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NAMM Show – Top Picks
As promised, this week at the corner we will take a look at some of my top picks for Pro Tools users from the 2007 Winter NAMM show. Be sure to look for in-depth reviews, tips and tricks for these new products in future PT Corner articles.
The Reel Thing
For those of you out there looking for that true analog sound without the hassle of a 2-inch, Digidesign’s Reel Tape suite has got you covered. While there are already a few tape emulation options for Pro Tools users, the new Reel Tape suite of plug-ins promises an efficient, easy to use processor that delivers a classic tape sound without any of the hassle or complexity of using analog gear.
Digidesign’s Reel Tape suite consists of three plug-ins including Reel Tape Saturation, Delay and Flanger. Reel Tape Saturation, which can also be purchased a la carte, is designed to simulate analog tape saturation by modeling tape machine and tape formulation characteristics. All the parameters you would want to tweak are there, including tape speed, machine type, bias, tape formula, drive, and more. Like many engineers who mix in the box, I am always looking for a good “warmth” knob in Pro Tools and I have to say that I am really excited about this one.
Also included in the suite are the Reel Tape Delay and Flanger. If you are looking for that classic tape delay or flanger sound with parameters that make you want to get in there and perform some real time plug-in automation, these are definitely where it’s at. Reel Tape Delay emulates your favorite old school tape echo, including all those classic “dub-style” regeneration effects we’ve heard on so many albums.
According to Digidesign, Reel Tape Suite is shipping soon. I can’t wait :-)
A Sampler Designed for Pro Tools
In 2006 alone, Digidesign’s Advanced Instrument Research group released four amazing virtual instruments exclusively designed for the Pro Tools platform. Just when I thought they couldn’t possible top themselves, the A.I.R. group has done it again. Previewed at winter NAMM and shipping later this year, Structure is the A.I.R. group’s answer to sampling in Pro Tools.
Structure is an exclusively RTAS, sampler-workstation that takes advantage of direct integration with the Pro Tools audio engine. Featuring a 128-level multitimbral, universal sound engine that supports industry standard sample formats (Kontakt, Sample Cell, EXS24), Structure is shaping up to be “THE” sampler solution for Pro Tools users.
To compliment their premium soft-sampler, Digidesign recently announced a partnership with East West, one of the world’s top sample developers. East West has come on board with the A.I.R. team to provide top-shelf samples for Digidesign Virtual Instruments. Structure itself will ship with a premium sample library from East West, with additional sample libraries sure to follow. East West is even scheduled to release a special “Structure Edition” of their massive Colossus sample library, with a free trial version included with the purchase of Structure.
Structure is the NAMM announcement all the Pro Tools users are talking about, so be on the look out for an in depth article on this one as soon as I can get my hands on it.
Killer Drums From Duende
If you are a Duende user and are looking to dial up slamming drum sounds with minimal fuss, SSL’s Drumstrip has your name written all over it. Designed exclusively for their Duende hardware platform (see the Pro Tools Corner article covering Duende here, Drumstrip is an add-on plug-in from Solid State Logic that provides a complete all-in-one toolkit designed specifically for drum processing.
Drumstrip features the classic SSL sound wrapped up in a suite of five unique processors including a transient shaper, soft ratio compressor, gate, high and low frequency enhancers and the SSL “Listen-back” compressor. The idea behind bundling these processors into a single plug-in is based primarily on ease of use, users can quickly bring drum and percussion sounds into the zone with minimal effort.
Drumstrip is scheduled to be released in March of this year.
Pro Tip: Renaming I/O Pathways on the Fly
A while back we discussed Pro Tool I/O setup and walked through the process of renaming an I/O pathway in Pro Tools (review that article here). This week’s Pro Tip shows you a super easy way to rename your I/O paths on the fly as you mix or record, without opening the I/O setup dialog.
To rename a I/O pathway
- Right click on the input, output or send assignment you wish to rename.
- Choose “rename“ from the menu.
- Enter the name for that path and click OK.
- You can go to I/O setup (Setup > IO Setup) to further customize your paths.
This is a great way to name your busses on the fly as you create sends and returns or submix tracks. Naming I/O pathways is excellent session interchange etiquette and saves you a lot of time when deciphering bus routings on sends and submixes. Note this trick will work in Pro Tools v 7.3 only.
Pro Tools Tidbits
- Celemony announced the soon-to-be released version 3.2 of their Melodyne software.
- Propellerheads announced a new Reason Reggaton Refill
If you have a Pro Tools related question that you would like me to take a shot at answering or have any feedback, please send it to brian@audioMIDI.com. I will do my best to select the questions that seem to stump the most people.
As always, stay tuned to the audioMIDI.com eNews for the latest reviews and new product info.
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