Focusrite Red 1 500 series

Focusrite has announced the return of their acclaimed Red 1 series Mic Pre in the 500 series format.

For those unfamiliar with the Focusrite Red series the original Red 1 was only available in a 4 channel 19' standard rack mount format. It was a very popular piece that could be found in many of the best recording studios. I've used the original Red 1 in the past and it performed well with many different microphones.

From the website:

"Focusrite’s Red Range gained legendary status following its release in 1993. The Red 1 rapidly became a sought-after mic preamp in the world’s top studios, thanks to its ability to handle almost any microphone and its unique, signature sound.

Featuring the same circuit topology and components as the original transformer-based mic pre designs, Red 1 500 Series Mic Pre offers the same performance as the original Focusrite Red microphone preamplifier in a new, popular format: the 500 Series, or “Lunchbox” portable modular system. It’s ideal for mobile/location use as well as in the studio."

From their press release:

"The Red 1 500 Series Mic Pre has switchable phantom power, polarity invert, and an easy-to-read illuminated VU meter, making it the perfect preamp choice for a 500-series rack in the studio or on location. Its stepped gain structure (with a Grayhill gold-plated military-grade switch) in 6dB steps from -6 to +60dB, provides accurate, precise channel matching and recall. The output stage of the Red 1 500 Series Mic Pre will easily drive long cable runs without significant loss of quality, making it ideal for remote recordings.

Focusrite's unique mic preamp topology provides superb common-mode rejection, excellent overload margin and, with its shared gain structure (20dB from the transformer and up to 40dB from the amplifier), a very low noise floor combined with the signature extra-wide bandwidth (10Hz to 140kHz). This exceptional level of performance is maintained over a wide range of impedances applied to the input, making the Red 1 500 Series Mic Pre perform flawlessly with almost any microphone: ribbon, dynamic or condenser."

FEATURES:

• Original Red circuit topology and components
• 500 Series “Lunchbox” format
• Lundahl LL1538 Input Transformer
• Carnhill custom output transformer
• Grayhill gold-plated mil-grade gain switch
• Suitable for virtually any microphone
• Backlit VU meter with switchable calibration
• Polarity invert and +48V phantom power

Release Date April 2013. MSRP $1249

See Focusrite.com for more info.

Hamptone's HOC1 : Class A JFET Opto Compressor / Limiter

Hamptone who is known for their preamps (the HVTP2 and HJFP2) recently announced their latest product the HOC1 : Class A JFET Opto Compressor/Limiter. The preamps are solidly built and the words clean, detailed and larger than life are often used to describe them. I'm certain the HOC1 will also be well received. I like the layout of the controls and the fact that parallel processing can be done within the unit. I'm especially curious about the SHAPE control. I will do a more informative post once I actually get my hands on the unit.

FEATURES:

• Discrete Class A transformer balanced signal path.
• Parallel signal path (direct / compressed)
• Smooth opto cell compression, servo driven for high speed and stability (20dB in 1.5mS)
• SHAPE control and Feed Forward/Back allow infinite compressor response vs signal input
• Sophisticated stereo link capability, or as stand alone
• Two units fit into standard 2U rack shelf, mechanically = HVTP2 and HJFP2 micpres

Price $1499.

http://www.hamptone.com/hoc1_comp.html

Frequency Ear Training with Dave Pensado - Parts 1 & 2

I was asked recently about eq'ing a kick to make it sit right in a mix. It depends on the genre and the type of sound. In these videos Dave gives some great tips and advice on training your ear to help you decide what frequencies work best for your song/mix.

Waves introduces new Synth - The Element

Looking for some sonic inspiration? Try the new Element synthesizer from Waves.
Introductory price $99. Demo available.


From the website:

"Element includes a vast array of convenient features and functions. Like integrated effects. A 16-step arpeggiator / sequencer. MIDI Learn for all controls. And a massive preset library, with total tweakability. Plus, all parameters are laid out right there in front of you, so when inspiration strikes, there’s no need to scroll through page after page to customize your sounds. Searing leads, booming basses, ethereal pads, electro-percussion, sequential motions, mind-blowing FX and lots more: Element does it all.
Read more: http://www.waves.com/content.aspx?id=12081#image#ixzz2GvQyINRd

Introducing Element: The first ever synthesizer from Waves. Powered by Virtual Voltage™ technology, Element is an analog-style polyphonic instrument engineered to deliver the fat, gritty sound of the classics, with all the precision, flexibility and control of contemporary digital synths. Element is Native, and is available separately as well as in Waves Mercury.

