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Home Blog Page 41

McDSP AE600 Active Equalizer

By
Bryan
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Dynamic EQ is must have in the tool box given that more tracks being recorded in non treated environments. Sometimes EQ isn’t enough to tame harsh frequencies in a mix. Conventional methods sometimes render cuts in problem frequencies hollow, but active EQ can treat issues without losing fidelity. AE600 adds more bands to the already great AE400’s 4 bands.

McDSP is proud to announce the release of the AE600 Active Equalizer. The AE600 is a greatly improved version of McDSP’s TEC Award Nominated AE400 Active Equalizer, with more bands, more EQ and filtering options, and an improved user interface.
The AE600 has 6 completely independent fixed and active EQ bands. Every fixed and active band has its own gain, frequency, Q, and EQ mode controls. EQ mode options include parametric, proportional Q parametric, 5x Q parametric, Baxandall shelving EQ, vintage styled EQ, X-style shelving EQ, Baxandall shelving EQ plus filtering, and high and low pass filtering. All bands are completely overlapping and can use the input signal or selected side chain inputs to trigger the active EQ response. Each active band has its own threshold, attack, release, and ratio controls. Additional features include pre- filtering, a larger display, more metering options, and algorithm optimizations.

The AE600 is available at an introductory price of $149 Native and $249 HD until November 30th, 2016. AE400 users may purchase the AE600 for only $49 until November 30th, 2016.
For more information, please visit www.mcdsp.com.

Slate Digital Verbsuite Classics

By
Bryan
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Slate Digital has almost created every single tool to mix entire songs completely with their plugins. Add more reverb to the arsenal with some classics modeled carefully by Slate Digital.

For the first time ever, eight of the most popular professional digital reverbs from the past forty years can be accessed in a single plugin, some of which have never been modeled before. What makes VerbSuite sound different from any other available reverb is LiquidSonics proprietary Fusion IR processing, which captures the actual tone of the modeled reverb for the first time. Unlike static impulses found in typical convolution reverbs, Fusion IR is able to reproduce the evolving character of modulating digital reverbs, making the overall tone rich, smooth and dynamic.

Price: $199.00 ($14.99 per month)
For more information visit http://slatedigital.com/verbsuite-classics/

Joey Sturgis Tones Toneforge Guilty Pleasure Amp Simulator

By
Bryan
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We’ve reviewed the Toneforge Menace (Review HERE) and were very impressed. Now JST is back with the Guilty Pleasure Amp Simulator.

November 3, 2016 – Michigan – Audio Entrepreneur and Producer Joey Sturgis (Joey Sturgis Tones, Unstoppable Recording Machine, Drumforge) has released his newest Guitar Amp Simulator, Toneforge Guilty Pleasure.
Toneforge Guilty Pleasure features a custom high-gain amp, four all new pedals (overdrive, delay, reverb, and, for the first time in Toneforge, a Wah pedal), two cabs and four microphones, the ability to load individual Impulse Responses (IRs), and improved post-processing. Designed by Joey Sturgis to create a final mix guitar tone immediately, the amp and effects work together in a way that makes it almost impossible to get a bad sound out of the plugin. Joey Sturgis Tones strives to develop plugins for music creators who need things to just sound good without much tinkering. These plugins are born from within the depths of recording sessions, and each are tested and used on real world albums.

Toneforge Guilty Pleasure is available now for an introductory price of $65, normal retail price $79. Learn more at https://joeysturgistones.com/tfgp

Audified Updates the U73b Interface

By
Bryan
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Audified has upgraded the front end of their U73b compressor’s GUI with a sleek, more-true-to-the-original interface based on the old German compressor.

