Jings, we’re two months into 2023 already! Time and the audio technology industry, it would seem, wait for no one, so here are our highlights of the month just gone.
Universal Audio Break Their Own Mould
It’s felt kind of inevitable since the launch of Spark, but at long last, Universal Audio have completely untethered their acclaimed UAD plugin line – well, a good number of them, at least – from requiring of external DSP hardware to run or a subscription fee to own. Currently, 28 UAD plugins are available in fully native versions, and you can buy them individually or in three discounted bundles. Among the vintage emulations on offer are the 1176 Classic Limiter Collection, Pultec Passive EQ Collection, Teletronix LA-2A Leveler Collection, API 2500 Bus Compressor and Vision Channel Strip Collection, Studio D Chorus, Studer A800 Tape Recorder, Moog Minimoog and Waterfall B3 Organ; and the three bundles net you ten (UAD Creative Edition), 23 (UAD Mix Edition) or 28 (UAD Diamond Edition – very cheeky!) plugins.
With the external DSP aspect of UAD plugins becoming increasingly irrelevant in the face of today’s ultra-speedy Macs and PCs, we’re delighted that anyone can now run these superb software effects and instruments natively. Oh, and needless to say, owners of the DSP versions of any of the covered plugins can get the native versions for free via UA Connect. Good call, UA.
FabFilter Go Back To Their Roots
Despite their focus having been placed almost entirely on effects plugins ever since, primo plugin house FabFilter’s 2004 debut release was in fact a basic single-oscillator synth. Called One (and still available), that modest first offering eventually grew into the dual-oscillator Twin, which was upgraded to the three-oscillator Twin 2 in 2009 – and now, 14 years later, Twin 3 has dropped, bringing this under-rated virtual analogue up to modern standards in terms of GUI, capabilities and sound.
The list of new features is huge, but highlights include a total redesign of the interface to bring it into line with the company’s current overarching ‘dark’ aesthetic; another added oscillator (for four in total); two added filters (ditto) with new vintage-style EQ shapes; a new FX section comprising Reverb, Delay, Compressor, Drive, Chorus and Phaser modules; an arpeggiator; and a 4x oversampling mode. Crucially, the all-important freeform modulation system has seen plenty of love, too, with redesigned mod sources, the integration of the trippy Source Flow visualiser, and floating slot panels that allow for adjustment of all sources for any target parameter in one place.
Twin 2 was already a formidable workhorse synth, much loved by its fans, and v3, 14 years later, will no doubt be an instant upgrade for most. If you’ve yet to give it a try, we highly recommend taking the 30-day demo for a spin.
Audient Show Their ID
With so much EVO stuff happening of late, it was great to hear news in February of a new audio interface from their revered parent company, Audient. Slotting neatly into the Audient catalogue between the iD14 and iD44, and filling the gap left by the immensely popular iD22, which is now considered a legacy product, the iD24 is a 10-in/14-out USB-C interface described by Audient as combining “astonishing audio performance with ease of use”.
Like all iD boxes, the qualitative headline here is the pair of exceptionally high-quality mic preamps brought over from the company’s flagship ASP8024-HE console; and those are accompanied by an instrument input, ADAT I/O, Main and Alt monitor outs, dual headphone outs and an audio loopback circuit. Particularly noteworthy, though, are the two balanced insert jacks, with which external effects units can be easily integrated into the recording path, and the three assignable Function buttons, which can be set to operate monitor switching, talkback and more.
A compelling interface with a great technological pedigree, the Audient iD24 is out now and feels like quite a steal at just £299.
Audio-Technica Capture All The Sound
Looking to change the game when it comes to capturing ambience and background beds at large-space broadcast events of all kinds – sport, music, theatre, etc – Audio-Technica chose last month to reveal details of their new Immersive Audio Microphone. The BP3600 features eight outward spiking 8.8cm-long mics, the capsules of which form a cube configuration measuring 15cm on each vertex, thereby enabling the four upper and four lower channels of a 5.1.4 mix, say, to be captured as is, with no down-stream decoding or processing required. Numbering and colour coding make identification of individual channels easy, while a LEMO 2B multi-pin connector and XLR breakout cable simplify plugging in to the receiving mixer. The package includes a case for stowing the disassembled caboodle, and eight wind shields, which can be upgraded to Rycote BBG Windshields or synthetic fur Windjammers for the handling of noisier scenarios.
If the BP3600 works as well and sounds as good as it looks, we can see it becoming a hit with location sound engineers in all areas of broadcast and location recording. The release date and price have yet to be revealed.
Krotos Audio Extend Their Studio
Finally, February saw the release of the first commercial expansion for Krotos Studio, upping the numbers in Krotos Audio’s nifty professional sound effects design platform by 24 presets across eight diverse categories, four of them completely new to the roster. The new Cinematic, Vehicle, Weapon and Interface categories introduced with the Genesis sound pack take in risers, transitions, a car in rain, a handgun, an explosion, and various computer noises; while the existing Ambiences set is bolstered with ‘Countryside’, ‘Apartment’, ‘Marshland’ and ‘Wind and Rain’ atmospheres, and the Footsteps and Foley categories are added to with ‘Wooden Door’, ‘Padlock’, two ‘Keyboards’, ‘High Heels on Concrete’ and more.
Each preset presents its own bespoke performance control panel, enabling mixing between multiple source channels (Interior, Wipers, Roof Rain and Windscreen Rain in the ‘Wet Driving’ preset, for example), pitching, levelling, panning and/or triggering of component sounds (Insert Key, Remove Key, Open and Snap Shut in the ‘Padlock’ preset). Performances can be captured as automation when running Krotos Studio as a plugin, or as audio files in the standalone application, and Krotos’ trademark operational simplicity has never been more joyously effective, as the previews of all 24 presets on the Krotos website ably demonstrate.
You can add Genesis to your free version of Krotos Studio for a very reasonable $29.
What new audio goodies tickled your fancy in Feb? Let us know in the comments.