If you have considered using room correction software but remain unconvinced of its benefits then this interview from Sonarworks with Jonas Westling is worth a read.
Working with such luminaries as Lady Gaga, Newton Faulkner and Paul McCartney, it’s not surprising that this Grammy-nominated mix guru is another Swedish export worth remembering.
Westling now has his own studio based at Matrix Studios in London, where he spends most of his time mixing the music we all listen to.
Westling was once a skeptic of room correction software, but after running a test on what he thought was his perfect room and discovering the difference Sonarworks calibration software made, now he wouldn’t mix without it.
One you may have missed, a company called Metasytems have a cool iPad App called Metagrid.
In their words, “Metagrid is a flexible utility app that enables you to control your favorite Mac/Windows applications by sending keyboard shortcuts, text, MIDI messages or powerful macros directly from your iPads through WiFi or USB. You can simultaneously connect up to 4 iPads with Metagrid (including iPad Pro) to one computer to create a powerful remote control system for your desktop or laptop.
A nice feature is that Metagrid is smart and focuses on the app that is on top when you switch between them on your Mac.
Each button can be customized with different color, name and icon. You can choose from over 1600 icons including dedicated sets for:
Illustrator
Photoshop
Logic X Pro
Cubase
Studio One
Final Cut
Digital Performer
Buttons can also display views, which enables you to create complex menu systems. They also support repeat functionality on long touch.
VARIOUS ACTION TYPES AND POWERFUL MACROS
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
All characters available on a standard computer keyboard with a numeric pad in combination with the modifier keys (Cmd, Ctrl, Alt and Shift).
TEXT
Any text strings in English (no non-English characters allowed).
MIDI NOTE, PROGRAM CHANGE AND CC MESSAGES
MIDI messages with definable parameters like note value, note velocity, CC, CC value and MIDI channel.
APP-SPECIFIC COMMANDS
Complete sets of commands for popular DAW software (Logic X Pro, Cubase and Studio One)
MACROS
Metagrid enables you to create powerful chains of actions separated by time-based pause blocks. Combine keyboard shortcuts, text, MIDI messages and app-specific commands to streamline your workflow.
Thanks to Studio One user Pete Stewart for the tip-off.
Our good friends at Universal Audio have just announced v9.1 Software with 5 new plug-in’s and Multi-Unit Apollo Support for Windows 10 users, as well as Console 2 for Apollo FireWire multi-unit systems.
New in v9.1
SSL® 4000 E Channel Strip Collection
Moog® Multimode Filter Collection
OTO® BISCUIT 8-bit Effects
Fuchs® Overdrive Supreme 50 Amplifier
Brainworx® bx_subsynth Subharmonic Synth
Thunderbolt multi-unit with Windows 10
Console 2 for Apollo FireWire multi-unit
Some Love For Windows Users!
With UAD Software v9.1, Windows 10 PC users now have the same mix and match capabilities as Mac users.
Cascade up to four Apollo Thunderbolt audio interfaces for up to 64 x 64 channels of analogue I/O.* Up to six UAD-2 or Apollo devices can be combined, allowing for UAD-2 Satellite Thunderbolt DSP Accelerators to be added for additional plug-in processing power.
If you are a FireWire user then there is good news for you too. UAD Software v9.1 extends Console 2 software support to users of multiple Apollo FireWire devices, offering dynamic new workflow options such as high-resolution graphics, dynamic application resizing, Channel Strip windows, Drag and Drop plug-ins, UAD Monitor/Record per input, and more. All Apollo interfaces now feature Console 2 software.
Compatibility
New UAD Software v9.1 Compatibility Features:
Connect up to four Apollo Thunderbolt audio interfaces to Thunderbolt 3-equipped Windows 10 PCs for up to 64 x 64 Analog I/O
Mix-and-match the entire series of Apollo Thunderbolt audio interfaces — plus UAD-2 Satellite Thunderbolt devices for DSP expansion — up to six total devices on either Mac or PC
Console 2 software for two Apollo FireWire or two Apollo 16 FireWire units
* Qualified Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt adapter required for Thunderbolt 3 connections, limit one Apollo Twin. ** MacOS Sierra requires UAD Software v9. Previous versions of UAD Software are incompatible.
