Tag Archives: DAW

World News

Bitwig Studio 5 is coming

Posted on by Decoded Magazine

Bitwig Studio 5 new model introduces 5 totally different MSEGs, new capabilities for our Clip Launcher, an overhaul to our browsers, and upgrades to your complete modulation system, akin to the flexibility to regulate track- and project-level parameters and to broaden modulators with pop-out home windows. These new gadgets and options provide the flexibility to attract your personal envelopes and LFOs in addition to revolutionary potentialities for stay efficiency. 

Learn extra right here

MSEGs: Beyond Envelopes

A multi-segment envelope generator (MSEG) is a instrument for drawing customized alerts for envelopes, automation shapes, looping patterns, oscillator curves, waveshapers, sequencers and so forth. We created 5 totally different sorts of MSEGs that can be utilized as Grid modules, and two of them are additionally obtainable as modulators. Separate gadgets means each is targeted on and optimized for its specific activity.

Segments is a customizable envelope that can be utilized as a Grid and Polymer module or as a modulator that controls any parameter. Four Play Mode op­tions are avail­in a position for Segments:

  • One-shot (⇀) – Plays by the en­tire form (whereas the voice is alive) when a word is triggered
  • Hold (𝄐) – Can use any one of many curve’s factors because the maintain/sus­tain lev­el, which additionally acts because the re­lease begin
  • Loop­ing (⇉) – Can loop forwards between any two of the curve’s factors on sus­tain; the loop finish level can also be the re­lease begin
  • Ping Pong (⇌) – Can loop forwards and backwards between any two of the curve’s factors on sus­tain; the loop finish level can also be the re­lease begin

Curves is an LFO modulator and Grid module that may sync to the beat time or groove. 

Scrawl is a draw-your-own oscillator for The Grid and Polymer Bitwig’s hybrid modular synth. Its anti-aliasing helps make any form work and sound good.

Slopes is a sample sequencer for The Grid with stereo section choices.

Transfer is a waveshaper for remodeling incoming audio or different alerts in The Grid.

Clicking any curve show opens the curve editor in a Pop-out Editor window that enables for straightforward freehand drawing. There are additionally shortcuts for leaping to double time or triplets. All your designs might be saved as a BWCURVE file and loaded in one other MSEG. A visible browser shows all presets and person content material at a look.

Modulation, Elevated

Bitwig’s modulation system units itself aside with a powerfully easy method: Any management supply — together with audio or CV alerts — can have an effect on any gadget or plug-in. In Bitwig Studio 5, our modulators are now not restricted to gadgets — they will seize the mixer and mission controls as effectively. That means one LFO can modulate any gadget on the identical observe, in addition to the observe’s panning, sends, and different parameters. Move that LFO to the mission degree so as to add modulations to all gadgets, channel strips, and transport targets. Furthermore, MSEGs aren’t the one 5.0 modulators with Pop-out Editor home windows. The Steps and Keytrack+ modulators, in addition to The Grid’s information sequencers, additionally received resizable panes for cleaner enhancing and a few useful new features.

New Performance Gestures

Performing stay with Bitwig Studio simply received extra thrilling with updates to the Clip Launcher. Users can now set Next Actions to happen when a key or pad is launched along with when it’s launched. ALT triggers provide a second choice for activating scenes or clips. These options permit performers to resolve how their set will unfold within the second, as they will (as an example) faucet a clip to launch it on the subsequent bar line, or ALT-trigger to right away swap to the brand new clip. Thavius Beck demonstrates this improved stay workflow in a brand new explanatory video.

Watch the Video

Project-wide regular and ALT-trigger gestures might be set in a single place, and you may customise any clip or scene to have its personal settings. That contains launch choices for each regular and ALT gestures, legato choices for following the enjoying clip or the mission transport, and a revamped Next Action part with easy loop counts.

Since all tracks now have their very own remotes, the mixer provides a chicken’s-eye view of crucial parameters. That method, constructing a custom-made set of combine and efficiency controls is straightforward. And new mapping choices permit customers to launch scenes and clips with any {hardware}.

Updated Browsers

Bitwig Studio 5 additionally introduces overhauled browsers for a extra streamlined expertise and a visible method to entry content material. Now, search outcomes for plug-ins, presets, and wavetables (and so forth. and so forth.) all stay in a single place. There’s additionally a customizable shortcuts pane that enables customers fast entry to their favourite sound packages, content material sorts (e.g. wavetables, drum hits, or samples) or folders. 