Last Chance: End-of-Year UAD Storewide Sale

UA is having a huge holiday sale on many of their plugins including their popular Manley, Lexicon, EMT, Ampex, Studer, Neve and SSL emulations. They're also doing a special promotion where you receive a free UAD-2 Satellite Quad when you "Purchase a New UA 4-710d Four-Channel Tone-Blending Mic Preamp by December 31st and Get a FREE UAD-2 QUAD Core or UAD-2 Satellite QUAD Core DSP Accelerator Package!" Visit UA's website for more details.

Metric Halo 2012 Holiday Sale Extended!

Metric Halo's Holiday Sale that I posted recently has been extended to January 15th.
Also songs recorded with the ULN-8 by artist Sono Luminus received 7 Grammy Nominations.
(Note: "Cherry Wine" that I mixed for Nas and produced by Salaam Remi was also nominated for a Grammy. I used a Metric Halo 2882 as the interface when mixing.)

Visit mhlabs.com for more info on the great deals they're offering on their excellent software and hardware.

Waves Year-End Blowout - $9 Plugins

"The Q10 sounds great on anything." Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, The Pixies) "I love SuperTap. It’s so easy to use!" Todd Williams (Robbie Williams, Norah Jones) "MondoMod is a must-have." Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park "Renaissance Axx sounds great on drums!" 'Pooch' Van Druten (Slash, Van Halen) ALL PRODUCTS ARE NATIVE. OFFERS END DECEMBER 31, 2012.

Access Gobbler directly in Protools 10.3.3

Avid released Protools 10.3.3 yesterday and it now features full Gobbler access.
You can now send/backup full sessions directly from the Protools file menu.

From Gobbler's website:
"Gobbler can back up and send any Pro Tools session and its media, but with Pro Tools 10.3.3, you can send mixes or entire Pro Tools sessions directly from the Pro Tools UI! In addition, the latest Mac version of Gobbler will read the Pro Tools session file so it can even back up and send audio files stored outside of the session folder."

You can also export bounces directly to Gobbler right from the bounce menu.

                 

 Visit Gobbler's page for more details about using the Gobbler features in Protools 10.3.3.

Native Instruments Holiday Giveaway

Native Instruments sent me this announcement that they're giving away their Driver Distortion Filter plugin and 5 Remix Sets for their Traktor users.
They also sent a $30 voucher code for use in their web store. This offer is good until Dec. 31, 2012.

Happy Holidays from Native Instruments! Two incredible free gifts are our thanks to you for your support this year. DRIVER is a screaming filter distortion effect for adding anything from movement to mayhem – works stand-alone in any DAW, and integrates perfectly with MASCHINE. DJs get five floor-filling Remix Sets for TRAKTOR’s Remix Decks. And we’re also giving you a $30 / 25 € voucher, valid on software* at the NI Online Shop until December 31, 2012. Get your holiday gifts today! Your voucher code: 2Z3H4BCRNS   Any track, any genre – use DRIVER to add character, then twist it into complete sonic annihilation at the turn of a dial. Free until December 31, and available as a $49 / 49 € KOMPLETE effect in early 2013. Get DRIVER These five Remix Sets spice up DJ mixes and live performances in any genre. Get the sound of two of our most successful MASCHINE Expansions, some deep house loops, a selection of Latin and Indian percussion, and an exclusive set by Berlin beatsmith Comfort Fit. Get Remix Sets NI Twitter NI Youtube Channel KOMPLETE Facebook *The e-voucher is valid for all software titles at the NI Online Shop except KOMPLETE 8 and KOMPLETE 8 ULTIMATE. These special offers are valid until December 31, 2012. These special offer products are not for resale. NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH, Schlesische Strasse 29-30, D-10997 Berlin, Germany Registergericht: Amtsgericht Charlottenburg | HRB 72458 | UST.-ID.-Nr. DE 20374 7747 Management Board: Daniel Haver / Mate Galic Phone number: +49 (0)30/61 10 35-1600 Fax: +49 (0)30/61 10 35-2600 Contact NI

Metric Halo’s 2012 Holiday Sale

If you've been thinking of purchasing any Metric Halo gear or software now is a great time to do so as their having a Holiday Sale till Dec. 25, 2012.  I use their Production Bundle and MIO 2882 daily. If you use Protools 10 don't forget to try out their new FREE Thump plugin.

Here is the email I received recently with details on the sale:

Announcing Metric Halo’s 2012 Holiday Sale

Happy Holidays! We know that you have been very, very good and it's time to reward yourself with the gift of better sound and a great workflow!

We want to help, so for a very limited time, we are making the TEC Award winning LIO-8 and ULN-8, along with all of our other award winning products, (including the new Production Bundle - now shipping on AU [Mac] and AAX [Mac/Win]) available at an amazing price!



