New from Klanghelm

If you have never heard of Klanghelm then you are really missing out. I have several VST's from these guys (I think actually it is just one guy - Tony Frenzel) and they are really good. No noise, no bother, they just do exactly what they are supposed to do.

Klanghelm MJUC Jr

Klanghelm MJUC Jr

To start you off here is a freebie. The MJUC Jr. It is is a variable-mu** compressor with lots of vibe, capable of smooth levelling but also heavy pumping effects. With its two gain stages and interstage transformer simulation it offers a very deep and lively sound stage.
The three-position timing switch not only controls the attack and release times of the unit, but also the slew rate of the transformers and the timing of the other parts of the circuitry, that are directly influencing the generated harmonics (saturation).

More details and download at Klanghelm

The Stroh violin

Impact Soundworks has announced the release of The Stroh Violin, a free (for a limited time only) Native Instruments Kontakt sample library featuring the sounds of a rare Stroh violin acoustic instrument.

Stroh Violin

Stroh Violin

Apparently the Stroh violin is an interesting variation of the classic violin design, invented and patented by electrical engineer John Matthias Augustus Stroh back in 1899 it amplifies its sound through a metal resonator and metal horns rather than a wooden sound box. It’s often used by folk music players and other musicians including Tom Waits, Thomas Newman and Bat for Lashes.

There are three custom-mapped articulations and rhythmic sequencer.

THE STROH VIOLIN - KEY FEATURES

  • Authentic multisampled stroh violin

  • 3x dynamic layers / up to 5x round robins

  • Sustain, spiccato & pizzicato articulations

  • Customizable mapping

  • 3-layer rhythmic sequencer / gate

  • Quick controls for grit, dirt and vinyl

  • Lightweight and fun to use

  • FREE for Kontakt (full version) 5.4+

Native Instruments makes a Santa special delivery

Native Instruments is giving away a bunch of cool FREE stuff - including a really useful delay - until Dec 31.

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REPLIKA packs two professional quality delays and a powerful diffusion algorithm into a sleek, streamlined interface. Simple to use with a resonant filter and classic phaser built in.
REPLIKA is a versatile delay for anything from subtle slapback to warped sheets of noise. Available for PC or Mac.

CYMATICS: Science Vs. Music

How absolutely cool is this ... great film, great science.

► NEW VIDEO Automatica: http://nigelstanford.com/y/Cytext-Automatica ► Album & 4k Video: http://nigelstanford.com/y/Cytext-Cymatics ► Spotify: http://NigelStanford.com/y/Spotify Download in 4k / HD. All of the science experiments in the video are real. Watch behind the scenes and see how it was made.

Vinyl fights back

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How do you explain this? Less headroom, lots of nice crackles and scratches. Rumble, wow and flutter. Really? One good thing is that there was always plenty of room for liner notes and photos.
What do you prefer - and more importantly why? Is it pure nostalgia?

Analog is analog. What you record is what you get. Digital uses sampling to approximate the wave curve:

Sampling Rate

  • CD Audio = 44.1 kHz (samples per second) which at 16 bit means 65,536 possible values.

We could do better ...

  • DVD Audio = 192 kHz (samples per second). Nice except that DVD audio discs are very rare.

The next point is that an analog output can be fed directly to your amplifier without any Digital to Analog Conversion (DAC). Anyway, whatever the medium, it all comes down to mp3 format played on an iPhone through cheap ear buds so why care?

Slate Digital - Virtual Mix Rack

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Slate Digital have come out with a Virtual Mix Rack which operates as a virtual 500 series rack with hot-swappable modules. It includes four mix modules, including two classic eq's and two mix compressors. More modules will follow.

As a nice temptation SD are offering a FREE module called Revival. Revival borrows aspects of tubes, tape, transformers, and world class analog filters to create two processes.

There is a nice VU-Meter (lit when unit is active) that displays the output signal level. Unfortunately there is no input signal level setting.

The Shimmer control plays with the high-end of the signal and can be used to add air, brightness and clarity. The Thickness control works on the low-end to fatten just about anything up.

See a demo of Revival here.

You will need an iLok key to store the licence data for Revival (and Revival's license will never expire), but if you choose to buy the whole Virtual Mix Rack for $149, you get an iLok key included in the price.

I have used Revival on individual tracks and it is quite magical on drums, but it can also be used on your mastering to bring out some details.