Friday 24 February 2017

Spitfire Audio's LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS for Kontakt. A masterpiece.

 Press News
 

Spitfire Audio aligns with London Contemporary Orchestra to create cutting-edge strings library like no other
LONDON, UK: Spitfire Audio, purveyors of the finest virtual instruments from the finest musical samples in the world, is proud to announce availability of LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS — serving up everything needed to make cutting-edge strings music on a beautifully prepared platter, perfectly produced in partnership with the London Contemporary Orchestra, whose work with the likes of Radiohead and Jed Kurzel (Alien: Covenant) has contributed significantly to a shift in string writing, with rich recordings of violin, viola, cello, and bass sections resulting in a host of dynamically-controllable, never-before-sampled articulations that are as playable and musical as they are transformational.
Always a company keen to keep its collective ear to the ground and never one to rest on its collective laurels, Spitfire Audio noted a shift in string writing based on innovative techniques and performance styles becoming a global movement. Most certainly that was the case, but it was also nigh on impossible to program with the tools (then) currently available. As a distinct collection of multi-sampled, multi-dynamic, and, most importantly, ‘playable’ strings, LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS sets out to change that. “This is an innovative and experimental library,” says Spitfire Audio co-founder — and composer for films, television, and video games — Paul Thomson. “It has a load of really unique articulations that you literally won’t find anywhere else — articulations that have been workshopped by the London Contemporary Orchestra during work that they’ve done with artists like Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood, and from their work on the latest Alien film, Alien: Covenant. This library ranges from raw, in-your-face sounds, and can add real excitement, emotion, and interest to existing string libraries that you’re using. Also, it can stand on its own as an incredibly diverse and exciting library to work with.”  
 What a wonderful introduction from a wonderfully talented individual. But how this meeting of musical minds came to fruition makes for fitting and equally engaging reading. Winner of the Ensemble category at the RPS (Royal Philharmonic Society) Music Awards — the highest recognition for live classical music-making in the UK — in 2015, the London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO) has established itself as one of the UK’s most innovative and respected ensembles, promoting the best new music and cross-arts collaborations to an ever-widening audience. As such, it has collaborated with a distinguished array of composers, artists, and brands, including Radiohead, Secret Cinema, Actress, Vivienne Westwood, Jonny Greenwood, members of Arcade Fire, Boiler Room, Goldfrapp, Nike, Terry Riley, Beck, and Foals. LCO strings and choir feature prominently on Radiohead’s 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool; soundtrack output features on The Master, Theeb, Slow West, and Macbeth; while, closer to their namesake home, highlights include sold-out performances at the Roundhouse, Southbank Centre, the Barbican, and now... working with Spitfire Audio, recording at the company’s London-based dry stage to create LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS

Spitfire Audio co-founder and Director Paul Thomson’s
LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS video walkthrough
Like all good things that are worth waiting for, this musical match made in heaven was far from being a rushed affair. According to Spitfire Audio, LCO members became interested in collaborating when the company started experimenting with its EVO GRID line of virtual instruments based around hyper-long, sample-based articulations that evolve over time, organised on a grid so users can plot which evolution or ‘evo’ sits on which key range, resulting in a GUI (Graphical User Interface) inspired by the breakthrough British EMS VCS3, which made musical history upon its introduction in 1969 by being the first commercially portable synthesiser available anywhere in the world, thanks to its innovative modular matrix-based patchboard dispensing with the telephone exchange-like cabling of other (much larger) modular systems in favour of making space-saving connections with (removable) coloured pins.
Passing time, the two award-winning companies met over a period of two years, discussing how to make a virtual strings library like no other. Only by working with the LCO could that be achieved. And the rest, as they say, is history. 
Watch Spitfire Audio’s arty promo video for
LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS
LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS sees Spitfire Audio Head of Product Stanley Gabriel and in-demand engineer Joe Rubel teaming up with the LCO to recreate its popular ‘workshop’ playing approach to curate a musical, deeply versatile set of never-before-sampled articulations that, at long last, gives users an ability to demo and create cutting-edge string writing — the kind of work that is winning hot new composers plaudits across the compositional landscape. Leaning from sharply angular to sincere beauty, LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS reflects encouraging the LCO to create the ‘impossible’ by recording detuned strings to form playable single instruments, resulting in another must-have library comprising six Violins, four Violas, three Celli and two Basses + Celli in octaves with over 100 articulations captured across all sections — each with two mic positions (Close and Room), two individual stereo mixes (Full and Pumped), two additional printed analogue effects, and integrated reverb (matched to the room with GUI control). 

