Hollywood Impulse Responses: convolution at its best

(photo: Vlastula on Flickr)

There's a huge number of Impulse Responses on the web, both free and commercial ones.
Yes, you can get some good free IRs here and there, but if I'd need to pick a name in this field, I'd say Ernest Cholakis (and his Numerical Sound brand) without any doubt.
He's really a sort of mad scientist for these things, and he knows his stuff probably better than anyone else.
So, when I heard there was a new Numerical Sound's release, called Hollywood Impulse Responses (or HIR), I knew I wanted to put my hands on it.

This is the official description: "The Hollywood Impulse Responses (HIR) were inspired by the ambience of 20 major Hollywood blockbuster films released between 1977-2006. This selection of films were recorded in several famous recording studio’s sound stages and symphony halls."

HIR is a 1.1 gigabytes library (several formats, WAV, AIFF, SD, 24 and 32bit), Mac and Pc compatible.
Of course you can use the IRs in your favourite convolution program (Space Designer, Pristine Space or others). I've loaded them in Altiverb.

HIR offers some unique features: it's been thought as a perfect partner for individual musical instruments, thanks to its six sets of IRs that are high pass filtered at points of the frequency spectrum that match the range of acoustic instruments (C2, G2, C3, G3, C4, and G4). So, for example, if you have a cello track you can get better results using one of the C2 IRs, and so on.
Another interesting feature is timbre-related: for each IR there are five variations, Dark, Warm, Flat, Clear and Bright, which can be used to change the perceived timbre of an instrument or an ensemble.
Ernest claims this variation cannot be matched by any kind of EQ, and well, who am I to disagree?


The interesting thing about HIR is that it's quite different from other products on the market, because it does not try to reproduce one or multiple actual acoustic spaces. Since, as said, it's inspired by the ambiences of several Hollywood films, it follows the same "larger than life" paradigm.
I'll go back to Ernest's own words: "The source material in these film recordings often contained more bass and lower midrange power than comparable “normal” acoustic spaces, so the perceived size of the reverberant space is often much larger than these studios' physical dimensions would ever be able to create."

Some more numbers: the lenght of the reverbs go from 4.112 to 11.013 seconds. There are 4 Hall types: Small Sound Stage, Medium Sound Stage, Large Symphony Hall, Huge Sound Stage.
So it's 600 IRs in total, divided in 6 notes groups, as said.
Anyway HIR is not about quantity. What you get here is quality and some unique features.
I've tried HIR on acoustic tracks and virtual instrument ones, and I can safely say it works great on both things. Especially virtual instrument tracks (sample libraries, percussions, etc.) benefit from HIR's treatment!

Of course, HIR is not a product for everyone, but if you're into sound-design and you'd like to have that "larger than life" sound on your tracks, I would get it as quickly as possible. The investment ($129.95) will pay off soon.


An interview with Ernest Cholakis about his partnership with Dan Dean, ProAudioVault.

Soundhack delay trio

Tom Erbe, Soundhack's developer, has just released a beta version of a new mini-suite of plugs: it's called Soundhack delay trio, and it's freeware.
Tom says "its not quite out of beta, so for the adventurous only. if anyone finds a bug or has a suggestion, drop me a line."
We had a quick look at the manual, and as usual with Tom's releases, it seems there' something interesting in this case too. In his words: "This is a group of three plugins that I developed as class demonstrations while teaching computer music and studio technique at UC San Diego. All of these are derived from the same basic delay algorithm: a hermite interpolated delay line with variable modulation, and a feedback loop with dc blocking and saturation. Pitch shifting is achieved with a dual head crossfading delay (ala Eltro Tempophon/Dennis Gabor/Pierre Schaeffer phonogene) and is decidedly low-fi. The three plugins are +delay, which presents most typical delay options; +pitchdelay, which is essentially the same plugin with controls oriented toward pitch shifting; and finally +bubbler, which is a granular delay in which grains are pulled from the delay line with randomized start time, delay time and pitch shift.

The plugins come in RTAS, VST, AU formats for Mac and Windows. They require OS X 10.4 and above, or Windows XP SP3 and above. RTAS plugins require ProTools 7.0 or above. The Mac plugins are Universal Binary."

Well, we're adventurous, isn't it?Soundhack delay trio can be downloaded from Soundhack's home page. Have fun!

