Author Archives: flux302

IK Multimedia’s ARC System 2.5 with new MEMS microphone is now shipping

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IK Multimedia is proud to announce that ARC System 2.5 with MEMS microphone is now available for shipping. Version 2.5 of the Advanced Room Correction System combines a new highly accurate MEMS measurement microphone, measurement software together with an audio correction plug-in for Mac/PC DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) and employs Audyssey MultEQ® XT32 patented technology to greatly improve the audio monitoring accuracy of speakers in any studio or listening room.

The first system of its kind, ARC System works by measuring the room in multiple positions, producing an accurate representation of its acoustic response, then generates a correction filter that makes the response linear. This allows users to mix and compose in an environment capable of an exact representation of the music and audio being produced, regardless of the acoustic characteristics of the room. ARC System was first introduced by IK Multimedia in 2007 and quickly established itself as one of the most popular acoustic correction systems in the world.
New high-precision MEMS measurement mic
IK Multimedia was the first to incorporate the use of MEMS (microelectro-mechanical systems) microphones for pro audio recording applications with its popular iRig® Acoustic range, first released in 2015, and is now pioneering their use in the field of ultra-accurate measurement microphones. The new MEMS measurement microphone included in ARC 2.5 works together with the room correction software to achieve a new milestone in accuracy with a precision of +/- 0.5 dB. Just like the other MEMS products from IK, the new measurement mic is manufactured in Italy and features an omnidirectional capsule that ensures maximum response accuracy and stability over time, in contrast to standard condenser measurement microphones which can exhibit frequency response variations due to manufacturing or age.

MEMS microphones offer extreme resistance to shock along with humidity and temperature variations thanks to the manufacturing process behind them. This means they are very durable and can be easily transported without the risk of damage. Additionally, all the ARC System microphones manufactured using this process maintain a consistent degree of accuracy with near-zero variation in performance from unit to unit. This guarantees accurate, repeatable and reliable audio measurements even after long periods of time.

MultEQ® XT32 Technology
ARC 2.5 utilizes Audyssey MultEQ® XT32 technology to evaluate the acoustic information captured at multiple locations in the listening area in both frequency and time domains. It uses a sophisticated clustering algorithm to combine this information so that acoustic problems are accurately analyzed. Based on these measurements, a correction filter is calculated that adjusts both time and frequency response problems in the listening area and performs a fully automated system setup. The result is clear, well-balanced audio monitoring in any environment.

“Virtual Monitoring” for the real world
The included “Virtual Monitoring” feature lets users select specific templates to deliberately alter the response of the monitoring setup to match devices like LCD TVs, car audio systems, small radios, etc., and listen to how their mixes will translate on other “virtual” band-limited systems and to ensure a perfect sound translation.
Thousands of rooms corrected worldwide
Since 2007, IK Multimedia’s ARC System has been leading the way in terms of true affordability and professional reliability when it comes to acoustic room correction systems. With tens of thousands of installations worldwide, correcting the rooms of music enthusiasts and independent producers to those of studio and acoustic engineers, ARC has become an absolute industry standard that continues to amaze for its ease of use and indisputable effectiveness.

Take the room out of the mix
ARC System is the most cost-effective, professional solution for achieving a consistent sound and frequency response across the entire spectrum in any room, whether acoustically treated or not. From home studios to professional recording facilities, ARC will take the “sound of the room” out of the equation, enabling users to mix faster and with total confidence, ensuring their productions translate properly with the outside world.

Pricing and availability
ARC System 2.5 with MEMS microphone is now available at a cost of $/€199.99*. Users that have previously purchased any IK product with a minimum value of $/€99.99 can take advantage of a special crossgrade price of only $/€149.99.

Current ARC 2 users can upgrade to software version 2.5 free of charge (Mac/PC), whereas ARC 1 and ARC TDM users can upgrade their software for as low as $/€49.99.

The MEMS measurement microphone can be purchased separately for $/€69.99 by previous ARC users**.

