LONDON, UK: Spitfire Audio is proud to announce availability of FINK – SIGNATURES as an acoustic guitar toolkit with a signature sound that is full of character — created in close collaboration with London- and Berlin-based British DJ, singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist Fink performing on three distinctive acoustic guitars, beautifully captured in microscopic detail at Berlin’s high-end JRS (Jazzanova Recording Studio) with the best vintage cutting-edge equipment to offer a range of classic and signature playing styles spanning delicate to punchy (including pulled, plucked, muted, and thumbed one-shots, pristine harmonics, and more, complimented by a range of guitar-based percussive tempo-synced loops and hits, soothing vocals, and contemplative pads), carefully curated to inspire both composers and songwriters, guitarists and non-guitarists alike, as an instantly playable collection that lends itself to a range of compositions from intimate indie scores to acoustic pop tracks and beyond, helpfully housed in the British sound-specialising music technology company’s easy-to-use AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible, NKS (NATIVE KONTROL STANDARD®)-ready plug-in that loads with fluid playability into all major DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) without the need for any additional software — as of April 21…
As implied by the name, FINK – SIGNATURES features a range of core and extended techniques from the heart and mind of renowned guitarist, producer, songwriter, and artist Fink — Fin Greenall, who initially made a name for himself as a DJ and producer signed to the seminal house, hardcore, and techno label Kickin’ Records in London’s Ladbroke Grove, subsequently signing with well-known London independent Ninja Tune, before developing his signature guitar-based folk- and blues-inspired sound as an in-demand collaborator for various established artists, penning several critically-acclaimed studio albums leading to numerous film and advertisement placements, extensive world tours, and, currently, his first foray into media scoring with production work on a major gaming soundtrack — captured on three of his favorite ‘signature’ guitars, each with their own distinctive tone. Think of it this way: three different guitar protagonists feature in FINK – SIGNATURES, each with their own story — namely, BRADY, a 2004 Mal Brady Bouchier nylon acoustic with a rich, mellow sound; FESTY, a 2010 Martin D28 steel-string acoustic with a pop sound, singled out as Fink’s workhorse festival and touring guitar; and ORWELL, a gentle 1984 Martin D35 steel-string acoustic, featuring most prominently on his recent records. “Each guitar’s imperfections are what makes them so special,” says the Cornwall-originating musician himself, continuing: “Its wrinkles are battle scars, its tracks are trophies, and its rattles are its dialogue with the past.”
Putting Fink’s personal perception into its rightful context within FINK – SIGNATURES, Spitfire Audio in-house composer Lucie Treacher begins by talking about ORWELL: “It’s got this really warm, full-bodied sound — named after Orwell as a guitarist from 1984; it’s a Martin D35, and was used a lot on Fink’s album Perfect Darkness. There are arpeggiated patterns which are recorded in DADGAD, so they’ve got this lovely dreamy quality, and each octave is, essentially, a different tonality. What I absolutely love about this library is the STRING SQUEAK FX — as always, if you click on the knob, we can access our parameters, so between chords, you get that lovely slide-y, squeaky string sound that you would get on a guitar, which makes this sound super realistic. With the dynamic fader up, we fade from a close mic’d signal into a re-amped signal using Fink’s signature vintage amp, creating a kind of moody, electric feel. We could use these arpeggiated loops in a more unconventional way by stacking up the loops to create unusual chords. What’s really cool about this library is that for each note we’ve got three velocities and three round robins, so it’s pretty detailed sampling. Another feature of this library which is quite different is that we can change the start point time; by selecting START POINT, I can select where I want the sample to start playing back from — at around 50 percent you can already hear how the start of the [Orwell Plucked Harmonics preset] attack is cut and the tone completely changes; it becomes almost like an electric piano. Add a bit of DELAY and crank up the REVERB — those parameters all give you DIY opportunities.”
ORWELL has no fewer than 14 presets featuring a range of techniques with varying tones to its notable name, while FESTY provides 13. “Fink’s festival workhorse guitar is brighter with a poppier sound,” says Lucie Treacher, before picking up on a particular preset favorite: “Festy Strummed 2 has got a kind of 3/4 feel and these gorgeous hints of suspended chords. Each guitar has been sampled roughly the same way, so you’ve got very similar patches. We’ve also got these two-finger chords, which, if played at a slightly lower velocity, are more spread.”
BRADY brings another 11 presets into play. “This is Fink’s original signature nylon guitar, lent to him by guitar-maker Mal Brady just to tide him over, but it’s still with him 20 years later,” Lucie Treacher reveals. “Having been to radio stations all over the world, studios, and at the mercy of various baggage handlers, it’s still with us, and it’s got a lovely rich sound. Obviously being a nylon guitar, all our one-shot articulations are lovely and mellow. We’ve also got our …Pulled Chords, and these can be just used individually, so they’re without the rhythm of the loops.”
And as if that was not enough to be getting on with, FINK – SIGNATURES also comes complete with seven PERCUSSION presets made up of tempo-synced, percussive loops played on BRADY, FESTY, and ORWELL, plus percussive hits on different guitar cases, as well as foot-stomps. “Sort of squeaks and creaks using the palm of the hand on the body of the guitar and strumming above the nut that are a really fun feature of the library,” Lucie Treacher notes. Needless to say, Spitfire Audio also sampled Fink’s “…fire-crackly voice…” to create six VOICES presets that can be used as pads, as well as including three dedicated PADS presets, comprising Electric Piano Pad, Harmonic Pad, and Sustained Strings Pad, the latter of which was created using a magnetic string resonator, and all of which wonderfully complement FINK – SIGNATURES’ core guitars.
