Behringer Energy XT 2.5 Plus Music Production SoftwareenergyXT2.5 PLUS kicks it up a notch!
The energyXT2.5 PLUS edition includes technology to expand ReWire compatible devices (such as Reason
Virtual Studio Rack) with audio recording, VST instruments and effects. Use energyXT2.5 PLUS as the
fastest launching ReWire master solution for your favorite ReWire software, with super-flexible audio
and MIDI routing of ReWire instruments, support for multi-channel audio, and up to 128 MIDI to
bus/channel mapping. You get the option of synchronizing playback of both applications, or only using
the fully-fledged sequencer inside energyXT2.5 PLUS.
Sometimes Bigger is BetterBecause of its expanded functionality, energyXT2.5 PLUS comes
with an extra gigabyte of storage space on the included high-speed USB flash drive, for a total of 2
GB. That should give you more than enough room for even the largest project files. Of course,
energyXT2.5 PLUS is already installed on the USB drive and ready for deployment on whatever computer
you choose.
Behringer energyXT2.5 Plus Music Production Software Features
- Multi-platform, fully portable, complete music production suite with ReWire-Energizer function
- Quick and flexible track export function delivers audio tracks to any professional environment such
as Logic or ProTools
- Neatly hosts and controls ReWire compatible applications such as Reason or Ableton Live - Perfect
for DJs, producers and musicians of all styles
- The complete Studio On The Go on the included USB flash drive – take the fully-portable
energyXT and all your songs with you
everywhere you go on the included USB flash drive
- Minimal loading time, no need to install. Start up and record your inspiration right there on the
spur of the moment
- Perform, record and produce your own techno, house, hip-hop, R&B, rock or pop tracks
- Create, save, export and play your own music on the included 2 GB extra high speed USB flash drive,
on your PCs hard
drive or any mobile storage unit
- High-performance 32bit/192kHz full-duplex audio engine with ASIO support, 32 inputs and outputs,
WAV, AIF, MP3, REX2, and MIDI file formats
- Ultra-flexible Audio/MIDI engine supports time-stretching, automation and MIDI learn functions for
sequencer, mixer and plug-ins
- Soft mixer with virtually unlimited channels for audio, MIDI, effects returns and subgroups
- Fully configurable virtual FX/synth rack, ideal for live DJ, keyboard or guitar performances
- Native drum machine and synth/sampler plus full VSTi support
- On-board FX processors for EQ, reverb, chorus and more, with full support for VST effects
- Create, save and load your own loops and licks libraries in .xtc format, including linked
instrument / plug-in parameter settings
- Tabbed interface for docking VST plug-in editors ensures optimized screen usage and ergonomic
control layout
- Intuitive drag-and-drop operation of sounds, loops, effects and software instruments
- Multi-language quick start guide, to get you straight to where you want to be
- VST ported – load energyXT as a VST plug-in within any VST host software of your choice (Windows
only)
- Skinnable, streamlined user interface – visit the comprehensive online skin library at the xt-user
community
- Smart and innovative audio and MIDI sequencer for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux
energyXT2.5— everything you need for digital recordingTransferring music ideas from your
soul to an MP3 shouldn’t be a Herculean task. And it shouldn’t take weeks in the studio and wads of
cash to make your tunes a reality. energyXT2.5 allows you to record instruments and vocals directly to
your computer via a simple USB interface. You are then free to copy and paste tracks, as well as edit,
add eff ects and mix them to your heart’s content, with stunningly professional results. energyXT2.5
makes it easy to take your music from a simple concept to a high-quality, finished masterpiece you can
play, share and even upload to your favorite music site.
Ultra-portable Studio with Intuitive WorkflowenergyXT2.5 opens in seconds from the included
highspeed USB stick. You don’t even have to install the soft- ware since it runs directly from the USB
drive. With energyXT2.5, you can bring your projects to colleagues or friends on the stick and leave
your valuable equipment at home — just export your projects to the DAW used wherever you go.
Built for musicians by musicians, energyXT2.5 is easy to learn, logical to create music in and, most
importantly, is designed to support your creativity. The way you make music will feel different with
energyXT2.5, because you won’t be bogged down in menus — you’ll be able to focus your energy on music
creation. Put simply, energyXT2.5 unleashes your creativity, letting your music flow.