Effectrix: mangling fun

SugarBytes' latest release, Effectrix, is a multi-fx based on a 32 step sequencer. It's a very interesting concept, both for its well-thought and aesthetically pleasant (well, unless you're into gothic stuff!) visual interface, and its creative possibilities.
Effectrix features 14 fx: among them you'll find classic stuff like phaser, reverb, delay, filtering, but maybe most users will go for the most experimental algorithms like x-loop, stutter, loop stretch, reverse, etc.
If you add the modulation features (2 Modulation sequencers per Effect), you'll agree with us that Effectrix has a lot to offer.
Each fx has its place in the matrix of the step sequencer, and it's very easy to start mangling your tracks, the interface is a joy to use.
Maybe you're thinking: ok, nice, but I don't want it to sound static and lifeless, I'd like it to introduce variations. Well, you can, Effectrix has a MIDI related pattern feature, which lets you use your MIDI keyboard to trigger on the fly (or via host automation) the step sequencer patterns you've previosly created.
We liked Effectrix not because it's a revolution in sound, but because it makes those kind of "contemporary" sonic manipulations a lot easier and funnier. And for a musician we believe the workflow is a very important part in the creative process. Also, don't forget that your girlfriend/boyfriend will be happier if you spend some more time with her/him instead of falling asleep in front of a monitor ;-)
Who needs Effectrix? Well if you're a Max/Msp expert and you're able to build your own patches, or you're a Live guru, you won't probably need such a plug-in. But if you're looking for an easy to use and powerful all-in-one solution, you should definitely have a look at the videos posted on the SugarBytes website (by the way, it could be improved), and download the Effectrix demo. We bet it will make you smile!

Technical notes: the plug-in works on both Mac OS X (this should make Mac users more than happy) and Windows, as VST and AU. It's not a resource-hungry plug-in.
We've waited on the review because the 1.0.0 version had some stability issues, but they've been fixed with the latest updates (which brought also a welcome dry/mix knob)
A request for the next revision: a general dry/wet mix knob would be quite useful.

Price: 99 € / 129 $. Yes, if the price would be a bit lower you could keep even more beers in the fridge, we know, summer's coming... But if you consider Effectrix for what it is and for the time you can save using it, we think it's a fair price.
Some Pc users may say: "I can have Glitch for free, why bother?" Well, long life to freeware products (especially when they're not crap, and Glitch is definitely one of the best freeware plug-in!) but it's not that fair to compare the two.
Effectrix has some features (see above) that, in our opinion, make it unique and worthwhile. It's also a multi-platform product, and you know, professional development and support (in our experience quite good, via email and/or forum) takes a huge amount of time and resources.
Now, as usual, fire up the demo and decide for yourself!

Prosoniq: Morph (and related stories)

Plug-in nostalgia? There can be such a thing? Well, yes, after all...
Some time has passed since we've started experimenting with software fx and instruments. And probably, if we think back to the early days of plug-ins, the name Prosoniq comes to our mind bringing back some nice memories. SonicWORX (which was the first Mac software with a plug in architecture in the 1990s), PiWarp, Orange Vocoder, Morph, but also the TimeFactory standalone app (I remember the first time I tried it at a friend's studio, it was one of those "wow" moments!)...
Well, to make a long story short, we were glad to read some months ago that the german software house was going to update its product line making it (at last) compatible with the newer OS X operating systems and plug-in format.
Morph has been the first of the series (now they're going to release the Orange Vocoder in the next days) to receive the "AU make-up".
For those who do not know it yet, the plug-in offers a unique way of morphing two audio signals in real time. How does it work? Well, this is how Morph's creator, Stephan Bernsee, explained the concept behind the plug-in in an old interview: "My definition of morphing comes from the video world, where morphing was first invented and employed by ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) in 'Terminator', if I’m not mistaken. Morphing, in that context means that an object in a scene slowly changes its shape to become another object. The analogous process in the audio world would therefore be an instrument that slowly changes its shape to become another instrument. All morphing processes I’ve seen - except ours - do some kind of spectral manipulation that has nothing to do with the shape of the original instrument. The concept of 'shape' requires understanding the nature of the sound that is being processed - I therefore tend to think of them as some elaborate mathematical tools with musical effects, but not really 'musical' tools. The problem with these tools is that they inevitably require the whole sound to be analyzed prior to manipulation, and that they tend to produce non-musical results in the intermediate stages of the morphing. Our morphing process is based on an inherently 'musical' approach and does therefore not have these restrictions."
It's interesting that Stephan began developing Morph on his Atari ST in the late eighties (of course it was not a real time software at the time). Well, you know, when ideas are good, they're able to stand the test of time!
So you may ask, it can really be useful for today's productions? We think Morph is still the lovely and inspirational piece of software that it was years ago (and that made it a favourite of artists like the ubiquitous BT and of big studios like the BBC ones). At AudioNewsRoom we really like software like this, that try to spice up the creative process without being too complicated or overloaded with options most users will never use. If you are a "vintage" plug-in aficionado or at your first experience with a DAW, our advice is: download Morph's demo and have fun!

