UJAM Virtual Drummer 2 – Update to the Slammin’ Plugin
UJAM Virtual Drummer 2 – Update to the Slammin’ Plugin AVID and UJAM have teamed up together to release UJAM Virtual Drummer 2! It’s available as a VST, an AU, or an AAX plugin. We wrote an article a year ago when they offered the first version for free, and we loved it. We were very excited to see what the update had brought and were not disappointed. So what is the plugin? Well, it is a playable instrument filled with 720 drum patterns ranging across 30 various styles of music. The samples were all recorded from 5 drum kits each with 6 different ‘character’ styles. The acoustic kit sounds pretty darn good and can be modulated to mix in some electronic drums. We had the pleasure of looking at one sample pack – PHAT – which has a beautiful interface and is a breeze to use. The top left …
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Sugar – The Ultimate Audio Sweetener
Sugar – The Ultimate Audio Sweetener This week we are covering an incredible multiband plugin called Sugar. Sugar is made by Process.Audio where they are all about the music. They are a collection of artists and music makers who got together to shift the focus of modern production back onto the music-making and less on the minutia of music editing. Sugar is the result of this mission, and is appropriately dubbed the ‘ultimate audio sweetener’. Sugar is a one-stop-shop, a plugin that is meant to put mastering-level processing in an easy to use package. In this article, we will run through the plugin’s features and tell you what we love and think could improve (if anything). Continue below! Workflow The workflow with Sugar is simple, it is made to enhance audio. There are limited controls so you only need to face a limited amount of parameters to shape your sound. …
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Next Level Vocals – iZotope Nectar 3 with Melodyne 4 Essential
Next Level Vocals – iZotope Nectar 3 with Melodyne 4 Essential iZotope has released their newest version of the vocal processing plugin Nectar 3. This is the next addition to their growing ecosystem of ‘smart’ plugins with assistive technology. In this article, we’ll run through all of the effects modules in Nectar 3, and tell you what we think of them. Then, we’ll give a quick run through of Melodyne Essential 4 which comes bundled with each copy of Nectar 3. iZotope Nectar 3 We tested out Nectar 3 using Ableton Live 10 and compared its effects to a combination of Soundtoys and Ableton Live’s native effects. We found it incredibly easy to replicate the sound between the two. This speaks to the ease and power that Nectar 3 brings to the table. Continue below to learn more. What Is It? Nectar 3 is the newest version of the multi-effects plugin, …
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How To Get The Perfect Amount Of Bass When Mastering Audio
How To Get The Perfect Amount Of Bass When Mastering Audio We’re happy to announce a new partnership with MasteringtheMix, a website with amazing audio plugins. When Tom reached out to us we were excited to see what his plugins could offer. Levels, Animate, Reference, and Expose all have proved to be super helpful in the mixing and mastering process. We’re featuring an article written by Tom guiding you in how to achieve an awesome bass balance while mastering. He uses a few of his own plugins as tools and we would highly suggest trying them out. Read below! This is where so many potentially awesome tracks fail. Too much bass and your track will sound bloated and lack clarity. Not enough bass and your track will sound weak. I have a process that helps me set the perfect amount of bass for my clients every time. Since …
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Speektra – Retro Chipspeak Synthesizer
Speektra – Retro Chipspeak Synthesizer PureMagnetik recently released Speektra, “a speech simulation synthesizer based on the VOSIM method developed by Kaegi and Tempelaars in the 1970s. It uses bursts of pulses with formant characteristics to synthesize robotic vowel sounds.” VOSIM stands for Voice Simulation and is based on the idea that by employing repeating tone-burst signals of variable pulse duration and variable delay, a sound output of high linguistic and musical expressive power can be obtained according to the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, June, 1978. The user interface is very clean and quite easy to get started with right away. The controls are simply allowing for synthesis shaping through Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release. We are also given a knob for each vocal wave. Puremagnetik implements VOSIM in a more elaborate way by allowing you to modulate the shapes of your sounds between vowels and waveshapes. You can also choose your voice register (Bass to …
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DRUMS – Spitfire LABS is Back With a New Drum Library
DRUMS – Spitfire LABS is Back With a New Drum Library Spitfire Audio is back with their latest installment of their FREE to download professionally sampled audio library collection LABS (Let’s All Become Something). We covered their first two releases early last month for their Piano and Strings instruments. Both of those libraries proved to be quality options especially given the price tag of FREE. So, this time around we are provided their foray into drums – courtesy of drummer Oliver Waton and engineer Stanley Gabriel – and super happy for the option. If you are new to the Spitfire Audio LABS plugin then you may be relieved to find the user interface is minimalistic. There are only 3 controls – the 2 sliders and one large knob – Expression, Dynamics, and Reverb. Expression is described as an internal volume control in the tutorial below but they don’t expand upon the details …
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Captain Chords 2.0 – Composition Simplified
Captain Chords 2.0 – Composition Simplified Mixed In Key recently launched the most recent update to their Captain Chords plugin, Captain Chords 2.0. We’ve had our eyes on the whole Captain suite of plugins for a while now and with the update thought it’d be a perfect time to finally try it out and give it a proper review. Captain Chords 2.0 is just one of many in the Captain suite of plugins, so we’ll touch on the other plugins that come with the bundle later on in the review! Captain Chords 2.0 has a clean interface that can be navigated easily and quickly, the very first screen you’ll see when opening the plugin is where you decide which key you’ll be composing your chords in (you have an option to not see this screen at the bottom). There are a number of different scales to choose from ranging from …
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MS EQ COMP – FREE Midside Compressor
MS EQ COMP – FREE Midside Compressor Internet Co. recently released a FREE mid-side equalizer and compressor plugin called simply MS EQ COMP. The plugin is available both for Windows and Mac OS platforms. It is a straightforward plugin in design and function which we’re quite grateful for, it’s part of what makes this such a quality plugin. The effect features a 3-band equalizer specifically for adjusting the center or the sides. If you aren’t interested in getting that type of processing you can link the modules in order to work in stereo by pressing a clearly labeled and easy to see button at the bottom of the plugin’s GUI. A bonus feature is a preset manager where you can save and recall your favorite presets. Internet Co. features this description on their website – MS EQ COMP can encode standard STEREO (left/right) signal to MS (middle and side) and add EQ …
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