German-American plug-in maker UJAM announces the release of CIRCUITS, a plug-in of the best-selling Beatmaker series. It creates the perfect back-to-future drum groove with the sound of classic drum machines.
CIRCUITS brings analog warmth and classic grooves to let the good vibes through. Its sound instantly pulls listeners back to the 70s with beautiful imperfections which are impossible to create with digital alone.
The special control BOOST carves out the mids, cranks the sub, and adds shimmer to the highs all once, straight into a slammed compressor for maximum impact. Or set the control negative for a tight mid-range knock!
CIRCUITS adds to the Beatmaker series including BERSERK (dubstep), RICO (Latin pop grooves), IDOL (modern K-Pop), GLORY (trap and modern hip-hop), NEMESIS (cyberpunk beats), KANDY (billboard charts pop), HYPE (progressive house), EDEN 2 (HYPE’s EDM sister), DOPE 2 (90s hip hop), HUSTLE 2 (trap & grime), VICE (80s synthwave) and VOID (drum & bass).
CIRCUITS is available now in VST 2, VST 3, AU 2, and AAX formats and also as a free, fully functional 30-day trial at ujam.com. The plug-in runs natively on M1.
Beatmaker CIRCUITS is now available at ujam.com for an introductory offer of 49 EUR / USD until March 5th 2023. After that, the single plug-in sells for 69 EUR / USD. Owners of any other Beatmaker are entitled to a time-limited loyalty offer of 29 EUR / USD until March 5th. The Beatmaker Bundle sells for 499 EUR / USD instead of 897 EUR / USD if bought individually. Beatmakers are natively Apple Silicon compatible and currently available in VST 2, AU 2, and AAX formats for all major DAWs.
UJAM is a German-American maker of music technology co-founded by Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams. With the Plug-in series Virtual Pianist, Usynth, Groovemate, Symphonic Elements, Virtual Guitarist, Virtual Bassist, Virtual Drummer, Beatmaker and Finisher, and a range of software solutions, UJAM helps people to make music.
NEW YORK, February 21, 2023 – Heavyocity Media announces the release of UNCHARTED 88, a new breed of deeply sampled and mysteriously edgy organic percussion that will get inside your head. This is a new chapter of the DAMAGE journey that reminds us all why the piano is truly a percussive instrument. With over 500 sources housed in the notable Damage 2 engine, UNCHARTED 88 delivers a powerful collection of unnerving percussive hits and loops like never before. Much like Damage 2, all of the content in UNCHARTED 88 works in three distinct instruments (Ensemble Designer, Loop Designer, and Kit Designer), each providing a uniquely inspiring and customizable workflow.
Chock-full of over 18,600 samples and 11 GB of profoundly deep and evocative percussion sounds, UNCHARTED 88 will push your sonic palette into UNCHARTED territory. The Heavyocity team dismantled and reduced the original DAMAGE piano down to its rawest, most intimate-sounding sources. By utilizing its inner components (the strings, the iron, and the wood), the team captured prepared performances (using hammers, rocket rods, coins, and picks), and combined it with their signature DAMAGE sound design — offering a dramatically different take on what you might expect from a percussion library, yet fully capable of laying the groundwork for today’s cinematic hybrid scores.
“UNCHARTED 88 fills a pocket in the Damage 2 palette,” said Neil Goldberg, Co-Founder, and Partner, Heavyocity. “By continuing the story and bringing forth a new percussive flavor that will wreak havoc in any score. Make no mistake, UNCHARTED 88 unlocks a new realm of expressive percussion for modern composers.”
And for a limited time, Heavyocity is offering UNCHARTED 88 for $119 (reg. $149). Offer ends March 3, 2023.
As a “powered-by-Kontakt” instrument UNCHARTED 88 offers all playback and sound-shaping functionality through the full version of Kontakt 6 or the free Kontakt 6 Player.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
UNCHARTED 88 will be available at Heavyocity.com/UNCHARTED-88
Release date: February 21, 2023
UNCHARTED 88 – $149 USD
Limited-Time UNCHARTED 88 Offer – $119 USD
Offer Ends: March 3, 2023
ABOUT HEAVYOCITY MEDIA
Heavyocity Media is a developer of award-winning virtual instruments and effects for computer-based music production, composition, and sound design. Heavyocity’s critically-acclaimed products push the boundaries of creativity, providing new and unique tools for professional composers and producers.