Creating LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS allowed Spitfire Audio to achieve two things: capture the unique techniques and styling of an extremely exciting group of musicians for use in its own compositions and create new instruments with them that could only be possible by harnessing the power of modern sampling technology. These upfront strings are designed to make anyone who uses them think differently about string writing. “What you have here, in my opinion, is an innovative and really unique sound — very playable and musical,” maintains Paul Thomson. This will give you stuff that you just simply can’t do with any other strings library. It’s really useful — on its own to create these beautiful, intense and searing kind of sounds that you’ll associate with the scores of Jonny Greenwood, for example, but also to use as a blending tool to give you your own sound on another strings library. You can overlay these sounds and just kind of feather them in to get that kind of thing where your ear can pick out that there’s something really interesting and unique going on, but you can’t quite work out what it is. It really is a new and useful tool for the composer and producer’s arsenal.” 

LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS can be purchased and digitally downloaded (as 45.7 GB of uncompressed .WAV files, featuring 42,094 samples) for a time-limited introductory promo price of £239.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$279.00 USD/289.00 EUR (inc. VAT) until 08:00 GMT on March 9, 2017 — rising thereafter to an RRP of £299.00 GBP (inc. VAT)/$349.00 USD/359.00 EUR (inc. VAT) — from here: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/instruments/orchestra/london-contemporary-orchestra-strings/

Note that Native Instruments’ free KONTAKT PLAYER is included with LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS, while Spitfire Audio’s free Download Manager application for Mac or PC allows anyone to buy now and download anytime.
For more in-depth info, including several superb-sounding audio demos, please visit the dedicated LONDON CONTEMPORARY ORCHESTRA STRINGS webpage here: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/instruments/orchestra/london-contemporary-orchestra-strings/
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Greetings, Diego - DCSI

Friday 17 February 2017

ZAYTOVEN’S FUNKY FINGERS, a dynamic virtual instrument by StudioLinked


StudioLinked announces availability of finger lickin’ good VI aimed at aspiring producers and beat-makers

Urban and contemporary music virtual instrument creator and distributor StudioLinked is proud to announce availability of ZAYTOVEN’S FUNKY FINGERS — a dynamic virtual instrument influenced by the signature sound of GRAMMY® award-winning American record producer, DJ, and pianist Zaytoven, aimed at aspiring producers and budding beat-makers.

Asked about the motivation behind the creation of his virtual instrument namesake, Zaytoven himself has this to say: “I just took everything I learned over all of the years of making beats and playing piano, and put it into this virtual instrument engineered with the modern producer in mind.” 
Mindful of that very thought, no fewer than 500 Zaytoven-influenced presets are available across 17 instrument categories, including CHORDS — with numerous church chord combinations, such as major and minor sevenths, ninths, and tritone substitutions that are perfect for those looking to add a little soul or gospel to their productions; KEYBOARDS; LOW END BASS; OJ Da Juiceman Chants; ORGAN RUNS — organ patches quickly rolling across several notes into a minor chord, which is exactly what many producers who have followed Zaytoven’s career have been waiting for; SUBS & 808s, and much more. Drum kits are accessible in the DRUM section where StudioLinked has helpfully placed one-shot drum samples across each key on the keyboard, as well as the first ever hi-hat stutters and snare rolls, making it even easier to achieve advanced drum programming techniques commonly found in today’s music.
Moreover, users can craft their own original sounds, speedily accessing various controls, including Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release; Glide; Low, Low Mid, High Mid, and High EQ; TRANCE GATE; CHORDS; LOW PASS and HIGH PASS filtering with Resonance; ARP (arpeggiator); and effects such as Reverb, Chorus, Pitch, Phaser, and Tremolo. Dig deeper, though, and there’s a whole lot more to ZAYTOVEN’S FUNKY FINGERS than might first meet the eye, thanks to its eye-catching GUI (Graphical User Interface). Indeed, StudioLinked’s research and development team decided to hand-code this virtual instrument using C++ and the JUCE framework, having worked with Zaytoven for months, designing and engineering instruments that were similar to his signature sound.
Stopping there was not an option, however, as StudioLinked set about incorporating features and functionality that will inspire future generations of beat-makers to develop their own original sound. Speaking of which, one of the company’s collective favourite moments during the creation of its latest virtual instrument was being in the studio with recording artist OJ da Juiceman, recording signature ad libs and chants that can only be found in ZAYTOVEN’S FUNKY FINGERS, time-stretched and mapped across the keyboard to make it easy to control each recording — just like any other instrument.

