The winner of the Revoice Pro vocal alignment software is Dave Holt from Tampa, Florida, USA.

Our friends at Softube have kindly donated a Summit Audio Grand Channel plug-in which is awesome. Click on the image above to see it in all’s it’s magnificent glory!

Not wishing to mess around with long forms and hard questions, all you need is to complete the form below for a chance to grab this uber cool plug-in. No purchase necessary.

Please complete all fields. One entry per email address. You are entering for a chance to win one copy of a Softube Summit Audio Grand Channel, no cash alterntive. Judges decision is final and no correspondance will be entered into. By entering you are giving permission for either/or both Softube and Pro Tools Expert to contact you in the future. You can opt out at any time after the draw has ended, if you do so before it ends then you will be removed from the draw. Contest ends 16th June 2013.

Russ from Pro Tools Expert takes a look and listen to the new Ocean Way Studios plug-in from Universal Audio - see what he thinks here.

Software protection gets a bad rap on the whole, not just from those trying to find ways to get software by not paying for it, but also from those who have paid for the software but sometimes find themselves locked out of our own software because the protection isn’t working as it should.

I’ve been there, only this week I’ve had a piece of software installed on my machine for several days and a copy of the licence also clearly on my machine, but does it want to see it? Like hell it does!

Now our first reaction is often to think ‘stupid iLok, or Waves licencer, or eLicencer… fill in the gaps’ it’s preventing me from working, that is normally my first response.

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A second video where Russ shows hosting VSTs in Pro Tools using a similar method as the audio units video but with some FREE software. Mac only.

For those as old as me then you’ll rememebr that the AMS RMX16 was a milestone product in the world of reverbs.

Now Neve, the current owners have announced that it’s coming back as a plug-in to the UAD platform.

How exciting, I do hope the nostalgia hasn’t got the better of me. We’ve seen a lot of progress in the reverb world since the days of this monster, used on perhaps every song on the 1980s, but I hope there is still a place for the sound of the AMS RMX16.

SynchroArts have a reputation across the industry for creating the best vocal alignment tools - many people have depended on VocAlign for years and more recently Revoice Pro 2 is like VocAlign on steroids. At Messe it featured as part of the Alicia Keys remix session on the Pro Tools 11 demo.

Now Synchroarts have given us a copy of the software for one lucky winner.

Simply complete the form below - you will need to visit their new community site to find the answer to the question ‘When Did Billy Jay Stein First Use VocAlign?’.

It is available in all plug-in formats including AAX and we understand they are currently working on a PC version.

Russ has a chat with old friend Nik from Softube to talk about their new Console 1.

It may not be the most important thing in the world, but the Click plug-in in Pro Tools has long been due for an update.

Pro Tools 11 has a new version Click 2, that we got to see at Messe.

Click 2 features;

• Comprehensive timing and meter options.
• A menu of helpfully catalogued different click sounds.

As we say, it isn’t going to be the star of any product demo, but it’s a welcome update.

Our friends over at Softube, makers of crafted pro audio software, have announced Console 1—an integrated hardware/software music mixing solution.

Softube Console 1 allows the user perform an entire mix with a world-class modeled mixer channel, controlled by physical knobs and buttons on a rugged piece of hardware. The system can be used in conjunction with any major DAW host and the software can be inserted on any or all channels of the mix.

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At M

usikmesse the producers of Unveil, the great de-reverb programme, are going to announce two more “Un”Products, UNCHIRP and UNFILTER. This is what they are saying about them…

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PluginUpdate founder (Kazrog LLC CEO) Shane McFee has posted an open letter to the PluginUpdate community. Read it here or below:

I’d like to take the opportunity to say thanks to all of you who have been participating in the PluginUpdate public beta. From day one, the beta has been far more popular than we ever imagined it would be, and we’ve gotten so much great feedback from you that we definitely have our work cut out for us.

In that light, we’ve decided to iterate on the beta in larger functional chunks at a time, because we’ve rapidly identified numerous opportunities to massively improve and expand the core user experience of PluginUpdate. The current beta is a bare-bones preview of what is to come.