The FM oscillators of FM-X and HALion/FM Lab are the same, but there is no straight way to dump the settings to HALion. Furthermore, the architecture of MONTAGE, e.g., the effects, up to eight elements, the modulators, etc., are too different from HALion/FM Lab. Important settings will get lost if you import just the oscillator.
You can read out the settings of the FM oscillator from the display and transfer them to FM Lab and it will sound the same. But, that’s only a workaround and the modulators, etc. would still be missing.
There are much fewer sounds available (free) for FM-X than for DX7 or TX81Z.
Therefore, we decided to support just DX7 and TX81Z SYX files, which are the most common and most important formats. And, you get tons of these presets from the internet.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA: having previously worked with Chris Lord-Alge to commercially create the 2U rack-mount Bluey F.E.T. LIMITING AMPLIFIER, actively reverse-engineering what made the American mix engineer extraordinaire’s beloved ‘Bluey’ FET (Field Effect Transistor) compressor central to working his hit musical magic after many mods, component replacements, and upgrades, boutique audio company Black Lion Audio is proud to announce the availability of Bluey 500 — formed perfectly to take that unmistakable blue-striped compression mojo into 500-series racks the world over as a two-slot space-saving device without sacrificing its bigger brother’s sought-after sonic attributes — as of February 9…
As American mix engineer extraordinaire Chris Lord-Alge always relied on a rack of original blue-striped true peak limiters to work his hit musical magic, he hitherto encountered one little issue in doing so. Simply put, one golden-eared example exhibited a certain something that the others did not. Needless to say, this resulted in Black Lion Audio being invited to study
his beloved ‘Bluey’ — taking pride of place in that all-important rack — in order to gain an understanding of what made it sound so special, especially when applied to lead vocals where it always achieved incredible grit. Get this, though: the boutique audio company’s diagnosis revealed that the ‘happy accidents’ and odd fixes applied to the unique unit in question over the years just to keep it in working order had ultimately — unwittingly, even — created a monster 1176! But by analyzing this singular and unique piece of studio ‘unobtanium’ in exacting detail, Black Lion Audio ably succeeded in recreating that beast of a compressor, commercially making it available to everyone as an appropriately-named 2U rack-mount — namely, Bluey F.E.T. LIMITING AMPLIFIER. And all with Chris Lord-Alge’s hands-on blessing.
Fast-forwarding to today sees Black Lion Audio applying its talented team’s technical know-how to bring that same blue-striped compression mojo much loved by Chris Lord-Alge to the production table as an appropriately-named 500-series unit, unbelievably shoehorning in everything that made its Bluey F.E.T. LIMITING AMPLIFIER bigger brother sound so amazing — all the same (INPUT, OUTPUT, ATTACK, RELEASE, COMP MIX, RATIO, and METER) controls, features, and I/O are intact, in other words, while also including a convenient front panel-positioned RCA jack to allow a stereo LINK option.
Far from failing to stop there, though, in order to get the exacting detail that Chris Lord-Alge has enjoyed from his beloved ‘Bluey’, Black Lion Audio not only used custom Cinemag transformers but actually recreated his console’s insert path and built it right into Bluey 500 to provide its users with that same console feel. For anyone seeking some True Blue — Without 2U, to quote from the boutique audio company collectively, they now know where to turn. After all, everyone deserves a li’l’ ‘Bluey’ in their life!
Bluey 500 is available to purchase via Black Lion Audio’s growing global network of dealers/distributors (https://www.blacklionaudio.com/dealers) with a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) of $699.00 USD and an SSP (Suggested Selling Price) of €932.00 EUR (including VAT).