* All prices excluding taxes
** Software must be updated to v.2.5 for compatibility with the MEMS microphone

For more information, please visit:
www.ikmultimedia.com/arc

The SynthSummitShow episode 20: Taiho Yamada (MOK) + giveaway

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The SynthSummitShow episode 20: Taiho Yamada

 

Mr Yamada has an extensive history in the synthesizer world dating back to early days of the Alesis Rompler synths such as the Quadrasynth and has been instrumental in quite a few key synthesizers of our time. From the Alesis Andromeda, Ion, and Fusion to the M-Audio Venom Taiho Yamada’s career has been steeped in synth gold. Now striking out on his own with company Media OverKill (MOK)  Taiho looks to set the bar with a new form of patent pending synthesis in WaveRazor. Join this show and learn details on how you could win a copy of both WaveForm and WaveRazor! It was a great interview filled with lots of 90’s and 2000’s synth history, very much worth a listen!

Audio Damage freshens its line up with new plugins!

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Audio Damage is Has released 3 new plug in VSTs available directly from their site. New versions of the Delay Plug in “Dubstation 2″, Reverb Plug in ” EOS 2 ” and the all new waveshaping distortion “Grind” are now available. 

EOS 2 consists of four high-quality custom-designed reverb algorithms, made with the modern production environment in mind. Three different plate simulators and Audio Damage’s own Superhall algorithm give you a broad palette of reverb, and the easy-to-understand interface makes adjusting the algorithms to suit your track incredibly simple.

Dubstation 2

From the Audio damage site:

The original dub delay plugin and still the best! Dubstation 2 takes our most popular product and adds a whole raft of new features, including a dual mode for separate control over the left and right delay times, ping-pong, a new feedback saturation algorithm, and an LFO. Along with an all-new procedural and Retina-friendly user interface and (FINALLY!) ProTools compatibility, this represents a major leap forward for one of our signature products.

All those bells and whistles aside, the heart of Dubstation is our painstaking bucket-brigade delay model. Often imitated, but never duplicated, Dubstation has been the go-to plugin for that sound for over a decade, used in thousands of commercial productions, and with good reason. With the addition of the LFO and saturation controls, Dubstation has moved in to the realm of tape delay emulation as well, and is a sonic Swiss Army knife for delay. 

Grind waveshape distortion

from the AD site:

A true powerhouse of audio warfare, Grind puts the “damage” in Audio Damage. From subtle tube-style saturation to full-on mangled wavetable distortion, Grind is a Swiss Army Knife of sound design.

Grind consists of three main blocks: wavetable lookup, in to algorithmic saturation/distortion/, and finally to a multi-mode filter. The wavetable module uses the amplitude of the incoming signal to replace the sample with one from 15 different linearly-interpolated wavetables, chosen for their mangling potential. Window size and phase controls provide further tone-shaping possibilities.

The next stop is the algorithm module, with eleven different distortion and saturation algorithms, from simple soft-knee saturation on up to full on sine warping.

After this, the signal passes through a multi-mode filter stage, with eleven different filter models to choose from, including “vintage digital” versions from the early days of plugin development, on up to our modern analog-modeled MS20-style lowpass and highpass synth filters. A tempo-synced LFO provides motion for the filter frequency, and a final stage of soft clipping and DC filtering tames the output.

Make no mistake: this is not a subtle, polite tool. With careful tuning of the provided presets, it can be tamed to normal filtering and saturation duties, but on the whole, it is a noisy, snorting beast of a plug-in, and is happiest with Full Metal audio destruction. 

OK enough with the AD copy. I have had some time with all three of these (I even created a group of presets for Dubstation 2). I can say these are a really nice step forward in the Audio Damage line up. The UI is really impoved on these (Grind and EOS2 have some killer front end graphics to help understand whats going on).

Grind really impressed me in its filter types as well as how the distortions can take a plain sound and add a ton of movement and character.  Similar to the Eurorack module Shapes also from Audio Damage, Grind lets you sequence lookup tables and waveshaping wavetables… very freaking cool.

tempo syncing the waveshaping and filter frequency changes is a joy.