StudioLinked’s ZAYTOVEN’S FUNKY FINGERS demonstration video


Since StudioLinked is known for adding unique vocal runs in products like its (Mac- and PC-compatible) standalone PURE plug-in workstation, why not do something similar with ZAYTOVEN’S FUNKY FINGERS yet take it to another level given that it represents the company’s biggest project to date? Why not, indeed! It was decided, therefore, to also have Zaytoven artist Arryet Love record some amazing vocal runs and place them into the virtual instrument itself (as Arryet Vox Runs). Meanwhile, MELODY STARTERS sample tons of Rhodes-played, pre-made melodies that are helpful for sparking inspiration.
Inspiration is now available at a pocket-friendly price to aspiring producers and budding beat-makers everywhere, thanks to ZAYTOVEN’S FUNKY FINGERS. “I remember back in the day in my bedroom when I just had a keyboard — not even really a drum machine, and I wanted to make beats,” backtracks Zaytoven. “I would listen to the radio, listening to all the sounds, and I was, like, ‘Man, ain’t ever gonna be able to make beats sounding that good, because I don’t have the tech and sounds that those guys are using to make it sound so good.’ So that’s really why I came up with my own plug-in. This is just something to spark creativity right now, because sound has always inspired me to make beats — from the piano riffs to auto-organ and church organ that I like to use... it’s all right here, man! Right here for you to grab, so make sure that you get it — FUNKY FINGERS!” 
So there you have it — right from the maker’s mouth. Go get yourself ZAYTOVEN’S FUNKY FINGERS and ignite that creative spark... with a little help from your friends at StudioLinked and one of the best beat-makers in the business. Bet your bottom dollar, then, that StudioLinked’s biggest project to date is finger lickin’ good while more than living up to the company’s tagline: We Make What You Want To Hear


ZAYTOVEN’S FUNKY FINGERS is available for online purchase directly from StudioLinked — as a 32- and 64-bit AU and VST plug- in for Mac and PC — for $249.99 USD from here: https://www.studiolinked.com/product/vstplugins/zaytoven-funky-fingers/
For more in-depth information, please visit the dedicated ZAYTOVEN’S FUNKY FINGERS webpage here: https://www.studiolinked.com/product/vstplugins/zaytoven-funky-fingers/


About StudioLinked (www.studiolinked.com

StudioLinked is a virtual instrument creator and distribution company, specialising in urban and contemporary music genres by filling a long-unfulfilled niche in the production market. Moreover, customer satisfaction is guaranteed since there is no need to overpay for sounds and features that are not needed in its focused software product line, leaving users to get on with doing what they do best — making music. Seriously simple, user-friendly interfaces — some of which offer animation — are praised for their workflow-enhancing ease of use. Unless licensed from its sound design partners, StudioLinked samples all content in its products. The company founder’s family formerly owned a successful commercial recording studio located in San Diego, CA, USA, since 2003; now named Hookmaster Studio, recently remodelled and run by its former chief engineer, StudioLinked is proud to have recorded sounds for its software products there.


Softube Console 1 software now support UAD Powered Plug-Ins


Having blown musical minds when launching its Console 1 Mk II — a much more affordable upgraded version of its award-winning hardware/software mixing system retaining the same build quality as the original units with some minor layout changes, such as more visible LED markers — at The 2017 NAMM Show, January 19-22 in Anaheim, California, high-end plug-in specialist Softube is proud to announce that the planned Console 1 software update with support for selected UAD Powered Plug-ins from Universal Audio is now online, available for free to owners of first-generation Console 1 systems (initially).
To be joined by buyers of the soon-to-be-released Console 1 Mk II, owners of first-generation Console 1 units can continue to quickly switch between their tracks and control EQ, compressor, gate, and more, mixing with the legendary sound of the included Console 1 SSL SL 4000 E emulation developed in close collaboration with Solid State Logic, but now, thanks to that significant software update, all can customize their channels to fit their needs with over 60 Console 1 system-ready plug-ins available from Softube and Universal Audio, adding brands such as Chandler Limited, Fairchild, and Helios to the range of products that can be used with Console 1 systems — all pre-mapped and easily selectable from the Console 1 software, so no MIDI mapping is necessary.

Needless to say, Greg Westall, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Universal Audio appears delighted with his company’s not inconsiderable part in the developmental proceedings, stating, “Softube and Universal Audio share a lot of core values, like the importance of sound quality, ease of use, and a love for good music. Seeing that Universal Audio and Softube are longtime partners, and that Console 1 is a super-intuitive control surface, it all just makes so much sense.”


Such supportive sentiment is far from lost on Softube President Oscar Öberg: “The concept of Console 1 has been extremely popular, and we haven’t been able to keep up with the demand. I’m excited that we finally are able to manufacture larger quantities of a Console 1 that’s not only better but also a lot more affordable.”


