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Rob Papen Explorer III

By
Bryan
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Explorer is pretty much everything you need in one package. You get synths to cover just about any style of electronic and even other styles of music along with a slew of effects. Aside from an EQ and compressor, you get anything and everything to create full tracks.

Virtual instrument and plug-in developer Rob Papen Soundware is proud to present particular time-limited upgrade offers on eXplorer-III, The Complete Rob Papen Synth & Effect Collection — combining all of its multi-award-winning Mac- and PC-compatible virtual instruments (including the recently- released RAW soft synth specialising in ‘distorted’ sounds specifically suited to electronic dance music production and beyond) and also all of its critically-acclaimed effects plug-ins into an attractively-priced performance and sound design dream bundle to die for — to owners of its paid-for products…
Within a year of release, eXplorer-III — the latest incarnation of Rob Papen’s powerful and all-encompassing software bundle — has expeditiously established itself as an all-important tool for many of today’s top music producers buying into namesake company founder Rob Papen’s superlative sound design skills, seeking to have his company exploits lend a helping hand to advancing their creative craft. Consequently, resulting music successes speak louder than words, despite the notable number of rave reviews that Rob Papen has evidently enjoyed with eXplorer-III. Either way, no complaints from Rob Papen — company founder or namesake company — here!
However, not everyone who has made a Rob Papen product purchase has yet to take musical advantage of the full eXplorer-III experience, something the company is fully aware of. Of course, customer loyalty is always an admirable attribute, so why not give something back to thank them for their patronage? Which is exactly why Rob Papen is determined to put a musical spring in their step this Spring by offering a number of generous discounts to qualifying customers

Owners of Rob Papen’s EDM Synth Bundle (€299.00 EUR/$349.00 USD, including tax/VAT) or Urban Synth Bundle (€299.00 EUR/$349.00 USD, including tax/VAT) qualify to upgrade to eXplorer-III (€585.00 EUR/$699.00 USD, including tax/VAT) for €149.00 EUR/$149.00 USD (including tax/VAT), representing a substantial saving of €137.00 EUR/$201.00 USD (including tax/VAT). Owners of three of more Rob Papen products also qualify to upgrade to eXplorer-III for that same price, while owners of one Rob Papen product qualify to upgrade to eXplorer-III for €349.00 EUR/$349.00 USD (including tax/VAT). Note that only purchased plug-ins are eligible for these discounts and that any already- owned Rob Papen products automatically assume ‘Not For Resale’ status.
Similarly, owners of the original eXplorer bundle can upgrade to eXplorer-III for €119.00 EUR/$139.00 USD (including tax/VAT), while eXplorer-II owners qualify for a €44.00 EUR/$49.00 USD (including tax/VAT) upgrade — simply Login to the Rob Papen website (www.robpapen.com) and request the qualifying upgrade in the My Products section.
To buy, visit http://www.robpapen.com/buy-explorer-3.html

Dynamount Robotic Mic Mounts

By
Bryan
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Say goodbye to the lowly intern. This is truly one of those “why didn’t I think of this” sort of ideas. Dynamount is a remote controlled mic system that allows you to make all of the small moves needed for that perfect take – all from the comfort of your chair in the mix room. There are 4 systems to chose from, each of them allowing different freedom of movement. Having the option to remotely move mics from behind the speakers allows the engineer to eliminate phase issues and dial in the perfect sound.
Right now Dynamount is having a Kickstarter campaign and are offering some early bird specials, head on down to the page at the bottom of this post to see what (if anything) is left. The target goal is pretty much met in 2 days which shows this was a much needed addition to recording.
 

DYNAMOUNT IS THE WORLD’S FIRST LINE OF Wi-Fi CONTROLLED MICROPHONE MOUNTS

They easily work with the microphones and mic stands you already own and enable precise position/orientation changes at the touch of a button from your computer or mobile device. Additionally, you can save multiple positions as presets giving you the freedom to perform true A/B comparisons on various mic placements. While designing the four DynaMount models, our aim was to make powerful and time-saving tools for all recording studios, musicians, & live sound engineers.