For further information, please visit the dedicated Bluey 500 webpage here: https://www.blacklionaudio.com/store/compressors/bluey-500-fet-limiter/
About Black Lion Audio (www.blacklionaudio.com)
Founded in 2006, Black Lion Audio is a boutique audio company based in Chicago. It takes pride in providing customers with outstanding quality gear for their recording studios at ridiculously affordable prices. As such, the company has built a reputation for supplying superior quality sound in a cost-effective manner within the space of a few short years. Yet, given the current economic climate, it is no wonder that major labels, project studios, software companies, and high-profile tracking and mix engineers make up a significant portion of the company’s client base. Indeed, its work can be heard in award-winning major motion picture scores and soundtracks, major television shows and commercials, as well as being utilized by prestigious organizations and major label acts alike.
© 2023 Black Lion Audio
A breakthrough pedal for playing AI Machine Modeling software-generated Tone Models live,and the latest addition to the revolutionary TONEX capturing ecosystem
With the new TONEX librarian feature, presets can be quickly organized, archived, and transferred to the pedal’s banks, for gigs or recording sessions and a limitless supply of sonic inspiration, anywhere. Finally, there’s a smart and affordable solution to travel and play with the world’s best rigs, including one’s own.
A Seamless Ecosystem of Tones
TONEX is more than just a pedal, it’s an ecosystem of tone with a full range of hardware, software, and apps to transport tones everywhere. Tone Models can be played not only from the TONEX Pedal but also from the included TONEX software and TONEX iOS app. Users can go seamlessly from a DAW and plug-ins for studio production to a mobile device for impromptu practicing, and now to the stage for performing.
Unlimited Amp and Cab Rigs in One Pedal
TONEX’s groundbreaking technology lets users model everything from a single pedal to a full-pedal, amp-and-cab rig. TONEX Pedal goes even further, providing all the tools needed to shape sound live on stage. The pedal can load 150 separate Tone Model presets in any combination of pedal, amp, and whole-rig models. Users can also load and swap in their own IRs or use IK’s award-winning multiple impulse response VIR™ cabinet and mic simulation technology built right in. TONEX presets can also be further edited with an advanced noise gate, analog-modeled EQ and compressor, five stereo reverbs derived from the award-winning AmpliTube X-SPACE pedal, and more.
High-end Design for Pristine Tone
With 24-bit, 192 kHz processing, massively wide 5 Hz-24 kHz response, and 123 dB of dynamic range, TONEX Pedal ensures each instrument’s tone is as good as it’s ever been heard even before it hits TONEX’s incredible modeling. These high-end audio features, combined with the astonishing capacity of AI Machine Modeling technology to capture the true-to-life sound and feeling behaviors of real amps in a way that is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing, make playing TONEX Pedal a whole new performance experience.
Full Studio Integration
TONEX Pedal tone experience goes beyond the stage. The included TONEX software not only models any rig but also works as a standalone or a plug-in integrated with a DAW or directly with AmpliTube 5 to enjoy the exact same tone used live in studio productions. And for maximum convenience, TONEX Pedal also includes a full version of AmpliTube 5 and its over 180 iconic gear models, to integrate Tone Models within the most powerful amp and effects software on the planet. Plus TONEX Pedal also doubles as a 24-bit/96 kHz USB audio interface, so no other gear is needed to plug into a studio for recording and tone-tweaking.
Tour-ready Build and Features
Designed and manufactured in Italy, TONEX Pedal features a compact chassis made from anodized aluminum that can withstand years of tour abuse. The stereo output can also be configured as mono with and without the cab sim for maximum flexibility. With full MIDI in/out, TONEX Pedal can be connected to a complete programmable pedalboard and real-time control can be added over any parameter using the expression pedal input.
Pricing and Availability
TONEX Pedal is shipping now and available from the IK Multimedia online store and from IK authorized dealers worldwide, for only $/€399.99* – including AmpliTube 5, TONEX MAX, and power supply.
*Pricing excludes taxes.
For more information about TONEX Pedal or to see it in action, please visit:
www.ikmultimedia.com/
www.ikmultimedia.com/
Steinberg unveils the latest version of its high-end sampling and sound creation system, with new FM synthesis, a new Spectral Zone, a sampled open-tuned guitar, and much more adding to the comprehensive feature set that has established HALion as one of the most powerful sample and synthesis platforms today.
