Pre-Order NI's KOMPLETE 8 from AudioMidi.com & get up to $100 in Gift certificates

Pre-order your version of Komplete 8 prior to August 30, 2011 and we will do our best to get it 

to your door on September 1st! Now is the time to insure you'll get Komplete 8 as soon as we do! 

Prices start at $199 for the Komplete 8 Update, $369 for the Komplete 8 Crossgrade, and $499 for the full version. 

New for this year is Komplete 8 ULTIMATE.  This version ships to you on a dedicated USB 2.0 drive, 

saving you hours of installation time, and offering additional storage for more content. You get everything in 

Komplete 8, plus 23 additional instruments and effects including Kontakt, Guitar Rig, and Reaktor. 

Prices start at $499 for the Komplete 8 Ultimate Upgrade and $999 for Komplete 8 Ultimate. 

As an added bonus, all versions include a gift certificate, exclusively with audioMIDI.com!

 

Komplete 8 is the quintessential collection of tools and sounds for musicians, producers  and sound designers. Packed full of cutting edge and award-winning samplers, synths  and creative effects, there’s more than ever to explore. Latest versions of the flagship  Kontakt 5, Guitar Rig 5 Pro, and Reaktor 5.6 are included, as well as over 1,300 additional sounds for the renowned Massive, Absynth, and FM8. Plus, great new products like  Transient Master and Studio Drummer round off the arsenal. What’s more, Komplete 8’s  presets are now optimized for browsing in Maschine.

What's NEW in Komplete 8: Brand new versions of industry standards Kontakt and Guitar Rig New: STUDIO DRUMMER – Ultimate software drummer, with premium kits, high-end effects, and over 3,500 grooves New: TRANSIENT MASTER – A powerful studio effect for placing instruments in the mix New: WEST AFRICA – Compelling, cutting-edge rhythms, percussion and melodic instruments New: RETRO MACHINES MK2 – A collection of legendary analog synths and keyboards Over 1,300 additional sounds for Massive , FM8 and Absynth 5 All sounds optimized for seamless integration with Maschine Ready to run in Pro Tools®, Logic®, and all other major DAWs

Komplete 8 Ultimate is the all-inclusive premium bundle for music production, live performance, and sound design. Own the last word in NI excellence – 50 products from flagships such as Kontakt 5, Guitar Rig Pro 5, and Reaktor 5.6, to brand new stars like Session Strings Pro, Studio Drummer, the high-grade studio effects of Solid Mix Series and Vintage Compressors– each boasting intuitive user interfaces and fast and efficient workflows. Komplete 8 Ultimate includes literally every Komplete Instrument and Effect currently available– 50 products in total. It’s so big it comes on a sturdy, dedicated USB 2.0 drive. Install everything in one sitting, by simply copying over Komplete 8 Ultimate to your chosen drive.

Key Features of Komplete 8 Ultimate: The all-inclusive premium bundle for music professionals 50 products in total, with 240 GB of samples Fast, convenient, one-step installation from a dedicated USB 2.0 hard drive Includes latest versions of Kontakt, Guitar Rig, and Reaktor Comprehensive range of Komplete Instruments, featuring Studio Drummer, Razor and Sessions Strings Pro Premium collection of Komplete Effects, including the Solid Mix Series, Vintage Compressors, and The Mouth. Ready for Pro Tools®, Logic®, Cubase®, & Live™. Seamless integration with Maschine

THERMIONIC CULTURE_NIGHTINGALE - DUAL MIC PRE & MONO COMPRESSOR

Thermionic Culture is a company well  known for making unique products that oozes tons of character and attitude. Their newest product "The Nightingale" is no exception. It's a 4 RU unit consisting of a two-channel microphone/line preamp combined with a single channel compressor, D.I. inputs, Phase switches and 2 band equalizer with HPF and LPF filters. Take a look at the pic above and you will see that Thermionic Culture has packed a lot of features into this unit. I like the fact that the compressor can be fed from either mic pre or both which makes it a great choice for recording stereo sources and also as a  buss compressor while mixing.

From their website:

"The Nightingale has 2 x Mic amps with useful valve eq. Both have their own outputs (XLR unbalanced), which can give 20+dBu. These can be combined or taken individually into 1 x vari-mu compressor-based on The Phoenix but with a little more "attitude". The compressor section has its own input ("balanced" XLR) which can be selected instead of a feed from the mic amps, also an XLR "balanced" output capable of +25 dBu.

Uses:
Apart from the obvious 3 separate parts of 2 hi quality mic amps with eq + superb compressor additional uses are As 2 mic inputs into the compressor for live or studio vocals.
Using the Phase switch on 1 channel, combine 2 snare drum mics thru the compressor for really fat results.
You can take individual outputs and do parallel compression easily by feeding a signal thru 1 mic amp straight to mixing desk/DAW/tape then select the same mic amp output to the compressor,  drive it  and feed the compressor output to another channel on the mixing desk/DAW/tape & combine them..."

MSRP £2125/$3458.65 USD

http://www.thermionicculture.com/products/nightingale.html

J-LAB JLA3 Optical 500 Compressor

"The JLA-3 is a 500-series compressor/limiter designed for use in demanding professional audio applications such as recording, broadcast and touring sound systems.
It has the compression characteristics of widely accepted vintage optical compressors using a long-life interchangeable JT-5 optical gain reduction block for high performance, low power consumption and low heat generation.
"Fast" and "Aggressive" models of plug-in optical blocks are available to custom-tailor the compression curve and timing for a wide variety of applications."


Here's a Youtube clip by ZenPro Audio showing the JLA-3:

J-LAB JLA3 Specifications

• Module format: API 500 style plug-in dynamic range compressor
• Meter: Sifam AL-15 Retro VU meter A-scale with amber dial light
• Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20Khz +/- 0.6 dB / -3 dB points at 6 Hz and 180 KHz
• Maximum Amplifier Gain:
  Low gain mode: 16 dB
  High gain mode: 40 dB
• Maximum Output Level (with 600 ohm load):
  +24 dBm at 2 Khz, THD+N < 0.3%
  +22 dBm at 20 Hz, THD+N = 1%
  +24 dBm at 20 Khz, THD+N < 1%
• THD + Noise (At gain reduction of 0 dB and 10 dB): < 0.3% at 2Khz, low gain, input level +4 dBu, output level +4 dBm
• Output noise level:
  -55 dBm with gain knob set to 0
  -45 dBm with gain knob set to 100
  77 dB below maximum output level at 2 KHz, gain knob set to 50
• Gain Reduction: 30 dB maximum gain reduction
• Attack time < 10 milliSeconds from 0 to 20 dB gain reduction
• JT-5 Optical Attenuator plug-in module determines release time based on photocell response
• Release time 1 second +/- 250 milliSeconds for 60% recovery (with JT5 Classic attenuator)
• On-board connector for stereo link to a second JLA-3
• Power Supply: Supply current < 100 mA at maximum output level and/or maximum gain reduction
  On-board regulation at +/- 12 VDC with for audio amplifier supply

$849 at ZenPro Audio