  • Wi-Fi Controlled

  • Save Mic Positions As Presets

  • Easy & Precise A/B Comparisons

  • Works With Most Microphones & Mic Stands

  • Free iOS, Android, & Web Apps (all coming soon)

  • Strong enough for horizontal, vertical, & inclined use

For more information, and to try to grab one of the early bird specials, visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/948299695/dynamount-robotic-microphone-mounts/video_share

U-he Presswerk 1.1

By
Bryan
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U-he has a very forward thinking approach to compression and version 1.1 of Presswerk shows this. The new interface’s view can change based on the application. This means that if you are wanting to use Presswerk as a bus compressor, there is a special interface for that. Very innovative!

Earlier this month at the Frankfurt Musikmesse we presented a new beta version of Presswerk 1.1 to visitors. After returning to Berlin, we added the final touches and fixed a few outstanding minor bugs. The result is now ready to be shared with everyone, so…
We are happy to announce the release of Presswerk version 1.1 for Mac OSX and Windows (in case you didn’t know, Presswerk is our powerful dynamics processor with a musical soul).
The main focus of the 1.1 release is the introduction of the six special ‘Views’ — dedicated, streamlined versions of the interface to help you focus on a specific task and speed up your workflow:

  • Drum Compressor
  • Vocal Compressor
  • M/S Program Compressor
  • Easy Compressor
  • Bus Compressor
  • Limiter

 
Presswerk 1.1 also has a new preferences window where global options can be stored, and a MIDI learn screen to simplify MIDI mapping.
Version 1.1 is a free update for current owners of Presswerk – simply download and install over your existing installation!

Price: $129.00
For more information, visit http://www.u-he.com/cms/presswerk

The Producer's Choice: Artsy Trap Drums

By
Bryan
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Everyone is always looking to stand out in hiphop. Nows your chance to get in early to the party. Julez Jadon has taken a typical style of sound sets and added a unique spin. These samples will give you a leg up on boring everyday sound samples.

Dear Fellow Music Producer,
I have something to share with you today that will be a real “game changing” tool for your production arsenal…
I hooked up with a talented new sound designer from Germany – Julez Jadon – He has recorded sounds from all kinds of crazy locations, from underground trains to clocks, shattered glass, underground parking lot, the forest and more…
Next, he took these recordings and processed and layered them with powerful trap drums, processed 808 booms and more. The end result is a sample pack that is so fresh and unique, people have been calling it:
“The Worlds Most Creative Drum Kit”
I hope you can check out the demo videos, showing the recording process – and also listen to the demos to show you what this kit can do!!

Price: (introductory $47.00) $105.00
For more information, visit http://www.theproducerschoice.com/collections/hip-hop-drum-kits/products/artsy-trap-drum-kit and for Julez Jadon’s website, visit http://www.JulezJadon.com

Tone2 Analog Saurus2

By
Bryan
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Tone2 Saurus has been a favorite at Everything Recording (review here) and Tone2 has released version 2 with quite a few upgrades.

Saurus2 can do an extremely authentic emulation of analog synthesizers.  It covers all important aspects of the most famous and expensive analog synths, but without adopting the disadvantages.
Saurus2 is very easy to use and comes with a comfortable interface. It offers a larger sonic range,  a more precise analog emulation and a more flexibe synthesis engine than competing products. Saurus2 offers high-end sound quality, but without placing heavy demands on your CPU or budget. Finally true analog sound does not longer require compromises!

  • Authentic emulation of analog synths: True Analog Modeling Technology ™
  • Covers all important aspects of analog synthesizers, but without adopting the disadvantages
  • High-end sound quality
  • Replaces a large number of expensive analog synthesizers
  • Low CPU and high reliability
  • Great value for money
  • Free personal support and updates
  • Comfortable and easy-to-use interface
  • Larger sonic range than competing products
  • Flexibility, expandability
  • Ships with 830 outstanding presets from 22 top sound designers
  • Can create unique sounds which no other synthesizer can do
  • Analog filter with self-oscillation, FM and feedback
  • Very fast LFOs and punchy envelopes
  • Powerful arpeggiator
  • Many different play modes: Mono, legato, glide, poly, stack, autochord
  • 4x stereo unison
  • High-end quality effects section
  • Analog modeled distortion and tube amp
  • Developed by experts with 25 years of experience