It is surely fair to say, then, that Spitfire Audio’s FINK – SIGNATURES succeeds in its musical mission of distilling instantly playable guitar performances borne out of years of dedicated practice — from a seasoned professional with a distinctive style — to lend itself to a range of compositions from intimate indie scores to acoustic pop tracks and beyond. Better still, nine easily navigable — namely, expression, dynamics, REVERB, ATTACK, RELEASE, START POINT, CHORUS, STRING SQUEAK FX, and DELAY — controls central to this library’s implementation of the British sound-specializing music technology company’s easy-to-use AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible, NKS-ready plug-in provide much in the way of those delightful “…DIY opportunities…” to personalize its sound as a definitive acoustic guitar toolkit with a human touch, full of character and sonic depth that more than live up to Lucie Treacher’s sincere summary: “It’s a really gorgeous set of tools, made with a lot of love and care.”
FINK – SIGNATURES is available as an AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible, NKS (NATIVE KONTROL STANDARD®)-ready plug-in that loads directly into a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) for an RRP (Recommended Retail Price) of £49.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$49.00 USD/€49.00 EUR (inc. VAT) — from here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/fink-signatures/
Spitfire Audio’s namesake Spitfire Audio application allows anyone to buy now and download anytime and is available for free from here: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/info/library-manager/
For more in-depth information, including some superb-sounding audio demos, please visit the dedicated FINK – SIGNATURES webpage here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/fink-signatures/
Watch Spitfire Audio’s premiere of FINK – SIGNATURES — including in-house composer Lucie Treacher’s telling walkthrough video — here:
About Spitfire Audio (www.spitfireaudio.com)
Spitfire Audio is a British music technology company that specializes in sounds — sample libraries, virtual instruments, and other useful software devices. It collaborates with the best composers, artists, and engineers in the world to build musical tools that sound great and are exciting to use.
© 2022 Spitfire Audio Holdings Limited
LONDON, UK: Spitfire Audio is proud to present POLARIS as a modern string orchestra imitating classic synth sounds fresh from the multi-talented mind of GRAMMY-nominated American electronic music composer, software developer, DJ, film composer, and technologist Brian Transeau (a.k.a. BT) — the trailblazer’s second creative collaboration with Spitfire Audio as a mesmerising aural innovation that tastefully pairs the worlds of orchestra and synthesis, recorded at London’s legendary AIR Studios, resampled through rarefied sonic pathways, and housed in the British sound-specialising music technology company’s award-winning plug-in (AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible, NKS-ready) that loads into all major DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) without the need for any additional software to deliver endless sonic exploration as a sample of the orchestra that reflects the sounds composers have long reached for in use for media; successfully mixing organic strings and synth lines to create something otherworldly, something beyond the realm of our known universe — as of April 7…
Spitfire Audio co-founder Christian Henson — himself no stranger to working on television and film soundtracks, as well as soundtracking video games, as a BAFTA- and Ivor Novello Award-nominated composer — helpfully puts POLARIS in its rightful place by both posing and answering an obvious opening question: “What is it? Well, imagine a string orchestra playing classic synth-type sounds. This, for me, epitomizes our efforts at Spitfire to keep our industry moving forward — to keep things fresh and to provide choice. It’s an insanely deep library. It’s basically an Aladdin’s cave for you to enjoy.”
Enter a world of massive multi-layers of complex yet accessible organic string orchestral recordings, reimagining resampling using an array of classic and rare electronic instruments, including BT’s beloved Fairlight CMI Series III — the third version of the so-called Computer Musical Instrument introduced in 1985 as a marked improvement on the seminal (digital) synthesizer, sampler, and ‘Digital Audio Workstation’ that quite literally changed the course of modern music-making as the first commercially available sampler when originally released back in 1979 at a then-average house-matching price putting it in the hands only of a high-flying few artists and record producers like Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Trevor Horn, for example — that already had a history as its mainframe and keyboard were used for sound effects on the original Tron movie long before being painstakingly refurbished and customized by its current owner of note. Needless to say, other classic samplers also make their musical mark on POLARIS, such as an E-mu Emulator II — touted in the early Eighties as a comparatively ‘affordable’ sampler/workstation synthesizer — and one of the earliest truly affordable sampler-synths in Ensoniq’s 1984-vintage Mirage. Musically, POLARIS presses into play a cosmic collection of new string techniques specifically orchestrated to emulate electronic music production techniques. The resulting eclectic and sophisticated sound library, performed by top-tier contemporary players in the hallowed (Lyndhurst) Hall at London’s legendary AIR Studios, captures the future of blockbuster scoring.
Saying that, then, POLARIS itself is perfectly positioned for creating the most modern- and unique-sounding compositions possible by duly delivering an intricate layering of all-new extended string techniques imitating classic synth sounds, orchestrated by BT himself, brought together with synths and tape resampling to create dense and provoking new timbres, thereby creating an all-new widescreen cinematic sound world. With BT, Spitfire Audio, and an amazing roll call of contemporary sound artists — including BlankFor.MS, Deft Audio, Garth & Artic — all working towards resampling the organic and synth samples involved through those classic hardware samplers of yesteryear, as well as various cassette and VHS tape machines, the resultant interstellar sonics harken back to the golden age of granular synthesis, and are inspired by such films as Arrival, Bladerunner, Logan’s Run, and Terminator 2, together with the television classic that is Dr. Who, to usher in an array of epic futuristic sounds with a firmly retro grounding.