Some More

The foundations received some consideration as effectively, with a brand new onset detector that makes audio work higher from the second you drag it in. We’re additionally introducing Spanish and Korean language help for Bitwig Studio.The Keytrack+ modulator has an embedded curve editor so you possibly can merely draw your settings or save/load them as BWCURVE information. And for morphing management alerts, there’s a brand new Wavetable LFO modulator/Grid module, equally suited to irregular shapes.

Read all the small print within the changelog.

By The Numbers

v5 is the twentieth main launch of Bitwig Studio, which at the moment has 112 native devices, word FX, and different gadgets. The semi-modular Polymer synth now has 270 mixtures (9 oscillators × 6 filters × 5 envelopes). With the brand new MSEG household, Keytrack+, and Wavetable LFO, there are 42 modulators for controlling all the things from the mission mixer to CLAP/VST plug-ins. And The Grid now has a fleet of 199 modules, together with all 5 MSEGs, Wavetable LFO, and another useful new additions. Check the comparability chart to see which options, devices and results can be found within the totally different Bitwig Studio variations.

Availability

Bitwig Studio 5.0 is now in beta and might be examined by anybody with a Bitwig Studio license and an lively Upgrade Plan. The installers can be found within the person profiles. The official launch is deliberate for Q2 this yr. This is a free improve for all license holders with an lively Upgrade Plan at time of announcement

The submit Bitwig Studio 5 is coming appeared first on Decoded Magazine.

World News

Mix Real-World Review: PreSonus Studio One 6 Professional

Posted on by Mike Levine

PreSonus Studio One 6 Professional – Mix Real-World Review

MIX VERDICT: PreSonus Studio One 6 Professional
THE TAKEAWAY: “Studio One 6 Professional provides every thing you’d anticipate in a DAW and extra.”
COMPANY: PreSonus • www.presonus.com
PRICE: $399.95; $15.95/month; $199.95/12 months
PROS:
• Lyrics integration.
• Powerful new video options.
• New Fader Flip characteristic and plenty of different mixer enhancements.
• Customization Editor.
• Save and recall of Track Presets.
• User-organizable browser folders
CONS:
• Lyrics implementation could possibly be extra intuitive.
• Sliders in aux sends too small in unexpanded state.

Between its launch in 2009 and right now, Studio One has matured right into a workstation with an extremely sturdy characteristic set. The newest model, PreSonus Studio One 6 Professional, provides an enormous record of latest capabilities.

In this evaluate, I’ll cowl Studio One 6 Professional, the top-of-the-line model and the one you get for those who subscribe to the PreSonus Sphere subscription service. Space doesn’t enable me to cowl each new characteristic, however listed here are the highlights.

Lyrics, GUI customization and expanded channel views are some of the new features in PreSonus Studio One 6 Professional.
Lyrics, GUI customization and expanded channel views are among the new options in PreSonus Studio One 6 Professional.

NO LOSS FOR WORDS

Perhaps essentially the most vital and distinctive addition to Studio One 6 is the Lyrics Track. A Global Track, just like the Chords, Marker and Arranger Tracks (amongst others), opens just under the timeline on the Song or Show web page.

Click wherever within the Lyrics Track, and also you’ll get a immediate the place you can begin coming into phrases. Alternatively, you may drag and drop lyrics instantly onto the Lyrics Track. To modify the place phrases or phrases sit on the timeline, you may click on and drag them. Lyrics will even conform to the grid if it’s turned on.

The major space for viewing and modifying Lyrics is a separate window referred to as Lyrics Display. Anything entered within the Lyrics Track reveals up there (you too can enter and edit lyrics instantly within the Lyrics Display). The Lyrics Display is expandable, as is its font dimension.

The lyrics are synched to the timeline. As a track performs, they get highlighted in blue on the applicable time, like a “follow-the-bouncing-ball” impact. Moreover, the show scrolls, so the best phrases will all the time seem, even in lengthy songs.

After some experimentation, I noticed that it’s a lot quicker to line up the primary phrase of every line when coming into the lyrics for onscreen viewing. When the track performs, every line will get highlighted on the appropriate time.

You have the choice to assign lyrics to a selected (MIDI) Instrument Track. That is useful if you wish to file or program the melody onto that monitor after which use it to create a lead sheet to print or export from Studio One’s Score Editor.

Once you’ve got an Instrument Track with the melody, it’s a breeze to assign lyrics in order that they line up with every be aware head, which is crucial for a lead sheet. Using the Lyrics software, you choose a be aware for the primary syllable and sort it in. Next, press the area bar, and the cursor advances to the next be aware.

It took me a while to determine easy methods to use the Lyrics Track. Its implementation is advanced and must be extra intuitive in sure facets, however when you study its capabilities and instructions, it’s highly effective and versatile.