BOSKOVICE, CZECH REPUBLIC: host application and audio effects developer Audified is proud to announce availability of the second-generation version of its U73b Compressor — capable of running as an AAX, VST3, and VST2 plug-in on Mac (OS X 10.9 – 10.12) and PC (Windows 7, 8, and 10) and AU on Mac as an authentic emulation of the unique-sounding Sixties-vintage German broadcast compressor/limiter hardware with which it shares its name (and which, despite its origins, found favour in European mastering circles) — with improved algorithms and a number of other notable improvements, as of October 25…
Audified’s all-new U73b Compressor strikingly stands out from its predecessor — released to widespread critical acclaim back in May 2015 — from the get-go courtesy of a gorgeous GUI (Graphical User Interface) that not only makes its improved second-generation status clearer still by blazoning Nr. 2.0.0 below its name but literally leaps out of Retina-supporting screens… well, almost! As such, the GUI itself is effectively a game of two halves, comprising of an almost photo-realistic rendering of the hardware on which the plug-in is modelled and an area to display numerically editable parameters or menu functions and settings that are not available via the ‘modelled module’ — including LOAD (for selecting presets) and STORE (for saving presets), HPF (High-Pass Filter) on/off (to switch off the high-pass filter mode — with around 100Hz cutoff frequency and 6dB slope that helps create the unique sound of the U37b Compressor — when the bass roll-off might not be suitable for some instruments when mixing or when the plug-in is being used for mastering), and many more benefits besides (such as selectable display colour).
Colourful or otherwise, such improvements are more than simply skin deep. Digging deeper still, Audified’s all-new U73b Compressor now features true side-chaining to control the compression via an independent signal (always accessible via the Side-chaining menu with Individual, Left, Right, Left +Right, and External settings); improved processing with added adjustable Oversampling (which, when turned on, enables the internal plug-in processing to run at a higher sample rate than is set in the DAW to help reduced aliasing distortion that is always produced by nonlinear effect processing and also improve high frequency processing); an automatic gain control option (Auto) with Ein (on) and Aus (off) settings; and -9dB default Kalib. (calibration) setting with an added value mechanism — note that the software model works with real voltages that are the same as those found in the original hardware circuitry (related to the dBu scale), but the DSP (Digital Signal Processing) in DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) works with dBFS (Decibels relative to full scale) so users can (carefully) set the calibration to work within the correct operational range of the compressor effect.
Either way, what is it, then, that made the original U73b hardware sound so special and become so sought after? After all, only by gaining an appreciation of its namesake hardware predecessor can Audified’s U73b Compressor be truly appreciated in its own right. Time to take a whistle-stop magical history tour… working with the NWDR (Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk) — responsible for public broadcasting in the German states of Hamburg, Lower-Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, and North Rhine-Westphalia from September 22, 1945 to December 31, 1955, Telefunken developed the U73, an all-tube, three-stage push/push variable mu design (with a theoretical compression ratio of 100:1), during a three-year period, born out of a need to conform to the high standards set by the IRT (Institut für Rundfunktechnik) — the primary research institute for German-speaking public broadcasting organisations — while seeking a suitable solution for handling full-frequency response FM (Frequency Modulation) radio broadcasts. By building the U73 into a Danner double-cassette module chassis like its U76 sibling, the two Telefunken designs shared significant circuitry and components, though the U73 went on to become the fastest tube compressor ever built, thanks to its forward-triggered side-chain feature. Fully finalised, the design was licensed to TAB (Tonographie Apparatebau) in Wuppertal-Elberfeld, West Germany (as was), who manufactured this, the last tube compressor in the Telefunken/IRT grey series for almost 30 years, finally discontinuing it in 1980. Nevertheless, its premier price and fixed setup effectively ensured that U73s only made it outside of Germany for one specific (non-broadcast) application — as a final mastering compressor for vinyl-cutting lathes, mostly with an automatic release trigger. TAB even ended up making several versions of the U73 for Telefunken, the most well known being the U73b, used for producing audio recordings mostly, thanks to an added ability to change compression level, as well as external release time control and internal attack time control. Consequently, almost all records recorded and cut in Europe between 1960 and 1980 were mastered through a stereo pair — proof positive that things are not always what they seem!
So there it is. Intriguingly, what was once seen as a must-have mastering tool fell out of favour. Fortunately, times change — as does technology. Thanks to Audified’s proven prowess, today the unique sound of the U73b is authentically available to any discerning DAW user as the new and improved U73b Compressor plug-in — perfect for mastering purposes, yet also lending itself beautifully to mixing drums, bass, guitar, vocals, and voiceovers. Vintage-sounding compressed/limited recordings are perfectly possible in this day and age with U73b Compressor, that’s for sure!
So why not give your recordings a unique-sounding (virtual) vintage makeover, making them sound just like they have been processed by an original U73b? As a creative, convenient, and cost-effective solution, with the second-generation version of U73b Compressor we’re sure you’ll like what you hear! However, if you don’t like what you see, language-wise, now you can change the GUI from German to English. Easy on the eye. Easy on the ear. Just ask Bjorn Thorsrud… with a bachelor’s degree in physics and music from the University of Nevada, Reno, and having engineered, mixed, and contributed production or programming to every Smashing Pumpkins record from 1998’s Adore to 2012’s Oceania, he should surely know what he likes!