Producing POLARIS involved arranging and recording string techniques as organic textures in a configuration complementary to synth sounds, with basses, cello, and viola in the middle, while spreading violins wide left and right, which achieves a unique tonality that is hard to come by in other high-quality string libraries. But BT being BT, it should come as little surprise to additionally learn that POLARIS puts a stunning array of classic late-Seventies- and early-Eighties-era-defining analog polysynths at any user’s fingertips thanks to the deep samples taken from the likes of Oberheim’s Matrix-12 and OB-Xa, Roland’s Jupiter-8, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, and Prophet-T8, and Yamaha’s CS-80, all of which grace BT’s bountiful and beautiful studio setup for which he has worked so long and hard.
POLARIS patently has what it takes to seriously satisfy tweak-heads or those preferring presets alike, and achieves this by being made up of three component parts. Putting it this way, the ever-enthusiastic Christian Henson has this to say: “We’ve got an all-new MODE switch — congratulations to the engineering team for this — which switches between the eDNA (SYNTH) engine and STANDARD engine. Then there are, basically, what I would refer to as raw materials; these are what we built the eDNA presets from. It comprises of some raw STRING ORCHESTRA, some classic SYNTHS, but it’s the VINTAGE RESAMPLING that makes this library completely unique and brings us into 2022.”
The eDNA interface itself allows anyone to play and pair two such sound sources from the incredible 129 articulations available, all of which can be manipulated, layered, and blended via various FX, together with a map of how they are routed, to create a whole new personalized sound to fit their music. Moreover, “There is a new thing called GRAIN,” as Christian Henson happily points out, adding: “It’s a granulator engine, and it’s going to keep you very, very busy! Finally, there is a GATE SEQUENCER. There are two sound sources [A and B] — imagine them like oscillators, and you can select from an insane amount of raw material. And it’s the raw material that’s totally unique. The way in which it has been resampled — Fairlight, E-mu, even VHS machines — gives this very unique sound from those early sampling units that are now incredibly valuable. And some of them only sample in mono, so the team has meticulously stitched together mono samples to create stereo sources.”
eDNA-enabled sound customization possibilities notwithstanding, there are also 10 professional signal options available in the POLARIS playground — namely, Super Close (KM84/MKH40 — all desks summed), Close (all desks summed), Room (all desks summed), Far (Amb + Gallery summed), Stereo Pair (Rode), Boundary (Schoeps PZM), Encode (Dolby A encode/Dolby SR decode), Tape (2-track run hot), Tight Mix, and Hall Mix, all of which are evident in the 421 expertly-created presets crafted by both BT and the Spitfire Audio team to act as a perfect jumping-on point for exploring this totally unique library in readiness for creating more personalized sounds or otherwise.
On the face of it, POLARIS personifies this caring closing comment from BT himself: “My greatest passion is inspiring people through evocative music that speaks directly to the human condition, and through new music technologies that encourage the creative spark.”
POLARIS is available as an AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible, NKS (NATIVE KONTROL STANDARD®)-ready plug-in that loads directly into a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) for a time-limited promo price of £229.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$269.00 USD/€269.00 EUR (inc. VAT) until April 28, 2022 — returning thereafter to its RRP (Recommended Retail Price) of £299.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$349.00 USD/€349.00 EUR (inc. VAT) — from here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/polaris/
Owners of BT PHOBOS (https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/bt-phobos/) — representing BT’s first creative collaboration with Spitfire Audio as a polyconvolution synthesizer for composers writing epic, cinematic electronic, and hybrid compositions — can purchase POLARIS for a special time-limited promo price of £199.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$229.00 USD/€229.00 EUR (inc. VAT) until April 28, 2022, only.
Spitfire Audio’s namesake Spitfire Audio application allows anyone to buy now and download anytime and is available for free from here: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/info/library-manager/
For more in-depth information, including some superb-sounding audio demos, please visit the dedicated POLARIS webpage here: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/polaris/
Watch Spitfire Audio’s otherworldly introductory video-led POLARIS premier — including an apprising walkthrough with Spitfire Audio co-founder Christian Henson — here:
About Spitfire Audio (www.spitfireaudio.com)
Spitfire Audio is a British music technology company that specializes in sounds — sample libraries, virtual instruments, and other useful software devices. It collaborates with the best composers, artists, and engineers in the world to build musical tools that sound great and are exciting to use.
© 2022 Spitfire Audio Holdings Limited
Introducing Royal Albert Hall Organ, a sample library for Kontakt Player, and a collaboration between the Royal Albert Hall and composer James Everingham. Known as the ‘Voice of Jupiter’, the Grand Organ is the second largest in the UK, and for 150 years has provided the backbone of countless iconic performances. James brings together his regular collaborators to form Enigma Recordings, combining decades of experience in sampling, engineering, composition, and organ mastery to present every nuance of this legendary instrument as a software instrument of exquisite detail.
“Working with the Royal Albert Hall has been a true honor, and it feels appropriate to be bringing the organ to the hands of the modern musician as we celebrate 150 years of the Hall and their unparalleled musical heritage. Royal Albert Hall Organ is a true passion project and is the sample library I wish I’d always had. I hope for it to be a path of discovery and a source of inspiration for composers far and wide, for many years to come.”
James Everingham (Producer, Royal Albert Hall Organ/Enigma Recordings)
“The Royal Albert Hall is committed to opening up access to everyone, and this sample library of the Grand Organ opens this unique instrument to the world, enabling everyone to play its 9,999 pipes. From Bruckner and Saint-Saens to Muse, Pink Floyd and Zappa, the Hall’s organ has been at the centre of British cultural life for 150 years and is now available for composers everywhere.”