New Plug-ins
SSL 4000 E Channel Strip Collection — $299*
*$149 upgrade price from SSL E Channel Strip Legacy plug-in.
Moog Multimode Filter Collection — $249*
*$99 upgrade price from Moog Multimode Filter Legacy plug-in.
Russ takes a look at MODO Bass from IK Multimedia to see if physical modelling can give those needing great sounding bass parts the results they need.
IK Multimedia claim that MODO Bass can give great sounds with unprecedented control – is this hype or happiness?
What IK Say About MODO Bass
MODO BASS® is the first physically modeled bass virtual instrument that gives you an unprecedented realistic performance for your bass tracks.
As a producer, you want the best possible bass sound you can get… you want realism, credibility and authenticity that delivers the most accurate and inspiring performance. Sometimes you just can’t hire the right bass player, and some virtual instruments out there can leave you flat and uninspired.
Enter MODO BASS — the industry’s first true physically modeled instrument from the leader in analog modeling technology. 8 years in the making and developed in collaboration with one of Europe’s oldest universities, MODO BASS is a completely new breed of instrument that delivers the best of both worlds: the realism and sound of an instrument being played by a master musician and the convenience of a plug-in virtual instrument.
But MODO BASS isn’t a virtual instrument by definition, it’s a completely new technology that redefines realism from a computer based instrument. MODO BASS is the first technology of its kind that models the entire process of playing bass. Every component that contributes to the unique tonal properties of a bass player playing an instrument has been modeled, and the effects of each component on the other ones — the interactions between each tone variable — has been recreated to give you a dynamic, living breathing and ever-changing performance. You see, traditional virtual instruments are sample-based, meaning that sound is produced by triggering recorded samples of instruments. MODO BASS isn’t a sample-based instrument, but rather a completely new technology where sound is generated by recreating the physical properties of a real instrument — everything that makes an instrument create sound is physically modeled and sound is synthesized in real time.
Real Time Sound Synthesis
Unlike traditional sample-based virtual instruments, MODO BASS utilizes a breakthrough technology to breathe life into bass tracks. Unlike traditional sample-based virtual instruments, MODO BASS utilizes modal synthesis technology and an ultra-optimized sound engine to model each string as a nonlinear resonator.
Each string’s acoustic behavior is determined by its physical parameters, as well modeling the action of the player as a nonlinear physical interaction with certain areas on the string surface and the interaction of the string with fretboard, body and pick-ups of the instrument. Then using IK’s cutting edge analog modeling expertise, the amp and effects rig of the electric bass is added to the sound chain.
All of this gives MODO BASS the ability to create sound in real time based on the construction and components of the bass combined with the player technique, finesse and the ever-changing dynamic interactions between the two. In short, MODO BASS brings — for the first time — ever-changing, hyper-realistic, living-breathing bass sound and performance to the world of virtual instruments. And since it doesn’t use samples, MODO BASS has an extremely small memory footprint.
Studio One is a powerhouse of a DAW when it comes to Sound Design. Features like Event FX, time-stretching, Extended FX chains and ‘drag and drop to browser’ Audio Exports lend themselves very nicely to anyone using it in this capacity. But there’s one area, where nothing beats a solid 3rd party application – and thats organizing and cataloging your media.
Having an application thats capable of metadata tagging, and streamlined searching options is a must for anyone serious about Sound Design. On top of that, take into account modern day high speed internet and cloud based storage, and there’s some really amazing opportunities available.
Check out this fantastic find by Mike Thornton from our sister site Pro Tools Expert. Mike is an experienced Sound Designer / Post Production Editor with more years experience than some of you have been alive. So needless to say, when he speaks, I listen.