What’s new in Saurus2? Details:
New features:

  • Added a comfortable patch browser with a keyboard which can be opened by clicking ‘BROWSE’.
  • Added a ‘Config’ menu which allows to set the degree of analog behavior.
  • Additional LowCut equalizer.
  • Additional HighCut equalizer.
  • Added a new play mode ‘Stack’ which plays the autochord defined in ‘Arp Key Mode’.
  • 14 additional ‘Sine’ LFOs as matrix source.
  • 4 additional chord modes which play thirds for the arpeggiator.
  • The patches can be ranked by clicking on the stars in the patch browser.
  • Keyboard can be hidden with ‘Config->hide keyboard’.
  • The degree of analog noise modeling can be selected between ‘none’ and ‘extreme’.
  • The degree of analog drift can be selected between ‘light’ and ‘extreme’.
  • Added a smart microtuning algorithm. ‘Fat tune’ delivers more harmonic and transparent chords.
  • The degree of analog saturation can be selected between ‘linear’ and ‘extreme’.
  • The degree of analog OSCs damping can be selected between ‘light damp’ and ‘heavy’.
  • An analog sounding default patch can be initialized with ‘File->Init analog patch’.
  • A digital sounding default patch can be initialized with ‘File->Init digital patch’.
  • Modwheel and pitchwheel are auto-assigned on patch initialisation.

Enhanced sound:

  • The OSCs and filters can emulate the noise created by analog circuits.
  • The OSCs can emulate the saturation of analog amplifiers.
  • The voices and filters can emulate drift and voice detuning.
  • Replaced oscillators with more ‘analog’ sounding ones.
  • Boost mode sounds more ‘analog’ and smooth.
  • Replaced Reverb with a better sounding algorithm.
  • More accurate high frequencies of ‘Delay’ and ‘PingPong’ effect.
  • More ‘analog’ behavior of ‘drift’.

Enhanced GUI & interface:

  • Information about the current patch is shown in ‘info’ tab of the patch browser.
  • Rendering with ambient occlusion for a more realistic look.
  • More comfortable saving of patches on PC.
  • LCD displays have more contrast and are more easy to read.
  • Keyboard is now animated.
  • Added mouseover support: Values are displayed when mouse is hovered over them.
  • Mousewheel support (if host supports it).
  • Mac version now also supports waveform selection by clicking on diodes.

Further enhancements and changes:

  • Better host compatibility.

  • A large number of small enhancements.

  • More robustness.

  • More comfortable installer.

  • Less demo restrictions. Patches can be initialized. Extended demo timeout.

Price: €99, $119
System requirements:
PC: Windows XP / ME / 7 / 8 / 10 / Vista  (32 bit or 64 bit)
Mac: Mac OSX 10.5 or higher; PowerPC, G4, G5 or Intel Mac (32 or 64 bit)
PC formats: 32-bit VSTi, 64-bit VSTi, 32 bit standalone, 64-bit standalone
Mac formats: 32-bit VSTi, 64-bit VSTi, 32-bit Audiounit, 64-bit Audiounit; Universal Binary
For more info about Saurus2 visit our webpage:
https://www.tone2.com

Softube Heartbeat

By
Bryan
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Although newer drum sequencers have their place, there is something to say about the classics. Since finding vintage hardware drum machines is terribly expensive and maintenance can be a pain, Softube has you covered with Heartbeat.
LINKÖPING, SWEDEN: in a major musical move, Swedish high-end software developer Softube set pulses racing when showcasing Heartbeat — its innovative software drum synth with comfortably familiar, yet special sound characteristics — at Musikmesse 2015, April 15-18 in Frankfurt, Germany…
Come its scheduled summertime release date, however, Heartbeat is likely to cause severe palpitations! Why? Well, by bringing back classic drum synthesis with a vengeance, Heartbeat harkens back to yesteryear’s much-loved modeled analog synthesis approach, but brings a wealth of forward-thinking features and flexibility to bare on what could well be the ultimate dream drum synth software solution suited to satisfying (almost) anyone’s beat-making needs! Now if that still sounds like a tall order… read on!

