Harrison Mixbus 2.0

Harrison updated their MixBus Software (first released in '09) to Version 2,0 today. They've added many features requested by their 

users and "refined the operation of Mixbus to make it faster, easier, more stable, more creative and more FUN to use."

Here's a summary of the most-requested features that can be found in Mixbus 2.0:

Editor Improvements:

• New, improved Crossfade, Layering, and Automation editing.
• "Smart Object" Mode :  Allows a combination of object and range mode.
• Ripple Editing mode : Greatly speeds up the process of spoken-word and radio edits.
• Regions are transparent while being dragged, but switch to opaque when you drop them in place.  Line up transients on overdubs with ease!

New Mixer Features:

• 8 Mix Bus Sends!  We doubled the mixbuses so there are enough for groups as well as FX returns.  Even more of what made Mixbus special!
• Plugin Effect Control Sliders allow you to map plugin controls directly to controls on the mixer strip.  Give your plugins the Mixbus treatment!
• Input Trim, Makeup Gain, Sidechain, and Master Limiter controls are now available directly from the mixer window.
• Improved Mixer navigation and display, including narrow mixer strip and the ability to show/hide Mix Buses as needed.
• New Phase-Correlation meter on the Master Bus displays mono compatibility of the stereo mix.
• Polarity (phase) buttons for every mixer strip.
• Plugins, sends, inserts and the fader now appear in a single redirect box at the top of the mixer strip.  This allows easier signal reordering and allows more space for Mixbus controls.

Other Improvements:

• New, better documentation and easier installation.
• More keybindings such as mute/solo/record for selected tracks.  Keyboard power-users never have to touch the mouse for recording & editing.
• Taller, higher-contrast faders on the mixer strips.
• Many user-suggested menu tweaks which make the most-used functions easier to find.
• Range-selection behavior now allows you to drag down across multiple tracks at once - while also supporting edit groups.
• Realtime automation recording is much more robust; you can even record automation while looping!
• Automation and Region Gain Line editing is much faster.  You can now grab a range of time and drag the automation line for quick level rides.

$219 at Harrison's website.

Listening Challenge: Pro Tools “In the Box,” Neve 8048, and Pro Tools HEAT

Avid has posted a listening challenge on their website comparing a Protools ITB mix with a ITB mix summed on a Neve 8048 and an ITB mix with their very own HEAT plugin. It would be interesting to see which option is the most popular choice.

From the website:

"Many audio professionals believe that certain Neve consoles are the Holy Grail of analog mixing supremacy and are key to getting that coveted warmth in your digital recordings. Many others believe that you can get the same sonic richness mixing in Pro Tools, using plug-ins and no analog gear whatsoever. Still others believe that the answer lies somewhere in between, using analog inserts or summing boxes with an “in the box” Pro Tools mix.

We thought you’d be interested in finding out if your beliefs are in tune with your actual preferences. So, we did a fun experiment (similar to one we did several years ago with a vintage SSL console) at the world famous Village Studios in Los Angeles to see how closely a Pro Tools “in the box” mix being summed on a vintage Neve 8048 console compares with a mix done only “in the box” in Pro Tools—and “in the box” with our new HEAT software add-on, which brings the warmth and character of vintage analog gear to Pro Tools|HD mixes. We invite you to hear the results and judge for yourself."

http://www.avid.com/us/resources/HEAT-Listening-Challenge

Good Morning!

Waves MPX Master Tape

Just received an email from Waves announcing their new MPX Master Tape Plugin:

"Developed in association with Eddie Kramer, the MPX Master Tape plugin is modeled on a rare machine consisting of an Ampex 350 transport and 351 electronics. With adjustable tape speed, bias, flux, wow & flutter, and noise parameters, the MPX provides comprehensive control over the contours of your sound. And to top it off, we’ve added a flexible slap & feedback delay, ideal for rock, dance, dub, you name it. For recording, mixing, mastering, and more, bring the richness and warmth of real tape saturation to your DAW with the MPX Master Tape. It’s the reel deal." Read more:http://www.waves.com/content.aspx?id=11702#ixzz1NUk5Pe38 Special Introductory Price - $99 Native/$149 TDM

JZ Microphones Vintage 12 Microphone

"JZ Microphones is now shipping its new LDC Vintage 12 condenser microphone. Following in the footsteps of the hugely successful Vintage 47 & Vintage 67 microphones which were inspired by the classic Neumann originals, JZ Microphones now offers their version of the legendary AKG C12.

The Vintage 12 incorporates the best qualities of the original C12 and enhances them with features unique to JZ such as the Golden Drop Technology which provides a more detailed and transparent capsule response. The replacement of the original C12 tubes with high quality transistor technology provides equivalent frequency response with fewer maintenance and care issues."

The Vintage 12 is sold for $1913 on JZ Microphones website.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY LAURYN!

Happy Belated Birthday to Lauryn Hill aka "L Boogie" aka "Madame Potential". One of the most talented and emotive artists of our time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauryn_Hill

FL Studio Mobile | Coming Soon

"FL Studio mobile will allow you to create complete multi-track projects on your iPod, iPhone or iPad

and, if you want, load mobile projects into FL Studio and take them to the next level...."

