Ample Guitar M Lite aims to bring the Martin D-41 Guitar sound to your studio.

Ample Guitar Lite M is a 670MB reduced version of the 5.59GB Ample Guitar M virtual acoustic guitar.

It features:

• 668 samples in 16-bit / 44.1kHz 
• First four frets limit with fingerstyle - no strumming here. 
• 5 playing techniques are included; sustain, hammer on, pull-off, palm mute and popping
• Reverb and a stereo delay.

Ample Guitar M Lite is available in VST, RTAS and AU formats on Mac OS X and Windows 32 and 64-bits. You can download and compare it to the full version at www.amplesound.net.

Or check our FREE plug-ins database for all the FREE Pro Tools plug-ins

AIR have launched their new synths Loom and Vacuum Pro, two mighty fine beasts, building on the heritage of the cool stuff gone before them, but offering more power and some very nice sounds.

With Loom, explore one of the final frontiers of sound creation: Additive Synthesis. Loom makes it possible. While familiar to many, the promise of additive synthesis has gone largely undelivered. The creation of rich, swirling, and evocative sounds by combining individual harmonics has proved either too time-consuming for programmers or too calculation-intensive for all but the fastest supercomputers—until now. Loom takes an exclusive modular approach to creating the captivating sounds and unique harmonic signatures that are the trademarks of additive synthesis. The easy-to-use Loom architecture allows anyone to quickly combine any of 30 editable modules into 10 available cells to realize incredible, previously unheard-of sounds. Onboard effects, onscreen pop-up Tool Tips, and the amazing Morph page bring Loom to life for fantastic, accessible sound.

Vacuum Pro starts with two wide-range, sync-able vacuum tube oscillators. Each features Quad Detune controls for a lush, thick sound. Add to that two vacuum tube filters. We’ve included both the traditional Low Pass filter as well as an additional High Pass/Band Pass filter. Choose the filter slope to capture classic tones of the past. Vacuum Pro has it all: Four Envelope Generators; matrix-assignable modulation, and tempo sync’d LFO. The tube-driven mixer offers a drive circuit plus tone-warping ring modulation. For authentic analog behavior, the exclusive Age controls even add dust and drift.

For more info check out their site here

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.

Russ shows how to use the new AIR Loom Synth as a cool vocoder. Here he does it in Pro Tools but Loom is RTAS, AU and VST.

Russ takes a look at the new Loom Synth from AIR and gives an extensive show and tell of this new virtual instrument.

More about the Loom here

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.

Following on from Russ’ review of the Waves Manny Marroquin plug-in series, he takes a mix and uses the plug-ins to add more bottom end to a kick, density to a snare, mash up a backbeat, add interest to a synth and tighten up a synth bass. Check it out.

Kazrog LLC are proud to announce the release of Recabinet 3.5,
New features include third party IR import and stereo panning, as well as numerous fixes.
This is a free update for all registered Recabinet 3 users, which you can get on the update download page.

Russ takes a look at the XLN Addictive keys free piano and asks how good can a free piano be? Find out. Download it here http://www.pro-tools-expert.com/free-pro-tools-plug-ins/

Get Your Free Plugin with this link Before The End Of March 2013 

Click to read more ...

iZotope have just announced Nectar Elements, which is basically everything that Nectar is without the under-the-hood forensic tweaking. For those who want a great vocal plug-in with all the tools you need to get a great vocal, then check this out - especially at the killer price of $129! They say;

Introducing Nectar Elements, the new addition to the Nectar product family. Whether you’re recording or you’re mixing, Nectar Elements makes vocal treatment a snap. With 10 powerful vocal processors working hard behind the scenes, Nectar Elements offers dozens of Style presets and simple, intelligent controls that let you focus on your sound, not your set-up. More here

Russ takes a look at the Waves Manny Marroquin plug-in series and gives an extended show and tell and let’s you know what he thinks.

Russ takes a look at the Waves REDD Abbey Road console emulations and gives an extended show and tell and his thoughts on them.

Our first aim with the Plug-In X initiative was to initiate a discussion about the current state of the audio plug-in industry. With over 1300 Facebook fans on our Plug-in X Facebook page and a constant stream of emails going back and forth behind the scenes, we’ve certainly made some headway in the last 2 weeks. Just to clear up a misunderstanding, we are not suggesting another plug-in standard, the name ‘plug-in x’ is simply like ‘x’ in an equation, an unknown quantity. With several formats already out in the market, deciding on one of the existing formats would be preferable - or indeed as shown below, there is another way.

We are now building a team who are concentrating their efforts on this project, so onwards.

One thing that has become apparent is that those working at the coalface of development are reluctant to go on the record with their concerns. However, one top developer has agreed to answer a set of questions regarding plug-in development - it makes interesting reading. If you are a plug-in developer and want to join the discussion then please contact us.

QUESTIONS

Q: How much time does it take to develop a plug-in from concept to final product?

A: It can vary immensely; but a good average figure is 18 months.

Q: How long does it take to port an existing plug-in to a new format?

A: Again, it depends on many things. It could be as short as 2-3 months, or as long as a year.

Q: How long have you been working on current porting projects?

A: Several years for AAX (seriously!).

Q: What happens to your R&D work for new products whilst you are porting to new platforms?

A: They are mutually incompatible. One or the other.

Q: Does porting plug-ins have an effect on your companies turnover?

A: Of course. It’s a significant cost, and upgrade fees are tiny compared to new, full product income.

Q: Are there any technical reasons why we have multiple plug-in formats?

A: Yes-ish. It makes sense for an individual company to define its own interfaces to its own hardware processing, as that will be the most efficient data processing. That said, in all cases an abstraction layer could be introduced, usually for minimal degradation in performance.