So what makes Heartbeat so special? Well, while it draws its inspiration from the best Eighties-vintage analog drum machines, it does not emulate any existing drum machine. The superlative sound beating at its rhythmical heart mostly originates from Softube’s proprietary analog-modeled synthesis engines, engineered to drive the resulting rhythms to wherever the user wishes to take them.

 
The core consists of eight individual instrument channels. Here Heartbeat users will find two different bass drum channels (BASS DRUM 1 and BASS DRUM 2) — perfect for producing punchy, deep kicks, but also perfectly capable of creating snappy and hard-hitting woody textures. Tonal adjustments abound, with several dedicated controls for both BASS DRUM 1 (DECAY, ATTACK, ATTACK TYPE, PITCH, BEND, and HARMONICS) and BASS DRUM 2 (DECAY, ATTACK, PITCH, and HARMONICS) positioned directly above their associated channels. The two dedicated snare drum channels (SNARE/RIM SHOT and SNARE/CLAP) have several identical parameters associated with each of them — WAVE SYNTH sliders, plus two TYPE, PITCH, and DECAY controls — to achieve anything from edgy rimshots, soft and whispery snare rolls, to machine-like claps. Correspondingly, those same flexible parameters are also available for the adjacent HIHATS channel. Time to applaud those proprietary analog-modeled synthesis engines, perhaps? Feel free to rev them to your beat-making heart’s content! Continuing our eastward instrument channel journey, the two percussion channels (PERC 1 and PERC 2) are identical, and can be used to model Eighties-style toms to cowbells and (almost) anything in- between, thanks to their flexible controls — simply select the MODE (from SINGLE, DUAL, FM, FM•N, and NOISE), then adjust DECAY, PITCH, TONE, TIME, RANGE, and UP/DOWN parameters accordingly. At the end of the instrument channel row, the CYMBAL channel has its own flexible synthesis engine with dedicated DECAY, RING, and PITCH parameters. Take care not to crash!
Seriously, Softube has really put its collective pedal to the metal to make Heartbeat a driving force to be reckoned with. By adding a fully- featured effects section, it truly is a one-stop shop for beat programming par excellence. Excellent effects include slightly adapted versions of Dyna-mite, the much-admired model of Valley People’s Dyna-mite — dynamic Swiss army knife processing, proffering limiting, compression, gating, and side-chained ducking with serious attitude — and TSAR-1, one of Softube’s all-time top-sellers — simply one of the most gorgeous reverb plug-ins ever created, in fact! Furthermore, the all-new FILTER ECHO takes things to another level as a filtered delay effect with adjustable CUTOFF and RESONANCE parameters. Moreover, MASTER OUT channel SATURATION control goes from juicy to gritty and is not taken from any existing Softube product.
Pushing further onwards and upwards, each and every instrument channel has a dedicated mixer channel with PAN, PING (ping-pong/ auto-panning), EQ (adapted specifically for each instrument), and volume controls, together with FX sends to the REV (reverb) and ECHO (delay) effects. Excellence all round, then. Though there’s more to Heartbeat than might first meet the eye (and ear)!
Heartbeat, however, is not only about sound. It’s also about inspiration and interaction. Indeed, this is where its innovative AUTO LAYER MACHINE comes in. Its four channels can each be used to layer sounds or let the output of any of the eight instrument channels trigger a chain of events. Examples include creating new sound textures or automatic fill patterns in up to four steps. Should things get too predictable then moving the CHAOS sliders to the right adds an element of surprise randomness for each trigger, ranging from subtle variations to massive trigger-riot mayhem! Meanwhile, flexible global velocity parameter knobs TO PITCH, TO ATTACK, and TO DECAY help Heartbeat become responsive to VELOCITY changes while TIME GATE shortens the overall decay time to create a stuttering, stiffer, machine-like sound, so sounding like a ‘Man-Machine’ (or ‘Woman-Machine’) is both a breeze and a blast. But Heartbeat is much more than a machine, but rather a living thing with a mind of its own, thanks to AUTO LAYER MACHINE’s magical mystery touring tools. Why not take a ride?
Back with a vengeance, never has classic drum synthesis sounded so good or been so musically flexible. For soon it will be time to set pulses racing closer to home when Heartbeat hits its scheduled summertime release date. So remember: must make a date with the ultimate dream drum synth software solution!
Heartbeat is scheduled to ship in summer 2015 as a Mac- and PC-compatible plug-in, priced at $199.00 USD. (Hardware USB dongle copy-protection is optional as Heartbeat can also be used with iLok’s new machine-based license.)
For more in-depth information about Heartbeat, including some seriously ear-opening sound examples, please visit Softube’s dedicated webpage here: http://www.softube.com/index.php?id=heartbeat