Dubstation 2 is a very straight foward BBD sounding delay that will let you just easily get that dub delay you are after without a cluttered interface.

EOS 2 is just a joy to look at and hear. I’ve been using this to create gorgeous synth pads and basically create environments for my instruments to breathe in.

Novation Circuit Review

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The Novation Circuit portable Groovebox

This Circuit review is one that I specifically requested from Novation. I was quite interested in the idea of a portable groove box that held one of my favorite synth engines in a battery controlled, forward thinking design. I was concerned about the macro control layout as I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the layout. I came away from my time with the circuit gaining a new appreciation for this different take on a portable synth. Instead of focusing on specifics like ADSR settings or complex oscillator set ups, This groove box opts to give you macros that can control 4 parameters on any given patch. While this might be a bit confusing, it also serves as the pathway to inspiration and discovery of new unexpected sounds. This is where Circuit can come into its own… The sequencer is a bit on the basic side being only 16 steps but it does allow for independent note lengths and pattern chaining. You can launch patterns in a similar way to the ableton live clip launching method. Speaking of Ableton Live, a copy is included free with Circuit and Circuit can be used as a controller for live.

The Battery power and the fact that it has a built in speaker was a large draw for me. I’m happy to say that through out this entire review I never once needed to actually plug it into the wall (though the wall adapter is included in the box). The internal speaker is quite adequate to get its sound across in a quiet setting (don’t expect it to be loud enough to get peoples attention in a noisy bus station but it will certainly turn heads if you are sitting in a starbucks.)

I found the over all build quality to be extremely good. The knobs feel VERY nice , smooth with decent resolution. the body didn’t creak or feel hollow and plasticy.  The build felt so nice I let my 2 and a half year old son bash away on it with not so much as a scratch or a worry. I have to say he quite enjoyed it as well.

I was skeptical of the layout but came away impressed with the build quality. The constant updates from novation is a very promising sign and the addition of sample import and “sample flip” is not to be over looked. the rigid 16 step sequencer resolution is probably my biggest gripe but for what this product is, its hardly a deal breaker.

If you are looking for a groove box that you can confidently take with you on the go and is truly stand alone… this might be right up your alley.

The SynthSummitShow episode 18: John Bowen synth designs

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This episode I was fortunate to have John Bowen on the show. A staple in the synthesizer community for roughly 40 years, John has been instrumental in many of the legendary synths of our time. Join us as we walk through a piece of synth history and cap it off with a discussion of his amazing Solaris synthesizer.

for more info check out Johnbowen.com 

Orange Amplification Launch Their First Dual, Discrete Op-Amp

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Orange Amplification Launch Their First 

Dual, Discrete Op-Amp UK RRP £42.00

Orange Amplification has launched the new Dual Discrete Op-Amp which has been specifically designed for audio use. It is one of the most musically sounding of its kind on the market today.

Built to a high specification, the Dual Discrete Op-Amp has been constructed for superior musical audio performance purposes. Unlike existing products, it only contains the gain blocks that are needed to give good clean audio. Each of the individual transistors and resistors are of the highest quality, so the Op-Amp runs as close to pure Class A as possible instead of the class B operation seen in IC Op-Amps. It has been designed to be 8 pin DIP compatible, and comes with a socket, so is easy to drop in and replace. The DC offset of Orange’s Op-Amp is low, which means they can be used almost anywhere, even active filters.

‘We wanted to design something purely for audio’, explains Adrian Emsley, Orange Amplification’s Technical Director, ‘Many Op-Amps perform well on paper but the trouble is the human ear does not hear quite the same way as test equipment. To me, this Op-Amp sounds more musical, more natural, with the transient sound feeling more real and less synthetic.’