Lucy Noble (Artistic Director, Royal Albert Hall)
James’ team positioned microphones all over the auditorium to capture the sound of the organ from all perspectives – from the very rear of the gallery to mere inches from the pipes themselves, with microphones hung from the roof. These are offered to the user alongside a stereo mix, for the best of both speed and hands-on control. The library also includes a binaural perspective – captured from the Royal box – which provides both an immersive experience and a clean mix reference point; experience the organ as heard from the most exclusive seat in the Hall.
The team worked closely with Richard Hills, who was named the American Theatre Organ Society’s Organist of the Year in 2010 and is widely regarded as one of the very few musicians to have mastered both the classical and theatre organ worlds. Richard provided a unique insight into the wide range of colors across the organ’s 147 stops, and worked with James to curate 41 registrations, 8 solo stops, and 18 snapshots across a wide dynamic and timbral range.
Also included are the organ’s 3 percussion stops and a variety of additional recordings including the piston noise as heard from the console, and the sound of the organ and its machinery starting up and shutting down.
Royal Albert Hall Organ offers a stereo mix and Royal Binaural, Left/Right, Centre, Gods, and Surround mic positions across a total of 57 .nki files over 40,000 individual samples. The intuitive Keyboard page allows the user to map registrations across a single keyboard for an authentic playing experience – for example, mapping pedals to lower octaves and manuals or solos to upper octaves. The Settings page allows the user to fine-tune the sound and includes round-robin controls, a convolution reverb, a presence macro, stereo width, and more.
The library weighs in at 35GB and runs in the free Kontakt Player from Native Instruments with full NKS compatibility. Downloads and registration are handled via Native Access.
Royal Albert Hall Organ is available for purchase at royalalberthallorgan.com for an introductory price of £99 (MSRP £129).
Prices exclude VAT.
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC: having struck production gold last year when working with development partner Muramasa Audio to give guitarists an astute all-in-one single-screen guitar amp and pedalboard plug-in in Electrum, independent development teams federation United Plugins is proud to announce the availability of Bassment — working with Muramasa Audio again, this time to seriously satisfy bass guitarists by building a multi-effect all-in-one single-screen solution around a flexible bass amp simulation — as of April 5…
As an all-in-one single-screen bass guitar solution, Muramasa Audio’s Bassment plug-in comprises several colour-coded components (further visualised as control-laden virtual effect pedals) — namely, AMP, with an input GAIN going all the way from gentle to brutal settings alongside perfectly tuned five-band (LOW BASS, HIGH BASS, LOW MIDS, HIGH MIDS, and TREBLE) EQ controls, a self-explanatory DRY/WET control, and more; AUTOWAH, implements an automatic wah-wah filter following the INPUT LEVEL, best suited to funky styles; CABINET, comprises 15 simulations combined with 15 adjustments to assemble a true virtual
amp simulator with several parameters to produce a much smoother and more natural sound that avoids all the unnatural resonances present with almost all IRs (Impulse Responses); COMP (compressor), reduces the volume of loud sounds or amplifies quiet sounds, thereby reducing or compressing the audio signal’s dynamic range; EQ, provides a powerful graphic equaliser that is useful for further customising the tonal response; (noise) GATE, removes any noise, hum, and leakage from other instruments that may still be present in the input signal and become amplified by Bassment’s amping and distortion stages, as well as allowing users to create a contemporary choppy sound useful for modern metal genres where everything needs to be very precise and snappy-sounding attacks are always appreciated; LEVELLER, controls the volume changes of the signal by automatically riding volume; MODULATION, lets users blend multiple effects rather than requiring several stompbox simulations, allowing all algorithms involved to be perfectly synchronised, thereby easing operation; and SUB, adds subharmonic frequencies to allow users to play (single-note) guitar to sound like a bass guitar.
Fortunately for any bass guitarists speedily seeking to change their sound with the greatest of ease, changing the running order of those color-coded components is simply a case of dragging and dropping them into the desired position in the effect processing chain — and all without worrying about adhering to real-world setups to encourage experimentation, albeit GATE is usually the first such component in the effect processing chain. Conversely, positioning the EQ before the AMP will also affect the character of the distortion while positioning it after will only change the tone. It is worth noting here that it is also perfectly possible to bypass any of those color-coded components at any time by simply double-clicking on the relevant rectangular blocks bearing their name — no need to take a deep dive through muscle memory-taxing menus in search of hidden options since everything is already accessible on one screen, in other words.
Today’s teeming marketplace means most — even great-sounding — guitar software suffers from flawed design, doing little to enhance efficiency and comfort when put to work in a musical environment. Ergonomics is, of course, central to Muramasa Audio building Bassment as a multi-effect all-in-one single-screen solution around a flexible bass amp as flexible as they come, effectively following the same principles previously applied so successfully when executing Electrum to give guitarists an astute all-in-one single-screen guitar amp and pedalboard plug-in.
Put it this way, though: there is much more to Bassment than its easy-to-use and easy-on-the-eye GUI (Graphical User Interface) — itself readily resizable and available to view as a photorealistic 3D affair or flattened as 2D graphics at the convenient click of an appropriate button without affecting the sound or CPU (Central Processing Unit) load — might first suggest, such as an ANALYSE INPUT LEVEL that ensures everything sounds the best it possibly can, no matter what equipment is being used. Ultimately, activating the onscreen button and then playing as hard as intended for a few seconds sees Bassment setting up its input level automatically to find the perfect sweet spot to match the audio signal’s strength with the processing involved’s the ideal working point; perfect gain-staging and volume balance helps users to get the most out of Bassment. Better still, EQ MATCHING really represents Bassment’s secret weapon, whereby it is simply a case of loading a short piece of a desired bass guitar solo sound and looping it for analysis using the ANALYSE TARGET SOUND button before analyzing the user’s own bass guitar sound using the ANALYSE YOUR SOUND button — be prepared to be amazed at Bassment’s ability to automatically match the resulting sound with amazing accuracy!