Softube Console 1 Update

By
Bryan
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Softube has quite a gem on its hands with Console 1. This is a hardware counterpart to Softube’s renditions of popular concoles, giving you a physical unit to interact with. An update has been released that will make Console 1 even more popular.
LINKÖPING, SWEDEN: Swedish high-end software developer Softube is proud to announce summer 2015 availability of another free update for Console 1 — adding several new fanciful features to its next-generation software/hardware hybrid mixer — following a successful showcase at Musikmesse 2015, April 15-18 in Frankfurt, Germany…
As a unique centerpiece for the DAW-based studio setup, Softube’s award-winning Windows- and Mac-compatible Console 1 next-generation software/hardware hybrid mixer succeeded in taking the production world by storm. Since its February 2014 release, the hardware part of the system has let users speedily switch between tracks and use physical knobs and buttons to control SHAPE, EQUALIZER, and COMPRESSOR parameters, plus much more besides, while the accompanying namesake software comes complete with Softube’s superlative model — including harmonics, distortion, and non-linearities — of the still-sought-after Solid State Logic SL 4000 E, one of the most legendary and widely-used analog consoles in the world. What’s not to like here? However, Softube surely cannot be accused of resting on its laurels, delivering dynamic advances and additions at each and every Console 1 upgrade stage. For example, a far-reaching feature update in November 2014 coincided with an all-new (AAX-, AudioUnits-, VST-, and VST3-compatible) Solid State Logic XL 9000 K-Series for Console 1 channel strip, available as an optional purchase, and also including an amazing- sounding model of Solid State Logic’s lauded VHD (Variable Harmonic Drive) circuit — perfect for those seeking solid, deep low end and extended highs for achieving that hyper-modern, massive, and spacious sound, thanks to its famed extreme bandwidth, minimal phase shift, and super-low distortion attributes also modeled to perfection by Softube. Moreover, more Console 1 channel strips will be released in future.

For now, though, the time has come for another must-have Console 1 update, so why not have it? Indeed, one of the most requested new features for Console 1 since its initial release has been to have an FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) frequency analyzer as part of the Equalizer software section. So there you have it… now it’s included for all to see (and hear).

 
Elsewhere, two new view options additionally added as part of this latest Console 1 update should also appeal. These allow users to set the On-Screen Display — Console 1’s mixer window — in a minimal mode (whereby only the meter bridge with the track names is shown) and a super-minimal mode (which also only shows the meter bridge, albeit slimmer still). See only what you want to see to help hear what you want to hear when working with Console 1, in other words.
With all this talk of outstanding visual feedback from an onscreen perspective, please remember that it is still possible to turn off the On-Screen Display and use your ears for an even more authentic analog-like mixing experience — especially since an abundance of visual feedback from the Console 1 hardware itself is always available, like LED rings showing the knobs’ positions, plus meters displaying input and output levels (as well as gate and compressor gain reduction). Same as it ever was. But better.
Better download the next version of Softube’s plug-in installer in summer 2015, then, to access those new and improved features for Console 1 — neither a DAW nor a plug-in controller, but rather a separate hybrid hardware/software mixer that works in tandem with whichever DAW its user chooses to work with while offering a new and much-improved approach to mixing in a computer. Come join the next-generation of mix engineers and producers using the next-generation mixer!
Download the latest version of Softube’s plug-in installer (including the latest Console 1 features) in summer 2015 for free from here: http://www.softube.com/download.php
Console 1 is available to purchase for $1,149.00 USD (excluding VAT) through Softube’s global network of authorized dealers and distributors (http://www.softube.com/index.php?id=dealer).
The SSL XL 9000 K-Series for Console 1 channel strip is available to purchase for $329.00 USD (excluding VAT) through Softube’s global network of authorized dealers and distributors (http://www.softube.com/index.php?id=dealer) or online directly from Softube from here: http://www.softube.com/buy.php
For more in-depth information about Console 1, including informative videos for further insight into its background and workflow, please visit Softube’s dedicated webpage here: http://www.softube.com/console1.php