 

U73b Compressor is available to purchase (as an iLok-protected plug-in) for $149.00 USD from Audified’s online shop here: http://shop.audified.com/products/u73b-compressor (Customers purchasing U73b Compressor during its first week of sale will also receive inValve Effects and STA Preamp plug-ins — worth $49.00 USD apiece — for free!)
U73b Compressor is available to download directly from Audified from here: http://services.audified.com/download/u73b (Please note that the 30-day trial version does not require a serial number.)
U73b Compressor can be seen and heard in an introductory video (featuring Bjorn Thorsrud) here: https://youtu.be/DjiCR6wkgCI

Universal Audio UAD API 2500 Bus Compressor

By
Bryan
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The API 2500 is one of the most used bus compressors on the market. It sometimes finds its way onto mix busses without even actually compressing anything. Now the plugin is available for the UAD platform.

The API 2500 Bus Compressor is a fixture on the stereo bus of many the world’s top engineers and producers. Considered the best of the Paul Wolff-era API circuit designs, this iconic hardware is relied upon to deliver energy, movement, and tone to stereo mixes and subgroups.
Available in the UAD Store for $299, the API 2500 Bus Compressor plug-in for UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces is a spot-on emulation of this classic compressor, capturing its all-discrete circuit path with Thrust® circuitry and features a fanatically detailed modeling of API’s custom transformers and 2510 and 2520 op amps.
Using “for-your eyes-only” schematics made available to Universal Audio by API, our team of DSP experts analyzed two classic API 2500s — rackmount and in-console — ensuring one of UA’s tightest behavioral circuit models to date — and the definitive representation of this iconic compressor.
API 2500 Bus Compressor Plug-In Key Features:

  • Painstakingly modeled by Universal Audio’s plug-in design team, licensed and authenticated by Automated Processes, Inc.,

  • Provides the entire circuit path and control set of the API hardware including custom API op amps and transformers

  • Signature API 2500 features include patented Thrust® sidechain filtering, “New” and “Old” Compressor Types, and Variable Sidechain Link

  • Plug-in-only features include Dry/Wet parallel processing and Headroom for user-customizable operating level

  • Artist presets from Jeff Balding (Faith Hill, Trace Adkins), Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White), Ryan Hewitt (The Avett Brothers, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and more

 
Price: $299.00
Learn more about the API 2500 Stereo Bus Compressor here:
www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/compressors-limiters/api-2500-bus-compressor.html
Learn more about award-winning Apollo audio interfaces here:
www.uaudio.com/apollo 
Learn more about award-winning UAD Powered Plug-Ins:
www.uaudio.com/uad-plug-ins.html

iZotope Neutron

By
Bryan
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Lets face it. Not all of us want to mix. Some of us just want to create music that sounds comparable to radio quality tracks. Some of us want to mix, but want more help in determining issues that come up during the mix process. Some of us just need one more tool in the chest to give us the leg up. Neutron is all of these things.