Q: Do you think there needs to be more consultation with companies such as yourself about possible new formats?

A: If there was a new format mooted, I would like to have input.

Q: Do you get any financial support from DAW manufacturers to support your efforts to develop for their new platform?

A: No. (You are joking??) Most DAW manufacturers don’t even give us free hardware cards, we have to buy them. We have to buy the (Mac and PC) hosts and the i/o. And for those manufacturers that support console surfaces, we have a major problem as we obviously can’t afford to buy an ICON.

Q: Do you think customers should have to pay for new formats of existing plug-ins they already own?

A: That depends on the amount of effort that goes into the port. Adding AU to a VST plug-in possibly not. But if someone has paid a lot for AAX hardware, and we have spent a lot on developer salaries to make (the extremely difficult and time-consuming) port to AAX-DSP, then absolutely yes, it needs to be a paid upgrade. (Your nice vinyl Dark Side of the Moon LP – did the record company give you a free cassette, CD, DVD, SACD etc?)

A: Not withstanding the enormous challenges of the task, do you think a single, industry-wide plug-in format for both Mac and PC is worth consideration?

Q: It would be lovely to dream about it.

I got the public beta notification for PluginUpdate last night just as I was going to bed, so I thought I would try it out first thing this morning. I downloaded and installed it without any problems. Note they have tried to make the password you need to use as secure as possible by requiring you need at least one of each character type, lower case letter, upper case letter, number & symbol.

Once installed you get a verification notification via email, and when confirmed you are good to go. There are still a few corners to smooth of like Progress bars whilst scanning and confirmation when Preferences settings have been saved but they are on the case. You can get it just to scan the folders that you have plug-ins in, so I disabled the scan in my VST and AU plug-in folders, nice touch.

I was amazed at the number of updates I need. After my scan I first thought it hadn’t read all my plug-ins and I was looking at the plug-in list rather actually what I was looking at, which was the list of plug-ins that need updating! It also showed me I had two copies of iZotope’s Nectar, that I had missed when checking for duplications in my DPM and AAX plug-in folders.

The next part of the process is to double click on a plug-in in the Update list and PluginUpdate “to look for updates on the web” as they say in the “How To instructions and this is my biggest disappointment. it takes you browser to the plug-in manufacturer’s home page. I was hoping it would take me to the download page at worst and the individual products download page at best. Currently I still need to hunt for the latest installer of that plug-in.

That said, as a public beta, it is a very smooth and simple app to use, Windows users you will get your public beta version very soon so sit tight.

Thanks to the guys to PluginUpdate for stepping up to the plate and developing this tool. Lets all help them make it even better. Watch the video review from Russ here

This is one App we’ve been waiting for, the new PluginUpdate, an app that checks to see if your plug-ins are up to date - no sh*t Sherlock!

It is currently in beta stage and Mac only but a Windows version is promised imminently.

We’ll take a look at it and let you know what we think shortly.

Download it here

There’s an easy way to avoid critics, do and say nothing. Never have an idea, or if you do, then squash it before someone else squashes it for you. I say that knowing that before the ink was dry on the Waves press release for their new Element synth that someone, in fact thousands, were ready to trash even the idea of their new VI, let alone the reality of one.

I’ve seen a lot of comments about the new Element synth and some are asking “does the world need another subtractive synth VI?”

Let me ask another question, was it worth Apple inventing the iPod with all the other MP3 players already on the market? Or was it worth Apple messing around with phones when brands like Nokia and Motorola already owned most of the market? The iPhone may not be the best phone out there, but it certainly gave the industry a shake up it needed to be more inventive with phones.

In our derivative world, it is commonplace for companies to jump on the bandwagon and create ‘me-too’ products, but sometimes companies enter the market to bring a new thought on the same idea. Even better they do so to try and make something that is actually better than the rest - or in the case of instrument modelling, closer than the rest.

I think it’s no secret that I’m a friend of Wolfgang Palm and I’ve done what I can to support him as the PPG has born again on the iPad. There were a lot of iPad synth apps before the PPG. Did the world need another one? Yes, it needed one that was a professional sounding synth with ultimate tweakability. From both professional and consumer feedback so far, the world did need another iPad synth and Wolfgang made it, even better he did it right in my opinion.

It’s early days with the new Waves Element synth, but from my early interactions with it I have to say there’s something about both the filters and amps that is a lot better then other subtractive synth VIs. It may not be orginal, but as we’ve seen so often it’s not originality we seek but for someone to do it better.

You may have a different opinion on the new Waves synth than me, we can agree to disagree, but I would rather have companies like Waves try a new approach, than a culture where software developers don’t bother trying to do things better because there are armies of people ready to trash their ideas.

I don’t mind them trying, rather that, than a barren creative landscape. I’d rather have a world where people try something new, than bedroom critics who never made anything.

As Winter NAMM approaches and we’re all anticipating some sort of announcement from Waves about AAX DSP, they surprised us today with this! 

Here is a quote from their Web site: 

Introducing Element: The first ever synthesizer from Waves. Powered by Virtual Voltage™ technology, Element is an analog-style polyphonic instrument engineered to deliver the fat, gritty sound of the classics, with all the precision, flexibility and control of contemporary digital synths.

Element includes a vast array of convenient features and functions. Like integrated effects. A 16-step arpeggiator / sequencer. MIDI Learn for all controls. And a massive preset library, with total tweakability. Plus, all parameters are laid out right there in front of you, so when inspiration strikes, there’s no need to scroll through page after page to customize your sounds. Searing leads, booming basses, ethereal pads, electro-percussion, sequential motions, mind-blowing FX and lots more: Element does it all.

To learn more, visit the product page here.

click to play

Russ takes a look at the new RTAS version of the Sonimus Satson Console Emulation plug-in.