Penteo Audio Plugins has released Penteo version 6, which now offers Penteo upmixing technology to an even wider range of immersive formats including Dolby Atmos up to 9.1.6, Surround up to 7.1, Auro3D up to 13.1, DTSX, Sony 360RA, Ambisonics up to 7th order, Binaural and Dolby Pro Logic. We have all the details…
Known for their legendary studio hardware, some of SSL’s best known creations might live outside the box, but the announcement of MODULE8 promises to bolster the company’s expanding line of virtual devices with a brand new multi effects audio plugin. We put it to the Experts to get their verdict.
With two well-regarded intelligent fixers already under their belt, oeksound have now turned their attention to something different with distinctly artistic leanings. Here we put Bloom to the Experts for them to deliver their verdicts...
For many, SSL’s 4000E is the classic analogue console personified. With dozens of software channel homages out there, SSL themselves now step into the game to bring their own creation back into the DAW. We put it to the Experts.
In this article and video, James Ivey checks out the new SubZero 100 - a guitar amp plugin which the developers claim to be a ‘sonic powerhouse that genuinely stands out from the crowd of digital amp simulations’. We put it to the test…
Recorded at Riksmixningsverket (RMV Studio) in Stockholm, Toontrack Stockholm SDX for Superior Drummer 3 delivers drum sounds from one of Sweden’s best-sounding hit-making spaces. Here our panel of Experts give their verdict.
The Cranborne Audio Camden EC1 microphone preamplifier offers more than its name suggests, quite a lot more. We take it for a spin and find out if the sound is as good as the spec.
In the digital age, it seems that the appeal of classic processor designs shows no signs of diminishing. See and hear us take a new passive EQ for a spin for Pultec flavoured goodness with some welcome twists…
Differentiating between similar audio plugins can be hard, however some aim to bring something new. Bringing both familiar and unique audio plugins into one place, we put Flux Audio’s suite of tools to the Experts to see if it really is different.
It's been over a year since Tom Lowe moved to Steinberg's Nuendo 12 from Pro Tools, and here he writes on his progress and why he's glad he made the switch.
Avid’s revival of the classic Mbox line, the MBOX Studio caught everyone’s attention. But does it deliver? We decided to find out by sending units to three of the Experts Team and getting three independent opinions…
Grammy-nominated producer and mixer Nathaniel Reichman takes Waves’ first foray in immersive plugins for a test drive…
In our latest Expert Review, Paul Maunder and Expert contributors test Nugen Audio’s new Halo Vision immersive and surround audio analysis tool. Read on to find out their verdicts.
iZotope has just released the tenth full version of their industry- and home studio-standard software mastering suite, Ozone. Ronan Macdonald has been diving in to give us his initial impressions…
iZotope has released the latest version of their iconic audio restoration software RX 10. In this article, we have all the details of what is new, an exclusive extended first-look video, and we tell you what we think of RX 10 and RX 10 Advanced from iZotope.
Following on from LiquidSonics’ recent expansion of its product line with a trio of Reverb Foundry titles, we look at Tai Chi, the character ensemble reverb with multichannel and stereo goodness on tap. Three Experts give their verdict.
Few things bring more polish to a production than well produced harmony vocal stacks. Can Waves Harmony bring more vocal magic than it takes away? We find out.
When it comes to EQ, has it all been done before? Three Body Technology thinks not with its Kirchhoff EQ which offers the flexibility of a modern premium software EQ with the flavour of a vintage style EQ.
A few months ago PMC launched their brand new Studio Range of active reference near and midfield monitors and accompanying subwoofers. Production Expert writer Paul Maunder recently bought a pair of PMC6s - here’s what he thinks of them so far…
The amount of data you can amass over the lifespan of your machine, or even your whole career can become huge. When it’s time to move system, it’s also time to move all that data.
Almost every imaginable flavour of classic hardware synth has its own plugin, but if you’re into late 80’s/early 90’s dance sounds the choice starts to narrow. Can Arturia take us back to the Second Summer Of Love with their new SQ80V soft synth? We take a look...
When it comes to noise reduction, for many, CEDAR is at the top of the food chain. But is it worth it? In this article, long time iZotope RX user, Korey Pereira takes the new CEDAR Audio Studio 9 for an in-depth test drive.
In the article for Production Expert, James Richmond tests his new Eventide H9000 hardware effects processor and gives us his thoughts on the newest addition to his studio.
With the vast range of options available, choosing your first main studio mic can seem like a daunting task. Luke Goddard checks out an affordable solution in Imperative Audio’s Lucent.