Talking with Stephan, we also tried to understand which were the reasons for Prosoniq's 'standby period' and which are his plans for 2008: "I really don't want to go into too much detail but I can tell you that Prosoniq has lost a lot of money when Hartmann Music (the makers of the Neuron synthesizer) filed for insolvency over a quarrel with their former distributor. This has been a major setback which came as a real shock to Prosoniq and has subsequently caused a lot of products to remain stuck in the release pipeline for quite a while. In particular, Prosoniq has been unable to respond to the requests of the AudioUnit community even though the AudioUnit version of their products was well underway at that time. We sincerely hope to make it up to them by now releasing our AudioUnit products first. We really have great customers, they are just amazing and so unbelievably creative and we truly love them and we really care for their requests and listen to what they have to say. We're sorry it took us so long to get there, but all that is now going to change in 2008. As a side effect of all this there had been some dramatic changes in the Prosoniq management, organization and cost structure, and looking at the rapidly increasing Prosoniq sales I'd like to think that they were justified, necessary and beneficial for the company and enabled us to live through this difficult era and come out almost unscathed. In particular, the way things are organized now Prosoniq is able to come out with more and better products faster than ever before, keep track of bugs and other issues in a very transparent way and provide excellent tech support even on the weekend (which is when most people are making music).
In addition, some exclusive licensing contracts as well as some requests by the music industry that we have been honouring in the past are no longer in effect in 2008, which enables us to come out with some pretty amazing products later this year. I can't talk about them before they are officially announced but if you visit the Prosoniq web site every now and then you will notice that the Prosoniq product portfolio will change quite a bit in 2008."

Thanks Stephan! Well, good news then...
We'll keep an eye on Prosoniq, let's hope to see some new creative products soon!

EULA: don't give up!

From BBC site: "The National Consumer Council (NCC) has accused 17 firms, including Microsoft, Adobe and Symantec, of using unfair end user licence agreements (EULAs). The NCC has asked the Office of Fair Trading to launch an investigation".
The news is not yet on NCC site, so we could not investigate further, but we'll try to have a direct contact with them, as soon as possible.
It would be interesting to deal with these issues at a global (vs. national) level, since these EULAs affect the rights of millions of users worldwide and it's time to make them better.
EULAs need to be as short as possible and readable by common users (and not just by a good laywer), do not need to be a sort of punishment for the customer (e.g., the "I have a desktop and a laptop, may I install..." faq), and well, they just need to be fair and well balanced (more respect for users' privacy, more responsibilities for the holder, etc.).
Is it too much to ask?


Unusable EULAs on Usability Blog
The Anti-EULA on BoingBoing

The Sonic Joy Awards 2007

The Sonic Joy awards are a selection of software and hardware products that came out in 2007 (so, if you're asking, that's why you don't find stuff like Zebra 2 or Melodyne plug-in) and that we've loved. Nothing less and nothing more.
So, here we go with AudioNewsRoom's Sonic Joy awards. And feel free to add yours!

Soundtoys Native Bundle v3: instant (vintage) smile stuff! We want more!

AudioEase Speakerphone: a unique concept and a brilliant product, a godsend for many...

Sonalksis TBK3: because sometimes you just need one, dirty, knob!

Universal Audio Uad-1 Neve Bundle: another masterpiece from those wizards at UA; if only their cards were more.... oops...!

Gforce VSM: ladies and gentlemen,the pads-machine!

ProAudioVault BDMO: well, first of all it's a Bluthner and not the usual Steinway or Bosendorfer. The sound and the added features make it a must-buy!

NI FM8: we loved FM7, so this is easy...

Arturia Jupiter 8: because we would like to see more synths with multi-colour buttons and because Arturia did a good job on this. Too bad it needs a Synchrosoft dongle....

monome apps: this award is a sort of tribute to the "collective intelligence" of the monome community, and in particular to mr. monome Brian Crabtree, Stretta and Steve Duda.

Intermorphic noatikl: Koan's creators are back, and bring new life to generative music.

Yamaha TENORI-ON: because it is a lot of fun, because it will probably help stopping the "checking email on stage" plague with a touch of art, and because it hopefully opens new doors to the mass-production of new musical instruments/interfaces.

Eowave Eobody2 + sensors: controlling and approaching music in alternative ways has never been so easy.