Also, if you haven’t already downloaded Thump for AAX, take advantage of our FREE download and get yourself some super-low-end for the New Year! You can download the plugin from the Thump download page(registration required).

You can take advantage of these special offers until 12/25/2012!

Orders received after 12/20/2012 will ship on or after 1/2/2013.

Hardware Products	Regular Price	Special Price
ULN-8	$5995	$4496
LIO-8	$3995	$2996
2882	$1895	$1610
ULN-2	$1695	$1440
ULN-2 + 1 Jensen	$2145	$1823
ULN-2 + 2 Jensen	$2495	$2121
Hardware Upgrades	Regular Price	Special Price
2d Card Upgrade for 2882	$400	$300
2d Card Upgrade for ULN-2	$550	$412
LIO-8 Channel 1-4 Mic Pre Upgrade Kit	$700	$525
LIO-8 Channel 5-8 Mic Pre Upgrade Kit**	$625	$469
Software Products	Regular Price	Special Price
+DSP License*	$699	$524
MH Production Bundle for Pro Tools AU/AAX (Mac + Win)	$699	$524
MH Individual AU/AAX (Mac + Win) Plugins: ChannelStrip 3, Character, HaloVerb, Multiband Dynamics, Precision DeEsser, Transient Control or Multiband Expander	$199/ea	$149/ea
SpectraFoo Complete	$800	$600
SpectraFoo	$400	$300

This is a great opportunity to get your first unit, an additional unit, an upgrade for your existing unit, or add some sexy signal processing to your system and bring your projects to the next level!
This special pricing is available through your local Metric Halo dealer or distributor, as well as directly from Metric Halo via the Online Store. This pricing cannot be combined with any other Metric Halo discounts or offers including educational accounts.
Enjoy!
Metric Halo
Phone: 1-727-725-9555
Fax: 1-603-250-2451
www.mhlabs.com

Notes:
^* +DSP License requires a 2d Card to be installed (all Expanded and LIO-8 units include 2d Cards from the factory).

^** LIO-8 Channel 5-8 Mic Pre Upgrade Kit requires Channel 1-4 Mic Pre Upgrade Kit to be installed.

Studio One 2.5 released

Presonus has released Studio One 2.5 with over 100 enhancements/features and many bug fixes.

They have also included Softube's Saturation Knob Plugin with no authorization required.

The update is free to all current owners and applies to all versions of Studio One.

Here are some of the new features:

• Comping Improvements. Single-swipe comping with automatic beaming into parts makes comping much faster and more powerful.
• Folder Track Editing. Edit directly on the Folder Track, with a waveform preview for all tracks in the folder. This simplifies workflow with large track counts.
• Track Transform Improvements. Multitrack transform for virtual instruments. Now you can instantly turn complex multi-output virtual instruments into audio tracks and back.
• Ampire XT has been completely overhauled. All-new cabinet impulse responses, matched with reworked amp models, results in a significant improvement in sound quality.
• Automation Enhancements. Easier and faster editing of automation envelopes.
• Audio Export Enhancements. Rendering multiple outputs at once results in much faster exports—a huge timesaver.
• Re-recording from buses. This is a completely new feature that enables you to use the output of virtual instrument or bus channels as the input to an audio track. In this way, you can print from buses or instruments to new audio tracks in real time.
• Drag-and-drop Event Effects. Drag-and-drop workflow is even faster with a new modifier key that lets you do things like drag-and-drop effects directly onto events in the arrangement.
• Wet/Dry Mix and Mix Lock for Effects. Built-in parallel processing on PreSonus Native Effects. For example, you can drop a compressor on a drum bus, crank the ratio, and drop the threshold to squash the drums mercilessly, and then only mix that squashed sound 20% with the original, unprocessed sound.
• Legato and Overlap Correction (MIDI). Instantly apply or remove legato from MIDI tracks quickly and simply—a huge time-saver.

Youtube videos showing some of the enhancements:

                               Studio One 2.5: Comping

                            Studio One 2.5: Folder Tracks

                            Studio One 2.5: Track Transform

If you're not a current Studio One user you can download the demo here.