Tired of poking around in your interface’s mixer app just to get control of your speakers and headphones? You are not alone, and Audient think they might have the solution with their Nero monitor controller. Luke Goddard gets in the sweet spot…
In the article and video for Production Expert, resident gear junkie James Ivey tests the Trinnov La Remote, a monitor controller for the D-Mon, MC and ST2 systems.
In this article and video for Production Expert, Si Gordon takes a look at Loopcloud 6, the latest version of a new innovative app created by Loopmasters, leaders in sample library development.
Recently we asked our Facebook community to share with us “Engineer or Mixer, One Question - What Question Would Ask?”. One response was “Which hardware mic preamp has the best value for money in a home studio?” In this article, we bring together the microphone preamp tests and reviews that we have produced over the years. If you are considering a new microphone preamp, for your studio then check out these reviews...
In the article for Production Expert, James Richmond tests the RME's bus-powered 258 Channels (128 in / 128 out) Digiface Dante Audio Interface, enabling transmission of up to 64 Dante channels and 64 MADI channels via a single USB 3.0 connection.
In this review for Production Expert, James Richmond looks at the Ferrofish Pulse 16 DX, Ferrofish's fully featured and affordable AD/DA Converter (Dante - ADAT - MADI). The natural progressor from the Pulse 16 MX, the Pulse 16 DX but now with Dante through its two RJ45 connectors, expanding any Dante audio network via its 16 AD/DA Cirrus Logic converters.
There’s a lot of talk about summing mixers and how they can transform the sound of your mix. But do they? Check out this video where that theory is tested.
For any producer, be they professional or an enthusiast in the audio world, the choice of interface is paramount, not only for its functionality but also for its durability and design. In this article, Ashea takes a closer look at the Audient iD24.
With no shortage of small desktop synths out there, IK Multimedia have just added a new one to the mix looking for a parking place on your desk. We check out the UNO Synth PRO X to see how its size compares with its sound…
James Richmond has direct experience of the best current high end interfaces providing high channel counts. In this article he shares his thoughts on DADlink, a new protocol which has latency so near to zero that it left him very impressed indeed!
In this article we take a detailed look at audio metering in general and the advanced metering available in Pro Tools Ultimate and Studio and show you what they look like side-by-side.
We’ve recently been exploring DaVinci Resolve as an alternative video editor with audio support. We take a look at one feature Voice Isolation, included with the paid version. We put it to the test to see how it stacks up against an industry leader in realtime dialogue cleaning.
Compact, easy to use gear has democratised podcast production for all. With its eye on the pro market as well, we take a look at Focusrite’s Vocaster One. Are its sounds are up to scratch for engineers and remote talent? Listen and decide.
The Cranborne Audio Camden EC1 microphone preamplifier offers more than its name suggests, quite a lot more. We take it for a spin and find out if the sound is as good as the spec.
Tierra Audio’s stable of studio tools sees a new edition with the release of the New Twenties condenser mic. With a characterful sound and styling to match, we got our hands on one to to soak in its sounds. How does it perform? Listen and decide for yourself…
One would assume that if you spend money on an audio interface that it’s going to give you better audio performance than the standard sound on a Windows PC. But is that true?
Two of our professional contributors, Steve DeMott and William Wittman, decided to put analogue to digital converters, in fact A/D and D/A converters, to the test. They wanted to know if they could hear the difference and which one they preferred of the four units.
Antares recently released a new version of the audio restoration tool Auto-Tune SoundSoap. In this video, Paul Maunder puts it to the test with dialogue recorded on location in a variety of noisy environments…
iZotope has recently announced M1 support for RX9, their flagship audio repair software. Geoff Manchester from iZotope has made this video making comparisons of some of the most common tasks that RX is used.
Universal Audio recently announced their new UAD Spark plugins. They are part of a new subscription offering from UAD. They are also the first native versions of UAD plugins. One big question that some will ask, do they sound the same as the plugins that require DSP processing?
In this article, Mike Thornton shares why the Apple MacBook Pro M1 Max, is his product of 2021 now that we have started to see what the 2nd generation ‘pro’ Apple Silicon computers can do, there is no doubt in his mind that they are awesome.
In this second set of tests using a new Apple Silicon 16-Inch MacBook Pro with an M1 Max SoC with 64GB of unified Memory, we test the new Apple Silicon native HD driver with an HDX1 System and Avid DNxHD and H264 video.
In this article, we explore how you can use a VI and a keyboard to create footsteps of various shoe types on various surfaces, clothes and other body-related movement sounds to help you produce believable Foley.
We have the first post-production test of a 2nd-gen Apple Silicon powered mac computer. We compare it with a 2018 Intel-powered Mac mini running a post session with a ProRes video playing.
We were asked by a member of the community to test how many working instances of Omnisphere we could get to run in Studio One while it still passed audio. The results are mind blowing!