NAMM 2008: news pt.2

It's NAMM time, so here we go...

synth stuff
Moog had just announced its new MP-201 Multi-Pedal.
The Multi-Pedal is a programmable four channel CV/MIDI foot pedal controller. It has four analog control outputs, MIDI In & Out and USB connectivity (MIDI over USB). It can transmit controller information on up to 4 MIDI channels and CV outputs simultaneously.
Each CV output can be programmed individually. Signals can be foot pedal controlled analog control voltages with +/-5V limits, LFO waveforms or GATE voltages (0V=Off,+5V=ON). In addition, each channel can output MIDI CC’s over specified MIDI channels simultaneously with the analog CV outputs.
Price: n/a

Outboard, mics, etc.
A new product from Anamod, makers of the ATS-1, an hardware tape simulator: AM660 Limiter, single-space 500 series rack format, and yes it's inspired by "that" beast of the past.
In their words: "The Fairchild 660 limiter is arguably one of the most famous and sought-after compressors ever made. The magical way it adds density and dimension to a track or a mix has been demonstrated on many of the best-sounding records made in the last 50 years.
The AM660 is a faithful recreation of the classic sound and compression profile of the 660, using the AnaMod process to model the complex tube circuitry of the 660 and implement it entirely in the analog domain. Unlike a digital plug-in or processor based outboard gear, there is no latency, and no A/D or D/A conversions to compromise the sound".
List price: $1295.00

Software, plug-ins, etc.
Italy's Overloud (we've talked about them for their Breverb) is back with a a new guitar amp. What's different here? Besides the obvious things (several amps modelled, etc.), well, there is an interesting morphing feature between amps, which helps customizing the sound. And there's a smart control strip, with 8 buttons (controlled via MIDI, too) where user can manipulate the most important sound parameters. The GUI seems very nice and well thought, and that's a big plus.

Controller, Midi, etc.
A software update and a new small controller from Novation. It's called Nocturn. This following description comes from a pre-order page:
"Featuring the latest Automap Universal 2.0 software, exclusive to Novation controllers, Nocturn provides automatic, instant and intelligent control of all automatable plug-ins within every major sequencer, including Pro Tools.
Nocturn features eight touch-sensitive rotary encoders, each equipped with a bright eleven-LED ring (ideal for laptop DJ’ing in a dark club environment). These are accompanied by eight user-assignable illuminated buttons and a smooth, professional 45mm cross-fader. The finishing touch is Novation’s unique ‘speed dial’; a touch-sensitive rotary encoder that instantly takes control of whatever your mouse is focused on!
Featuring a revolutionary new 'heads-up transparent control GUI', Automap Universal 2.0 places a transparent control map across your computer screen, to be recalled or hidden at will. Little or no user setup is required, and plug-in control can be customized to be laid out just the way you like it, no matter what music software you use. Simply boot up the plug-in, and you’ll see at a glance how the parameters are automatically assigned to each of Nocturn’s controls. An instant click and control ‘learn’ function is also available for quick re-assigning of controls, or for creating your own controller map in seconds. Multiple page options mean that you can assign a potentially infinite number of parameters for each plug-in.
Automap Universal 2.0 also categorises all your control maps. A simple browsing facility lets you review all open plug-ins, then quickly switch to control any one of them. Automap Universal 2.0 also supports standard MIDI protocol, providing the same heads-up display for quick and simple assigning of MIDI parameters. This ensures that Nocturn can also control an external hardware MIDI device, any non-automatable plug-ins, or the mixer page in your sequencer. Once a ‘MIDI map’ is created, it can be saved and recalled via the same map browsing facility. A growing library of maps will be available to download free from Novation's website."
Novation Nocturn main features include:
Affordable intelligent tabletop control surface
8+1 touch sensitive rotary encoders with LED ring
8 user-assignable illuminated buttons
45mm crossfader
Automap Universal 2.0 included
Side mounted USB port
Price: £70 (approx. $137 / 95 euro)

Guitar stuff, accessories, etc.
There's a guitar processors for everyone: Waves Audio is introducing their pocket-sized device, the iGTR Personal Guitar Processor. The iGTR at a glance:
Three Virtual Amps: Warm, Normal and Bright. Modulation Effects: Phaser, Tremolo and Wah. Ambience Effects: Reverb, Chorus and Delay
iGTR’s multiple inputs and outputs enable it to act as a preamp and recording effects processor or as an on-the-go tool for playing alone or with friends. Additionally, guitarists can plug an iPod or other mp3 device to jam along with their favorite songs.
The inputs and outputs include:
1/4" guitar input
Mini stereo auxiliary input (used for mp3 connection or jamming with friends)
Two mini stereo outputs for headphones and speakers

To be continued (more news about 2008 NAMM...)