Here’s what he had to say:
“I have talked about Soundly a couple of times on the podcast as my Find Of The Week even though it has been in public beta for a long time. It is already my go-to sound effects librarian software and now it has been officially launched.”
What Is Soundly?
It is billed as “a cloud-based sound effects library and workflow tool” but it also does a very good job of cataloging sound effect collections on local drives as well as being a cloud-based sound library with access to thousands of premium sound effects and a powerful workflow tool.
In Use Summary
My Thoughts And Experiences With Soundly
Soundly lets you search your local sound libraries, edit and place them to on the timetime instantly. That for me is the main feature in Soundly, when I am working in Pro Tools using Workspace, if I have a 5 minute atmos track, I’ve got to import the whole thing, drop it somewhere else on the timeline, audition it, trim it down to what I need, and move it to the correct place on the timeline. With Soundly, I simply play it, select the bit I want, and drag just what I want straight into the right place on the Pro Tools timeline. Job done.
I was also impressed at how Soundly catalogued my 50,000+ sound effects that use a range of different metadata systems. It just worked its way through my libraries, and now searching for the right sound effect in Soundly is quick and easy, and unlike Workspace in Pro Tools, I no longer have to look across different fields, the metadata is all there in one place in Soundly.
Now you may be saying that this isn’t new, there are other sound effect librarian packages that do similar things and you would be right but that isn’t all Soundly does.
What if I don’t have ‘that sound effect’ I am looking for? This is where the cloud based side of Soundly can kick in. You can now search their cloud based libraries, audition the sounds, when you have found ‘the-one’ then you can buy it and bring into your session all from within the Soundly application.
More Info
Where Can I get Soundly?
The Soundly application is available for download and is available for Mac or PC and is FREE to download and includes access to 300 sounds.
Want More?
The Premium SaaS version includes 6000+ premium sound effects, full sound catalog indexing, access to the Soundly store for specialized in-app purchases, and access to 100,000+ more sounds from Freesound.org to use within Soundly all for only $14.99 per month.
Thomas Trelnes, video editor at Uhort in Oslo, the home of Soundly, told us….
Soundly is the fastest SFX tool I have ever used. I counted my steps to get SFX from my previous tool into Premiere Pro; it was 11 steps! With Soundly, I’ve taken that down to down to 3 steps which can literally save me hours on a project.
Peder Jørgensen, Lead Developer and co-founder at Soundly explains why it has taken so long to bring Soundly to market…
After an intensive public testing for a full year (and 5 years in development), Soundly is finally out of beta and ready to meet the world. Our beta testers tell us we have created the world’s easiest way to get and use sound effects – a true game-changer for everyone involved in content creation.
Features
Core Features In Soundly
Instant Search to quickly find the sounds across cloud libraries + local files
Access sound effects in the cloud from anywhere in the world
Tweak & Edit pitch, speed and reverse on any sound, and hear the results in real-time
The Store allows additional free and premium sound effects libraries – immediately delivered
Import Local Files – including metadata – to easily manage your existing SFX collections
Drag and Drop whole sound files – or snippets – from the Soundly cloud straight into your project
Access the extensive Freesound.org library directly from within Soundly
Smart, lossless compression for lightning fast transfers
Index local wav, aiff, mp3 and flac files up to 192khz 32bit from mono to 5.1.
Reads metadata from production music libraries in mp3 format
Built on Google’s infrastructure for unparalleled redundancy, safety and speed
Available for both Mac and Windows
Pricing
Soundly Pricing Plans
Free – 300 sound effects included – you can use the free version on your local libraries
Premium – 14.99 per month, with 6000+ premium sound effects, full sound catalog indexing, advanced store, includes access to Freesound to use within Soundly
I would like to see more libraries being available on Soundly. In the Store section there are both Free and Paid For libraries but it is good to see the SoundBits libraries in the store built into the Soundly app. I really hope that we will see more libraries added and there are all searchable too. So to independent sound effects producers, pease talk to Soundly and see if you can get your libraries into Soundly too like Saroo has from SoundBits.