Spitfire Artisan Violin and Cello

By
Bryan
-

Spitfire has made some stellar sound libraries for Kontakt 5, The Artisan Violin and Artisan Cello is no different. Most sound libraries concentrate on the orchestra as a whole, but Spitfire brings each instrument to the spotlight.

LONDON, UK: compositional tools creator Spitfire Audio is proud to announce availability of PP015 ARTISAN CELLO and PP016 ARTISAN VIOLIN — the latest additions to its Producer Portfolio range of sample-based virtual instruments for Native Instruments’ industry-standard KONTAKT 5 platform, dedicated to providing producers, songwriters, and composers with raw, untreated instruments in a neutral space to make their own — as of April 13…
PP015 ARTISAN CELLO represents the next instalment in Spitfire Audio’s vibe-y, personality-led, performance-orientated range of sample-based virtual instruments that are finding their way onto award-winning recordings the world over. This time, the London-based compositional tools creator has turned to fellow London-based cellist Chris Worsey with a view to bringing cool to user’s solo (virtual) instrument arsenal. As such, it is centred around a sophisticated sample-based virtual instrument with a host of ‘artisan’ phrases — hence its apt appellation, together with standard and additional techniques, including ‘Performance Vibrato’ to provide a realistic-sounding out-of-the-box instrument that truly captures Chris’ very soul with an on- trend cello style suited to searing emotion to heartbreaking timidity and (almost) anything in-between. Hardly surprising, really, given the ‘Vibe Master General’s’ genre-bridging background history.
Having graduated from London University (Royal Holloway) with a music degree, Chris continued his cello studies with Chris Bunting at the Royal College Of Music. Mainly he now works as a session musician, recording contributions to many notable film soundtracks, including Batman: The Dark Knight, Skyfall, Sherlock Holmes, The Bourne… series, and The Hobbit, as well as television shows such as the BBC’s Dr Who, Inception, and Into The Woods. When not performing with many orchestras, such as the Royal Philharmonic, Chris can be found working with contemporary composers, including Joby Talbot, Max Richter, and Andrew Skeet. He has also toured and recorded with numerous rock and pop acts, including Sir Paul McCartney, Radiohead, Sam Smith, Florence And The Machine, Adele, and The Divine Comedy. Currently, Chris acts as Musical Director for the band Elbow.
Exactly what went into producing PP015 ARTISAN CELLO, then — other than, of course, Chris’ coolness? For starters, Spitfire Audio’s own purpose-built ‘dry’ stage in Central London. Here recordings were made using six different top-range types of microphones and perspectives into high-end Neve mic preamps, plus Cranesong and Apogee A-to-D convertors. Continuing our musical journey to sample-based virtual instrumental glory, the GUI (Graphical User Interface) is a ‘classic’ control panel, allowing users to access the superlative sounds within — 13 deep sampled articulations, 13,879 samples, and 13.63 GB of uncompressed raw WAV (24-bit/48kHz) data (download footprint of 7.56 GB of lossless compressed data), no less — and musically mix them together with the greatest of ease. Alongside the various signal chains sampled, which can also be loaded, mixed, and assigned to different outputs, users can also tweak the general settings — for example, how many round robins and how would you like them to behave? Better still, articulations abound: Long (Artisan), Long (Harmonics), Long (Sul Pont Distorted), Long (Sul Pont), Long (Sul Tasto), Long (Tremolo Sul Pont), Long (Tremolo Unmeasured), Long (‘Performance Vibrato’), Short (Pizzicato), Short (Spiccato Brushed), Short (Spiccato Dig), Short (Spiccato)… it’s all there for the musical taking, together with Dynamics — Control dynamics with mod wheel, Reverb — The Amount of reverb to add, and Expression — Overall instrument volume (0-100%). Open and play. Simple as that.
Following immediately in PP015 ARTISAN CELLO’s family footsteps, PP016 ARTISAN VIOLIN supplements Spitfire Audio’s Producer Portfolio further still. Spitfire Audio is proud to showcase the talents of Warren Zielinksi to create the perfect parter to PP015 ARTISAN CELLO. Like Chris Worsey, Warren is one of London’s most active session players, performing on over 1,500 popular songs and 200 film scores… so far! Film highlights include Shakespeare In Love, Gladiator, the latest James Bond franchise, and many more besides. Pop and rock recording highlights include albums for Sting, Madonna, David Gilmour, and Joni Mitchell’s epic Both Sides Now, arranged by Vince Mendoza. Warren is also a regular featured soloist on the BBC’s popular Strictly Come Dancing TV show.
Similarly, Spitfire Audio’s own purpose-built ‘dry’ stage in Central London also acted as the ideal location for producing ‘field recordings’ that ultimately formed the basis for PP016 ARTISAN VIOLIN. Six different top-range types of microphones and perspectives into high-end Neve mic preamps, plus Cranesong and Apogee A-to-D convertors, were once again the order of the day here. The result? 11 deep sampled articulations, 12,691 samples, and 14.22 GB of uncompressed raw WAV (24-bit/48kHz) data (download footprint of 7.77 GB of lossless compressed data), forming a characterful, but definitive take on this very unique violin player. Effectively mirroring the one used on PP015 ARTISAN CELLO, the simple-to-use GUI is a another ‘classic’ control panel — learn one, no need to learn the other. How cool is that? All articulations are identical.
Indeed, Spitfire Audio co-founder and Director Paul Thomson is equally excited about both of these Producer Portfolio range of sample-based virtual instruments — and rightly so; he has this to say about PP016 ARTISAN VIOLIN, though these comments are also applicable to PP015 ARTISAN CELLO: “The idea is that you have three patches — a Performance Patch, which enables you to just play and get great results without key-switching, and all that kind of stuff; the various articulations, with each articulation split out and separated; and then the Time Machine articulations, which are incredibly useful for getting different lengths out of the short notes. If you automate this with a MIDI CC, then you can get really nice, interesting parts — nice and simple to use. It takes a little bit more memory, because you’re loading the entire sample so that you can stretch and compress it.”