HAMBURG, Germany — Steinberg today announced the immediate availability of HALion 7, the latest increment of its sound creation powerhouse that brings an array of new and exciting features to the table. Alongside this major release, updates to HALion Sonic and the all-encompassing Absolute collection offer an impressive range of sounds and instruments.
HALion is renowned for combining an outstanding sampling engine with the very latest in synthesis technology. Users can easily harness HALion’s in-depth capabilities, accessing each nuance through comprehensive sound-shaping parameters that turn HALion into the go-to sound design instrument for creative musicians and discerning professionals.
Version 7 takes HALion to the next level, delivering a detail-rich sound design environment.
It introduces the power of FM and spectral synthesis, offers a new approach to modulation, envelope customization, many new processing effects, and much more to make the latest iteration of HALion an essential successor.
HALion 7 introduces two completely new zones: the FM Zone and the Spectral Zone. Dedicated to FM synthesis, the FM Zone combines up to eight operators that can be used as carriers or sent to feedback loops, and its algorithm designer helps to create every imaginable FM sound — from classic DX7 tones to present-day sounds. The Spectral Zone features a spectral oscillator with a newly developed time stretch and resynthesis algorithm which works great even at extreme settings and also transforms samples into new sounds. But its true power unfolds with the included formant shift, spectral filter, purity, and inharmonicity.
Further highlights of this new version are the instruments, FM Lab, and Tales. FM Lab is an eight-operator FM synthesizer that features algorithms from the Yamaha DX7, FM-X, and TX81Z, 20 high-quality effects in a five-insert rack, many modulation options, and an arpeggiator for creating evolving sounds. Tales is an open-tuned guitar, with each string individually sampled as open notes and tuned to different pitches, plus recording articulations like muted notes and harmonics.
For easier workflows, HALion now features new modulation rows, allowing users to click directly on the modulation destination or source for further edits, as well as assigning modulation sources by easy drag and drop. The User Envelope now offers pre-designed shapes and allows customers to design completely customized envelope shapes as well.
Users also will enjoy the new look of HALion 7, thanks to an updated user interface and redesigned MediaBay, allowing for easier access to HALion’s content and controls. Its uncluttered structure and context-sensitive search make browsing for the right samples, layers, programs, and presets more efficient. Improved menus, zones, and icons, the optional auto-size for macro view, and preconfigured screen sets for different use cases also make using HALion faster and more intuitive.
HALion further focuses on wavetable synthesis, introducing new tools and providing a new dimension to the advanced synth engine. Users can create wavetables with up to 1,024 individual waves and load multichannel files in up to 5.1 surround. Its new set of tools offers maximum control and accuracy for wavetable editing.
Other new features are included in the Macro Page Editor, such as working deeply with SVG resources, for developing creative instruments.
HALion 7 uses the identity-based Steinberg Licensing system, first introduced last year, which offers significant new flexibility without the need for a physical copy-protection device.
Other updates to the HALion family include HALion Sonic 7, which is now the free player for
HALion libraries and replaces HALion Sonic SE. The new HALion Sonic 7 Collection comprises the HALion Sonic 7 player, all instruments from HALion 6 plus the brand-new FM Lab and Tales instruments. With Absolute 6, customers receive all the instruments and expansions known from the previous version of Absolute plus the new HALion 7.
“HALion 7 comes with endless sonic possibilities for music production and sound design. With the many additions like FM and spectral synthesis, new advanced tools, and outstanding instruments, HALion delivers infinite inspiration for creating unique sounds,” says Florian Haack, senior marketing manager at Steinberg.
HALion 7 is available from selected dealers and through the Steinberg Online Shop for 349 euros and 349.99 US dollars. The HALion Sonic 7 Collection is available exclusively through the Steinberg Online Shop for 249 euros and 249.99 US dollars. Absolute 6 for 499 euros and 499.99 US dollars. Prices may vary according to the region.
A range of downloadable updates and upgrades, crossgrades, and education versions are exclusively available through the Steinberg Online Shop.
Customers who have activated HALion 6, Absolute 5 or earlier versions since November 1, 2022, are eligible for a free, downloadable grace period update to the latest version.
Tales and FM Lab are available as standalone libraries for HALion Sonic 7 for 119 euros or 119.99 US dollars and 149 euros or 149.99 US dollars, respectively.