Cambridge, MA (September 29, 2016) — iZotope, Inc., makers of award-winning tools for audio production, today announced Neutron, their newest mixing plug-in, set to launch in October. Geared toward simplifying and enhancing the mixing process, Neutron combines the latest innovations in analysis and metering with industry-leading audio processing to deliver unprecedented focus and clarity in your mixes.
An industry first, Neutron’s Track Assistant saves you time by listening your audio and recommending custom starting points for your track. The analysis intelligence within Neutron allows Track Assistant to automatically detect instruments, recommend the placement of EQ nodes, and set optimal settings for other modules. You still maintain full control over all your mix decisions, but Track Assistant gives you more time to focus on what’s most important — your creative take on the mix.
Another industry first, Neutron’s Masking Meter allows you to visually identify and fix perceptual frequency collisions between instruments, which can result in guitars masking lead vocals, bass covering up drums, and other issues that can cause a “muddy” or overly crowded mix. Easily tweak each track to carve away muddiness and reveal new sonic possibilities.
“With Neutron, we’re introducing a new mixing paradigm by providing music producers and audio post professionals with a smarter way to mix,” says Mark Ethier, CEO and co-founder of iZotope. “The advanced technology within the software has an intelligence that isn’t the standard, one-size-fits-all mixing solution — Neutron is smart, but you’re still in charge. We envision Neutron being the helpful tool you’ve always wanted. It has a deep understanding of the tracks and where they compete with one another, and it offers subtle enhancements to the sound based on that understanding.”
Neutron can be used on every track, offering zero-latency, CPU-efficient performance. With an industry leading static /dynamic EQ, two multiband Compressors, a multiband Transient Shaper, a multiband Exciter, and a True Peak Limiter, users will hear clearer results in less time.

Neutron’s Key Features:

  • Automatically detect different instruments – like vocals, dialogue, guitar, bass, and drums – and then apply the spectral shaping technology within Neutrino to provide subtle clarity and balance to each track.
  • Get recommendations for optimal starting points using Track Assistant, including EQ nodes, compressor thresholds, saturation types, and multiband crossover points, so you can mix with confidence.
  • Carve out sonic space with the revolutionary  Masking Meter to help each instrument sit better in the mix.
  • Create the perfect mix with five essential mixing processors integrated into one CPU-efficient channel strip, packed with both clean digital and warm vintage-flavored processing.
  • Surround Support [Advanced Only] for audio post professionals that need to enhance the audio for picture experience.
  • Individual plug-ins [Advanced Only] available for the Equalizer, Compressor, Transient Shaper, and Exciter

Pricing & Availability

Neutron and Neutron Advanced will be available October 5, 2016  at www.izotope.com/neutron and select retailers.
Neutron Advanced will also be available as part of iZotope’s new Music Production Bundle 2. This incredible value combines iZotope’s latest products with its most popular tools including Ozone 7 Advanced, Nectar 2 Production Suite, VocalSynth, Trash 2 Expanded, RX Plug-in Pack, and Insight.
Once available, Neutron, Neutron Advanced, and the Music Production Bundle 2 will be on sale through October 31, 2016:

  • Neutron will be available for $199 USD (reg.$249) and 189 Euro (reg. 229 Euro)
  • Neutron Advanced will be available for $299 USD (reg. $349) and 270 Euro (reg. 325 Euro)
  • Music Production Bundle 2 will be available for $499 USD (reg. $699) and 459 Euro (reg. 645 Euro)

Upgrade pricing can be found on iZotope’s website, and owners of previous versions of Music Production Bundle can find their upgrade coupons in their iZotope accounts.

Plugin Alliance and Unfiltered Audio Upgrade Sandman to Pro

By
Bryan
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Unfiltered Audio is the king of unique plugins you never knew you needed (see Fault review HERE) and has upgraded one of its flagship plugins. Sandman is a delay / looper plugin like no other, and now its gotten even more unique.

