Easter eggs weren’t the only sweet things worth drooling over in April – there were plenty of tasty new music technology releases to get your teeth into, too. Here are our five picks…
Sound Radix Re-Align Themselves
Having established itself as an essential tool for anyone recording anything with more than one microphone since its launch in 2010, Sound Radix’s revolutionary flagship plugin received its first full version update in April: say hello to Auto-Align 2.
In a nutshell, Auto-Align automatically puts multiple mic-recorded (and DI’d, of course) tracks in line and phase with each other, completely eliminating the need to tediously shift them by hand in your DAW’s arrange page. In version 1, the setup process involved establishing a guide track that the others would adhere to, but the first big change in Auto-Align 2 is the complete automation of all that, now requiring you to do nothing more than instantiate the plugin, click the Align button and play a single pass of the track. We can hear existing owners reaching for their wallets already, but there’s more: ARA 2 compatibility streamlines the workflow even further for hosts that support it, while Spectral Phase Optimization and Absolute Phase Optimization correct phase shifts within specific frequency ranges and “the overall sound directionality to make sure the reproduced sound matches the original source”, respectively. And finally, surround support at last puts Auto-Align on the map for producers working in multichannel formats.
Auto-Align 2 is out now, priced $199, with the upgrade from v1 tagged at $99. Check out Eli Krantzberg’s video below to see it in action from our article Sound Radix Auto Align 2 Tested…
Nugen Take Note
Filling a gap in the DAW workflow that DAW developers themselves have either overlooked or just aren’t interesting in addressing, Nugen’s brilliant new Jotter plugin/app couldn’t be more straightforward in its remit, but will be hugely appreciated by anyone producing collaboratively with others. Presenting a simple list-based interface alongside the captured waveform of the incoming audio, Jotter lets you enter text notes and comments as annotations locked to the host DAW’s timeline, with checkboxes for assigning each one to a filtered ‘done’ view, if required, and a separate non-timed list for global notes. Clicking an annotation jumps the playhead (in the plugin, not the DAW) to that point in the waveform, and all annotations can be exported/imported directly between instances of the plugin, and/or in .csv format for opening in any spreadsheet application. There’s even a free standalone version for use outside a DAW – handy for getting ‘the rest of the band’ involved.
You can get Jotter right now for £34, and see it in action in Luke’s demonstration video below…
Sound Particles Take To The Sky
Launched at NAMM 2023, Sound Particles’ SkyDust 3D claims to be the world’s first ‘3D synthesiser’, operating at the architectural level in over 30 surround formats, all the way from binaural to 9.1.6 and even 6th order Ambisonics. The actual synthesis methods in play are subtractive and FM, and each of SkyDust 3D’s eight oscillators is switchable between all the usual analogue waveforms, plus some unusual extras (‘Full Rectified Sine’, ‘Double Half Sine + Silence’, etc) and four noise types. Crucially, though, every oscillator features per-note surround placement, with panning and elevation controlled via all manner of modulation and other ‘movement modifiers’ for truly spectacular spatial sounds. Beyond that, everything you’d expect in a high-end modern synth is here, including an arpeggiator, a sequencer, onboard effects and a sizeable preset library.
SkyDust looks and sounds absolutely wild, and you can currently get it for $299, reduced from its regular $399, or opt for the cheaper stereo-only version at $149 (normally $199).
Avid Go Even Larger
Avid’s MTRX modular audio interface platform provides larger studios and post production facilities with everything they need to get their routing, recording, conversion and monitoring ducks in a row, configured via the DADman software with EUCON controller support; and April saw the release of a new main unit, MTRX II, plus an optional Thunderbolt 3 module to shove into it or MTRX Studio.
So, with MTRX II, you’re getting eight option card slots with which to build your ideal interfacing system, 256 Dante channels for plumbing any MTRX source into your Dante network, integrated SPQ processing for monitor calibration and room correction, and a 512x64 summing matrix for handling even the most enormous of multichannel monitoring scenarios. And with the addition of the Thunderbolt 3 module, you’re looking at 256 (MTRX II) or 64 (MTRX Studio) channels of native I/O on Mac and PC, not to mention the ability to connect your Pro Tools rig to other DAWs over DigiLink.
Although clearly an evolutionary upgrade from the already-comprehensive original MTRX, MTRX II nonetheless represents the current last word in large-scale Pro Tools interfacing, while the Thunderbolt 3 add-on should prove compelling for existing users and newcomers alike.
Nektar Tease The Possible Future Of Channel Strip Control
Also revealed at NAMM 2023, Nektar’s upcoming MIDI controller, Panorama CST, aims to deliver deeply integrated but highly intuitive control over all the plugins racked up on a single channel strip in any supported DAW, as well its volume and pan settings. The deep integration is enabled by the company’s proprietary ‘Panorama Mapping’, which has to be developed for each DAW individually, while the intuitiveness comes from the combination of a stack of plugin switching buttons mirroring the insert effects rack for the currently selected channel, LED colour coding indicating what plugin and parameter every knob and button is mapped to at any given time, and the central touchscreen, which puts all parameter names and values directly on the unit itself, thereby doing away with the need to look at the computer monitor. There’s also a motorised fader with the ability to activate/deactivate automation at a touch, a transport section, and buttons dedicated to channel selection and various other DAW functions.
The only snag at this point is that ‘supported DAWs’ currently amount to… Logic Pro. Nektar say that others will be added by the time the Panorama CST launches, though, which will be on an unspecified date, at an unannounced price (although rumoured to be around the £350 mark). Indeed, there isn’t even a product page to link to yet, so we’ll leave you to Google for more…
What fab new gear has grabbed your attention over the last month? Let us know in the comments.