Additional Bassment features well worth highlighting here include an advanced TUNER section, super-fast and super-accurate in response to ensure that the bass guitar performance being processed will never be out of tune, as well as global settings for INPUT (for cranking up the input gain), BASSMAN (for controlling the level of the SUB), OUTPUT (for controlling the plug-in’s overall output level), and LIMITER (for protecting the output signal from exceeding 0dB).
On the face of it, then, Bassment basically provides everything needed to achieve a perfect sound for any bass guitar quickly and easily within a single-window while making use of its internal 64-bit audio processing to handle any sampling rate up to 192 kHz (or even higher) plus smart bypass and intelligent sleep on silence attributes, all aimed at separating it from the sound of the (plug-in) crowd in today’s teeming marketplace.
Muramasa Audio’s Bassment is available to purchase for a time-limited introductory promo price of only €19.00 EUR until May 5, 2022 — rising thereafter to its MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) of €129.00 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 United Plugins here: https://unitedplugins.com/Bassment/
A 15-day, fully-functional trial version of Bassment for macOS 10.10 and newer and Windows 8/10 can be downloaded for free from here: https://unitedplugins.com/download/
Note that no iLok, dongle, or internet access is required for Bassment activation. (All United Plugins software uses license files for activation and owners can freely use purchased software on all their computers as long as they are the user.)
See and hear Bassment in action in United Plugins’ illuminating introductory video here:
About United Plugins (www.unitedplugins.com)
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 utilize its super-easy licensing system, which is why selected MeldaProduction products are also available from the United Plugins website, a thriving future for the federation is assured.
© 2022 United Plugins
MADRID, SPAIN: European pro audio manufacturer Heritage Audio is proud to announce the availability of BT-500 v2.0 as an updated version of its innovative 500-Series Bluetooth streaming module — making available additional APTX LL® and APTX HD® codecs alongside the APTX®, AAC, and SBC ones originally offered by its BT-500 predecessor, plus a redesigned RESET button facilitating failsafe protection against accidental resetting, as well as providing a fully-balanced +22dBu stereo output on gold-plated XLR connectors (when connected to a suitable any appropriate 500-series enclosure) with pristine Burr Brown conversion to guarantee to work with the best possible quality audio as the quickest and easiest way of effortlessly connecting with mobile devices in a studio setup over Bluetooth from a distance of up to 150m — as of April 5…
It is fair to say that no product — be it a 500-Series module or otherwise — from any other manufacturer matches the features of Heritage Audio’s BT-500 v2.0 500-Series Bluetooth streaming module, which simply solves the connectivity problem previously present when using mobile devices in a professional studio environment. Simply say goodbye to using unwieldy mini-jack to XLR adapter cables connected to
questionable consumer device-designed DACs (Digital-to-Analogue Converters) — clearly not an elegant or effective solution since the limitations of iOS or Android mobile devices’ analog signal paths are always audibly apparent — and wave hello to keeping things simple since the BT-500 v2.0 readily recognizes the best codecs available to ensure that any audio received over Bluetooth is at the highest quality possible while guaranteeing seamless integration with iOS or Android mobile devices.
Duly offering AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) — an audio coding standard for lossy digital compression that is designed as a successor to the MP3 format, generally achieving higher sound quality than MP3 encoders at the same rate; APTX® — a fixed compression ratio ensuring consistency from 20Hz to 20kHz; APTX LL® — a low-delay, robust solution for consistent 16-bit audio, recommended for gaming or when performing lip-syncing as it provides the lowest latency; APTX HD® — allowing for high-definition 24-bit audio, engineered for better signal-to-noise ratio with lower THD (Total Harmonic Distortion); and SBC (Sub-Band Coding) — an audio codec designed to accommodate Bluetooth bandwidth limitations and processing power to obtain a reasonably good audio quality at medium bit rates with low computational complexity, the BT-500 v2.0 effectively ensures there is now no excuse for not doing a quick reference check with favoured audio from online streaming and download platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, or YouTube. Accessing a file from an e-mail is, likewise, not a problem.
Put it this way: when using the BT-500 v2.0, users are actually substituting their mobile device’s analog circuitry with a state-of-the-art, fully-differential Burr Brown balanced output stage duly delivering a full 0dBfs = 22dBu output that is able to drive a 600Ω load to allow direct level comparisons with online streaming platform-originating or mobile-stored reference mixes when mixing or mastering.
Mobile phone, tablet, or smartwatch… with the BT-500 v2.0 providing a quick, trouble-free solution to accessing streamed audio over Bluetooth and guaranteeing the highest possible quality, it really has never been easier to access an iOS or Android device whenever needed in the studio. Indeed, its uncluttered design keeps things simple and also makes for an attractive addition to any 500-Series powered enclosure, such as Heritage Audio’s recently released OST 6 v2.0 (https://heritageaudio.net/catalogue/ost6v2/), while solving a commonplace problem with minimum investment involved in doing so.
BT-500 v2.0 is shipping and available via Heritage Audio’s growing global network of dealers (https://heritageaudio.net/where-to-buy-international/) with an SSP (Standalone Selling Price) of €249.00 EUR (including VAT) in the EU and a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) of $229.00 USD, US distribution being handled via RAD Distribution (http://www.raddist.com/heritage-audio.php). (Please note that since most 500-Series powered enclosures only have male and female XLR connections, a male-to-male XLR adapter for the female XLR connection to provide two fully-balanced 22dBu outputs for stereo usage is included in the BT-500 v2.0 purchase price.)