Product page: www.steinberg.net/halion
YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/VSTinstrumentsplugins
Steinberg is known the world over for its music and audio software and hardware solutions. The company has been developing, manufacturing and selling innovative products for musicians and producers in the music, film, post-production, and multimedia industries since 1984. Steinberg products are used by Grammy and Oscar award-winning composers, engineers, and producers. The company also offers business customers license management and copy-protection systems.
All trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective owners.
— The world’s most authentic emulation of the legendary Leslie rotary speaker cabinet, now available as a UAD plug‑in —
For the first time ever, UA has implemented their industry-leading emulation techniques to bring music creators the timeless tone and pitch‑modulating swirl of the Leslie Type 147 rotary speaker, heard on countless psychedelic rock, R&B, jazz, soul, and funk records.
Going beyond other Leslie emulations, UA captured the Type 147’s complete circuit and tube power amp as well as its unique three‑dimensional movement and tonal range with meticulously‑placed vintage microphones. The result is an eerily authentic emulation of the rich overtones, harmonics, and immersive quality that made the Type 147 one of the most coveted modulation effects ever made.
With carefully crafted presets tailored for vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, and more, Waterfall Rotary Speaker allows musicians to dial in classic Leslie effects effortlessly.
Waterfall Rotary Speaker is now available natively as a UAD plug‑in for $199, and on a subscription with UAD Spark.
Waterfall Rotary Speaker Key Features:
*All trademarks are property of their respective owners, and used only to represent the instruments modeled as part of Waterfall Rotary Speaker software.
Learn more about Waterfall Rotary Speaker:
www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/delay-modulation/waterfall-rotary-speaker.html
Learn more about UAD Spark:
spark.uaudio.com
Learn more about award‑winning UAD plug‑ins:
www.uaudio.com/learn-about-uad-plugins.html
About Universal Audio Inc.
Universal Audio (UA) is a pioneer in audio and music production tools, with a rich 60‑year history of craftsmanship and innovation. UA today enables millions of audio and music creators worldwide, with industry‑standard Apollo and Volt recording interfaces, UAD plug‑ins, UAFX pedals, advanced audio machine learning, LUNA recording suite, and UA Custom Shop hardware. UA is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, with passionate employees worldwide — united by our goal of inspiring musicians and creatives with “instant classics.”
©2023 Universal Audio, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, pricing, and availability are subject to change without notice. The “Universal Audio” name, UA “diamond” logo, “Apollo,” “Apollo Twin,” “UAD,” “Powered Plug-Ins,” and “LUNA Recording System” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Universal Audio Inc. *All other trademarks contained herein are property of their respective owners, which may or may not be affiliated with Universal Audio Inc. Specifically, the Neve, 1084, 1073, MOOG, Studer, Spitfire Audio, Orange Tree Samples, and Loops de la Creme trademarks are used with permission. Other marks, including Steinway, are used to suggest the products that were studied in the creation of UAD Instruments, but are not in any way affiliated with Universal Audio.
Creators can now own select UAD plug‑ins, no UA hardware required, including three new bundles for a low introductory price
UA is also unveiling three new UAD plug-in bundles, each tailored to the specific needs of mix engineers, modern musicians, and producers.
“These UAD plug-ins and instruments are all about recreating the authentic, inspiring sounds of classic studio gear that has been used by Grammy-winning artists for decades,” says CEO and founder, Bill Putnam, Jr. “We’re excited to open up even more hitmaking audio tools to musicians everywhere.”
Purchases of these select UAD plug-ins include both an Apollo Realtime & UAD-2 version, which runs accelerated on Apollo interfaces and UAD-2 hardware, and a UAD Native version for Mac and Windows.
UAD Plug‑Ins Key Features
New UAD Plug-In Bundles
Price: $999 | Intro price: $699
Price: $699 | Intro price: $559
Price: $499 | Intro price: $349
UAD Plug‑Ins are Now Available Natively at Retailers Worldwide
Reverbs, Delay & Modulation
Preamps, EQ & Tape
Compressors
UAD Instruments
Learn more about new UAD plug-in bundles:
www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/native-bundles
Download images and press materials:
u.audio/uad-native-bundles-pr
Learn more about award-winning UAD plug-ins:
www.uaudio.com/learn-about-uad-plugins.html
About Universal Audio Inc.