Latest Version
New Version Of The Soundly Software
If you have been using it during the public beta like me then make sure you download the latest Version – v1.3
Whats fixed/new:
Greatly improve performance on large (1TB+) local libraries.
Search wild cars. Remove words from search with minus (-) – “Car -door” will find all files with the word “car” that does not have the word “door”.
Share playlists. You can now share playlists in the cloud with other users.
Change the order of your cloud and local libraries by dragging and dropping in the library view.
Soundly now remember your layout, ordering of columns, width of library view etc.
improved sorting on searches in local libraries.
Code signing. The code is now signed which means no more warnings when downloading it off the internet.
Fixed a bug with some 32 bit wave files distorting.
New upload function. This is a big one for multi-users who upload their libraries. The old version could be a bit unstable especially on windows, but it is now stable and it is what’s been taking up most of our time since the last release.
Easier sharing of libraries added contacts and direct access to all the users in your multi-user account.
Logarithmic volume fader
Remove files from your local library! Finally we got this in 🙂 Sorry it took so long.
Right-click a library to search only in that library.
Russ has told me that he’s tested it in Studio One, and it works brilliantly, so for anyone who’s into Sound Design, feel free to give it a shot, and let us know how its working out for you.
Great news for studio One users. Our friends at Synchro Arts have just announced a permanent 50% price reduction for VocALign Project 3. What’s more, the trial and full licenses use simple, iLok computer-based authorization, so a USB key is no longer required.
NEW Recommended Retail Price (RRP) not including taxes are:
$149 in North, Central and South America €129 in Europe £99 in UK and elsewhere
Since 1995, VocALign has been the ‘must have’ time alignment tool in any audio professional’s workflow. It provides fast time-saving and quality benefits when tightening double-tracked vocals and backing harmonies, aligning instrument tracks or sound effects,
Managing Director of Synchro Arts Jeff Bloom, explains the new price structure
“For many years, we’ve been asked to make VocALign accessible to a much wider range of audio producers and editors. This new release, VocALign Project 3.3, is our response to these requests. We’ve lowered the price – yet still provide the same power and operations, and added simpler computer-based licensing.”
As before, one VocALign Project 3.3 license will authorize all of the following versions: Audio Suite, AAX, AU and VST3 plug-ins as well as a stand-alone version.
VocALign’s early life included use in music production ranging from Shania Twain and Steely Dan to Black Eyed Peas.
Top producers and engineers continue to praise VocALign:
“VocALign is, without doubt, the unparalleled and pre-eminent tool for tight audio alignment and replacement of any sound that you throw at it. The fact that it’s been around so long shows that it just WORKS and is unrivalled at what it does.” Khaliq Glover aka Khaliq-O-Vision – Grammy Winning Engineer/Author/Producer: (Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Justin Timberlake, Barry Manilow, Angie Stone)
“VocALign is an extreme time saver. For the times when I have 48 background vocals tracks in a session, VocALign demolishes the time it takes to align and clean them up. Unbelievable.” Kevin Churko – Producer, Sound Engineer, Songwriter and Musician:
(Ozzy Osborne, Papa Roach, Shania Twain)
“I use VocALign to tighten harmonies and doubled vocals, and frankly I couldn’t live without it. It would take days of strenuous tracking to get harmonies that tight.” Val Garay – Grammy Award Winning Producer: (Marvin Gaye, Elton John, Dolly Parton and films including Steven Spielberg’s ‘Little Giants’)
Trials, Downloads and Purchasing
To help new Studio One users get up to speed, Synchro Arts have created new DAW-based Quick Start pages for the most popular DAWs. Click here to be shown information on workflows, tips, downloads and 14-day trial licenses for the right version of VocALign Project (or our other products) for that DAW.
Full licenses can be purchased from Synchro Arts’ dealers or on-line from www.synchroarts.com/store.
Over the next few days, we will post a video which will go over all the new features, so watch this space.