Console 1 Mk II is scheduled to start shipping later this Spring, though the software update with the UAD Powered Plug-Ins compatibility can now be downloaded for free from here: https://www.softube.com/download.php
More in-depth information, including a must-see Console 1 Mk II video, is available here: https://www.softube.com/console1.php

About Softube (www.softube.com) 

Founded by Oscar Öberg, and aptly dubbed “...the Swedish rock ’n’ roll scientists,” Softube has developed high-end software for the music market since 2003. Its own product roster ranges from modeled guitar amplifiers to professional audio mixing plug-ins and also includes the award-winning Console 1 hardware/software mixing system, as well as software instruments (Hearbeat and Modular).The company has received several awards — including, most recently, two TEC (Technical Excellence & Creativity) awards at the 32nd Annual event for the Marshall JMP 2203 and Marshall Bluesbreaker 1962 plug-ins (both developed by Softube exclusively for Universal Audio’s UAD/Apollo platform) — and award nominations in recognition of its innovative products. Productive partnerships have been formed with an assortment of pro audio companies held in high regard around the globe — including Abbey Road Studios, Mutronics, Solid State Logic, Summit Audio,Tonelux Designs,Tube-Tech, and Trident Audio Developments — to fashion faithful models of their analog hardware units.These third- party companies have happily lent their names and logotypes to the resulting plug-ins. Above and beyond its impressive namesake product lineup, Softube has also developed software products for other notable companies, such as Ableton, Fender, Cakewalk, Marshall Amplification, Native Instruments, Propellerheads,TC Electronic, and Universal Audio.

Antelope Audio brand new Zen Studio+ portable audio pro interface

Antelope Audio bows brand new Zen Studio+ portable pro interface at Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2017
High-end professional audio equipment manufacturer Antelope Audio is proud to announce that Zen Studio+ — the newest addition to its innovative Zen family of portable professional audio interfaces — will be making its debut during a must-see showcase at Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2017, February 22-25, Guangzhou (Canton), People’s Republic of China.
Incorporating the key features that made the original Zen Studio a force to be reckoned with — as a portable professional audio interface with the most competitive analogue and digital connectivity, including 12 inbuilt studio-quality microphone preamps and extensive I/O (seen and heard for the first time at Musikmesse 2014 in Frankfurt, Germany), Zen Studio+ steps up the technological pace by bringing additional ThunderboltTM connectivity and a powerful range of hardware-based Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) effects to bear upon the still-sleek, easy-to-carry box bearing a striking resemblance to its peerless predecessor.

“When Antelope released the original Zen Studio, the company redefined what was possible with a portable interface in terms of both audio quality and I/O count,” asserts Antelope Audio CEO Igor Levin. “Zen Studio+ takes things to a new realm by adding ThunderboltTM and incorporating Antelope’s amazing FPGA hardware effects modelling. These things make Zen Studio+ the ultimate next-generation tool for recording anywhere that sound carries you. We are pleased to debut this exciting new product at Prolight + Sound Guangzhou later this month.”
Zen Buddhism — emphasising the value of meditation and intuition, rather than ritual worship or study of scriptures — was introduced to Japan from China, so, product nomenclature notwithstanding, it is arguably all the more appropriate that Antelope Audio has chosen to debut the result of what could conceivably considered its latest quest for audio enlightenment at Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2017. After all, there is more to Zen Studio+ than might first meet the eye as a portable professional audio interface; indeed, thanks to those fantastic FPGA-based effects, it is surely the ultimate portable workstation for on-the-go engineers and musicians needing access to all the tools of their (studio) trade. The hardware itself includes invaluable I/O options, such as a pair of dedicated re-amp outputs, headphone outputs, and mastering-quality monitor outputs, while with its 12 preamps — including hi-Z and line inputs — plus an additional eight inputs and outputs on standard 25-pin D-SUB connectors, Zen Studio+ is well equipped for multi-mic recording setups anywhere at any time, as well as being further extendable via ADAT or S/PDIF. Still further, a completely customisable routing matrix makes establishing exactly the right signal flow for the way that the user works simplicity itself, incorporating outboard hardware and FPGA effects easily. Enabling full control room capability at home or in the studio comes courtesy of built-in talkback.

That said, Zen Studio+ packs a veritable treasure trove of vintage outboard tone-shaping into its road-ready, yet travel-friendly ‘carry-on’ chassis, thanks to Antelope Audio’s cutting-edge FPGA technology. These hardware-based effects allow for near-zero-latency audio processing using detailed emulations of classic EQs, compressors, guitar amplifiers, and more — and all without taxing the connected computer’s CPU resources. Rallying onwards and upwards, Antelope Audio continues to expand its hardware downloads, now boasting a library of over 30 unique effects — each carefully modelled from the most coveted pieces of studio gear in recording history!