YOU OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES

The Video Track is one other new Global Track in Studio One 6 Professional. It considerably improves on the minimal video capabilities of earlier variations. For instance, you may load as many video clips as you need into the timeline through drag and drop (Studio One’s assist of drag-and-drop all through the appliance is first-rate). The audio tracks from the video clips present up as separate, editable tracks.

Most notably, the Video Track permits primary reduce/ copy/paste modifying. No, it gained’t change a devoted video editor, however it does will let you shortly assemble video clips or work on including audio to a number of clips in the identical session. When completed, you may export the video in a number of codecs, together with MPEG-4, M4V and QuickTime.

MIXER MANIA

Of all of the areas in Studio One, the Console acquired essentially the most enhancements, and Fader Flip is the good of those new options. Based on comparable performance in outboard digital mixers, Fader Flip permits you to quickly use the primary faders to regulate the degrees of any FX, bus or cue combine ship.

For instance, say you’ve got a reverb ship that you just’re utilizing on a number of tracks, and also you wish to examine and tweak its ranges throughout the combination. Right-click or control-click on a ship, choose Flip Faders (or press the Fader Flip button on the left aspect of the Console) and the primary faders on all of the mixer channels grow to be controls for the ship ranges. It offers you a comparative view of the ship ranges on each monitor, and you’ll modify them with larger decision in Fader Flip mode. When you’ve completed tweaking, flip them again.

Also new and helpful are Expandable Send and Pan controls. In earlier variations, the Sends had been arduous to regulate due to the small dimension of their horizontal sliders. Now, you may double-click on a ship or panner and get a a lot bigger model.

PreSonus AudioBox Go – A Real-World Review

You can develop all of the controls for a mixer channel (one channel at a time) by clicking the Mixer Channel Overview button, situated on each channel strip and plug-in window. Doing so opens a large devoted window containing the channel controls, together with quantity, pan, sends and inserts.

Whether you’re in Mixer Channel Overview or simply trying on the mixer at its common dimension, the Micro View Controls now provide you with controls for any third-party plug-in for important parameters from a channel insert, adjustable proper within the channel strip (or the Mixer Channel Overview). If you click on on an insert within the channel, its Micro View Controls open. They’re fairly small in an everyday channel strip, however extra comfy while you swap to a Mixer Channel Overview.

PreSonus additionally added two extra stereo panning modes, adjustable per monitor. You can now swap any stereo channel from the default Balance panner to both Dual or Binaural mode. A Dual panner permits you to management all sides individually. The Binaural panner permits side-to-side panning and makes use of mid-side processing to regulate the perceived width between 0 % and 200 %.

HAVE IT YOUR WAY

Studio One 6 provides many new methods to customise the GUI and your information. Right-clicking within the Toolbar space brings up the Customize button. Pressing it opens the Customization Editor, a separate window with classes for the Toolbar, Inspector, Transport controls and Browser. In every class, you may take away the controls you don’t wish to see, then save your settings as a preset.

The new Track Presets characteristic permits you to save monitor and channel settings for single or a number of tracks and channels.

The Browser Favorites and Folders characteristic permits you to manage your results and instrument plug-ins within the Browser. Any plug-in you mark as a Favorite will get mechanically deposited within the Favorites folder, and you’ll create your personal folders and organize your plug-ins nevertheless you need. Especially when you’ve got lots of third-party plug-ins, customized folders might be fairly useful.

New folder-organizing options had been additionally added to the Start Page for customizing the way you view your Studio One Documents earlier than opening them.

The new video window with the Vocoder and PRO EQ3 open in PreSonus Studio One 6 Professional.
The new video window with the Vocoder and PRO EQ3 open in PreSonus Studio One 6 Professional.

PLUG AND PLAY

Besides all of the consumer interface and mixer enhancements, PreSonus additionally launched a few plug-ins—De-Esser and Vocoder—and up to date the prevailing PRO EQ.

The De-Esser is straightforward however efficient, with controls for Frequency and S-Reduction, adjusting the filter form and vary, and soloing the filtered sign.

The retro-looking Vocoder makes it simple to create basic robot-voice results and extra. It incorporates a matrix within the middle the place you may graphically edit the degrees and I/O routings of the filters. You can swap to Sidechain mode after which use a MIDI instrument to regulate the pitch of the vocoded supply.

PRO EQ3 provides dynamic EQ performance to every band of an already stellar plug-in. If you activate Dynamic mode for a band, you may set Threshold and Range and even set off it from a sidechain. The sidechain performance is compelling as a result of you may set one other monitor to set off the enhance or reduce.

