Recording Engineer. Recording tips. Mixing Tips.

TC Electronic announces Digital Konnekt x32, an all-in-one digital patchbay, format converter and FireWire audio interface, for integrating digital outboard effects units and keyboards with modern digital audio workstation based studios. Digital Konnekt x32 will ship in July 2007 with a retail price of $1745 MSRP, EUR1295, GBP875 ex. VAT.

As a stand-alone format converter and patchbay, Digital Konnekt x32 includes 8 channels of AES/EBU, 8 channels of S/PDIF and TOS, 8 channels of ADAT (up to 96 kHz SMUX) and Word Clock I/O. Any input format can be converted into either of the other formats and aligned to any sample rate ranging from 44.1 to 192 kHz. Digital Konnekt x32 allows sample rate conversion on up to four separate stereo inputs at once.
Read more »

RME has announced that a re-engineered and enhanced Firmware 2.0 Update for the Micstasy is now available. The update gives the Micstasy direct compatibility with Yamaha’s M7C and PM5D mixing consoles, responding to their Sysex commands. Input gain is adjustable in steps of 1dB (gain range of -9 to 63dB), with phantom power selectable on each channel.

The Micstasy can also be controlled from Yamaha’s DM1000 and DM 2000 consoles via MIDI, even though the protocols are not directly compatible. For this purpose, the consoles’ MIDI remote layer functionality has to be set up so that it corresponds to the Micstasy’s Sysex remote protocol.
Read more »

The Vienna Symphonic Library team is proud to announce the release of the new VIENNA INSTRUMENTS Collection SPECIAL BRASS, which is now available from Vienna’s worldwide network of distributors and dealers.

Like the recently released Special Woodwinds, the 21 GB Vienna Instruments Collection Special Brass offers resonant rarities that a first-rate virtual orchestra can’t do without.

To create the perfect counterpart for Vienna’s now famous Epic Horns, the team recorded an ensemble of six trumpet players (three trumpets in Bb and three in C). The Fanfare Trumpets provide tremendous impact with their sforzato and sforzatissimo playing techniques. And they deliver sparkling trumpet themes that soar magnificently above the orchestra.
Read more »

Abbey Road Studios and Propellerhead Software announce they have partnered to produce the Abbey Road Keyboards ReFill for Propellerhead Software’s Reason. Abbey Road Keyboards delivers a hypersampled collection of seven unique instruments recorded using the original equipment at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.

The Abbey Road Keyboards ReFill consists of Reason 3.0 patches with samples of Steinway “Mrs. Mills” piano, Challen studio piano, Hammond RT-3 & Leslie Model 122, Mannborg Harmonium, Mellotron Model 400, Schiedmayer Celeste and Premier Tubular Bells. These time-tested keyboards have been at the studios since the early 60’s and were used on some of the most popular tracks of all time—from “A Hard Day’s Night” to “Dark Side Of The Moon” as well as numerous film scores such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Aliens, all three Lord of the Rings movies and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, to name but a few.
Read more »

SABIAN, Ltd., the award-winning cymbal manufacturer, today announced the 10 finalists in its “SABIAN Dream Spot,” a promotional contest that will give one lucky undiscovered band a chance to play 10 dates on the 2007 Vans Warped Tour. The winning band will play on the “Kevin Says” stage, the launching pad for numerous SABIAN bands including renowned favorites “My Chemical Romance,” “Fall out Boy,” “Avenged Sevenfold” and “All American Rejects.”

Hundreds of bands submitted entries for the “Dream Spot” contest. Preliminary judging was conducted by a panel of industry professionals including Vans Warped Tour representatives, magazine editors and SABIAN’s artist relations team, who narrowed the list down to 10 finalists. Those finalists represent a variety of musical genres and hail from all over North America.
Read more »

Apogee Electronics Corporation announced today that Symphony Mobile is now shipping worldwide through authorized dealers and distributors. Symphony Mobile is the first professional, state-of-the art native audio workstation designed specifically for Apple’s MacBook Pro.

Symphony Mobile features all of the performance, quality and value of Apogee’s Symphony PCI-Express card, with up to 32 channels of I/O, and less than 1.6 milliseconds of latency at 96K, in a portable form factor. Installed directly into Apple’s MacBook Pro and connected to Apogee’s legendary X-Series or Rosetta Series converters, Symphony Mobile delivers amazing sound quality and capabilities that rival most desktop workstations, making it the ultimate solution for professionals that want to do audio production on a laptop.

“We are pleased to be shipping Symphony Mobile,” says Apogee Co-Founder and CEO, Betty Bennett. “With high channel count and extremely low latency, Symphony Mobile liberates the customer from large desktop workstations. The freedom to move no longer requires professionals to compromise on performance.”
Read more »

Extreme Punch 2 is a major upgrade to Extreme Punch with a number of improvements.

New Features:
CPU efficiency improved by 60%
Fatter, punchier, more analog sound
Natural tape compression emulation
Automatic dynamic control
Free Video instruction guide

Extreme Punch is an analog tape emulator designed to make digital tracks warmer and considerably punchier.

Back in the days of analog tape, producers used the “limitations” of the medium to make recordings that were punchy and warm. This was done by saturating the magnetic particles on analog tape by sending a very “hot” signal to the tape.

The result was a pleasantly warm sounding recording that analog became known for. Extreme Punch was designed to very accurately reproduce the sound of tape saturation. You can download the free demo version and try it for yourself.

For more information, visit their web site at www.recordingschoolonline.com