Watch Antelope Audio’s informative introductory Zen Studio+ video
Antelope Audio’s industry-defining 64-bit AFC (Acoustically Focused Clocking) technology is vital to the incredible fidelity and imaging that Zen Studio+ serves up to its discerning users. Ultimately, of course, better clocking means better analogue-to-digital conversion and authentic sonic imaging, ensuring every signal chain detail is captured with integrity. It also allows for pristine digital-to-analogue conversion between the DAW and monitors or headphones, enabling users to hear greater detail and make better decisions when mixing. Moreover, word clock input and output enable Zen Studio+ to seamlessly integrate with other studio gear, and an atomic input is available for interfacing with, and upgrading to, Antelope’s state-of-the-art 10MX Rubidium Atomic Clock for the best clocking in the industry — think vividly real clarity, depth, width, and three-dimensionally distinctive analogue sound... a killer combo for sure!

Still further, in addition to making headway with hardware, Zen Studio+ is controlled via a powerful desktop application for OS X or Windows, allowing access to a fully-customisable signal routing matrix and up to four independent mixes for monitoring, as well as full control of its realtime FPGA effects. Even though front panel-controllable talkback is built into the Zen Studio+ hardware, helpfully Antelope Audio’s innovative iOS and Android apps add further flexibility with talkback also available through the hosting smartphone’s inbuilt microphone.


Meet Antelope Audio’s Zen Studio+ in Hall 5.2, Booth #A66 at Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2017, February 22-25, Guangzhou (Canton), People’s Republic of China, where it will be being demoed and displayed for the first time. To try is to (want to) buy!


Zen Studio+ is scheduled to start shipping in mid-March 2017, when it will become available for purchase through Antelope Audio’s growing global network of dealers.

For more in-depth information, please visit the dedicated Zen Studio+ webpage here: http://antelopeaudio.com/products/zen-studio-plus/

 
About Antelope Audio (www.antelopeaudio.com) 


Antelope Audio is a leading manufacturer of high-end professional audio equipment, pioneering the adoption of atomic clock generators in audio master clocks through utilising CEO Igor Levin’s 25-plus years of experience in digital audio. Antelope was the first company to design a 1U 32-channel audio interface and a multi-channel portable interface with 12 mic pres.The company’s customers include many GRAMMY® award-winning sound engineers and some of the most renowned recording, mastering, and post-production facilities around the globe
 

Impact Soundworks STRAIGHT AHEAD! JAZZ HORNS library

 
Impact Soundworks blows its own horn(s) with jazz, pop, and big band library latest.

Audio software creator Impact Soundworks is proud to announce availability of STRAIGHT AHEAD! JAZZ HORNS — a newly revised virtual instrument library featuring over 75,000 samples created in collaboration with jazz sampled instrument specialist Straight Ahead Samples, served up as 13 solo brass and sax instruments ideal for jazz, funk, pop, R&B, and much more besides for Native Instruments’ industry-standard KONTAKT PLAYER platform.
Though the (admittedly deep) sample pool remains largely the same as that found in ‘version 1’ of STRAIGHT AHEAD! JAZZ HORNS (originally released by Straight Ahead Samples) — albeit with some additional tweaks and a cleanup operation that has to be heard to be believed, below the hood STRAIGHT AHEAD! JAZZ HORNS represents an entirely different proposition altogether. All-new scripting smooths the way for smooth jazz or otherwise, thanks to Smart Voicing technology. This is a truly magical multi-script that can be used to quickly create realistic, properly-voiced jazz and big band ensemble sounds from combinations of four trumpets (Lead Trumpet, Trumpet 2, Trumpet 3, Trumpet 4); four trombones (Lead Trombone, Trombone 2, Trombone 3, Trombone 4); five saxes (Lead Alto Sax, Alto Sax 2, Lead Tenor Sax, Tenor Sax 2, Baritone Sax); all brass (all four trumpets and four trombones); full ensemble (all instruments); and pop horns (trumpet, tenor sax, trombone, baritone sax). Simply playing a left-handed chord tells the script what key and chord is being used while playing a right-handed melody generates fully-voiced chords based on the melody being played and the chord that was input! In a nutshell, then, the multi-script creates harmonised ensemble voicings based on individually played notes. (Not only is Smart Voicing deeply customisable with different voicing and chord options, but it can even be used with KONTAKT’s Send MIDI To Outside World Feature, allowing users to send generated harmony MIDI data to any other plug-in!) Voicings are intelligently split between all instruments and allow for normal articulation usage, too!