Universal Audio (UA) is a pioneer in audio and music production tools, with a rich 60-year history of craftsmanship and innovation. UA today enables millions of audio and music creators worldwide, with industry‑standard Apollo and Volt recording interfaces, UAD plug‑ins, UAFX pedals, advanced audio machine learning, LUNA recording suite, and UA Custom Shop hardware. UA is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, with passionate employees worldwide — united by our goal of “Inspiring Sound for Generations.”
©2023 Universal Audio, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, pricing, and availability are subject to change without notice. The “Universal Audio” name, UA “diamond” logo, “Apollo,” “Apollo Twin,” “UAD,” “Powered Plug-Ins,” and “LUNA Recording System” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Universal Audio Inc. *All other trademarks contained herein are property of their respective owners, which may or may not be affiliated with Universal Audio Inc. Specifically, the Neve, 1084, 1073, MOOG, Studer, Spitfire Audio, Orange Tree Samples, and Loops de la Creme trademarks are used with permission. Other marks, including Steinway, are used to suggest the products that were studied in the creation of UAD Instruments, but are not in any way affiliated with Universal Audio.
“I hate to overuse superlatives, but, it has to be said, within a minute of trying out the amazing features of the Retronaut plug-in, I was astounded. Its versatility will work across all manner of instruments, from guitars to drums; I even tried some of the effects on a piano piece, and the results were extraordinary. This is going to be a great asset for film and media compositions, as well as my commercial recordings.”
– Chris Payne, orchestral composer for film and television/synthpop pioneer (co-writer of Visage’s 1981 hit single ‘Fade to Grey’/former Gary Numan backing band member), 2023
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC: independent development teams federation United Plugins is proud to announce the availability of Retronaut from founding partner JMG Sound — swinging back into action and putting the (analogue) past into the (DAW-driven) present as a so-called LoFi Nostalgia Machine multi-effect plug-in, perfectly capturing the vibe of old analogue gear by mixing bucket brigade chips, cassette tapes, VCFs (Voltage-Controlled Filters), vintage choruses, vinyl records, and more to transport its users back in time to explore their magical (musical) memories — as of February 15…
Explore the past
History has it that mankind has not only travelled the world and the ‘Seven Seas’ but beyond that to take one giant leap to touch down on the Moon, meaning the sky is not the limit. Steps still need to be taken to literally leave future footprints further away from the natural satellite of Earth, yet reality reasons that humanity cannot physically step back in time to explore the past in person, however, rather relying on history to tell its story. Saying that, Retronaut, JMG Sound’s so-called LoFi Nostalgia Machine, musically transports those interested in exploring their magical (musical) memories from where they originated; after all, music has a miraculous ability to transport anyone back in time. Therefore, seatbelts should be securely fastened in readiness for an ‘analogue’ expedition through history!
LoFi Nostalgia Machine
Make sure, then, that those seatbelts are securely fastened, for an ‘analogue’ expedition through history awaits as Retronaut is assuredly announced as a multi-voice vibrato and chorus plug-in, pulsating with lo-fi effects. Indeed, it is inspired by old analogue gear with which wisened ears welcoming warmth will already be familiar — think bucket brigade chips, cassette tapes, VCFs, vintage choruses, and vinyl records… Retronaut revisits that nostalgic musical magic of the past, putting it into the (DAW-driven)
present with multiple ways to age and DEGRADE the signal being processed, thanks to controls for FLUTTER (adds random fluctuations to the modulation shape, simulating tape flutter); DUST (adds noise to the modulation shape); FAIL (adds random glitches of pitch and level drops to simulate old failing gear); WARP (adds pitch drift and a little tremolo at half-rate to all the VOICES globally); DIRT (controls the amount of tape-style saturation); FEED (controls the amount of cross-feedback by taking the outputs of the VOICES and feeding them into each other); and MONO (switches the signal to mono, simulating old gear with only one speaker, such as radios).