Santa Cruz, CA — October17, 2016 —Continuing their breakneck pace of new plugin releases, Plugin Alliance and Unfiltered Audio announce a major upgrade to the critically acclaimed Sandman delay/looper plugin: Sandman Pro. At once a Swiss army knife of delay effects and a mutating granulator, Sandman Pro delivers to professional audio engineers, electronic-music producers, sound designers and DJs an endless assortment of time-based effects in one intuitive interface. From conventional to wildly experimental effects, Sandman Pro does it all: flanging, phasing, chorus, ping-pong delays, 16-tap delays, automatic double tracking, reverse echoes, reverb, pitch shifting, harmonizing, granular synthesis, percussion resonator, stutter generator, glitch effects and many other effects that defy description. And in a twofold promotion to celebrate Sandman Pro’s release, Plugin Alliance is offering bargain upgrade pricing and a freebie.
Seven new delay modes optimize Sandman Pro for a mind-boggling variety of applications. Classic Tape mode adds virtual tape saturation, wow and flutter to traditional delay effects and to unorthodox loops and grains created by Sandman Pro’s metamorphosing Sleep (delay) buffer. The artifact-free Multi-Tap mode delivers 16 simultaneous delay lines that can be used to create massive doubling, ensemble and echo effects. The ultra-smooth Reverse mode produces click-free, haunting reverse echoes. And unlike with using other delays, Sandman Pro’s delay time can be dramatically modulated—using Modern Instant mode—to morph thick flanging or doubling into long echo trails in real time without producing audible pitch artifacts. The dual-mono Pitch Shifter mode excels at creating ultra-clean vocal harmonies, classic shimmer effects, metallic textures and more, while Glitch Shifter mode adds intriguing instability to pitch-shifted signals for unorthodox effect. DJs will especially appreciate modulating Sandman Pro’s Sleep button in No Echo mode to create crazy stutter and glitch effects on the fly. The new Echoes section in Sandman Pro includes a stereo feedback network and a Diffusion control, blending any delay tail you create into thick reverberant pads.
Sandman Pro has also been upgraded to include Unfiltered Audio’s flagship modulation system: six freely assignable and fully automatable modulators (sine LFO, sawtooth/triangle LFO, square-wave LFO, input follower, sample-and-hold noise, and macro control knob) can be patched to each and every control via intuitive drag-and-drop patching. Modulating Sandman Pro’s frozen Sleep buffer, electronic-music producers and sound designers can build a deep library of unique effects, loops and wavetable grains, while studio engineers can create innovative sounds that keep their mixes ahead of the pack. DJs and musicians can use the modulation system’s macro knob to simultaneously control multiple parameters in multi-effects presets, surprising and captivating audiences with outrageous song transitions during their live set.
In a nutshell, it’s extreme versatility that sets Sandman Pro apart from competing products. Capable of creating any and all delay-based effects—and never-before-heard sounds that transform mixes, FX tracks for film and live performances—Sandman Pro is unlike anything else currently available.

To celebrate Sandman Pro’s release, Plugin Alliance is offering two great promotions through Oct. 31: Sandman owners can upgrade to Sandman Pro for only $29 (slashing nearly 70% off Sandman Pro’s already remarkably low price of $99), and first-time Sandman Pro buyers also get the streamlined Sandman for free.
Unfiltered Audio plugins, as well as all other Plugin Alliance products, are provided in AAX native, VST and AU formats for Mac OS 10.8 or higher and Windows 7 through 10. All Plugin Alliance products are available as fully functional 14-day demos at Plugin-Alliance.com.

Plugin Alliance and Brainworx Roll Out M/S Reverb Plugin bx_rooMS

By
Bryan
-

Brainworx cranks out another mid-side plugin that should very easily find it’s way on your mix session with bx_rooMS. In order to get insanely detailed spaces, bx turned to Thomas Fielder’s TrueSpace Technology. This plugin should be extremely interesting.