That being said, the TACT (Total Articulation Control Technology) used in Impact Soundworks’ virtual instrument products — STRAIGHT AHEAD! JAZZ HORNS included — is far from normal, however. As a modular, scalable system designed to create a consistent plug-and-play performance experience, it manages articulations with up to three triggering types, volume and offset control, and independently controlled legato toggles where applicable. Currently supported sources for triggering are note range, velocity range, CC range (on any CC# from 1 to 127), keyswitches (latching or non-latching, independently chosen per articulation), and sustain pedal up/down. Simply speaking, TACT is designed to manage user mapping schemes and facilitate experimentation to create the best user performance setups quickly and easily.

Watch Impact Soundworks Lead Developer Andrew Aversa’s
STRAIGHT AHEAD! JAZZ HORNS video walkthrough
Ease of use is, of course, central to STRAIGHT AHEAD! JAZZ HORNS’ all-new user interface. There those astonishing Articulations are easily accessible via the namesake dedicated tabbed window, as are an array of flexible functions — for example, ALT DYN MODE (enabling dynamic filters and EQ instead of crossfading samples to produce different dynamic levels), SUS PHASE ALIGN (enabling all Sustain samples to be switched to Phase Align versions which will crossfade without phasing and with a different, more ‘stable’ timbre), EXTRA DYN FILTER (enabling a gentle lowpass 6 dB/oct filter to be applied to the output, linked to the DYNAMICS SLIDER to further emphasise dynamic transitions), and VOL PAN (to control the volume and panning for each enabled microphone position) — from the Main tabbed window, while the FX tabbed window provides access to the onboard (four-band, analogue-modelled, parametric) EQ, (analogue-modelled, SSL-style) COMPRESSOR, (all-purpose, tempo-synced) DELAY, (convolution) REVERB, and associated controls.

All add up to an even more playable, realistic, and customisable virtual instrument that offers both excellent solo instruments alongside some of the most powerful ensemble writing tools ever developed. STRAIGHT AHEAD! JAZZ HORNS handles anything the discerning jazz, funk, pop, R&B, and big band arranger and composer care to throw at it. Impact Soundworks collectively cannot wait to hear what its users can do with it... time to toot their own horn(s) with STRAIGHT AHEAD! JAZZ HORNS! 

STRAIGHT AHEAD! JAZZ HORNS can be purchased and digitally downloaded (as a 23 GB library totalling 75,000-plus 16- and 24-bit samples) directly from Impact Soundworks for $249.00 USD from here: https://impactsoundworks.com/product/straight-ahead-jazz-horns/#purchase
Note: Native Instruments KONTAKT PLAYER or the full version of KONTAKT (version 5.5.2 or higher) is required.
For more in-depth information, please visit the dedicated STRAIGHT AHEAD! JAZZ HORNS webpage here: https://impactsoundworks.com/product/straight-ahead-jazz-horns/


About Impact Soundworks (www.impactsoundworks.com)
 

Impact Soundworks creates audio software designed with composers in mind: sample libraries, virtual instruments, and plug-ins. As passionate about creating music tools as its customers are about making music, the company was founded in 2008 by composers Andrew Aversa and Will Roget, II at a time when there were several large virtual instrument companies already around, but few developers creating affordable, flexible, and focused libraries featuring more unusual and unique sounds. Shrewdly, the dynamic duo noticed much in the way of in- depth orchestral offerings, but more unusual instruments were not being sampled with much detail at all. As such, the company’s first two releases were Impact Steel, a collection of found metal objects played as percussion, and Sitar Nation, a set of instruments from North India. It has since been collectively working hard to address the needs of modern composers, successfully striking the balance between depth and ease of use. Ultimately, Impact Soundworks is proud to call tens of thousands of musicians around the world its customers, intelligently investing time to study suggestions and review requests.After all, that is how a number of its best-loved libraries started... from the smallest seed!
© 2017 Impact Soundworks

Wednesday 8 February 2017

14 new freebies?! Again? All in a row? You're sure? Here they are!

Hi guys, from the past days releases here is a new list of audio freebies I've just gathered all together in this post, and with all the download links needed for you to grab them for free! Isn't that cool?!

Amps, reverbs, spatializers, sample instruments, max4live devices, synths, polyrhythmic and step sequencers, loop generators, microtonal composition tools, Reaktor ensembles, and  so forth.
All this specially for those who are not in use to look at our DCSI Productions facebook page (feel free to join us and like ;-) ).
So let's start.
(descriptions copied directly from each product website)
 
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The Teufelsberg Reverb by Balance Audio Tools
plugin available for Windows and Mac, 32 and 64 bit, VST and AU

Features

  • Lush reverbs, accurately captured at the infamous Berlin surveillance tower.
  • 6 different IR reverb sounds.
  • Fast, zero-latency convolution.
  • A/B compare and preset saving functions
  • Linux, Windows & Mac downloads.
  • Free and open source.
Link http://www.balancemastering.com/blog/balance-audio-tools-free-teufelsberg-reverb-plugin/

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Rivera by NuSPace Audio
Rivera is a free hybrid algorithmic-convolution reverb plugin for modeling specular acoustic reflections in N-dimensional orthotopes. e.g. string, plate, room, tesseract, etc. - VST2/VST3, Windows 32 and 64-bit.