Paul has just got himself a Rhodes and is itching to play it (or do his best to play it) at every given opportunity. So in this video he compares it to a few different VSTI’s and is surprised at the results of the patches on Presence XT.
The Fender ’55 Tweed Deluxe Plug-in is the first 100% UA-developed guitar amplifier plug-in exclusively for Apollo interfaces and UAD-2 hardware.
One of Leo Fender’s first and finest amp designs, the Fender Deluxe was introduced in 1946. After various circuit tweaks, Fender eventually landed on the now historic “wide-panel” 5E3 Deluxe in 1955. This amplifier’s touch-sensitivity has a dynamic range from clean and sweet, to overdriven raunch that’s made it a go-to recording amp for the likes of Larry Carlton, Neil Young, Mike Campbell, Daniel Lanois, and Billy Gibbons.
More than two years extensive research and development by UAD, with the intention of capturing every single component of two “golden unit” 1955 Fender Deluxe amps — from vintage speaker paper and tubes to filter caps and transformers — the essential ingredients that make the 1955 Deluxe an iconic “secret weapon” recording amp.
Featuring an assortment of microphone combinations, as well as three different classic speaker types, the Fender ’55 Tweed Deluxe plug-in includes Universal Audio’s Unison™ technology; Apollo users’ guitar pickups will see the exact impedance load as if plugging into a vintage 1955 Fender Deluxe — a feature found only on Apollo audio interfaces.
Fender ’55 Tweed Deluxe Plug-In Key Features
An authentic end-to-end circuit emulation of an original 1955 Fender “5E3” Tweed Deluxe amplifier, exclusively for UAD-2 and Apollo interfaces
Choose from three different speaker types: stock 1955 Jensen P12R, Celestion 25-watt Greenback, and JBL D120F*
Choose different microphone combinations and placements — without phase issues
Unison technology for Apollo interfaces offers authentic tone, touch, and feel of original 1955 Fender Tweed Deluxe amplifier thanks to impedance matching
Developed for the UAD Powered Plug-Ins platform by Softube, the Chandler Limited Curve Bender Mastering EQ plug-in is designed to be an exacting emulation of this ultra-boutique, inductor-based EQ. Based on the vintage EMI TG12345 desk from Abbey Road Studios, the same one used to record Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and The Beatles’ Abbey Road, Chandler Limited’s Curve Bender Mastering EQ takes the warm, legendary sonics of the vintage EMI unit, and expands it into a powerful mastering EQ.
Endorsed by Chandler Limited founder Wade Goeke, Softube emulated the Chandler Limited’s Curve Bender circuits end-to-end, including its filter inductors, germanium transistors, transformers, and circuit nonlinearities. This allows the Curve Bender plug-in to retain the hardware’s rich harmonics and vintage tone.
Exacting emulation of this modern classic EQ for mixing and mastering, fully authenticated by Chandler Limited
Based on the vintage EMI TG12345 desk used to record The Beatles and Pink Floyd
Models entire Chandler Limited Curve Bender electronic path including transformers and circuit nonlinearities
Plug-in only features include Mid/Side functionality and channel linking
Price $299
Sonnox Oxford Limiter v2 Plug-in
The Sonnox Oxford Limiter v2 plug-in is well known being able to transparently increases the volume, density, and presence without losing transients or dynamics. Featuring the latest generation of Oxford Limiter’s inter-sample peak (ISP) detection — introduced for the first time on the UAD platform — this powerful plug-in is an essential tool for engineers looking for an uncolored, accurate limiter as a “final stage” for their masters.
Being an intersample peak limiter makes this an excellent tool to use in loudness workflows where we are working very close to digital headroom as the difference between True Peak, which is what intersample limiters provide and sample peak can be up to 6dB and so when working within a dB or two this is really important.
