July brought with it a portentous combo of record-breaking temperatures and biblical rain… and these cracking new music technology releases!
IK put their foot down
Hot on the heels of Universal Audio’s UAFX effects pedals, IK Multimedia rolled out their own line of stompboxes in July, drawing, as you’d expect, on their well established AmpliTube modelling software technology.
There are four models in the AmpliTube X-GEAR range, each one comprehensively covering a tentpole guitar effect type. X-DRIVE serves up 16 flavours of distortion and overdrive; X-SPACE offers 16 reverb algorithms; X-TIME provides 16 true stereo delay types; and X-VIBE’s 16 algorithms span the gamut of modulation effects – chorus, phasing, tremolo, etc. Each X-GEAR pedal comes with 50 factory presets and space to store 300 of your own, a virtual version for AmpliTube 5 (the SE version is included) with preset transfer to the pedal, USB connectivity for use as a 1-in/2-out audio interface, five cabinet impulse responses, expression pedal input, and full MIDI implementation. The aluminium casings look reassuringly hefty, plenty of hands-on control is enabled by the six parameter knobs, and the range looks set to become another surefire hit for the Italian music tech giant.
Bitwig goes fourth
Ah, Bitwig Studio, the once-upstart rival to Live with a rapidly expanding feature set that actually makes Ableton’s look positively anemic in comparison. We’re not sure why this idiosyncratic and ingenious DAW doesn’t get the public and media attention it deserves, but here’s hoping the latest version, released in the middle of July, helps to remedy that.
Although Bitwig Studio 4 doesn’t introduce anything as profoundly transformative as v3’s modular synthesis and effects design system, The Grid, its three headline features will satisfy recording musicians and electronic composers looking to get artsy with their MIDI data. The powerful new comping system contains any number of color-coded take lanes within a clip, and can even be applied to existing audio parts, folding them into stacked comping lanes. On the MIDI front, the new Operators panel lets you specify playback probability, note slicing and repeating, and occurrence and recurrence conditions on a per-event basis; and Expression nodes can now be given a Spread range for guided randomization. And as well as all that, upgraders will enjoy native Apple Silicon compatibility, FL Studio and Live project import, and extended audio export options.
If you’ve yet to discover the pleasure of Bitwig’s creatively focused, forward-thinking DAW, we highly recommend giving the demo a try.
Genelec recalibrate
Marking the 15th anniversary of their GLM loudspeaker management application for SAM speaker systems, Genelec released GLM 4.1 in July, most notably introducing the all-new AutoCal 2 speaker calibration algorithm. The result of a ground-up rebuild of the original AutoCal, stepping up to a 64-bit architecture, this promises not only more accurate calibration but speedier delivery thereof, too.
As well as that, GLM 4.1 increases the number of EQ filters in the system for more detailed adjustment, and Solo-X mode for “faster soloing of monitors when working with immersive content”. It’s all rather wonderful stuff for those mixing in sub-par rooms, as Julian enthuses in his GLM4.1 review.
Revoice Pro gets smart
With the release of version 4.3, Synchro Arts’ stellar time and pitch manipulation toolbox, Revoice Pro, continues its transformation from a product that’s so good it’s worth the steep learning curve into a properly intuitive studio essential that anyone can get to grips with. For many mixers and producers needing fast but microscopic control over the tuning and timing of audio, Revoice Pro has become a weapon of choice in recent years, often usurping other well-known alternatives – and v4.3 adds some game changing new tools to further increase its appeal.
Logic users, in particular, benefit from a new ARA version of the Revoice Pro link plugin, enabling quick and easy transfer back and forth between Revoice Pro and Logic.
There’s also a new AudioSuite version for Pro Tools, again making Revoice Pro feel more like a plugin, with a much more integrated and faster workflow in that DAW.
If you’ve been turned off by Revoice Pro’s previous handling of long, broken-up audio parts in the past, the new SmartAlign technology might just change your mind – in terms of workflow, it’s a paradigm shift. Now, audio with significant gaps, which previously had to be split into short segments, can be processed in a single pass.
The new Quick and Link modes deliver faster workflows for simple tasks, too.
Revoice Pro shows no sign of slowing down in its addition of new workflow features, and existing and new users should check it out v4.3 post haste. Check out our full review of Revoice Pro 4.3.
Soundtheory Master their art
The closest competitor to Oeksound’s ubiquitous Soothe, Soundtheory’s Gullfoss plugin is an “intelligent equalizer” that uses a proprietary computational auditory perception model to make tracks and mixes sound ’better’ in terms of brightness, masking and general frequency balancing. We’ve been all over it since it landed in 2018, and now, just a few months after the bundling in of the low-latency Gullfoss Live (less than 2ms, the payoff being “some compromise to the handling of transients”), Soundtheory have completed the set with a mastering-orientated version: Gullfoss Master.
Heading in the opposite direction to Gullfoss Live, Gullfoss Master optimises the algorithms at work behind the scenes for “the highest possible quality” and allows for finer parameter adjustments, in exchange for a higher CPU hit. We’ve been more than a little wary of entrusting our masters to the frequency-shaping wizardry of the standard Gullfoss up to this point, restricting its usage to tracks and busses, but we certainly plan to put this new flagship through its paces. It’s included as part of the free 1.10.0 update, so if you’re already registered, it’s yours for the taking.
Was your head turned by any hot tech in July? Let us know in the comments.