To find out more about the Orange Op-Amp and its full specifications please go to  ” https://orangeamps.com/shop/op-amp and to see Adrian Emsley talking about the new Op-Amp check out this video here

Tracktion Launches Waveform DAW

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Tracktion Corporation is proud to announce the release of Waveform, the latest in their long line of innovative DAWs. Transcending the award-winning T7 in look, feel and feature set, Waveform maintains the open, intuitive characteristics of its predecessor. In addition to providing a solid recording platform, the Tracktion team has developed an array of new tools designed to speed up and expand creative composition.

All good DAW’s have the ability to record, edit, mix and share music however, Waveform may be the only application evolving at the same pace as modern music production. Since acquiring ownership of the platform in 2012, Tracktion has completely re-factored the application, adapting it to the latest production trends, on a yearly basis. No other DAW can make this claim. In addition, Waveform is laser focused on music production so it avoids the complexities inherent in most of today’s DAWs as they struggle to support everything from film mixing to enterprise operations or live music performance. 

Beyond sheer efficiency, Waveform inspires creativity with an unprecedented suite of composition tools. Intuitive MIDI pattern generators allow even untrained musicians to quickly assemble entire musical arrangements while built-in virtual instruments such as the FM Synth and new Collective™ sampler/synthesizer provide a wealth of new sounds and blending options for a truly sophisticated sonic palette. Of course, Waveform is also compatible with all VST and AU plugins such as Tracktion’s popular BioTek™ Organic Synthesizer.

“Our goal is to continually gain market share by remaining more current and flexible than our competitors,” explained Tracktion Corp CEO, James Woodburn. “Our constant re-factoring process means that we can track emerging production trends and incorporate the best ideas into our codebase. Watch on-line tutorials detailing how today’s top producers like to work and you’ll find that Tracktion seamlessly fits into those workflows.”

Despite the remarkable power of this application, Waveform’s highly refined code remains efficient enough to support even the relatively tiny Raspberry Pi platform. This allows the app to run smoothly on almost any modern Windows, Mac or Linux computer but also opens it for use as an embedded solution in the growing DIY maker community.

Waveform is available from the Tracktion website,  HYPERLINK “https://www.tracktion.com/” tracktion.com, as well as top retailers, with prices starting at $99.

Arturia Black Edition release of Keystep, Beatstep, Beatstep Pro

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Arturia are set to release a limited number of “Black Edition” KeyStep, BeatStep, and BeatStep Pro sequencer-controllers.

Known and loved throughout the industry, Arturia’s trio of DAW controlling, step-sequencing hybrids are now available in a sleek black finish. Offering something for every musician, the Step range synchronizes the analog and digital worlds, letting musicians control hardware instruments, outboard modules, virtual instruments, and reco

Each of the new Black Edition models comes complete with CV cables, giving you immediate access to the sequencer’s hardware control functionality.

 


rding software simultaneously.

Arturia KeyStep Black Edition – 149 US$ / 119 €

This small format keyboard sequencer features a 32-note slim-key keybed with aftertouch, and lets you sync with & control any software or hardware instrument through its comprehensive connectivity, including USB, MIDI in & out, CV gate, and Sync in & out. Create evolving, polyphonic sequences up to 64 steps long, with real-time recording and rewriting.

 

Arturia BeatStep Pro Black Edition – 299 US$ / 249 €

Arturia’s cutting edge, 3-part step sequencer now has a sleek new look. Featuring two separate melodic sequencers and a dedicated 16-track drum sequencer, BeatStep Pro gives the adventurous musician a powerful palette of tools to create dynamic, exciting tracks without the need for a computer screen.

 

Arturia BeatStep Black Edition – 129 US$ / 99 €

Packing 16 pressure and velocity sensitive pads and 16 rotary knobs into a neat package, BeatStep is an affordable way for musicians to get creative with simple monophonic step-sequences. Able to control outboard synths and virtual instruments alike, BeatStep’s versatility also makes it a great DAW controller.
The Black Edition KeyStep, BeatStep, and BeatStep Pro will begin shipping worldwide at the end of April 2017.