 
PP015 ARTISAN CELLO can be purchased and downloaded directly from Spitfire Audio for an attractive price of £99.00 GBP $149.00 US (subject to VAT within the EU) from here: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/products-page (Note that this virtual instrument sample library requires a full version of Native Instruments KONTAKT 5 to run.)
 

Plugin Alliance All Bundle 3.1 NEW PLUGINS

By
Bryan
-

 
I’ve been seeing the Millennia logo on the Plugin Alliance page for a long time now and it’s great to finally see some plugins from some of the most boutique of boutique gear. Not only did they release Millennia plugins, Plugin Alliance dropped a huge bomb by releasing new additions from Maag and Vertigo.

The Plugin Alliance All Bundle provides a collection of processors worthy of any world-class recording studio.  By starting with flawless emulations of legendary studio processors from elysia, Vertigo, Maag and SPL, then adding in innovative tools from cutting edge plugin developers like Noveltech and Pro Audio DSP, and then tossing in every single plugin from Brainworx’s coveted and comprehensive product line, the All Bundle provides hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of audio goodness for one amazingly low price.

Vertigo VSM-3
Awesome Tone & Color with Mastering Quality
The brainworx developed, Vertigo VSM-3 delivers the beloved badass harmonic generators of Vertigo Sound’s acclaimed VSM-2 Mix Satellite in plugin form. Liberated from hardware, VSM-2’s saturation and distortion tools can now process as many tracks and busses as your CPU can handle — and master outputs, too, of course — making them more useful than ever for recording and mixing.