NAMM 2008: news pt.1

Namm 2008 news are starting to circulate and here we'll try to collect some of them (well, unless you really want to know which heavy metal hero is going to play in your fav guitar's brand booth, sorry, you won't find it here).

Outboard, mics, etc.
Thermionic Culture will present its new twin channel, called The Rooster. A valve based mic/line + DI pre-amp with EQ and a distortion section based around the same 5725 used in the ever-popular Culture Vulture. The input stage uses a custom 1200-ohm input Sowter transformer and an ECC81/12AT7 valve. The EQ section has a broad bass lift control, peaking at 60Hz, a mid cut at 700Hz, and a selectable mid/high lift at 2.5k, 4k ("bell" shaped) and 7k (shelving) respectively. The 6 position bass cut is straight off the Earlybird 2 pre-amp.
Price: 1639 pounds (approx. 2200 euro/ 3200 usd)

Lauten Audio will have three new mics at Namm 2008: The Lauten Audio LT-381 is a condenser mic that features dual-diaphragm capsule, NOS pentode input and triode output circuit, variable omni, cardioid and figure-8 polar patterns, 20Hz to 20KHz frequency response and 7-pin XLR and 3-Pin Standard XLR outputs. This product have been designed as a vocal mic because it reproduces almost every audio detail.
The condenser Lauten Audio FC-357 Mic features solid-state FET circuit, pressure gradient condenser, cardioid, omnidirectional and figure-8 polar patterns, -10 dB attenuation and +10dB gain switch, 25Hz to 20KHz frequency response, requires +48V phantom power and 3-pin standard XLR output. The main functions of this mic are vocal, back vocals and instrument recording.
The last product is the Lauten Audio ST-221 a condenser mic with NOS vacuum tube circuit, pressure gradient condenser, cardioid and omnidirectional polar patterns (with interchangeable capsules), 20Hz to 20KHz frequency response and 7-pin XLR and 3-pin standard XLR outputs. This mic is great for drum miking tasks but also works with string instruments and pianos.
Price: TBA

Software, plug-ins, etc.
Well, first of all the most two mysterious items of the lot: Yamaha will launch an X-Factor VST thing, and Spectrasonics will have a new product out, probably a sort of super-synth (?!?). We'll see...
McDSP has announced three new plug-ins: DE555 de-esser, the FutzBox signal distorter and noise generator, and the NF575 noise filter.
The DE555 is a new generation of de-essing technology, providing transparent, precise de-essing with unique flexibility. FutzBox is a distortion and noise generator plug-in for creating low-fidelity versions of audio signals. The NF575 noise filter is a high-resolution filter set designed to remove a wide variety of noise types from audio.
The new plug-ins will be available only to owners of the McDSP Emerald Pack HD and Emerald Pack Native bundles as an upgrade ($195 HD / $95 Native for owners of Emerald Pack version 2). The new Emerald Pack bundle (version 3.0) will retail for $2795 for the HD version, and $1495 for the Native version. This increase in price is equal to the upgrade cost, so customers needing Emerald Pack immediately need not wait for version 3.0 to be available.
Emerald Pack 3.0 will also support Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard), as well as Windows XP and Digidesign’s Venue Live sound system. Support for Vista is not official yet.

Controller, Midi, etc.
There's been a lot of talk lately about Euphonix new products, which should make them more familiar to the small studio owners, given their affordable price. We're talking of the MC Control and the MC Mix.
The Euphonix MC Control is a DAW Control Surface with Programmable Touchscreen, 4 Touch-sensitive Motorized Faders, Programmable Knobs and Buttons, Transport Controls, and Monitoring Software.
The Euphonix MC Mix is a compact Control Surface with 8 Touch-sensitive Motorized Faders, Rotary Encoders, Programmable Buttons, and Ethernet Connectivity.
Price: TBA (but Sweetwater has them in pre-order at 1499 usd and 999 usd)

Percussa will show a new software for their nice AudioCubes. From their press release "AudioCubes are a unique and visually intriguing performance tool that can be used as fully assignable MIDI controllers for music and multimedia as well as a standalone wireless digital/analog lo-fi sound generator and processor.
When used as a controller, the AudioCubes translate their physical positioning and proximity (including external surfaces) to Trigger and scalable Continuous Controller information, which can be routed via its MIDI Bridge software to other applications such as as Ableton Live, Reason, softsynths, plug-in FX and physical MIDI devices. Through construct development programs such as Cycling 74's Max/MSP/Jitter these capabilities can be extended to the control of Lighting, Video, even electromechanical Installations, and open a world of research and education possibilities in which hands-on interaction with technology plays a key role.
Besides presenting an update to the MIDI Bridge application and manuals for AudioCubes, Percussa will demo new sound generator software which lets you use the cubes without acomputer, to be released as a free download for all AudioCubes users after the NAMM show."