Santa Cruz, CA — October 17, 2016 —Plugin Alliance and Brainworx are excited to announce bx_rooMS, a breathtaking mid-side reverb and the next frontier in simulation of acoustic spaces and mechanical plates. Designed using groundbreaking TrueSpace technology developed by spatialization wizard Thomas Fiedler of Fiedler Audio, bx_rooMS produces the most realistic-sounding Room, Hall, Church, Plate and Ambience algorithms available. And in a first for reverb plugins, bx_rooMS’ mid-side parametric filtering, panning and width control of the reverb’s stereo field gives mix engineers, sound designers, audio post engineers and electronic musicians the ability to shape virtual spaces to fit any music or sound-for-picture application.
Unlike conventional algorithmic reverbs, bx_rooMS doesn’t rely on a small number of algorithms to create virtual spaces with different sizes. Instead, its embedded TrueSpace technology produces a continuous gradation of algorithms that recreate a virtually infinite number of room sizes and shapes. Quick Select buttons provide a useful starting point for the desired type of space and its size. The Room Shape slider adjusts the reverb’s spatial dimensions to produce sounds ranging from smooth and natural to metallic and artificial. The unique Source Distance control moves the dry signal farther into the virtual room, while the Directivity control adjusts how much each side of a stereo input signal is fed into the opposite reverb channel—critical adjustments for emulating how sound sources actually interact with reverberant spaces in the real world. Modulation controls lend subtle movement to natural ambience or, at extreme settings, produce dive-bombing reverb and other pitch-shifting effects. Other controls adjust all the fundamental parameters you would need for a reverb plugin, including reverb time, room size, pre-delay, and low- and high-frequency damping. The reverb’s bit depth can also be progressively lowered to emulate classic reverbs from yesteryear.
Adding to all this power and flexibility is an extensive arsenal of mid-side controls that shape the reverb’s soundstage. The Stereo Width control adjusts the soundstage from mono to stereo to super-wide stereo. Brainworx’s famous Mono Maker control collapses bass frequencies in the wet signal to the phantom center, adding focus to the reverb’s bottom end and clarifying the hard-panned edges of the reverb. The Pan M control can be used to pan the reverb’s mid channel to correct a lopsided soundstage or to creatively change the room’s virtual geometry—without narrowing the reverb’s expansive width. Two bands of Brainworx’s ultra-transparent, parametric mid-side equalizers are also included; they can be used on discrete mid and side channels to shape the reverb’s spectral balance with surgical precision, sitting the reverb perfectly in even the most complex mix.
Remarkably, the CPU drain from all this high-end processing is extraordinarily low, allowing many instances of bx_rooMS—in both stereo>stereo and mono>mono channel configurations—to be used on track inserts across a mix. And bx-rooMS’ intuitive interface refines workflow in innovative ways to get great results quickly and help meet tight deadlines. The wet signal can be soloed to allow more discerning adjustments of reverb parameters. Clicking the Input Bypass button temporarily mutes the reverb’s input, assisting evaluation of the reverb tail as it naturally fades out. The Fix Mix control locks the current wet/dry balance as different presets are loaded for audition. Many controls have dedicated bypasses for making instant, easy comparisons.
To celebrate its release, Plugin Alliance is offering bx_rooMS at the introductory promo price of $99—a 50% discount—through October 31, 2016.

Brainworx plugins, as well as all other Plugin Alliance products, are provided in AAX native, VST and AU formats for Mac OS 10.8 or higher and Windows 7 through 10. All Plugin Alliance products are available as fully functional 14-day demos at Plugin-Alliance.com.

Elysia Mpressor 500

By
Bryan
-

 
The MPressor takes compression to a whole new level. Now you can fit it in your 500 series rack!

NETTETAL, GERMANY: high-end studio processor manufacturer elysia is proud to announce availability of the mpressor 500 — furthering the lengthening lineup of its 500 Series hardware by bringing the heritage of its immensely powerful rack-mount mpressor creative compressor to bear on the fashionable 500 series standard — as of October 10…
Like its bigger brother, the mpressor 500 combines serious punch with a full and detailed class-A sound. Its tremendous tone and flexibility make it a consummate choice for recording and mixing, while its strikingly special features take it far beyond the borders of what conventional compressors can do.
Extreme time constants, negative ratios, Anti Log release, and elysia’s innovative gain reduction limiter provide a whole spectrum of unique dynamics shaping options. A new feature of this 500 series module is its switchable THD Boost, allowing on-the-fly signal coloration and saturation effects capable of delivering a different, grittier flavor.
“It’s been a challenge to transfer such a sophisticated discrete design into the 500 series form factor,” says elysia Head of Development Ruben Tilgner. “But, after using and listening to the final version of the mpressor 500, we are truly pleased with what we have achieved.”
The mpressor 500 is made in Germany, exclusively using top-quality components, gold-plated PCBs, a rugged 4mm aluminum front panel, and solid aluminum knobs.