For more in-depth information, please visit the dedicated BT-500 v2.0 webpage here: https://heritageaudio.net/catalogue/bt-500v2-0/
Watch Heritage Audio’s tantalizing trailer video for BT-500 v2.0 here:
Watch Heritage Audio’s beneficial BT-500 v2.0 connectivity video here:
About Heritage Audio (www.heritageaudio.net)
Heritage Audio is a European pro audio manufacturer based in Madrid, Spain. Founded in 2011 by Peter Rodriguez, a sound engineer, and producer with extensive experience in the music industry, its aim is true: to bring back the philosophy of the golden age of recording and adapt it to the needs of 21st Century studios while contributing to transitioning music into a new era in the process. The company’s canon covers all-analog signal processing bases. All its products are designed and manufactured in Spain and are available in over 36 countries worldwide.
© 2022 Heritage Audio
DUESSELDORF, GERMANY: DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) plugin and audio DSP (Digital Signal Processing) developer Fuse Audio Labs is proud to announce the availability of VREV-140 — a vibrant reverb plugin inspired by the holy grail of plates, readily reincarnated to duly deliver the rich and complex response that the Fifties-vintage studio icon is known for, featuring functional add-ons aplenty allowing for universal usage and augmented creative choice — as of March 29…
Thanks to its smooth timbre and plate-specific density, VREV-140 is an appropriate tool with which to enhance vocal, guitar, or drum tracks. And applying its more extreme settings means that the resultant synthetic-sounding aspect of the plate can impose inspiring reverb effects on many different sources. Saying that, though, the specific sound of the original Fifties-vintage studio icon — itself inspiring the VREV-140 — adds spatial width and air to all kinds of signals.
Thankfully, the plugin provides a pleasing sonic signature by offering a fully gain compensated preamp section and expanding the DECAY TIME setting up to 32 seconds, substantially improving upon the original hardware unit’s five-second maximum. An additional three-band EQUALIZER provides the key to intuitively embedding the processed signals into any mix. Meanwhile, the WIDTH and BALANCE SETTINGS, plus an associated PREDELAY of up to 500ms, allow for more control and special effects.
Ultimately, users wishing to complement their mixes by introducing plate-style space and depth, apply lush reverberation tails to instruments or vocals, create otherworldly sounds, or just want to sound a little bit more like The Beatles or Pink Floyd need look no further than VREV-140. Anyone applying large doses of reverb can comfortably temper the effect with its MIX control.
Comments Fuse Audio Labs CEO Reimund Dratwa: “The original 140 is certainly an amazing piece of studio equipment. But beyond the sheer scale of its dimensions, the magic lies in its inspiring sound, really responsible for making many great recordings over the decades sound the way that they do. But best of all, the VREV-140 vintage plate reverb plugin holds true to its heritage — users will be far from disappointed!”
VREV-140 is available at an attractive 50%-discounted introductory promo price of $29.00 USD until April 29, 2022 — rising thereafter to its regular price of $59.00 USD — directly from its dedicated webpage, which includes more in-depth information, here: https://fuseaudiolabs.com/vrev140.html
Note that 14-day trial versions of all Fuse Audio Labs plugins without any restrictions are also available to download for free from here: https://fuseaudiolabs.com/plugins.html
Get a feel for VREV-140 while watching Fuse Audio Labs’ lovingly-produced presentation video here:
About Fuse Audio Labs (www.fuseaudiolabs.com)
Fuse Audio Labs is a number one source for truly analog-sounding plugins designed for the daily demands of real-world musicians and engineers. As an acclaimed company, it was founded in 2017 by Reimund Dratwa, deeply knowledgeable as an expert in translating complex analog topologies into top-tier DSP code. Creating a huge portfolio of leading modeling titles over the years for brands like ACME, Black Box, Black Rooster, elysia, Millennia, Neold, Vertigo, and many others available via Plugin Alliance and the UAD-2 platform, Reimund’s own designs remain 100% pure Fuse Audio Labs.
© 2022 Fuse Audio Labs
The first physically modeled electric bass goes next level adding fretless and double-bass models, a brand-new Patterns section, and more
Producers know how important it is to have a great-sounding bassline. Now MODO BASS 2.0 offers even more realism and the stunning sounds of sought-after electric and double basses being played by master musicians, all with the convenience of a plug-in virtual instrument.
A Limitless Variety
MODO BASS 2.0 includes the 14 original iconic basses plus 8 exciting new ones, for a total of up to 22 basses included covering any style of music. There are 6 new electric models featuring 2 legendary fretless basses plus 2 double-bass instruments. And with the power of MODO BASS synthesis, users can turn any standard 4-string electric bass into a 5- or 6-string bass for unmatched sonic options.
Fretless Freedom
Want to give bass tracks a lift? Try going fretless with MODO BASS 2. There’s Fretless Jazz, inspired by the iconic Jaco Pastorius’s customized Jazz Bass with its instantly recognizable tone and dynamics. And Fretless Bass Man, inspired by Pino Palladino’s famous StingRay, delivers that iconic sound to your studio. Plus MODO BASS 2 now offers the ability to turn any of the 18 available electric basses also into a fretless model (and the fretless models into fretted basses as well).
Double Basses Are Here!