Waves/AbbeyRoad Studios REDD

London's Abbey Road Studios were at the epicenter of a seismic shift that rocked the world of music during the 1960s, and changed the course of popular culture forever. The Beatles, The Hollies, Pink Floyd and countless other luminaries made musical history at Abbey Road Studios, trailblazing a revolution that resonates to this day. And at the heart of it all: The REDD consoles, custom-designed, built by and named for Abbey Road Studios' in-house Record Engineering Development Department. Renowned for their silky smooth EQ curves, extraordinary warmth and lush stereo imagery, there's something magical about the REDDs that sound like no other console. Waves meticulously recreated the color, character and tonal complexity of the original desks: The REDD.17 which still belongs to Abbey Road Studios, and the REDD.37 console now owned by Lenny Kravitz. The result is an impressive pair of plugins that deliver the dimension, depth and richness of these console classics. REDD.17 and REDD.37-.51 are Native and SoundGrid compatible. REDD is available separately as well as in Waves Mercury, SoundGrid® Pro and SoundGrid® SD7 Pro bundles. REDD is a trademark of EMI (IP) Limited, used under license. Visit Abbey Road Studios website.

FEATURES:

Based on the legendary REDD.17, REDD.37 and REDD.51 consoles

Delivers the classic British sound of the 1960s

Continuous EQ controls

Developed in association with Abbey Road Studios

Read more:http://www.waves.com/content.aspx?id=12064#ixzz2DuTEWfNr

Cyber Monday Deals

Today is Cyber Monday, the online equivalent to Black Friday. There are plenty of sales and deals available for the tech/gear/musically inclined.

Here are links to a few of them:

You'll also lock in this great price for as long as you're part of the Gobbler family. Half off for life! Head over to our Plans Page to grab this deal before it ends on Dec 2nd!  Happy Holidays, The Gobbler Team

You can sign up for a free 5gb account to test drive Gobbler here.

Holiday campaign - Save on Top Sellers!

December 2012

Holiday campaign! Hurray! From today, throughout Black Friday, Cyber-Mondays, and just ol' plain boring Wednesdays, until January 10, here's the Softube Holiday campaign with up to $100 discount on our most popular products. Here's the details:

- TSAR-1 reverb
- Mix Bundle (Including FET Compressor, Passive Equalizer, Active Equalizer, Focusing Equalizer and TSAR-1R reverb)
- Summit Audio Grand Channel
- Tube-Tech Classic Channel

The reduced prices are available through Softube dealers as well as the Softube web store.

DealersWeb Store

Presonus Black Friday Deals for U.S. Customers

Native Instruments 50% off ends today

Fill up this Thanksgiving with three incredible offers. Whether you’re into TRAKTOR, KOMPLETE or MASCHINE, there is a special half-price deal just for you. But deals this good don’t last long. If you’ve been waiting to build or expand your setup, the next five days is the time to do it – this Thanksgiving special ends Monday, November 26. Share: As part of our Thanksgiving special, single KOMPLETE Instruments and Effects and select bundles are on sale for 50% off. Expand your production suite at half the price with over 50 KOMPLETE Instruments and Effects – on sale for the next five days only. See KOMPLETE offers For the next five days, get our flagship TRAKTOR PRO 2 software featuring four decks and a stunning range of creative features – maximum freedom for an unbeatable $44.50 / 39,50 €. See TRAKTOR offer Add extra fuel to your MASCHINE or MASCHINE MIKRO with MASCHINE Expansions – sonically-specialized packages created by renowned sound designers and artists – all for 50% of their regular price. The ideal groove sketchpad for iPhone / iPod touch and iPad is also on offer: iMASCHINE is only $0.99 / 0,89 € for the next five days only. See MASCHINE Expansions About iMASCHINE NI Twitter NI Youtube Channel KOMPLETE Facebook This special offer is valid from 11:00 (CET) on November 22, 2012 to 24:00 (CET) on November 26, 2012. The special offer is only valid on full software versions of products – upgrades are not a part of the special. The special offer is not valid on iMASCHINE Expansions, accessories, bags, or NI Wear, KOMPLETE AUDIO 6, GUITAR RIG 5 KONTROL, RIG KONTROL, MASCHINE, MASCHINE MIKRO, KOMPLETE 8, KOMPLETE 8 ULTIMATE, KOMPLETE ELEMENTS, SESSION HORNS, ACTION STRINGS. Not valid on TRAKTOR products except for TRAKTOR PRO 2. iMASCHINE is available from the Apple App Store. All other offers apply to the NI Online Shop only. Note that according to our terms and conditions, e-vouchers cannot be used in conjunction with special offers. Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. iPhone is not included with iMASCHINE. Boxed products only while stocks last.   NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH, Schlesische Strasse 29-30, D-10997 Berlin, Germany Registergericht: Amtsgericht Charlottenburg | HRB 72458 | UST.-ID.-Nr. DE 20374 7747 Management Board: Daniel Haver / Mate Galic Phone number: +49 (0)30/61 10 35-1600 Fax: +49 (0)30/61 10 35-2600 Contact NI

Sweetwater Sound 8 Days of Black Friday Sale

VintageKing's 10 Day Black Friday Sale