Guitar stuff, accessories, etc.
I like the picture and that's a good reason for them to appear here! Source Audio, creators of the Hot Hand Motion Control Wah Filter and Phaser/Flanger systems, will introduce its new Soundblox guitar effects pedals at NAMM: Soundblox Multiwave Guitar Distortion, Soundblox Tri-Mod Guitar Wah pedal, the Soundblox Tri-Mod Guitar Flanger pedal and the Tri-Mod Guitar Phaser pedal.
Price: Soundblox pedals 149.99 usd each, Hot Hand Wireless Adapter & Controller 150 usd, Hot Hand Wired Controller 24.95 usd.

To be continued (more about 2008 NAMM)...

End-of-year Special Offers: vol.2

Did you read our previous article and do you still have some money to spend? Let' go on then, it really seems there's something for everyone in these days...

Hardware
This time we start with hardware because you could get some interesting deals on synths & co. from Schneiders Buero. Check their "special offers" page, but keep in mind this is not software, so it works on a first come, first served basis (and as long as stock lasts)!

Software Fx
Rtas and Audiosuite user will be glad to know that McDSP is offering a special deal (295$) on its Analogue Channel.

Sample Libraries/Software Instruments
From the english distributor, Time + Space, you can get a nice deal on EZ Drummer (you get an Xpansion Pack of your choice, for free) and on Synthogy's Ivory (20% off).
Garritan thinks different: a special 72-hours offer, called "Go-Round". The Garritan Go-Round starts Saturday December 15th, noon PST, and ends December 18th, noon PST.
In their words: " During the Garritan Go-Round, a Garritan library will be listed at a dramatically low price, each lot in limited quantities. Once the lot is sold out Garritan will offer the next library, until that lot is sold out; with the process repeated until the sale is over on December 18th at noon . The Go-Round for each library lasts an unspecified amount of time a library can sell out in as little as a few minutes (when the limited supply is sold out); or the Go-Round can last hours, prior to bringing the next library up for sale.
Libraries to be offered include Personal Orchestra, Jazz & Big Band, Concert & Marching Band, Stradivari Solo Violin, Gofriller Cello and there may also be a few additional surprises throughout the 72-hour event."

Utilities, etc.
If you use Logic you probably know Redmatica's excellent products. There's a Redmatica grooup buy going on in these days, so be quick if you want to join.

End-of-year Special Offers: vol.1

Shopping addict? Well, at AudioNewsRoom we care about your wallet and we've selected some of the best offers/promotions currently available in this holiday period (UPDATE: more offers here).
Did you find other interesting offers? Feel free to tell us!

Software Fx
20 seems to be the magic number here: Sonalkis, Urs, Waves, Fabfilter are offering a 20% off on their plugs, so now it's just a matter of sonic tastes (and customer policies..).
Universal Audio is having an interesting end-of-year sale for its UAD-1 plugs, from 10% up to 50% off. And if you're already a customer there's also a coupon for each card you own.
If you're a Windows user, need a great impulse reverb based VST plug-in and you can't afford Altiverb, it could be the right moment to get Knufinke's SIR2. You can save up to 50$.

Sample libraries/Software Instruments
If you want to add some high quality (and rare to find) stuff to your samples library, check out Soniccouture's christmas sale, you can save up to 40%.
Nice prices also on Kirk Hunter's orchestral libraries, which ship on hard drive (up to 200$ off!).
Vienna Symphonic Library is having a "buy a standard, get an extended" offer on their catalogue: if you buy one of their standard libraries, you get one of the extended libraries for free.
Camel Audio is offering some nice deals on Cameleon 5000 (50% off) and their soundsets (30% off) for Absynth, Massive and Cameleon.
Classic drum-machines' nostalgia? There's a 30% off waiting for you, from the d16 group (makers of Nepheton, Drumazon and Phoscyon).
If you're not into drum-machines and your drummer left you for a trip around the world, you could check Jamstix 2 from Rayzoon, there's a 20% off on its entire product line.
Last but not least, EastWest is having a special sale on all its products, and the list is really too long to be pasted here. And, yes, the offer features also the latest releases like Fab Four and the Quantum Leap ones.

Hardware
We'd like this section to be longer, anyway if you want to add a unique tool to your arsenal, Percussa is having a "shipping free" offer on their audiocubes. With their lights they would also be a nice complement to your christmas decorations!