MODO BASS 2 now adds 2 double basses to the collection. Choose Rockabilly for old-school slapping styles or Upright Studio for that classic jazz sound. A premiere for MODO BASS physical model synthesis, the new double basses are modeled in their own studio space with a selection of movable mics and a piezo signal that can be blended in and then run through MODO’s stomps and amps as desired. And finally, a pair of stereo room mics lets users mix in the perfect ambient room sound.
The Home Base for Basslines
The new PATTERNS section offers thousands of patterns and smart filters to browse by genre, song section, length, time signature, and more. It’s easy to audition any one and find exactly what’s needed, whether it’s the backbone of a full song or just a handy solo lick to lead into the next song section. All patterns were performed by top professional bass players with a groove and feel in MODO BASS that are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.
Enhanced Performance
The PLAYSTYLE section in MODO BASS 2 has been enhanced and now benefits from IK’s latest advances in playing style subtleties and control. With MODO BASS 2’s ultra-realistic pluck technique comes new advanced algorithms for pick and slap articulations that’ll breathe life into standard MIDI files lifting the low end and the music to new heights.
Try It for Free
MODO BASS 2 Custom Shop is now also available as a free software program that can be downloaded by anyone and comes with one of the world’s most popular basses, the ’60s P-Bass. At any time within the program, users can add new basses à la carte, make their purchases, and expand their bass collection in minutes. All new basses instantly become available for making music and include the option of going fretless.
The Mojo of MODO
Still, the first and only virtual instrument that models the entire process of generating and playing bass sounds, MODO BASS recreates each string’s response to the action of the “player” and the interaction of the string with the fingerboard, body, and pickups of the bass instrument. Then using IK’s analog modeling expertise, the amp and effects of an electric bass rig are added to the sound chain.
All of this gives MODO BASS playability that is simply unmatched by any other bass program and the ability to create sound in real-time providing the ever-changing, hyper-realistic sound music needs to reach the next level. And since the program isn’t sample-based, there’s more hard-drive space available for completing each masterpiece.
Pre-order Pricing and Availability
MODO BASS 2 will ship in April 2022* and is available now for preorder from the IK Multimedia online store and from IK authorized dealers worldwide:
MODO BASS 2 CS Free – includes 1 bass. The purchase of any additional bass à la carte adds the fretless feature and the full suite of patterns.
MODO BASS 2 SE $/€149.99** – an accessibly priced version with 4 basses including the new Punk Bass.
MODO BASS 2 $/€299.99 – the full version with 22 basses including all 8 new ones. Also available for $/€199.99 as a crossgrade to all IK users owning any IK products $/€99.99 and up.
Individual MODO BASS basses $/€69.99 each – available to CS and SE users.
MODO BASS 2 + MODO DRUM 1.5 bundle $/€399.99 – includes all 22 basses and 13 kits. Special crossgrade and upgrade pricing is available starting from $/€199.99.
Exclusive for MODO BASS 1 Users
All owners of MODO BASS 1 can upgrade to MODO BASS 2 for a limited time for only $/€149.99.
*From now until release, everyone who purchases MODO BASS 2 full (including crossgrade) or SE will immediately receive a download of MODO BASS 1 of the same version and their MODO BASS 2 version as soon as it becomes available.
**All pricing excluding taxes.
London, 22.03.2022 – It’s with great excitement that we announce the release of the Hainbach Artist Expansion Pack for the M-Tron. To continue our series of Artist Expansion Packs, we invited German electronic music composer and video creator, Hainbach, to craft a modern yet authentic ‘Tron pack. This pack comes with M-Tron Select, a carefully curated selection of the world’s most iconic ‘Tron sounds, that additionally allows any user to play the Hainbach Artist Expansion Pack. The pack is also compatible with M-Tron Pro, allowing users to take full advantage of all the M-Tron’s features and sound design capabilities.
Hainbach has become renowned globally for his unique experimental sound design techniques and ambient recordings on YouTube. As a composer, lyricist and musician, he has worked on over 70 theatre plays, many of which feature the GForce M-Tron. His love for experimentation with tapes, nuclear test equipment, and rare, exotic machines made him the perfect candidate to craft a modern collection of weird and wonderful sounds for the ‘Tron.
Fans of Hainbach will instantly recognize his signature blend of experimental sound design and ambient exploration. Featuring rare and obscure instruments, such as the Suiko ST-50, and modern classics such as the Teenage Engineering OP1, the recordings were ‘Tronized’ using Streetly Electronics’ Skeletron – a bare-bones Mellotron M400. This involved recording everything to tape, and then re-recording the output via the Skeletron pre-amp. This labor of love allowed us to guarantee the classic Mellotron character was retained, making this a truly authentic ‘Tron pack.
With Hainbach’s characteristic experimental sound, the Hainbach Artist Expansion Pack includes 28 tape banks of unique electronic sounds and over 150 M-Tron presets carefully created by Hainbach, Dave Spiers, and Tom Wolfe. With a variety of distinctive lo-fi sounds and a classic ‘Tron vibe, this Expansion Pack proudly takes the M-Tron to new sonic heights.
Hainbach Expansion Pack – key features
M-Tron Select – key features
More info
Price and availability
Hainbach Expansion Pack – Available now at an intro price of £29.99/$34.99 (50% OFF) until April 30th, 2022.
About GForce Software Ltd.
www.gforcesoftware.com
Specializing in vintage synthesizer modeling, GForce Software offers a range of products with the most authentic sonic and musical quality in the virtual arena. Our mission is to inspire composers and producers by providing well-crafted instruments and sounds and to nurture those aspiring to learn and grow during their musical journey.
