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What’s New From Winter NAMM
Well folks it’s January again, and while most of the country is left to ponder their holiday credit card bills and tax returns, all of us recording junkies have geared up for what I like to call “Christmas 2.0,” otherwise known as the winter NAMM show. As always, for all of you that couldn’t make it to the show this year, I present to you the 3rd annual, “Pro Tools users guide to NAMM,” sharing a few of my top picks from the industries’ biggest trade show.
SuprEsser De-Esser from Sonnox
Formally Sony Oxford Plug-ins, taking their name from the Sony division that developed the famous Oxford digital recording console, Sonnox has long been associated with killer sounding Pro Tools plug-ins. New to their already comprehensive line of processors, the Sonnox SuprEsser is billed as a highly-featured, professional De-Esser and Dynamic EQ, combined with a built in FFT display to help user’s “see” what they are listening for.
Many of us are already familiar with the concept of de-essing; the process of selectively compressing or reducing fatiguing, hi frequency ‘ess’ or ‘plosive’ sounds in program material like vocals, cymbals, or sometimes entire mixes. A de-esser is simply a side-chained compressor whose key input is fed by a band-limited, often frequency exaggerated copy of the signal, thus causing the compressor to react selectively to areas of the material where those frequencies are most present (Check out my article on side-chaining in Pro Tools here). Sound complicated? To put it simply, think of a de-esser as a frequency specific compressor designed to re-act only when those particular frequencies breach a specified threshold. As opposed to a regular compressor, which is designed to react to any signal that breaches its threshold. For example, when a vocalist forms the ‘ess’ sound, frequencies tend to build up around 5-7K producing a shrill, fatiguing sound. A de-esser identifies these build-ups dynamically and attenuates them only when they are present.
While frequency specific compression is not a new concept, many just toss off de-essing as another useful tool when mixing over-hyped vocals, but believe me it is worth a second look. By using a plug-in like the SuprEsser, which can operate at all frequencies (unlike most de-essers that limit you to high frequencies only), one can discretely eliminate ‘plosives’ and resonances of all kinds. For example, take an acoustic guitar performance where just one note or chord seems to resonate more than the others and muddies up the mix. You could EQ out this resonance, but by doing so you run the risk of thinning out the guitar in the mix. Remember, only sometimes does the guitar seem muddy and resonate. As an alternative to static equalization, using a tool like the SuprEsser with its built in FFT you could easily create a band-specific compressor to trap those resonate notes without destroying the overall tone of the track. Cool huh?
Sonnox claims that the SuprEsser will be shipping soon (I cant wait!) and as soon as it does I will be sure to share my experiences here at the corner. Here is a breakdown of some of SuprEssers key features:
- Transparently controls aggressive frequencies
- Linear Phase Dynamic EQ
- Automatic Level Tracking
- Graphic Display (FFT) for increased accuracy
- Full spectrum operation
- Precise control over attenuated frequencies
- Easy and fast to de-Ess in Simple Mode
- Advanced Mode for ultimate control of Dynamic EQ
- Multiple ‘listen’ modes
- Wet/Dry blend for final balancing
NI’s Free KORE PLAYER
As many of you already know, Native Instrument’s KORE system is a hardware/software combo that combines all of NI’s great sounding virtual instrument engines into an easy to use tactile interface and patch browser, providing user’s quick access to sounds with instant tweak-ability from the control surface. Showcased at this year’s NAMM and available in March ‘08, NI’s new KORE PLAYER is a free software instrument integrating 6 NI sound engines (KONTAKT, REAKTOR, MASSIVE, GUITAR RIG, FM8, ABSYNTH) into one easy to use “patch player.” Users can expand the player’s patch library by purchasing KORE SOUNDPACKS that bundle NI’s pro quality sounds into an affordable “single-serving” package, with modules starting at around $59USD. Users of other NI products like KONTAKT and BATTERY will also be able to purchase and use these affordable priced soundpacks.
Personally I think this is a great model for virtual instrument developers, as many users are interested in high quality patches and samples but do not necessarily need nor want the complexity of the full-blown virtual instrument. Plus, why pay for sounds you aren’t going to use?
Audio Ease Snapper
Although the video demo has been lingering around the net for a few months, Audio Ease’s Snapper is finally here! The ultimate audio utility for OS X (sorry PC this one is currently just for Mac), Snapper is a cool little helper app that integrates into your finder and allows you to perform tons of useful audio functions without having to open up Pro Tools or any other audio editor. Playback audio (half speed, full speed, double speed), edit, convert sample rate and bit-depth, create and email mp3’s directly from the finder, spot files directly to pro tools, and more. It even works with selections in iTunes, how cool is that? Snapper lends its sound file interpreter from Audio Ease’s acclaimed BarbaBatch audio utility. You can check out the video demo at AudioEase.com or download a free demo.
3 New Plug-ins from McDSP
Definitely in my top 5 favorite plug-in companies, McDSP announced three new additions to their “Emerald Pack” bundle of top-shelf processors for Pro Tools. Shipping sometime in Q1 2008, The DE555 de-esser, the FutzBox signal distorter and noise generator, and the NF575 noise filter each fill in their respective niches in McDSP’s growing line of green audio goodness. Unfortunately the new plug-ins will only be available as an upgrade to owners of the emerald pack (both HD and Native). Emerald Pack 3.0 (including the 3 new plug-ins) will support OSX Tiger, Leopard, Windows XP and Venue systems (support for Vista is not official yet).
Hybrid and Strike Updates
Digidesign has released free updates for two of their popular AIR virtual instruments. Hybrid 1.5 introduces a number of important new features including a new VCF (Voltage Controlled Filter) vintage filter, making it easier than ever to achieve the classic, retro analog synthesizer sounds of the ’70s and ’80s. The update also includes 330 all new patches, adding to the existing 256 patch Hybrid 1.0 library.
Digidesign’s virtual drum instrument, Strike also receives a little TLC with the Strike Content Expansion. The expansion includes over 300mb of new sample content and 100 new “style” settings, incorporating a wider variety of playing styles and genres. These updates are free downloads at digidesign.com available to registered Hybrid and Strike owners until March 22, 2008. After March 22nd, both updates will cost a nominal $19.95, which I assume will be put in place to cover the bandwidth cost of the large downloads.
Other NAMM TidBits
- Digidesign introduced new Venue Options and announced D-Show 2.7 Software
- Digidesign announced new Pro Tools LE Studio Bundles
- Waves introduced their new Studio Classics Bundle, combining their SSL, API and V-Series plug-ins in one “affordable” package.
- SSL showcased Duende-Mini, a smaller, more affordable version of their hardware based Duende plug-in processor.
- Universal Audio announced 2 new plug-ins for their UAD platform, Precision Buss Compressor and SPL Transient Designer.
- Eventide released E-Control plug-in, Providing Pro Tools control of H8000, H7600, and Eclipse processors.
- Steinberg released the SDK for their VST 3.0 platform.
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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