Slow Computer, Fast Computer; Old Computer, New ComputerEven if you don’t have the latest,
greatest computer, with truckloads of RAM and all the bells and whistles, you can still lay down killer
tracks with energyXT2.5 Built-in professional features like Freeze and Bounce to Audio Track sip so
lightly from your CPU, you’ll hardly know they’re even running. You can create, mix and record
professional quality music with a minimal amount of equipment and computing horsepower with
energyXT2.5.
energyXT2.5 runs on virtually all up to date computers which meet the system requirements, so it
doesn’t matter if you use a tower PC, laptop, MacBook or iMac. Operation is independent of the OS,
meaning it runs equally well on Windows XP, Vista, Mac OS X or Linux systems, such as Ubuntu.
energyXT2.5 even runs on most netbooks!
There is no huge manual to read with energyXT2.5 — you’ll be tracking and mixing in no time flat,
thanks to its easy-to-understand interface and simple drag & drop clip manipulation. One thing you’ll
notice right away is that energyXT2.5 is laid out in beats and measures, just like music. energyXT2.5
gives you the tools to make music, without the hassles and steep learning curve associated with most
recording and production software packages.
energyXT2.5 is Supremely MobileOf course, depending on your hardware, energyXT2.5 will run
on nearly any mobile device including external hard-drives, USB pen drives, SD cards, and so on. You
can even copy the complete software program onto your MP3 player or the memory stick of your cell
phone, so you can always have energyXT2.5 with you!
energyXT2.5 Even Provides The InstrumentsYou don’t even need an instrument to get started,
thanks to energyXT2.5’s internal synthesizer/sampler and drum machine. These awesome tone generators
build keyboard parts, pads, bass lines, and more. You can either step-write synthesizer parts or use an
external MIDI instrument for real-time recording — and opt to use the onboard sounds or import your
own. If you have a DAW controller at your disposal, you can use it to control virtual instrument
tracks, as well as many of energyXT2.5’s mixer functions. And recording live instruments with
energyXT2.5 is a breeze; just plug a guitar or microphone into a USB-equipped mixer and lay down tracks
to your heart’s content.
Built-In FXDelay, reverb, phaser and chorus effects are built right into energyXT2.5, so
you won’t need racks and racks of outboard gear to sweeten your tracks. In addition to all of these
useraddressable effects, energyXT2.5 is brimming with tonal enhancement, including a 4-band EQ on every
channel, each band of which can be confi gured as LSH (low shelf), PEQ (parametric), HSH (high shelf),
LPF (low pass fi lter) or HPF (high pass fi lter). And if that’s not enough, energyXT2.5 supports
industry standard VST effects. Try to fi nd that kind of versatility on a hardware-style mixer!
SequencerThe sequencer inside energyXT2.5 works in much the same way as in most DAWs and
offers everything you have come to expect: audio recording, different track types, drum loops and
clip-based automation of mixer/EQ and VST plug-ins. It also has unique features like drum-machine
track, per audio clip resample, elastic time-stretching and modeless editing for lightning fast workfl
ow. Tracks can be arranged into folders to save screen space and VST plug-in editors can be docked into
separate tabs.
You can open as many sequencers or mixers inside energyXT2.5 as you like. This allows you to run
complex loops, which are always in sync with the other, or main sequencer. You can even run the
sequencers as two turntables! The energyXT2.5 VST version also works as a plug-in, inside energyXT2.5
itself. And it doesn’t matter if your host supports VST eff ects, VST instruments, or both — you can
use energyXT as a plug-in on any VST host. The possibilities are virtually endless!
Synthesizer/SamplerThe built-in synth/sampler is a phase modulation synthesizer and sample
player in one. You can layer and split synthesized and sampled sounds any way you want. There are all
the standard features like multi-mode filter, LFO’s, vibrato and glide. Add per sound
phaser/chorus/flanger and per program reverb and delay effects, and you have yourself a complete
workstation, with sound that’s extremely warm and clean. You can easily drag & drop WAV files into the
synthesizer, create multi-layers with diff erent key and velocity ranges and much more. Here are just a
few potential uses of this powerful tool:
- Virtual-analog or phase-modulated synthesizer
- Synthesizer with added FX-samples (e.g. sampled noise eff ects or drumloops, triggered via the
synth engine)
- Multi-layer sound sampler (similar to the oldfashioned hardware samplers of yesteryear)
- Use the multi-layering capability to create your own Grand Piano layers!
Drum TrackThe drum track feature in energyXT2.5 works just like a built-in drum sampler.
The drum editor looks like a real drum machine and samples can be dragged and dropped right into it for
quick drum set construction.