Many Windows users have been asking when the Windows beta of PluginUpdate will go live. The answer is: some time this Summer. We’re very sorry to keep Windows users waiting, but supporting the myriad configurations possible on the Windows platform is a massive undertaking in itself. The good news is, we’re making quick progress, and it’s going to be just as easy to use as the Mac version.

We’re also working on the PluginUpdate Store, as well as a suite of tools for plug-in developers to use. We’re committed to making PluginUpdate the best and easiest way to manage and shop for audio plug-ins, and we highly value all of the input we’ve received from you.

Thanks again for making our beta such a great success, we couldn’t have done this without you!

-Shane McFee
CEO, Kazrog LLC 

It doesn’t surprise me that the beta was so successful. We need something like PluginUpdate to help us manage our plug-ins because Pro Tools doesn’t tell us that we have out of date plug-ins. We can also start to see the business model behind PluginUpdate, in that they are planning a plug-in shop.

A request by a community member, Russ shows how to create the ubiquitous Wub Wub bass sound in Pro Tools.

An invite has gone out this week, with speculation suggesting that Pro Tools 11 is imminent. We recently ran an article about how to prepare for Pro Tools 11. However the million dollar question for some is what plug-ins will work were it to ship next week?

There are a few things you can do to check.

1. Check our AAX database here to see what plug-ins are ready, those that are coming and those not coming at all.
2. Run updates on all your plug-ins to see if they have AAX equivalents.
3. Go to your Avid plug-ins folder where all the .aaxplugin live and see what is listed there. If you’ve done the things above and it ain’t there then you ain’t got an AAX version to use.

Before you commit to Pro Tools 11, if have plug-in dependant workflow then make sure they are ready before you switch. If Pro Tools 11 shipped today, unless there was a sudden release from major vendors then I would not be able to use;

• UAD
• Spectrasonics
• Waves
• Slate
• AIR Pro Tools Instrument Expansion Pack

Just those missing would kill my workflow.

Irrespective of the speculation around dates, our understaning is that the law around public companies means that as soon as Avid announce Pro Tools 11 then they have to ship it within the same accounting quarter (90 days), so any plug-ins would need to be ported in time for that deadline. Mnay vendors are committed, in fact all those listed above have declared their intention to port, but as yet we have no sign of them.

So take care when making your decision, do your homework and you should have no tears.

After the video showing how to use Thump to get killer Hip Hop kicks some of you asked how to do it without. Russ shows you how.

Russ takes a look at Camel Crusher - another FREE plug-in.

Get it here http://www.pro-tools-expert.com/free-pro-tools-plug-ins/

Russ shows how to get Killer Hip Hop Kicks In Pro Tools. All this is done using FREE stuff.

We recently reviewed the very cool plug-ins from Plug And Mix.

Right now they are running a group buy, in other word, the more people who buy the cheaper they get.

If you act fast then you could be one of the lucky 5000 to get $500 worth of plug-ins for $99.

More here

The DNS One has been AAX Native for a while but it is to be joined by the other modules. This is what Cedar say…

CEDAR Studio will be available in the Native AAX format for Pro Tools and will be launched at the NAB2013 Convention in Las Vegas on 8th April 2013. As very high quality specialised tools aimed at a broadcast and post-production market (CEDAR users include BBC Maida Vale and EMI Abbey Road), the plug-ins are priced accordingly at £2000 each for Adaptive Limiter, Debuzz and Declip and £2500 for DNS One.

DNS One
The modern standard for dialogue noise suppression in film and TV studios, on location, in newsrooms and for sporting events worldwide, DNS One offers the same Academy Award winning noise suppression as its illustrious siblings the DNS1000, DNS1500, DNS2000 and DNS3000.

With a superb multi-mono interface (DNS CS) that allows you to control hundreds of channels of noise suppression (any mix of software and hardware) from a single Pro Tools host, the DNS process is powerful and flexible, and has rescued countless movies, TV programs and live broadcasts by suppressing rumble, hiss, whistles, babble and general background noise.

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