For instance, when you’ve got a vocal that’s getting masked by a rhythm guitar half that in any other case sounds nice and well-balanced, you may set a delicate however broad attenuation on the guitar that solely is available in when the vocal is current.

OPEN SESAME

The new Smart Templates characteristic offers you beginning factors for the assorted Studio One actions (I might have stated “initiatives,” however in Studio One world, that phrase refers explicitly to mastering).

On the left aspect of the New Document window, you’ll see a colourful record of Smart Templates similar to Record Now, Play Now, Rehearse and Perform, Produce Beats, Master and Release, Create Content Import Files and extra. When you open one, it’s populated with tracks, plug-ins and different options applicable to its objective.

For instance, Produce Beats opens with digital drums, synth bass and one other synth sound with Step Record chosen for every. The Record Now template opens to an audio monitor able to file (nice for capturing these surprising track concept inspirations).

Many of the Smart Templates comprise devoted floating assist home windows aimed toward novice customers, which offer a step-by-step tutorial of the elements and workflow in that template.

ONE FOR ALL

Unless you’re engaged on multichannel audio, which isn’t supported, PreSonus Studio One 6 Professional provides every thing you’d anticipate in a DAW and extra. With its separate workspaces for recording/mixing, mastering and dwell efficiency, it’s extremely sturdy and appropriate for any music style.

Thanks to the brand new Lyrics and Video Tracks, the enhancements within the Console, and the customization choices, it’s extra complete than ever.

World News

Embed a DAW into any web site with Soundation

Posted on by Decoded Magazine

Soundation has now made it doable for any firm or producer promoting beats or pattern packs to embed a DAW instantly into their web site, so customers don’t have to depart the corporate’s website to check their merchandise. Companies and producers create their initiatives in Soundation’s free on-line DAW, and may then embed this mission into their web site, the place guests can pay attention, mess around with, and remix their observe. Visitors is not going to make lasting edits that have an effect on the subsequent consumer or the unique mission, and don’t must create an account or go away the web site to make use of it.

While this unlocks many distinctive alternatives for testing earlier than buy and elevated visibility for his or her content material or tracks, this characteristic will also be utilized by music marketplaces for remix competitions or different use circumstances – Soundation is versatile to firm wants, and since Soundation is an online app, the staff can customise the consumer expertise to suit the person firm’s distinctive wants.

“By including a fully-equipped customizable DAW, web sites will get a brand new device that may assist them enhance the worth they can provide to their customers and clients,” says Soundation CEO Adam Hasslert. “This hasn’t been accessible till now, however we see this as an actual recreation changer for music tech firms, producers, and creators.”

After producers create the observe they’d prefer to embed on their web site, they will then customise how they want the DAW to look, together with the thumbnail, headline, colour scheme, and facet ratio. Producers want no prior coding data; they will copy and paste the code into a web site builder like WordPress or Shopify, and preview how their mission will seem. This is as simple as embedding a YouTube video to a web site.

This is all supported by Soundation’s collaborative, cloud-based DAW that caters to producers in any stage of their musical journey. It is crammed with royalty-free beats and all of the instruments essential to create high-quality tracks on-line – and is free for all to make use of. Soundation additionally presents Soundation Education, a easy and collaborative on-line music studio for faculties.

Soundation will even launch Workspaces, enabling music tech firms to create their very own dashboards for his or her customers to avoid wasting initiatives and content material. This characteristic will even be accessible for Soundation Education, so lecturers can have completely different dashboards for various courses.

More data, together with detailed steps, is obtainable about Embed on the Soundation web site right here.

The publish Embed a DAW into any web site with Soundation appeared first on Decoded Magazine.

World News

Online DAW Soundation Can Now Be Embedded In Your Website

Posted on by Mix Staff
Web-based DAW Soundation can now be embedded into a web site.

Stockholm, Sweden (March 21, 2023)—Every digital audio workstation has slightly one thing that makes it distinctive and essential to its customers; as of immediately, Soundation, a free web-based DAW, has added a kind of little tweaks: Since it’s web-based, the DAW can now be embedded into a web site.

While it cites a couple of potential makes use of for such a function, Soundation’s fundamental focus for it’s to assist corporations or producers promote beats or pattern packs — by putting these choices immediately in an embedded DAW on the vendor’s web site, customers don’t should obtain and/or go away an organization’s website to take a look at the product.

Companies and producers create a undertaking in Soundation’s on-line DAW, and may then embed the undertaking into their web site, the place guests can hear, mess around with, and remix their monitor. Visitors can’t make lasting edits that have an effect on the following consumer or the unique undertaking, and don’t have to create an account or go away the web site to make use of it. Another potential use case could be for remix competitions, and since Soundation is an internet app, the staff can customise the consumer expertise to suit a person firm’s wants.