Community member Ru Cook asked us to test recording in Pro Tools at low buffer settings on the new MacBook Pro M1 Max. We did far more than that, with staggering results.
Can IK Multimedia’s T-RackS Tape Machine Collection solve sterility and give us the elixir of analogue? Luke Goddard takes it for a spin to find out.
The ZenGo Synergy Core from Antelope Audio comes bundled with a whole range of free Synergy Core DSP effects and processors that do the heavy lifting so your computer doesn’t have to. But how do you bring them into your tracking and mixing to get the best out of them? In this video and article Luke Goddard shows you how.
With the release of Revoice Pro v4.3, Synchro Arts have raised the bar yet again. For those working in audio post-production the stand out new feature added to Revoice Pro in this release is Smart Align combined with a quick workflow that means you don’t need to leave Pro Tools to sync ADR to location sound.
In the article and video for Production Expert, resident gear junkie James Ivey tests the Trinnov La Remote, a monitor controller for the D-Mon, MC and ST2 systems.
In this article for Production Expert, Mastering Engineer Mike Thorne put the RME ADI-2 FS to the test to see if this is the best audio interface for mastering?
In this video for Production Expert, Brent March tests the Revelator io24, PreSonus' newest audio and midi interface with DSP power, aimed at live streaming, podcasting, and of course, recording.
In the article for Production Expert, James Richmond tests the Trinnov D-MON 12, part of their D-MON series of Digital Monitoring Processors, for those mixing in stereo, 5.1, 7.1 or even 7.1.4 and all their possible combinations.
In this article and video for Production Expert, Si Gordon takes a look at Loopcloud 6, the latest version of a new innovative app created by Loopmasters, leaders in sample library development.
In this article for Production Expert, James Richmond spends time with a pair of EVE Audio SC4070’s. Find out what he thought of them in our latest Tested article.
In this article and series of videos for Production Expert, Brent March takes an in-depth look at the IK Multimedia UNO Synth Pro Desktop and puts it through its paces, to truly see if you can get authentic analog sound at a great value price point?
I often get to the point in a mix where having just eight faders & controls, on a small surface or touchscreen, starts to seriously impinge on my speed and efficiency. There are always compromises with small control surfaces. Has iCon managed to make these compromises in the right places?
The elusive ingredient we all always seem to be searching for is the perfect emulation of analog circuit components and characteristics. Hear for yourself if True Iron by Kazrog fills the need.
Sound Credit, created by Soundways in Memphis, TN provides an affordable digital home for project credits, album art, and liner notes. Capture your credits via free-standing or DAW plug-in software where credits are created then stored in the DDEX RIN standard open format. Once you've logged your credits, then upload them to the Sound Credit Portal where you can freely edit and distribute them worldwide.
Any Monitor Speaker Can Sound Good In An An-echoic Chamber, But How Good Are Genelec’s “The Ones” 8331 and 8341 SAM monitors in a challenging environment? Has Genelec re-written the rule book for rear ported monitors? Check out my review to find out…
In this video review for Production Expert, Technical Editor James Ivey takes an extended look at Arcade, a loop and sample-based synthesiser from Output letting you see and hear just how Arcade lets you edit, tweak and craft your loops like no other VI has before.
Following the release of VocalSynth2 from iZotope we have 2 reviews for the price of one. In the first Dan Cooper takes a look at the new features added in VocalSynth 2 from a music production perspective having reviewed the original VocalSynth for us and he finds plenty of things to like. In the second review, Mike Thornton takes a look at what VocalSynth 2 can do for post-production and sound design.
Unity Audio are a small British company that have made a successful transition from high-end audio gear distribution into high-end monitor manufacturer. They currently make a range of 4 near to medium field monitors with accompanying subs and accessories and they were kind enough to send me a pair of their Super Rocks to review.
In this video review for Production Expert, Technical Editor James Ivey takes a look at the new Slate Digital ML-2 small-diaphragm cardioid condenser microphone with a 'Dynamic mode' switch and the latest VMC Classic Instrument Microphone bundle for the Slate Digital Virtual Mix Rack (VMR).
In this exclusive Production Expert Video Review we take a look at Zynaptiq's new mixing and mastering processing plug-in INTENSITY and decide if it's any good.
In this video for Production Expert, Technical Editor James Ivey takes a look at the Neve 8803 Dual Channel Equaliser. The 8803 is a hand-wired unit built in the companies UK factory based on the EQ section of the Neve 88RS console. James puts it to work on Bass, Acoustic Guitars, Vocals and a full stereo mix to see what the 8803 EQ has to offer.