 Features:

  • Low-latency, low CPU usage convolution.
  • Multi-threading support for modeling IRs in the background.
  • Fine-grain controls for parameterizing each voom's number of dimensions, size, offset from sound-source origin, and material reflection dB loss.
  • Time manipulation controls for delay, stretch, and linearity (RT60 ranges from 1 - 20 seconds!).
  • Fast frequency-dependent time-decay functions.
  • Pan / stereo / mix (wet/dry) controls.
  • Graphical user interface for displaying IR and spectrogram.

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MScontrol by TEK'IT Audio
MScontrol is a professional Mid/Side control utility plug-in.
For Windows and Mac, 32 and 64 bit, VST and AU.
It offers stereo signal encoding into mid­-side signal, decoding of mid­-side signal into stereo signal, as well as an "onboard" mode to adjust the signal without the need of using two plug­in instances.

Features:

  • Mid­/Side encoder and decoder.
  • Onboard mode.
  • Mid­-Side gain and panning control.
  • Phase inverter on Mid­-Side channels.
  • Mute control on Mid and Side channels.
  • Input channels swap.
  • Carefully calibrated Digital Peak Meters.
  • Support any sample rate.
  • 64-bit internal processing.
  • Zero processing latency.
  • Full MIDI automation support.
  • Undo your changes to initial preset value.
  • Preset manager, rename, copy, save, load...
  • Up to 16 user presets per bank.
  • Comes with user manual.
  • Easy installer.

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BINAURAL JIT 1.0 by Kasperskov
Binaural_jit is a set of flexible Max for Live devices for binaural spatialization in Ableton. Listener and sound source positions are represented in a virtual 3D room made with Jitter.

Link: http://www.maxforlive.com/library/device/3981/binaural-jit

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DROPSYNTH for Reaktor 6 by Flintpope


A mixed drag and drop sample player and four-oscillator (x2) synth, both with versatile LFO sections (adapted from Reaktorblocks Bento Box) to modify the sound.
Each module has its own envelope and filter sections and there is a set of master FX: sub-bass (single-note at C60), vinyl crackle, reverb, frequency shift and a limiter.
The synth section also includes a cabinet FX level for warmth.
You get 36 presets that cover a range of sounds from swirling pads through beaty loops to grimy glitch. You can infinitely modify these sounds with your own samples and synth expertise.

Link: https://gumroad.com/l/kwVId
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War Tuba by Karoryfer Samples
War Tuba is a tuba sample library, sfz format, created with the tuba player from Hańba!
Requires
Plogue Sforzando version 1.845 or newer. Free download.
In this raw and impolite tuba there are three articulations sampled: staccatissimo with three dynamic layers and four round robins; staccato with four dynamic layers and three round robins; and sustains. Breath noises, valve noises and yelling through the tuba round things out. Everything is recorded through two microphone positions: an overhead condenser mic, and for extra punk (and extra low end) a dynamic mic permanently taped inside the bell. That makes this a great tuba for various folky and jazzy styles, or for adding a rough edge to more civilized classical tuba samples.


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SYNTHCORE 2 by Yofiel
Synthcore 2 is an analog emulation synthesizer, based on features from the OSCAR and Waldorf Q (both of which, as you may know, were discontinued because they were too expensive to build in hardware). The monophonic version is now available for free download in Windows 32/64, Mac OS X, and open-source Cycling'74 Max 7 code.

Main Features and Architecture

  • 3 oscillators, with feedback, FM, four kinds of sync, phase control, ring modulation, and dual output mixing; 61 morphing waveforms, including: pulse, saw, and triangle oscillators with newest EPTR anti-aliasing technology; Karplus physical modeling; multiple filtered noise options; 48 cross-sampled waveset oscillators; and sub oscillator.
  • 2 comb filters, both with pitch tracking.
  • 2 5-d serial/parallel, 2/4-pole, 3x-oversampled SVF filters, with continuous control of: filter type; number of filter poles; drive + saturation: cutoff; resonance; serial/parallel output; and output pan.
  • 3 envelopes. Predelay and 7-stage breakpoint included. Multi, single, loop, and clock triggers.
  • 3 LFOs, all with morphing waveforms, gate sync, and freq. control.
  • Modulation matrix with 15 nodes, each scalable from any of 60 sources to 135 destinations. Sample and hold, gated, and MIDI sources available. Many compound sources and destinations for rapid patching. Fixed- and variable-source modulations may shape and scale each other within the matrix.
  • Multi-mode glide and glissando, with unique glissando pattern generator.
  • Stereo effects chain with 2 tempo delays, 8-band chorus, realistic reverb, and advanced limiting.
  • Toggle-mode monophonic keyboard. Notes may optionally be stored in programs.
  • Flexible multi-channel architecture functions like a modular synth without needing rewiring. Monitor outputs at all mix points. LFOs, envelopes, and other modulation sources may modulate effects parameters.