Key features:

	Compatible with the FL Studio desktop version.
	85-key keyboard
	FL Studio quality instruments and kits
	5 Effects: reverb, delay, equalizer, amp, filter
	Pitch bend via accelerometer
	128-track sequencer
	Attack and release times for each track
	Piano-roll editor
	Step sequencer
	Drum pads
	Drum loops
	MIDI import/export
	Mixdown to wav
	iTunes file sharing support
	Low-latency, high-polyphony, battery saving audio engine
	iPhone 4 Retina Display support
	Compatible with the Akai SynthStation 25

http://www.image-line.com/documents/flstudiomobile.html

3 to 1 Rule

One of the first rules I learned as an audio engineer is the 3 to 1 Rule.
The 3:1 rule states that when two or microphones are recording multiple sources "the distance between the microphones should be at least three times the distance from each microphone and it's sound source."
The reason for this is simple; to avoid phase issues which can ruin the recording of a great performance.
The phase cancellations are caused by small timing delays between two or more mics picking up the same signal.
For instance a delay of 2.5 milliseconds causes frequency cancellations at 200, 600hz and 1khz. Change the delay of the second mic to 20 milliseconds and the cancellations now occur at 25, 75 and 125 hz. which is much better because its at the low end of the frequency range. But this won't work with drums and percussion since it will cause flamming (double hits) and drastically reduce the impact of the drums.
To prevent this issue use directional (cardiod) microphones and place them so the sides and rear of the microphone is facing the other source. There will always be some leakage but due to the reduced SPLs at the side and rear of the microphone the phase issues are usually negligible.
When recording a single sound or group of sounds with two mics use whatever stereo technique gives the best sound (X/Y, Spaced Pair, M-S, ORTF, Blumlein etc.). Just make sure that both mic diaphragms are exactly the same distance from the sound source (use a tape measure if necessary).
Here's an article on six different stereo techniques on AudioTuts.
Don't be afraid to experiment and let your ears be the judge. Sometimes you have to bend the rules to get the desired results.

Mohog Audio MoFET76

I'm a huge fan of the original 1176 so I'm definitely looking forward to using these on a mix,
"The MoFET76 is designed after the legendary 1176 Revision F, with slight modifications including switchable output transformers and input metering. These compressors sound amazing on any source including vocals, bass, snare and overheads. Great analog sound! This is a New custom built unit completely hand soldered and hand wired for greater quality control. These units come complete, calibrated and tested..."
They can also be linked for stereo use with a Mohog Audio MoSA Stereo Adapter


Warren Dent the owner/operator of ZenPro posted his favorite setting which he says sounds amazing on Vocals, Bass, Strings and Percussion. If you have a MoFET76, Urei or UA1176 or even the plugin version, definitely try this setting:


Warren's "One Knob" MoFET76 Setup:

• Combine 4:1 + 12:1 Ratio
• Set Attack to Slowest (counter-clockwise)
• Set Release to Fastest (clockwise)
• Vary the Input Level for Threshold!

Mohog Audio MoFET76 Features:

• Hand Soldered and wired w/Teflon coated silver plated wire
• Through plated pcb with top layer ground plane
• High quality Nichion Audio KW Or Elna capacitors.
• Voltage selector 115/230 volts
• Transformer balanced input  with custom Edcor transformer
• Transformer balanced output with switchable custom Edcor and Carnhill transformers
• Three deck  600Ω input attenuator
• Ratios 4:1, 8:1, 12:1, 20:1, all buttons in  and ratio combination's
• Super fast Attack time from 20 microseconds to 800 microseconds
• Release time from 50 milliseconds to 1 second
• Input metering
• LED lights in Meter for longer life
• Neutrik XLR input and output
• TRS stereo link interconnect
• Wood Face plate with Lacquer applied over silk screen for longer life
• Heavy Gage steel case Painted white
• Hand numbered and signed  
• One year warranty  

To purchase visit Mohog Audio. Also sold at ZenPro Audio 

Good Morning!

One of my favorite groups Earth Wind & Fire performing a medley with the supreme songstress Natalie Cole on her 1978 TV Special.

Shadow Hills Dual Vandergraph

The Shadow Hills Dual Vandergraph is a 500 series compressor based on their flagship mastering Compressor. This is definitely a case of big things come in small packages as the sound of the Vandergraph can be described as "larger than life". It is fairly easy to use and the compression ratios and fixed attack/release times are well matched.

Compression Ratios     Attack            Release
1.2:1                                    30ms             100ms
2.5:1                                    30ms             500ms
4;1                                       10ms             500ms
8:1                                       0.5ms            250ms

Features:

• Input impedance 20k
• Minimum load impedance 600 ohms
• Stereo
• Fully Class-A
• Discrete audio path
• Discrete gain cells from Mastering Compressor
• Sidechain Filter Matrix from Optograph (high-pass filters - 90,150, 250 hz and bandpass 250hz - 6khz)
• Swiss made discrete attenuators
• Military Spec build quality
• Meets the specifications of the VPR Alliance

Here's a TapeOp review of the Dual Vandegraph.

