ fashioned singer songriter. bonus points if it involves experimental sampling

    Reply

  367. Russ C Mitkowski

     on

    My favorite genre of music is classic 70s roots reggae, for example, Dennis Brown, Culture, Steel Pulse, etc.

    Reply

  389. Cosmik Vek

     on

    ZEUHL!

    (Aside from that particular genre I also like: Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Avant-Garde Rock/Metal, Experimental Rock/Metal, Noise Rock, Vintage Electronic Music and Space Music)

    Reply

  408. Caleb

     on

    My favorite genre is singer/songwriter stuff (Elliott Smith, Tomo Nakayama, etc.), but also whatever the hell the electronic side of that is: stuff from artists like Spoonbill or Mort Garson that are hard to pin down genre-wise, but they consistently sound like themselves.

    Reply

  426. Vahid

     on

    My favorite is a special genre called ‘I made that cool little tune you hear in your head when you scout BPM for freebies’.

    Reply

  441. Selmo Alves

     on

    My favourite genre of music has to be Psy-Trance, for its ability to create altered states of consciousness, mimicking the rituals of ancient civilisations by negotiating liminality on the dancefloor.

    Reply

  473. clement

     on

    my favorite genre of music is trap hip hop and lofi because it take you immediatly in a the mood the composer wanted to

    Reply

  478. Boaswan

     on

    Hello, well if I had to pick my favorite genre, I’d choose Other. Other is so vibrant and complex, yet smooth and inspiring! I like to take Other on long walks to de-esser it when it’s feelings get too compressed. There’s nothing quite like Other.

    Reply

  512. YOUNG DD

     on

    My personal favorite is rap, especially boom bap type songs because I always loved that sampling, telling stories and rhymes over a beat!

    Reply

  513. Jorge Santih

     on

    My favorite genre of music is Groove Jazz, Rock (indie, Blues, Metal), Country, Classic, Folk and Pop.

    Reply

  523. Iguanadrum

     on

    my favorite genre is funk, I love the rhythm and improvisation that can be developed, I congratulate you for the excellent contributions page!!!!

    Reply

  528. Adilbek Temirkhanov

     on

    It’s hard to pick one favourite specific genre out of all music that I listen, but I’d say it is electrofunk!

    Reply