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Posts tagged "plugin"
Gigging musicians will want to check out the Nord Piano 88, which has been designed with live performance in mind. This new 88 key stage piano from Nord weighs in at just 39.6 pounds, but it’s heavy on features. In addition to 24 banks of 5 programs totaling 120 different program possibilities, it includes modeling of sympathetic string resonance and authentic pedal noise, which capture the realism of an acoustic upright or grand piano. The factory sounds loaded into the piano memory can also be exchanged and replaced with new sounds from the Nord piano library, which are free and downloadable from the Nord website through the Piano 88’s USB connectivity. MIDI over USB is also available with this unit, in addition to standard 5-pin MIDI connectors. The Nord Piano 88 feature set includes the standards as well, with three bands of EQ, three amp models, six reverb algorithms (two each of stage, hall, and room), and an effects library with the usual suspects. Some handy global and panel options on the unit: the transpose feature, with a range of -6 to +6 semitones, and Kbd touch, which allows you to alter the velocity response of the piano. Finally, the […]... Click on the title for more
Steinberg is teaming up with Rupert Neve Designs to release the first plugins modeled after Rupert’s Portico Series analog gear. The 5043 Compressor and 5033 EQ will both be available in VST and AU formats, for a price not yet announced. “Particularly known for designing all-analog signal processing equipment, Rupert Neve has been looking for the right technology to port his legendary designs to the digital domain. With Yamaha’s Virtual Circuitry Modeling (VCM) technology, this coveted intention was able to be realized, evolving to an alliance between Yamaha, Rupert Neve Designs and Steinberg. The very first plug-ins incorporating VCM technology emulating analog Portico hardware are now the RND Portico 5033 equalizer and RND Portico 5043 compressor. “With the Yamaha VCM technology, we’re able to pick up the amazing quality of musicality and accuracy that was inherent in the original Rupert Neve Designs Portico modules,” states Rupert Neve.” The 5043 Compressor plugin will follow the controls of the hardware unit, with threshold, ratio, attack, release, and gain, as well as the option to switch between feed-forward and feed-back compression. The 5033 EQ is a five-band equalizer, with three fully parametric bands and a low and high shelf. Also announced at NAMM […]... Click on the title for more
Universal Audio now has a plugin version of the Studer A800 tape machine. With a selection of controls to tweak – from tape speed and tape formula to calibration type, hiss, and hum – you can ‘hit the tape’ as hard as you like, and fine-tune the tone. While it’s a multichannel plugin, the handy ‘gang’ control adjusts any parameter globally, which is nice if you’re running it on every track. The A800 is considered one of the best 2″ recorders ever made, known for its warmth, clarity, and great low-end impact… some people say you can’t beat the real thing, but consider that the plugin version weighs 900lbs less. Sonic Scoop has more: “…the A800 plug-in is a first of its kind product, modeled by UA’s DSP engineers with help from AES magnetic recording expert Jay McKnight over a 12-month period. The plug-in models the entire tape path and circuit electronics of the classic hardware, plus the sounds of four distinct tape formulas.” Link to read the rest of the article on SonicScoop.com. –Mike Bauer... Click on the title for more
Working with audio ‘in the box’ provides little room for pushing past the boundaries of your device. Once you reach the upper limit of your digital gear, there’s no going any further. However, when you overdrive analog gear, the result can be very different – tube saturation, pleasing even-order harmonics, warmth and character. SoundToys aims to bring a little bit of analog gear saturation to the digital realm with Decapitator ($179.99 Native). The folks at SoundToys chose five pieces of classic analog recording gear, and modeled how they reacted as they were pushed to the point of saturation and then well beyond their normal limits. This resulted in five unique saturation algorithms, which are represented on the decapitator by the ‘Style’ buttons (labeled A, E, N, T, P). These choices include an Ampex 350 tape drive preamp, a Chandler/EMI TG channel strip, a Neve 1057 input channel, and a Culture Vulture distortion device (with either the triode or pentode tube setting). The Drive control will increase the amount of gain and distortion of your signal, ranging from subtle to over-the-top. While there is also an Output control, turning on the Auto Output switch will decrease the output level as you […]... Click on the title for more
Universal Audio just released two new plugins this Wednesday, adding to their numerous emulations of classic pieces of recording gear. The EP-34 Tape Echo and DBX 160 Compressor/Limiter ($199 each) represent two units from the 70’s that are still widely used and sought after. The EP-34 emulates the characteristics of both the EP-3 and EP-4, two solid-state models of the original Maestro Echoplex (pictured above). The unit was the first to introduce a slider that actually moved the tape heads further apart, resulting in a longer delay. Popular with guitarists and known for its warm and rich sound, the Echoplex set the standard for the delay effect, and can be found on recordings by Jimmy Page, Chet Atkins, and Joe Satriani among many more. The original DBX 160 Compressor/Limiter, commonly known as the “VU” model, was also on the cutting edge of recording technology when it was released in 1976. Nowadays, it remains a studio staple due to its distinct sonic signature – much loved on bass, drums, and vocals. With only threshold, compression, and output gain controls, the attack and release times were determined by nuances in the 160’s circuit – for instance, the release time increases as the […]... Click on the title for more
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The JHS Plugin is a replica of the Jordan Boss Tone, a device that captured the attention of many guitarists interested in vintage fuzz circuits mostly due to its form factor rather than its actual sound: released in 1967, it was one of the first guitar effects (and the first fuzz) that could be plugged right into your guitar's output jack. It had an on/off switch that needed to be toggled by hand to activate the effect.... Click on the title for more