Antares Harmony Engine

One of the most exciting plug-ins I've tried lately is Antares' Harmony Engine. I don't know why, but I've always been attracted by vocal harmonizers. And since they're not a common thing in the plug-ins' world, I couldn't miss Harmony Engine!
It's a real time, "intelligent" harmonizer, and this makes it more fun and immediate to use it, especially for a creative/experimental approach.
At the same time, it's a very complex and flexible piece of software, and even if everything on the user interface is clearly laid out, I strongly suggest reading the manual (very well written) if you want to make the most out of thig plug-in.
Harmony Engine is a four-voices harmonizer, and each voice has several individual parameters (like pan, vibrato, voice character, etc.). Also, each voice can have its own audio output channel, so you can process the four voices in different ways.
Harmony Engine's real strenght lies in the Harmony Control modes: Fixed or Scale Intervals, Chord Degrees or Chord Name, Chord by MIDI, MIDI Omni, MIDI Channel.
In short it's everything you would expect from an intelligent harmonizer, and probably more! You can go from an 'automatic control' approach, to a 'note-by-note' manual one. There is much more to say about Harmony Engine, but since you can try it as a demo version (fully working), I would urge you to do that, it's much more gratifying than reading an article!
But don't expect magics from a plug-in: the quality and the intonation of the source material (both live and tracked) is essential. Then, as you will learn, there are many parameters, which with the right tweaks, can improve your final results.
Don't forget to check the demo songs that come with the installer, you can load them in your DAW, so you can see how engineers and artists have used Harmony Engine.
As said, I'm attracted by harmonizers more as a creative tools, and for that man-machine feeling you get from them.
Realistic results? Uhm, boring question to me, if you're a good singer just sing your part two or three times and you'll get a truly realistic result. But if you want a backup vocal that fits in the mix, Harmony Engine will do the job.
I have to say I'm really happy that something like Harmony Engine exists as a plug-in, so I can avoid spending money (and time) on hardware devices!

Platforms: OS X and Windows
Formats: VST, AU, RTAS plug-in.
Price: 349 $.


Read also the interview with Marco Alpert, from Antares.

Off-the-record: GForce [ENG]

As anticipated in the Virtual String Machine review, we asked GForce's Dave Spiers some questions about, well, VSM, his past, piracy, and... his Citroen DS Pallas (?!?).

First of all, I am talking with Dave from GForce Software, GMedia, or what else? I admit I'm a bit confused with these brand names after all these years...

Hey, it confuses me at times too, eh eh!
Gmediamusic was a company started by my partner Chris and myself way back.
We initially released the M-Tron as well as some sample CDs which were
branded as GForce.
Discussions with other developers lead to GForce being used as an umbrella brand under which we started collaborating with other independent developers such as Ohm Force. The Minimonsta is a prime example of this - a joint project under a single brand.
Eventually Chris and I found that GForce was taking up the majority of our time so this year we decided to stop duplicating things like websites and organize ourselves a little better. Hopefully this'll give us a bit more time to devote to things like development and keeping the new GForce website fresh.

Let's talk about VSM: I've seen your picture with all those fantastic machines you sampled and, let me say: wow! Are they part of your personal collection or you borrowed them here and there?

Some of the instruments belong to us but we were lucky enough to talk to Gordon Reid (Sound On Sound Journalist) very early in the VSM development.
Gordon was investigating the entire genre for a series of articles and had bought some wonderful examples during the course of his research.
We recorded many of these and learned a huge amount about the String Ensemble
history in the process.
Chris and I would take it in turns to do the recording while the other picked Gordon's brains about the actual instrument.

While making VSM, did you thought that you were going to become the most hated person for all those people selling their old string machines at ridiculously high prices?

Actually, it might have the opposite effect. We're half-anticipating that, in much the same way as with the M-Tron, VSM will simply introduce these sounds to a new generation and as it starts being used more and more, some of the wealthier musicians will think "I really want an original Freeman String Symphonizer/Solina/Elka Rhapsody etc".
If that happens, it's possible prices will rise.
Years ago you couldn't give Melly's away, that's definitely not the case now.

I know it's not a rock'n'roll question, but... could you give us some details about the recording chain used during the sampling sessions?

All the instruments were recorded via either an RME Fireface 800 or a Metric Halo
2882. They key was getting hold of the best instrument examples as possible and if I remember correctly we recorded three ARP Omnis until we found the best one.

Some of the instruments you sampled had also extra-string presets (like horns/brass), which in some cases could create an interesting blend with the string's sound. Since I don't see them in VSM I guess you just wanted to stay true to the "string-only" approach, isn't it?