Maag Audio EQ2
Flawless Emulation of TEC Award Nominated EQ
The Mäag EQ4 is one of Plugin Alliance’s most popular plugins. International pros rely on its tremendous musicality to enhance their tracks.  Now Mäag has released their TEC Award nominated EQ2 in a plugin version, bringing that Air Band® magic to a lower price point and creating the perfect compliment to the EQ4.
While the Mäag EQ2 provides some of the same audio magic of its bigger brother, it also adds features which make it the perfect companion to the EQ4.  While the EQ4’s wide, musical control over 4 frequency bands make it the best EQ on the market for sweetening your tracks, the EQ2’s second band offers greater control over center frequencies and bandwidth selections, making it a great tool for fixing problems or creating more radical changes.

Millennia NSEQ-2
Mastering Grade EQ w/ Tube and J-FET Signal Paths
Revered for its startling realism and transparent musicality, the Millennia NSEQ-2 is a go-to parametric EQ for many of the world’s leading studios and mastering houses. Its unique Twin Topology design and pure Class A transformer-less circuitry offers a simplicity which yields a powerful, sonically neutral, analog EQ.
The plugin version of the Millennia NSEQ-2 is a faithful digital model of this remarkable piece of ultra high-end hardware, brought to you by the modeling experts of Brainworx.  This brings a state-of-the-art boutique EQ to your DAW.

Millennia TCL-2
Faithful emulation of this super clean, but sonically flexible, dynamics tool
The Millennia TCL-2 delivers the stellar, transparent sonics of the beloved Millennia Twincom in plugin form.  The original hardware Twincom features Millennia’s “Twin Topology” technology, which gives users the ability to select either a full tube, or full J-FET/solid-state signal path.  Both the complete tube and solid-state signal paths have been faithfully modeled in the plugin version.  In addition, the plugin version provides the ability to process Mid (M) and Side (S) information separately, as well as a Dry / Wet signal control for each individual channel.

Price: (Introductory) $2849 (then back to $7122(
For more information on all of these plugins, visit http://plugin-alliance.com/en/products/all_bundle_v3_1.html

Manley Force Preamp

By
Bryan
-

 
The Manley Core, is a beast of a channel strip. Now you can get 4 of the preamps in one 2RU box. The Force gives you 4 channels of high voltage tube goodness like only Manley can give you. At $2500.00, you’re only paying about $650 per preamp. Thats not bad at all considering Manley gear can be pretty pricey. I could see this one ending up in a rack at our studios in the future.

Following on the success of their acclaimed CORE® reference channel strip, Manley Labs announces the Manley FORCE™, a four-channel high voltage vacuum tube microphone preamplifier carrying a retail price of only $2,500 USD.

From the CORE, the FORCE incorporates the same proprietary hand-wound Manley Iron® mic input transformers and 12AX7 vacuum tube amplifying stage operating from 300 V rails. Each channel includes a high-impedance, ¼” instrument input as well as an XLR microphone input. On the front, each channel features a 120 Hz high-pass filter, variable input-level pad, phase invert, selectable +48V phantom power, and a high/low gain switch. The CNC machined faceplate features seven-way LED metering for each channel providing instant visible feedback for audio levels. The universal power supply accepts any voltage or frequency from anywhere in the world facilitating travel for international recording projects. As with all Manley gear, each unit is painstakingly hand-wired using silver solder and audiophile-grade components, and hand-built in California.
 
From the onset I wanted this product to blow the doors off the price-to-value ratio, while retaining every single ounce of Manley quality, reliability, and integrity,” explains Manley Labs President and co-founder EveAnna Manley. “Everyone is wondering how we could possibly do this for $2,500. We achieved this by prioritizing what really matters-delivering that signature Manley sound-and by engineering it to build efficiently. We really paid attention to how it pops together.”
Handcrafted in the USA. Built like a tank. Designed to endure.

Price: $2500.00
I’m not completely sure when it’s coming out but for more information, visit http://www.manley.com

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