$1875 at Vintage King.

Building Relationships

Some more insight on life in the music biz from Carlisle's blog:

"No matter what industry you get into, your relationships are what will determine your future. My goals at this point were to be the most reliable, the most available and to create a long contact list. I met a young producer by the name of Hi Tek and he was producing a few songs for an independent rap group called Mood that was signed to TVT Records. He was the 2nd most humblest producer I’ve met up until this point. All he had was an Akai MPC-60, a turntable and some headphones and he was turning out a good amount of beats everyday I saw him. When the album was done, we exchanged contact info and every now and then we’d hear from each other....."

Read the rest of the post here.

JBL LSR4326 Studio Monitors

The JBL LSR4326 has been around for a few years and if my memory serves me correctly one of the first to offer DSP Room Correction. It's always best to work in a properly built and tuned room but for those times when that's not feasible the Room Mode Correction System can be very useful. However, take note it only works for the spot where the calibration mic is placed. So other parts of the room outside of the mix position will not be corrected.

JBL LSR4326 Pak Monitor System Features:

• Bi-amplified monitor with JBL DSP-enabled RMC Room Mode Correction system.
• 6" polymer-coated fiber low-frequency transducer with self-shielded neodymium magnet structure
• 1" soft-dome tweeter with self-shielded neodymium magnet structure and ferro fluid cooling
• 150 watts amplification for LF
• 70 watts amplification for HF
• XLR and 1/4" balanced analog inputs
• AES/EBU and S/PDIF digital inputs
• Integrated processing provides Automated Room Mode Correction, and compensation for speaker-to-speaker placement variations
• Front panel includes output level meter and user controls
• Harman HiQnet network and USB computer interface provide centralized control of entire system from any speaker
• Network cable included

Check out Electronic Musician's review of the LSR4326.
$1098 at Sweetwater Sound.

Chord Detector App for iOS (iPhone/iPod/iPad)

Chord Detector by Martian Storm Ltd. is aimed at musicians of any ability to help you learn to play the tracks on your iPod music library by automatically detecting their chords.
Features:

• Algorithm – select between 3 chord detection algorithms.
• Beat Detection – enable beat detection to reduce the number of chord changes.
• Key Detection – enable to use only detected chords appropriate for the songs key.
• Optimise – reduce the number of chord changes by removing subtle changes.

• Play/Pause – play or pause the track.
• Rewind 30s – rewind the track by 30 seconds.
• Forward 30s – forward the track by 30 seconds.
• Tempo Adj. – slow down the track without affecting the pitch by a variable amount down to 1/4 of its original speed.

Visit the website for more info: http://www.chord-detector.com/
$2.99 on the App Store

Sknote's STRIPBUS Console Emulation plugin

Console Emulation plugins have a new contender, Sknotes STRIPBUS which consists of two plugins:
A Channel Strip and a Bus Compressor.

"Strip":

• dual mode: "Tube channel", "Solid state"
• input stage saturation
• hipass, parametric mids, lowpass
• VU and peak combined metering
• bypass-all menu for fast wet-dry comparison (bypasses all plugin instances from a single menu)

"TwoBus":

• dual mode: "Tube summing", "Solid state"
• stereo bus compressor (with oversampling)
• K-meter
• Low and high frequencies enhance controls
• Mid-side balanced compression

It is currently being tested and should be released shortly.

Anamod ATS-1 ANALOG TAPE SIMULATOR

The ATS-Analog Tape Simulator is a one of a kind unit that adds analog tape warmth and/or saturation to your sounds by emulating the sonics of certain tape machines when used with particular types of tape. It is stereo but can be used as dual mono to process two different sounds at the same time.


Their website states:
"Unlike digital plug-ins or processor-based outboard gear, there is no latency, and no A/D or D/A conversions to compromise the sound. The result is a faithful recreation of the original response, without using the original analog hardware."

"All of the important features of a two-track analog tape machine are found in the ATS-1, including speed selection, bias, LF record and HF Repro EQ, and the option of adding tape hiss, if desired. The reference 'record' level, as indicated on the illuminated VU meters, can be adjusted from 0 to +12 dBu in 3 dB increments.
The ATS-1 accurately models the behavior of specific tape machines and tape formulations, and allows the user to select from up to four machine and tape types. Optional machine and tape types are available on easy-to-install SIMM cards. Standard tape formulation cards shipped with the ATS-1 are the GP9 and 456. Standard machine cards are the A800 and M79."
Features: 
• Two channels of analog tape simulation
• Up to four tape machine models
• Up to four tape formulation models
• 7.5, 15 and 30 ips speed selection
• Bias, LF and HF EQ, and Hiss
• User-installable upgrade cards

The ATS-1 can be purchased directly from Anamod:

phone ((201) 728-8490) or email info@anamodaudio.com

Read Sound On Sound's review of the Anamod ATS-1 here.