Soundation’s Beatmaker Online DAW Debuts

The web site proprietor can customise how the DAW seems, together with the thumbnail, headline, coloration scheme and side ratio. No prior coding information is critical, as code could be cut-and-pasted into a web site builder like WordPress or Shopify.

“By including a fully-equipped customizable DAW, web sites will get a brand new instrument that may assist them enhance the worth they can provide to their customers and prospects,” says Soundation CEO Adam Hasslert. “This hasn’t been out there till now, however we see this as an actual recreation changer for music tech corporations, producers, and creators.”

Outside of the brand new function, Soundation’s collaborative, cloud-based DAW, presently utilized by 100,000 creatives every month, provides royalty-free beats and numerous manufacturing instruments; the corporate additionally provides Soundation Education, a easy and collaborative on-line music studio for colleges. Soundation may even launch Workspaces, enabling music tech corporations to create dashboards for his or her customers to save lots of initiatives and content material. This function may even be out there for Soundation Education, so lecturers can have completely different dashboards for various lessons.

World News

Endlesss Aims to Merge the Studio and Gaming with Beat Machine

Posted on by Clive Young
Beat Machine merges a variety of videogame and music-production controls.
Beat Machine merges a wide range of videogame and music-production controls.

London, UK (February 23, 2023)—Ever since video video games appeared within the Nineteen Seventies, they’ve typically been tied to a different pop-culture juggernaut: music. From the early melodic strains of Buckner & Garcia’s novelty hit “Pac-Man Fever” and the Journey Escape sport for the Atari 2600 console, to newer instances with the Rock Band collection for PlayStation and the sub-industry that has constructed up round high-profile sport soundtracks, music and video video games have at all times been in step. Now UK-based music social platform/plug-in home Endlesss is aiming to attach the 2 mediums in a approach that’s typically been neglected—the artistic side—by gamifying music manufacturing by way of its new Beat Machine arcade machine/studio system.

Housed in a conventional upright arcade cupboard, Beat Machine is a music-creation instrument powered by the corporate’s Endlesss Studio app/social community, which generally operates on Mac, Windows and iOS. The Beat Machine arcade cupboard takes a special method, nevertheless, bringing collectively conventional arcade controls with an 5-inch touchpad XY controller, 24-inch touchscreen interface, a Neutrik XLR/Jack instrument enter, two TRS jack audio outputs, a pair of USB-C ports for attaching MIDI controllers and a built-in sound system.

Beat Machine can be utilized in three totally different modes—Arcade, Open Mic and Studio—the final of which gives a extra in-depth recording expertise. In Studio mode, customers can join acoustic devices, map MIDI controllers, host VST3 plug-ins, import/export audio, collaborate with different musicians through Endlesss’ social platform and extra.

Paul Massey Builds His Ultimate 9.1.6 Mixing Studio, Part 1

While Beat Machine is in some ways merely a big, distinctive controller for Endlesss’ available Endless Studio, the physicality of the arcade-cabinet design achieves one thing that software program alone can not, by shifting beat-making away from being a solitary exercise achieved behind a desk, and bringing it right into a extra social, entertainment-focused milieu. Leaning into that, Beat Machine’s Arcade mode serves up game-like music-making missions, whereas the Open Mic mode lets customers use the cupboard as a live-music creation instrument.

Imogen Heap is an early adopter of the device.
Imogen Heap is an early adopter of the system.

While Beat Machine is understandably closely oriented in direction of leisure use, Endlesss is nonetheless positioning it as a severe manufacturing instrument as properly. Grammy-winner Imogen Heap, an early Beat Machine adopter, famous in a press release, “The Beat Machine is sort of a portal to my stream state. It’s unimaginable the locations it takes my musical exploration…. There aren’t any distractions; you might be totally pulled into play for hours, not hunched over a desk however shifting and dancing about upright. Having the buttons and joystick together with the touchscreen actually takes Endlesss [Studio] to a brand new stage….”

For now, Beat Machine is now accessible for pre-order with an preliminary run of 25 models, working $9,999 every plus transport. Endlesss notes it has a demo unit onsite in its London headquarters that potential prospects can take for a check run.

World News

Mix Tech Spotlight: Digital Audio Workstations 2022

Posted on by Mix Staff

New York, NY (November 30, 2022)—Every year brings with it new updates to our favorite digital audio workstations, bringing with them new features, bug fixes and more aimed at everyone from new users to veteran pros. With that in mind, here’s some of the major DAW editions we’ve seen this year.