DIVERGE, MOD, MIX, and more
Meanwhile, it is possible to offset the multi-voice engine — enabling users to MIX from a single vibrato voice up to 4 VOICES, resulting in a rich chorus — in various ways to create organic and evolving movements via the DIVERGE section: SPREAD (offsets the LFO phase in the left and right channels); LAG (introduces a time delay for each voice); PHASE (offsets the LFO phase for each voice); V2 SCALE (offsets the voice 2 modulation rate from the main modulation rate); V3 SCALE (offsets the voice 3 modulation rate from the main modulation rate); V4 SCALE (offsets the voice 4 modulation rate from the main modulation rate); and RESYNC (resets the LFO phases). But beating at the musical heart of Retronaut is its MOD (modulation) section with HP MOD (controls the modulation depth of the virtual analogue high-pass filter in both positive and negative polarity) and LP MOD (controls the modulation depth of the virtual analogue low-pass filter in both positive and negative polarity); dialling down the modulation depth for the vibrato effect with the associated VIBE control and then using other effects encourages that warm, woolly, and compressed tape sound. Shape the tone with the VCF section — anchored around those virtual analogue high-pass and low-pass filters, switchable between 2 (12dB per octave) and 4 (24dB per octave) POLE slopes, with RESO (resonance) control — and MIX to perfection. Possibilities are endless, almost: add lo-fi to drums, rich chorus to synths, and lush reverb to anything… ask orchestral composer for film and television/synthpop pioneer Chris Payne (Visage, Gary Numan), who was well versed in working with original analogue gear — of the kind that inspired Retronaut — on a number of historic hit records. “I particularly love the DEGRADE section, which can add a huge amount of expression to any sound you use,” he enthuses, ending on an equally high note: “I’ll certainly be building up a huge library of sounds using Retronaut over the coming months, and cannot wait to get started with it on my forthcoming projects.”
Key features:
∙ Captures the vibe of old analogue gear, mixing bucket brigade chips, cassette tapes, vintage choruses, and more in one powerful multi-effect plug-in
∙ Smoothly mix from a single vibrato voice up to four, resulting in a rich chorus
∙ Add that nostalgic lo-fi (musical) magic with the DEGRADE section — age sound from gentle dust and warmth to old, broken gear
∙ Control each voice independently with the DIVERGE section — offset them in various ways to create organic and evolving movements
JMG Sound’s Retronaut is available to purchase for a time-limited introductory promo price of only €24.00 EUR until March 19, 2023 — rising thereafter to its regular price of €89.00 EUR — as an AAX-, AU-, VST-, and VST3-compatible plug-in (using internal 64-bit audio processing capable of handling any sample rate) directly from its dedicated webpage (https://unitedplugins.com/Retronaut/), where a 15-day, fully-functional trial version for macOS 10.10 and newer and Windows 8/10/11 can also be downloaded for free.
Note that no iLok, dongle, or internet access is required for Retronaut activation. (All United Plugins software uses license files for activation and owners can freely use purchased software — with free-for-life updates — on all their computers, as long as they are the user.)
See and hear Retronaut in action while watching United Plugins’ illuminating introductory video here:
About United Plugins
As implied in the carefully chosen wording for an apt appellation that really represents how the Prague-registered Limited Company came about and what it collectively creates, United Plugins is a federation of small, independent development teams comprised of individuals involved in the music industry. Indeed, the founding triad of FireSonic, JMG Sound, and SounDevice Digital can count engineers, producers, and artists amongst their ‘united’ names. Needless to say, all were seeking the freedom to create the tools that they would like to use in their studios and on their projects. And all agreed that this could be better achieved when working together. Though United Plugins’ proliferating product portfolio may not always be for the musical masses, surely someone, somewhere will always find those tools to be a perfect fit for their own music productions… just like those inventive individuals behind United Plugins’ partner brands, the ranks of which have since swelled to include Muramasa Audio and MeldaProduction. Thanks to the latter letting United Plugins utilise its super-easy licensing system, which is why selected MeldaProduction products are also available from the United Plugins website (https://unitedplugins.com), a thriving future for the federation is assured.
© 2023 United Plugins