The resulting drumsets can even be saved as presets. To create a new drum track, simply drag a drum set
or a WAV file into the sequencer, and the track is created for you automatically. Want to make a drum
loop library? Just right-click any drum part in your project and save it as a single file for use in
future projects.
MixerMost settings in the main mixer can be automated from the sequencer, including volume,
pan, mute, EQ and effect parameters. There is no limit to how many insert and send eff ects you can use
in a project, except for your CPU. Group channels are available for submixing. These channels can be
automated just like normal mixer channels, and will support insert and send eff ects as well. The mixer
is dockable, and presets for different mixer views can be customized.
BrowserVST plug-ins, samples and presets can be dragged into the sequencer tracks and mixer
effect slots. energyXT2.5 will auto-detect if you drop a VST instrument into the sequencer, create a
new MIDI track and connect it to the instruments automatically. The same thing happens if you drop in a
drum sample—the drum track is created for you, ready to play!
Modular EnvironmentenergyXT2.5 offers a modular design feature. The Modular view allows you
to visualize all the VST plug-ins, sequencers and audio inputs/ outputs used in your project. In this
view, you can easily set up energyXT2.5 as a standalone eff ects processor. Just drop a few effects
into the Modular view, route the audio input through the effect plug-ins and then to the master out.
And energyXT2.5 makes an outstanding eff ects processor for live guitar or keyboard setups.
Built-in ArpeggiatorAn outstanding feature in energyXT2.5 is the Arpeggiator, which steps
through the sequence of notes you have played on your MIDI keyboard (or are playing back from a MIDI
track), and plays them back in sync with the tempo of the song. Arpeggios work great for everything
from basslines to chords and background melody lines, and are often played live from a MIDI keyboard.
And the Random and Swing functions can be employed, giving these arpeggiated parts a more unique, human
feel. The Arpeggiator is available on MIDI tracks in the sequencer, as well as a Classic Arp component
in the Modular view.
energyXT2.5 also works with loopsLoops are MIDI, audio or drum parts that have been saved
as fi les. You can easily create and manage your own loops library and re-use the fi les in new
projects. One of the best things about loops is the ability to save VST patches with it. This means
that if you save a bass part with your favorite VST instrument (or the builtin synthesizer) and later
drag the file into a new project, not only does it load the bass pattern, but it also loads the VST
instrument and the patch automatically.
Time–Stretching and Pitch-ShiftingThe advanced thread-based audio engine in energyXT2.5
lets you stretch, change the pitch and reverse audio clips in realtime. energyXT2.5 features the
high-quality elastique time-stretching algorithm from plane development. With it you can resample audio
clips and choose between Normal, Re-pitch and Stretch modes.
- Normal – the audio clip is played back using the sample rate of the fi le. You can alter the
speed of the playback by modifying the coarse and fi ne-tuning controls.
- Re-pitch – the playback speed of the audio clip is locked to tempo. Slowing down the tempo will
play the sample slower. The length of the audio clips can still be changed, and can create some very
interesting grooves.
- Stretch – the playback is locked to tempo, just like in Re-pitch mode, but the pitch of the sample
will not change when tempo is changed. In addition, you have coarse and fi ne-tune for pitch-shifting
the audio clips without changing the playback speed.
Output OptionsWhen you’ve fi nished creating and mixing your masterpiece, all you need do
is select File/Export Project to WAV, and choose the format you wish to use. Files can be exported as
mono/stereo WAV or AIF, with sample rates ranging from 16-bit/22.050 kHz to 32-bit/192.000 kHz. When
exported, a 3-minute song’s file size can range from under 8 MB for 16-bit mono/22.050 kHz to 270 MB
(32-bit stereo/192 kHz). The same 3-minute song, rendered at 24-bit/ 44.1 kHz stereo (CD quality) would
be about 46 MB, and only 4.6 MB when formatted for mp3.
Note: MP3 files can also be imported (drag & drop) and exported if LAME.exe is installed to the
energyXT folder. (LAME.exe is not included with energyXT2.5, however it is available as a free
download).
State-of-the-Industry SupportAs we alluded to before, you won’t get bogged down in massive,
mind-numbing manuals with energyXT2.5.
There is however, a Quick Start Guide, a small, well thought-out User’s Guide and the online XT User
Community to help you sort things out, if you do get stuck. The XT User Community is a tremendous
resource, with tons of information about virtually any situation you might run into. Go ahead, just try
to stump them; those folks live for a challenge!