NEW YORK, March 22, 2022 – Heavyocity Media announces the release of FOUNDATIONS | Piano, the first in Heavyocity’s all-new line of free virtual instruments. FOUNDATIONS | Piano is an inspiring introduction to the modern, hybrid sound. Combining the soft dynamics of a stunning grand piano, an expertly-crafted sound design layer, and a highly-customizable interface — FOUNDATIONS | Piano is an expressive cinematic tool built to tell your story.
“Our new FOUNDATIONS line was created to introduce all music makers to the dynamic world of cinematic sound,” said Ari Winters, Creative Director/Senior Partner, Heavyocity. “We want to deliver professional-quality, foundational instruments designed to inspire the next generation of film, TV, and game scores.”
As a “powered-by-Kontakt” instrument FOUNDATIONS | Piano offers all playback and sound-shaping functionality through the full version of Kontakt 6 or the free Kontakt 6 Player.
FOUNDATIONS | Piano is now available for FREE at Heavyocity.com/Foundations-Piano
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.
Wuppertal, GERMANY: Black Rooster Audio is proud to introduce its VLA-2A Mark II Vintage Leveling Amplifier — advancing its best-selling plug-in as a new and improved version of the world’s finest emulation of an acclaimed late-Sixties-vintage opto compressor that continues to make its musical mark to this day, duly capturing the beauty of opto electronics by bringing warm, breathy compression and tube saturation to (DAW) tracks and adding that unmistakable vintage flair with all the features that owners of the original VLA-2A have clearly come to know and love, but benefitting from a larger GUI and added EXT SC (sidechain), EMPHASIS, CELL SEL (selector), MAKE UP gain, and DRY/WET mix controls — as of March 15…
Stepping, briefly, back in time, the hardware precursor to Black Rooster Audio’s VLA-2A vintage compressor plug-in dates back to the late Sixties when used initially in broadcasting before enterprising engineers noticed that its tubes, multi-stage release, and frequency-dependent attack and response worked equally well when applied to music production. Put it this way: while the VLA-2A was faithfully modeled on the original unit that continues to make its musical mark to this day, duly capturing all of its character to make it an instant favorite in the present-day DAW-driven music-making world, its VLA-2A Mark II Vintage Leveling Amplifier successor succeeds in also transporting its users back in time to take advantage of that vintage vibe but as an even more contemporary take on that theme — thanks to careful refinement and added features making what was already Black Rooster Audio’s best-selling plug-in even better than before.
Black Rooster Audio’s real-time SPICE component-based circuit simulation approach allows its VLA-2A
Mark II Vintage Leveling Amplifier plug-in to authentically capture the sound and feel of the original analog hardware unit with all of its nuances. Needless to say, every essential part of the acclaimed late-Sixties-vintage opto compressor concerned — including its input and output transformers, sidechain and audio path tube stages, emphasis filter network, and the T4A cell — have been faithfully modeled from an original Sixties-vintage reference unit.
Ultimately, though, the VLA-2A Mark II Vintage Leveling Amplifier advances its best-selling plug-in predecessor by bringing several flexibility-improving features to the production table: the EXT SC switch allows users to control the gain reduction of the main signal via the envelope of the external sidechain signal; EMPHASIS controls the sidechain pre-emphasis — useful for keeping high frequencies in check, preventing over-modulation, and allowing for a higher sensitivity to higher frequencies; CELL SEL switches between a choice of three different opto-electric cells — A, B, and C, each one offering different attack and release times; MAKE UP gain trims the signal output for optimization; and DRY/WET mixes the compressed signal with the original one to maximize control over the resultant sound.
Saying that, taking a trip under the hood reveals that there is more to the new and improved VLA-2A Mark II Vintage Leveling Amplifier plug-in than might first meet the eye (and ear) — even though all Black Rooster Audio plug-ins support high pixel density on Mac OS X and Windows to facilitate the most enjoyable user experience on high DPI (Dots Per Inch) displays. DSP (Digital Signal Processing) operations are pipelined using the SSE2 instruction set to ensure the highest possible performance despite the very complex computations involved. Aliasing artifacts are efficiently attenuated using a low-latency linear phase Dolph-Chebyshev Window poly-phase design — oversampling is auto-adjusted to any session’s sample rate to save valuable CPU (Central Processing Unit) power while offering the most transparent sound possible, in other words.
With all that in mind, then, the new and improved VLA-2A Mark II Vintage Leveling Amplifier plug-in is a Black Rooster Audio classic that truly represents a vintage classic with a twist — taking in several flexibility-improving features, in fact!
VLA-2A Mark II is available to purchase for a time-limited introductory promo price of only $59.00 USD — rising thereafter to its regular price of $129.00 USD — as 64-bit AAX-, AU-, and VST-compatible plug-ins for Max OS X (10.9 or later — macOS 11.x not yet supported) and AAX- and VST-compatible plug-ins for Windows (7 or later) directly from Black Rooster Audio via its dedicated webpage, which also includes in-depth information, including must-see (and hear) video-supplemented sound samples, here: https://blackroosteraudio.com/en/landing/vla-2a-mark-ii (VLA-2A Mark II is free for owners of the original VLA-2A plug-in.)
14-day, fully-functional trial versions of all Black Rooster Audio plug-ins — including VLA-2A Mark II — are available by signing up for an account here: https://blackroosteraudio.com/en/myaccount/licensemanager (The new License Manager uses a simple serial number-based activation system.)
About Black Rooster Audio (www.blackroosteraudio.com)
Founded in 2016 by André Kirchner, Black Rooster Audio is best known for its beautifully-designed vintage gear emulation plug-ins for producing, mixing, and mastering audio. Headquartered in Wuppertal, Germany, it is passionate about combining the finest of vintage analog sound and modern technology.
© 2022 CUREON