Audacity 3.2
Audacity 3.2

Audacity 3.2

With the release of Audacity 3.2 in late September, following the company’s acquisition last year by Muse Group, the program got one of its biggest overhauls to date, with the goal of making the open-source DAW an end-to-end production tool. To that end, Audacity has added real-time effects support, non-destructive editing, VST3 support, UX and UI improvements, and online audio sharing with the newly launched audio.com, the company’s free cloud-based audio file platform. The underlying code has been completely rewritten to ensure stability and the GUI has been reworked to provide a smoother editing experience, with the audio output bar and volume slider combined. A new Audio Setup option allows for changes to input, mic and output settings.

Avid Pro Tools Intro
Avid Pro Tools Intro

Avid Pro Tools Intro

With Pro Tools upgrades and feature additions coming throughout the year, along with associated partnerships and workflow enhancements, it can be a full-time job just keeping up. Big news came in early October, however, with the debut of Pro Tools Intro as a free download—the idea being to offer PT functionality to a new generation of content creators. Built on the Pro Tools code base, which ensures a smooth upgrade path, Intro includes most of the essential features, including MIDI tools and dozens of core effects and instrument plug-ins. Pro Tools Intro users become part of the Avid global community through the Avid Link app, allowing content to be shared with others; by upgrading to the AvidPlay subscription service, users could then distribute their content to the world.

Focus Features, AppleTV+ and Universal Join Mix Presents Sound for Film: Awards Season

DaVinci Resolve 18—Fairlight
DaVinci Resolve 18—Fairlight

Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve 18—Fairlight

Fairlight, a DAW that dates back to the late 1980s, gained new life when it was integrated into the Davinci Resolve engine, and with the July 2022 update to Resolve 18, it packs a host of new features, including the ability to convert fixed bus projects to FlexBus in project settings, freely order tracks and buses in the mixer via the track index, and nudge custom millisecond or sub-frame intervals in the timeline. It also features improved quality for time-stretched audio, improved Dolby Atmos immersive mixing, including binaural monitoring, and Native support for Dolby Atmos production for Linux and Apple silicon. Improved plug-in management adds replace-and-copy settings in the mixer, and there are new built-in presets for equalizers and dynamics, along with dozens of improvements and upgrades to specific features.

Soundation Beatmaker Online DAW
Soundation Beatmaker Online DAW

Soundation Beatmaker Online DAW

In early October, music software developer Soundation launched Beatmaker, an online DAW/social platform intended to help emerging musicians collaborate online by providing ready-made and royalty-free beats, drum kits and samples, and also allowing users to upload their own sounds and samples. After they’re uploaded, beats and samples can be manipulated and edited within the online sequencer and sampler for beat making—and ultimately be shared with others within Soundation’s online community of 100,000 users. Producers can immediately use the Beatmaker studio to remix beats made by MG the Future, with kits by Justin Hawkes and Bishu to follow. No sign-up is required. Each kit comes with a beat pattern, which can be built upon or completely changed by the user.

Steinberg Cubase 12
Steinberg Cubase 12

Steinberg Cubase 12

Every version of Cubase—Pro, Artist and Elements—has been updated with the introduction of Cubase 12 earlier this year. All three editions now sport enhanced controller support, allowing MIDI controllers to be integrated by automatically detecting selected controllers and providing enhanced options for mapping external devices. Also, the Chord Track now allows audio events to be dragged and dropped to provide MIDI chord progressions for audio. Additionally, the entire Cubase family gets new editing workflow improvements and near sample-accurate volume automation, which is no longer affected by the set buffer size.

World News

TC Electronic Debuts System 6000 Native Plug-Ins

Posted on by ProSoundNetwork Editorial Staff
TC Electronic System 6000 Native Plug-Ins
TC Electronic System 6000 Native Plug-Ins

New York, NY (March 17, 2021)—TC Electronic has launched its line of System 6000 Native plug-ins for mixing and mastering, aiming to bring the sound of the company’s long-running hardware processor as a series of native plug-ins.

Originally launched in 1999 and available in Music, Mastering, Broadcast and Film variants, TC Electronic’s System 6000 processor has been a go-to piece of gear for many pros, and it’s not uncommon to find a unit in recording, film, post and mastering studios around the world. The System 6000 has won a trio of TEC Awards over the years—in 2000 for the original System 6000; in 2005 for the Mastering 6000; and in 2010 for System 6000 MKII.

Music Tribe Acquires Aston Microphones

According to the company, the plug-ins’ development team included numerous engineers from the original System 6000 team. The new plugs offer full support for standard DAW automation and project recall, along with new optimized user interface ergonomics.