Sonnox Oxford Limiter v2 Plug-In Key Features:
Professional mastering-grade peak limiting with attack, release and variable soft-knee
Enhance section to increase perceived loudness without gain pumping effects
Auto Comp fixes reconstruction errors without losing overall loudness, while conforming to the industry’s true peak measurement standard (ITU-R BS. 1770-4)
Comprehensive high-quality dither and noise shaping options
This month we are giving you the chance to win one of three copies of the brand new version of Revoice Pro from Synchro Arts.
Revoice Pro’s unique APT (Audio Performance Transfer) process can automatically and instantly transfer the timing, pitch, intonation or loudness features from one signal to one or more target signals. This is perfect for matching the timing and tuning of double tracks or syncing ADR – and because you control the tightness, you keep it sounding natural. APT is powered by an advanced version of VocALign.
If double tracks haven’t been recorded, Revoice Pro’s Doubler process creates incredibly natural-sounding ones.
Synchro Arts have designed the Warp function to provide highest quality manual (and automatic) time and pitch correction/adjustment along with the APT and Doubler functions and has an improved graphic interface provides fast, manual manipulation of audio timing and pitch with stunningly transparent audio quality. Automatic grid-based pitch correction is also available.
Integration with most DAWs is fast and easy, using simple Revoice Pro Link plug-ins or fast and familiar drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste operations.
New Features Added In Revoice Pro v3.2
Real time preview of note Pitch in Warp and APT Process (with optional reference tracks(s) playback)
Faster processing of stacked lead and harmony parts and faster workflows with your favourite DAWs.
Musical Scales added
Tempo grids can be displayed and loaded from MIDI files
Many improvements to operations and speed.
Automation parameters for Doubler
OS X – Drag Drop support for Digital Performer 8
Why Use Revoice Pro?
Revoice Pro can process monophonic instruments as well as voices and works with any Windows or Mac OS X DAW including Studio One, Pro Tools, Cubase, Nuendo, Logic Pro, and many more. Audio is transfered either by Revoice Pro Link plug-ins, drag and drop, copy and paste or imported audio files.
Revoice Pro is in a class of its own, easily and quickly doing tasks that even experienced editors consider time-consuming, difficult or downright impossible.
The workflow is fast and pretty easy to learn, but to be honest – it has to be different – because there is nothing else that does what Revoice Pro can do.
So be prepared to watch some videos, do some reading and invest some time to learn the basics. Once you do, as users tell us, you will get your editing done efficiently and professionally in a fraction of the time normally required.
What Revoice Pro Can Do For You
Tighten the timing, pitch and vibrato of “stacked” lead and backing vocals or instrumental tracks.
Create one or more realistic double tracks from a single input track.
Modify signal timing and pitch manually with the fastest and easy-to-use graphic interface.
Lip-sync dialogue (ADR) and vocals by the same or different performers, even when there are noisy guide tracks.
Change the inflection in dialog (ADR, voice-overs etc.) with the desired Guide pattern provided by recording the director or dialog editor.
Revoice Pro accomplishes these tasks with astonishing speed, accuracy and quality, saving hours of editing.
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }
/* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */
Enter Here For A Chance To Win
Email Address
First Name
Last Name
Which DAW do you use?
Pro Tools
Studio One
Cubase
Nuendo
Logic Pro
Digital Performer
Other
//s3.amazonaws.com/downloads.mailchimp.com/js/mc-validate.js(function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]=’EMAIL’;ftypes[0]=’email’;fnames[1]=’FNAME’;ftypes[1]=’text’;fnames[2]=’LNAME’;ftypes[2]=’text’;fnames[3]=’MMERGE3′;ftypes[3]=’dropdown’;}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true);
Terms And Conditions:
One entry per email address; one win per person.
No cash alternative
Some regions may prohibit shipping of this product. If this is the case, we cannot offer an alternative.
You are responsible for any import and purchase taxes that may be applied by the tax authorities in your region.
By entering, you are giving Studio One Expert and Synchro Arts permission to email you with news and offers that may be of interest to you. You can unsubscribe at any time after the contest has ended.
Judges decisions are final. No correspondence will be entered into.
Pro Tools Users Blog 