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Cypress TT-15 by Black Rooster Audio
Black Rooster Audio‘s guitar amp head emulation meticulously modeled after a very versatile, yet uniquely sounding low wattage amplifier. Cypress TT-15 will help to get the job done right away, no matter if you‘re looking for clean through crunchy guitar tones or if you want to achieve biting, distorted lead sounds. It's included a simple 2x12 cabinet simulation that can be bypassed if you prefer other solutions or if you‘re feeding into an external power amp/cabinet stage.
Windows, OSX, Vst, AU, AAX.


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XronoMorph: Loop generator by Dynamic Tonality
XronoMorph is a free OS X and Windows app for creating multilayered rhythmic and melodic loops (hockets). Each rhythmic layer is visualized as a polygon inscribed in a circle, and each polygon can be constructed according to two different mathematical principles: perfect balance and well-formedness (aka MOS). These principles generalize polyrhythms, additive, and Euclidean rhythms. Furthermore, rhythms can be smoothly morphed between, and irrational rhythms with no regular pulse can also be easily constructed.
XronoMorph is a portable standalone application distributed in a zip file.
Windows 32 and 64 bit, Mac OSX.

Link: http://www.dynamictonality.com/xronomorph.htm

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HEX The Dynamic Tonality sequencer by Dynamic Tonality

Hex is a multi-track MIDI sequencer that facilitates music composition in microtonal tunings. It integrates seamlessly with our DT-enabled synthesizers, or with any standard MIDI synthesizer. It can also be used in conjunction with a digital audio workstation such as Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, or SONAR.
Hex uses a lattice roll in place of the traditional piano roll. This enables unfamiliar microtonal scales to be intuitively visualized, and their tuning to be dynamically manipulated. The light buttons/lanes can be thought of as generalized "diatonic" notes, and the dark buttons/lanes as generalized "chromatic" notes.

Features

Hex includes many features found in a standard MIDI sequencer, including:
  • Draw, edit and move notes with the mouse
  • Snap notes to beat lines
  • Multiple time signatures
  • Looping (Alt-click-drag along the timeline)
  • Unlimited undo/redo
  • Cut, copy, and paste commands
  • MIDI CC envelope sequencing
  • A metronome
  • The ability to tweak the colors of the interface
  • MIDI file export
  • The ability to visualize and sequence dynamic tuning changes
  • Over 200 tuning presets
  • Several note layouts
Windows and Mac OSX


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BOUNCE, SPLASH, EXOTIC – 3 Free synths by JB and CPS
The swedish software-developers of Infected Sounds (Johan and Carl) have released 3 synths for Windows 32 bit: 
BOUNCE:  new freeware synth with SIX oscillators, two modulation- and one amp envelopes and a bunch of effects. Bounce is suitable for House, Future House, Bass House, Tech-House, EDM and Melbourne Bounce.
SPLASH: a new freeware synth WITH four oscillators, two modulation- and one amp envelopes with individual slopes, two different matrixes (one for LFOs and envelopes each). Every oscillator has got 42 different waveforms. An effect section with distortion, bit reducer, 4-band-EQ, Chorus, Reverb is included too.
EXOTIC: a small synth with two oscillators with 16 waveforms, two envelopes and LFOs, three effects (chorus, reverb and decimator) and one filter section with three different filter modes(LP, HP, BP). Additionally there’s a fatner to create sounds more wide and fat.


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HY-SEQ16x3 by Hyakken

HY-Plugins released HY-SEQ16x3, an analog style step sequencer for Windows and Mac OS X 32 and 64 bit
The free version has got only one sequencer and no LFO-section.
The commercial full version has three sequencers and two LFOs

 Features:

• scalable plugin window
• preset manager
• undo/redo
• value randomizer


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I guess folks this week there's plenty of stuff to dig and make music and editing with. Take your time and please consider a donation to the developers, even small ones are welcome, whenever you're incline to, and if you feel the software you've just used for free made your music making more valuable. ;-)

Cheers

Diego - DCSI