MD4 HD NATIVE ($249)—Available for the first time as a plug-in for DAW-based productions, it is a high-definition dynamics processor that features a 6-band EQ, 5-band compressor, low levels focused DXP mode and optimized true-peak limiter.

VSS4 HD NATIVE ($249)—Also available for the first time as a plug-in for DAW-based productions, the VSS4 HD is a Stereo Reverb that aims to provide sound comparable to real-world mono or stereo sources positioned in an authentic or virtual space with adjustable early reflections and stereo diffused fields.

MD3 NATIVE ($199)—This is presented by TC Electronic as the core of its dynamics sound. It offers Mono, Stereo, Mid/Side operation and includes 3-band transparent Expander/Compressor, flexible EQ and modern Peak/True-Peak Limiting technologies.

NONLIN 2 NATIVE ($199)—It is a high-end effects reverb with envelope functionality for generating compact vocal ambience, reverse reverb, new effects and the traditional 1980s gated drum reverb.

VSS3 NATIVE ($199)—VSS3 is a reverb designed to deliver smooth reverb tails, add ambience to productions and more.

System 6000 Native plugins are compatible with all major DAWs and deliver full support for standard DAW automation and project recall. The plugs are available individually or as a bundle for $699; users upgrading from a VSS3 NATIVE plug-in to the current version can do so for free and get a reduced rate on purchasing the complete bundle at $599.

TC Electronic • www.tcelectronic.com

World News

PreSonus Studio One V5.2 Debuts

Posted on by ProSoundNetwork Editorial Staff
PreSonus has released Studio One 5 Professional V5.2, marking the second feature update to its long-running DAW.
PreSonus has released Studio One 5 Professional V5.2, marking the second feature update to its long-running DAW.

Baton Rouge, LA (March 10, 2021)—PreSonus has released Studio One 5 Professional V5.2, marking the second feature update to its long-running DAW. The new edition adds more than 30 new features and improvements.

Studio One 5.2’s new Sound Variations is intended for use corralling complex virtual instruments and orchestral libraries. Central to it is a mapping editor that provides tools for managing complex articulation maps. Each Sound Variation can be customized with its own name and color, and can be dragged-and-dropped in any order and placed into custom folders. Sound Variations can be triggered by key switches, as well as from remote commands, including hardware controllers, keyboard shortcuts, custom macros and more. All Synchron-enabled Vienna Symphonic Instruments, as well as instruments from UJAM fully support dynamic  Sound Variations mapping with Studio One, and a new API allows third-party developers to enable their VST2 and VST3 instruments’ articulations to be queried by Studio One so that Sound Variation maps are automatically generated.

The Score View has been updated with the addition of drum notation and tablature. Users can choose between viewing standard notation with tablature or select tablature only to print lead sheets and more. A new drum-map interface lets users add both the drum and note names to a corresponding notated pitch. A General MIDI map is included for quick setup. New symbols in the Score View allow open/closed/half-open techniques to be added as well. A new Voices icon allows up to four voices per staff to be created.

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For performers, the relatively new Show Page has gained a new feature—the Arranger Track—letting users experiment on the fly with new arrangements. Each Arranger section in every Setlist item has five playback mode options: Continue, Stop at End, Skip, Loop, or Loop and Continue; the latter can repeat any section for a specific number of times before playback continues to the next Arranger Section, aiding impromptu extended solos and breakdowns on stage. The new Arranger Track also supports patch changes mid-song.

Version 5.2 adds a number of other features, including the ability to create multiple clip versions, allowing the user to apply clip-based edits in Gain Envelopes or Melodyne independently to Events sharing the same audio; a new “Smart” tool for editing Note Events in the Piano Roll editor; and deeper integration with both ATOM SQ and FaderPort-series controllers. PreSonus Sphere workspaces are also now available directly from the Studio One Browser for bidirectional file transfer. And Studio One is now officially supported for Apple Silicon ARM processors in Rosetta 2 compatibility mode.

Studio One 5.2 is a free update to all registered Studio One 5 customers and is available free to PreSonus Sphere members.

PreSonus • www.presonus.com

World News

Avid Pro Tools 2020.11’s New Features – A Real-World Review

Posted on by Rich Tozzoli
Avid Pro Tools 2020.11’s new Routing Folder feature.
Avid Pro Tools 2020.11’s new Routing Folder feature.

Having worked with Avid’s new Pro Tools 2020.11 and likewise new Carbon interface for some time now, I wanted to highlight a few fresh features that I’ve found useful in the daily workflow.