Spiff by Oeksound is an adaptive transient processor plug-in that enables users to either boost or cut transients, big deal, there are plenty of plug-ins out there that can do this type of thing so what makes Spiff different?
Studio One 4 Professional, is the flagship version of the hugely popular DAW from PreSonus and aims to build on the success of Studio One 3, is it a hit or a miss? We take it for a spin.
We put ADAM Audio’s new low cost T Series Studio Monitors to test to find out if they are any good. Are the T7V and T5V monitors a cheap shot to enter the budget home studio market or are these the studio monitor bargain of the century?
In this extended video review Pro Tools Expert team member Julian Rodgers looks at Amber, a virtual acoustic guitar instrument from UJAM, examining the interface and auditioning the instrument both in isolation and in context with other instruments.
In this video review for Production Expert, Technical Editor James Ivey takes a look at the new Delta II and Sigma II handmade ribbon microphones by British microphone manufacturer Sontronics.
In this double header video review for Production Expert, Dan & James thoroughly test a couple of Focusrite's new USB Clarett audio interfaces. In this review, we test the Clarett 2Pre and 8Pre. Watch the video to discover what we think about these interfaces and to hear both interfaces in action in a short full band recording session.
The Result6 studio monitor is the result of many years of research and development and has culminated in the first product from PMC that sits in a surprisingly affordable price range. Simple in design yet not lacking high tech innovation, the Result6 features a 6.5" woofer powered by a 100W amp, and a 27mm, soft-dome tweeter powered by a 65W amp. Surrounding the twetter are D-Fins which widen the listening sweet spot and reduce any negative edge effects from the sides of the cabinet.
Post-Production Specialist Alan Sallabank, reviews the Signum Audio Bute Loudness Suite - a new collection of intuitive loudness management tools.
In this video review for Production Expert, Pro Tools Expert Technical Editor James Ivey takes a look at the new LCT540 Subzero (540S in the UK and Europe) 1-inch condenser capsule microphone by Lewitt. In this review James shows you some of the key features of the 540S then lets you hear how it sounds on drum overheads and nylon and steel string acoustic guitars in a short demo track.
In this video review for Production Expert, Technical Editor James Ivey takes a look and listen to the new 3 Preamps you Will Actually Use by Arturia.
Post Production Specialist Alan Sallabank reviews Weaponiser Fully Loaded, an incredibly powerful Weapon Sound Design Tool and Custom Sound Effects Library by Krotos Audio.
In this Production Expert review, Pro Tools Expert Technical Editor James Ivey takes a look at two new preamp emulations from Universal Audio. In this video James tests the new Neve Pre and the Helios Type 69 on a track. Watch the video to hear the effects of both preamp emulations in a mix.
Windows and Post-Production Specialist Alan Sallabank takes a look at the Dell Inspiron 15 7577 Windows Thunderbolt 3 Gaming Laptop to replace his MacBook Pro 2011 and sees how it performs for Post Production.
In this video review for Production Expert, Pro Tools Expert, Technical Editor James Ivey takes a look at the new ML-32D from Tascam. A 32 channel Line Level I/O to Dante converter. James shows you around the unit, explains the connectivity and how he is using the ML-32D in his studio set up and then goes on to let you hear the unit in a short track featuring full drum kit, bass and lead guitar.
In this video review for Production Expert, Technical Editor James Ivey takes a look and listen to the Series Black range of condenser microphones by Lauten Audio.
I think I have said many times now, in articles and on the Podcast that it's the little things in our studios that make little differences and that lots of little differences add up to a big difference in our sound. The little gizmos and gadgets that fix a specific problem or issue. CRS from Norway have designed the Cymbal Resonance System that can be quickly fitter to all professional cymbal and percussion stands and just makes your instruments sound better.
T-Racks 5 is the latest version of IK Multimedia's popular plug-in suite. It features a wealth of great sounding EQs, dynamics and effects. The latest version of T-Racks 5 debuted a new standalone mastering application along with four new modules. We take a look at Master Match, which automatically matches the sound of the songs you are mastering with up to three source tracks used as reference tracks, it's very good.
In this video review, Pro Tools Expert team member Kevin Becka puts the Wavesfactory SPECTRE plug-in through its paces. This unique processor introduces sophisticated harmonic content to your tracks ranging from chocolatey tones to outright bit-crushing anarchy.
In this video review for Production Expert, Pro Tools Expert Technical Editor James Ivey takes a look at the new Neve 1073DPX two-channel mic preamp with EQ.
In this video review Production Expert team member Julian Rodgers reviews Solid from UJAM, a virtual drum instrument which bucks the trend by embracing simplicity over comprehensive control and prove that this approach can set us free to get on the what's really important - creating music, without compromising the results.
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