It is available from any elysia dealer for $749.00 MAP ($805.00 MSRP), or 500 € net (plus VAT where applicable), and is shipping right now.

The mpressor 500 can be seen and heard on elysia’s Youtube channel here: www.youtube.com/elysiaTV

Embertone Mountain Dulcimer Virtual Instrument

By
Bryan
-

Now this one is an interesting virtual instrument. Most of us probably think we could play a dulcimer, but there’s a lot more to it. Embertone has sampled the dulcimer to make life easier.

RALEIGH, NC, USA: next-level virtual instrument developer Embertone is proud to announce availability of Mountain Dulcimer — the self-explanatorily-named first sample-based virtual instrument release in its Whiskey Series, primarily preoccupied with musical instruments indigenous to the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America — as of October 6…
Originating in Appalachia, an area in the United States spanning the central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains, the mountain dulcimer is both beautiful and incredibly intimate — not to mention very versatile — as a unique- sounding strummed zither that takes many names — namely, the Kentucky dulcimer, plucked dulcimer, fretted dulcimer, lap dulcimer, teardrop dulcimer, box dulcimer, and mountain zither, to name but a few. For Embertone’s exploratory sampling team, though, mountain dulcimer it is… and Mountain Dulcimer is its sample-based virtual instrument namesake, kicking off the company’s tasty-sounding Whiskey Series.
Sampling the heck out of a handsome handmade mountain dulcimer with a sweet, beautiful, and inviting tone, Embertone effectively jumped down the rabbit hole, risking total insanity to produce an intuitive, versatile, inspiring, and, ultimately, useful compositional tool that, in some senses, sounds even better than the real thing to (partly) paraphrase the 1992 global smash hit single from Irish stadium rockers U2 — no strangers themselves to incorporating influences from many musical genres. Get your hands on Mountain Dulcimer and you, too, can apply an authentic Appalachian sound to your music. But be warned: there’s a whole lot more to Mountain Dulcimer than might first meet the ear!
Embertone has helpfully put the musical ball in the user’s court with Mountain Dulcimer… treat this VI (Virtual Instrument) in the traditional sense — as a strummed zither-cum-stunning-sounding acoustic instrument — or take advantage of the boundless love and attention that Embertone has lavished upon it from a deep programming standpoint — by playing chord changes, notes and patterns that clearly could not be performed on a live instrument!
Indeed, the advanced STRUMMER/ARP MODE makes strumming a breeze by offering up a veritable mountain of innovative and inspirational pre-programmed presets — played chords will even be automatically strummed! NATURAL MODE is ideal for delightful drone playing with the left hand controlling up/down strumming while the right hand triggers the drone and melody note. Neater still, SMART MODE allows this intelligent instrument to cleverly choose strings for the user! Ultimately, this time the left hand controls strumming while the right hand dictates the chord played. Moreover, more advanced features — such as strum speed control, legato control, and an intuitive new Keyswitch/CC assignment system — succeed in balancing power with ease of use.
Users of Mountain Dulcimer will no doubt delight in its incredible, deep scripting by Andreas Lemke as they access over 8,900 recorded samples served up in Native Instruments’ NCW (Native Compressed Wave) format (designed to save an imported .WAV audio file using compression so the file uses less disk space) as a 3.2 GB installation at 44.1 kHz/24-bit stereo sample resolution from within the required full version of Native Instruments’ industry-standard KONTAKT (version 5.4.3 or later).
Let us raise a shot glass, then, to toast Mountain Dulcimer, Embertone’s evocative flagship from the Whiskey Series. It is fun to play and adds a kind of magical, organic quality to any music that it touches in ways that go beyond words. Why not add it to your sample-based virtual instrument arsenal today and take a trip to the Appalachian Mountains and beyond? Better still, with Mountain Dulcimer you’ll soon be moving musical mountains!

Mountain Dulcimer can be ordered online and directly downloaded from Embertone at an attractive introductory promo price of $89.00 USD until October 17, 2016 from here: http://www.embertone.com/instruments/mountaindulcimer.php (Thereafter, its RRP rises to $99.00 USD.)
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