Routing Folder: This organizational tool lets you select tracks and route them into a neatly packaged folder which behaves like a traditional Aux channel on steroids. There are two approaches to this—you can create the Routing Folder then put tracks into it, or select tracks and create a Routing Folder directly from them. For me, the value of the Routing Folder is that you can process it like an Aux, but then collapse it with the click of a button. You still have access to Solo, Mute, Insert, Send and so on.

For organization, you can collapse the entire folder structure by clicking on the small folder Icon at the bottom of each Routing Folder; simply click it again to unfold it back. Also, when in the Edit window, you can place the insertion point anywhere in a Folder track and select Shift-F to toggle between closed or open.

If you already have an Aux track setup for such purposes, you can also just click on the Aux and select ‘Convert Aux to Routing Folder.’ You could also just create a ‘Basic Folder,’ which has the same functionality minus the ability to process or route. Folders can also be created within folders for additional sub processing.

By using these folder tools, it makes the session much more streamlined both visually and functionally.

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Convert Audio to MIDI: There’s only one word for this feature: Wow! With Pro Tools 2020.11, you can take audio tracks from your timeline and convert them into MIDI files. By selecting your audio clip and dragging it onto an Instrument Track, a Menu box appears with the ability to choose Automatic, Universal, Percussive, Percussive Pitched, Melodic, Polyphony Sustain or Polyphony Decay Conversion Types, and it offers you the option to Consolidate the Clip. You can also choose selections from the Clip List, by selecting the Copy Audio as MIDI dropdown menu option. From there, just drop the Audio Clip with its associated MIDI track to the Timeline. It’s that easy.

All of this is enabled through the authorization of Melodyne in your Pro Tools account. Pro Tools subscriptions and Software Update + Support Plans come with Melodyne 5 essential, which, aside from helping with the Convert Audio to MIDI, allows you to fix those questionable notes.

The first thing I did was take a recorded bass track and turn it into MIDI. From there, I tweaked a few note lengths (only had to do a few!) and assigned it to an Omnisphere stereo sub bass patch. The combination together was ridiculous. I then took a kick drum and turned it into MIDI, assigning that to an 808 kick in another piece of software. Imagine where we can go from here.

Dark Theme: For those who like the drama of the dark side, you can alter how the Mix and Edit windows look. By going to Preferences > Display > UI Theme, the dropdown menu lets you select between Classic or Dark. If you select Dark, Pro Tools will ask you to restart for the UI theme change to take effect. After restarting, you’ll notice a whole new world of color attitude. I like it just for a change of mindset, and I hope to see more adjustments available for it in future updates to allow for various gradients and more. It is cool, though, for the late evening sessions or when you want to lower the lights and have some attitude.

Avid • www.avid.com

World News

Parfitt Keeps Creativity Flowing with Patch

Posted on by ProSoundNetwork Editorial Staff
Neil Parfitt
Neil Parfitt

Toronto, Canada (December 22, 2020) — Neil Parfitt, who composes music for children’s animation, spanning preschool, teen comedy and even Japanese Anime, is using Flock Audio’s Patch System to audition his custom signal chains within his workflow.

“In 2015, I had DAW fatigue, and got tired of just staring at a screen all the time, so started buying some of my key outboard gear,” he recalls. “So I began using analog outboard on the front end, and also during mixing on the back end, and things began to get really complicated.”

Once he began using Patch, that changed, he says: “Patch has changed my set up from set and forget to a sonic playground because I can easily reconfigure everything at any point, and has actually made me appreciate outboard gear even more.”

Innovations: Flock Audio PATCH System

Parfitt has his Patch connected to the master insert on his Neve 8816 summing mixer. “From there, all my analog gear kind of acts like sweetening. I can do mid-side, parallel compression, and other kinds of processing. But if a client calls, I can instantly load a different preset which automatically takes that same outboard gear, I can run my synth through it and record it. Patch has allowed me to reconfigure my entire workflow instantly and that’s what hooked me into it.”

He continues, “I love the sound of having things hardwired, but in the past, you couldn’t experiment in the same way as you can in a DAW with software. Now, Patch has allowed me to play with my gear like Lego. I feel like I can experiment freely without crossing this threshold of going in-the-box. It has made my system a giant sandbox playground. I can load different presets and changes are seamless for any of my projects.”

Now, Parfitt is able to treat his analog hardware much like DSP plug-ins, with dedicated paths for each show he works on. “When I am on a show, once I figure out the signal path for a particular show, I will give it a preset. For instance, maybe one preset will involve tracking modular synth that will contain the outboard I need. In these cases, using different gear, I can audition any order of any outboard gear instantly, which is unreal. I can instantly add or remove compressors, reverbs or other processors without having to rewire or ever leave the mix position. Patch has opened up a whole new world for me.”

Flock Audio • www.flockaudio.com