Yes. The whole idea came about when we were asked to find a Solina for a UK band, Kasabian. It took a while but and when we found one and started playing it, we just fell in love with that sound. I was a huge fan of 70s funk (Roy Ayers, Herbie Hancock, Lonnie Liston Smith etc) and playing it brought a ray of sunshine to an otherwise damp and miserable English day.
It also coincided with a friend of ours working on the last Goldfrapp album and after we heard the track Number One, where the main riff is a Roland RS505, we thought "We have to build a retro string ensemble instrument".
Of course, we could have gone off at all sorts of tangents but we had to keep focus as much as possible - hence no brass or organs.

The additional synthesis module (filter, adsr) is a nice bonus: is it something completely new or did you re-adapt some of your previous
creations?

It's all completely new. We much prefer creating an instrument from a clean canvas instead of taking old code and tweaking it. Maybe that's why we take so long, he he!

How many people worked on VSM? I've read that Art (ex Bitshift, and author of Phatmatik Pro) was involved in the team too.

We're probably talking a hardcore team of three or four, but I have to say that it's always hard to give a definitive amount of people who work on a specific instrument because people dip in and out of the project as it progresses. By the time you count beta-testers and various musicians, this figure would be much, much higher.
We're lucky to work with some very smart people and all their individual expertise is welcome and sometimes vital. However Art was the main engineer and he was the one who probably suffered the most amount of sleepless nights.

About the fx section: I suppose it's thought for the machines who were originally missing a modulation section. After what the phaser and ensemble have been modeled?

We started by looking at a Solina-based ensemble but often when we added this to, say an Elka Rhapsody, it would make it sound too much like a Solina. The same would happen with a Roland type ensemble - it would just make everything sound very 'Roland' which defeated the idea of having this collection of diverse instruments, each with their own character.
In the end we took an average and opted to give the unit a high degree of flexibility where people could add some colour without it becoming too overbearing.

Still about the fx section: why no delay? I suppose the answer will be: "anybody has at least one", but I'll try to ask anyway...

We did discuss this at length but when we heard the phaser in 12 stage mode, the phaser won the fight.

I've read that we're gonna see some expansion packs for VSM in the future (like you did with the M-Tron). Could you tell us something more about them?

I'm working on these now and at the moment there's a few things that have definitely been short-listed such as the Hohner K4, Yamaha CE25, Korg Lambda, Elektronika EM25 as well as something else which will be the jewel in the crown. Sorry, I can't say what that is just yet though.

As expected, the VSM is also a "virtual award" to the italian manufacturers of the times (Elka, Siel which was the real responsible for
the Arp Quartet, Crumar). But is it true that you thought the word "violoncello" on the Elka Rhapsody preset was a mistake? I had so much fun reading that!

Yep. I freely admit that I was confused by it which is embarrassing considering the time I've spent in Italy. I know my old friends at Generalmusic are going to tease me mercilessly at NAMM over this.


GForce describes itself as a company with "an emphasis on vintage synthesizer modeling". Since "vintage" is not a static concept, do you think we will see you modeling 80's and then 90's synths in the next years?

It's possible. We just love stuff that's slightly 'out-there' and in the early days there was a lot more of that than in the 80s and 90s. I love it when an industry is trying to find its feet because people come up with totally oblique ideas within which there's a certain magic.

I've read you worked with many, many artists, as programmer and engineer. Which has been the most difficult or the weirdest request you had during those years?

In the old days people used to say things like "Create me a sound that goes Zzzzzmmmmmoooooyyyoowww" and think that I could read their minds.
That used to be difficult because studio time was amazingly expensive and they'd sit
their tapping their fingers while I'd plug modules into modules and try to find what was in their heads while they commented "Make it more orange sounding"
The thing is I love those situations because that's where you learn your craft. It's the same with being on the road - you have to have your shit together because the show MUST go on.
I could talk about this kind of stuff all day but there's one example I can remember where I was up a mountain in Switzerland reprogramming loads of borrowed keyboards for a Debbie Harry gig because none of ours had arrived for a huge festival gig. I borrowed various instruments from people like Dave Stewart & Billy Idol and set to work with about an hour to go before Debbie took to the stage. We pulled it off but the pressure was pretty intense.
Chris, who worked with Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson, has some brilliant stories on that front too.

What's your take on the (hotter than ever, lately) piracy's affair? How does it affect your relationship with customers, and what do you think of BanPiracy's actions?

Piracy is a major problem for all developers, especially small niche ones like ourselves and I don't think there's much of an excuse for it nowadays with all the good freeware available. I have more respect for someone who can take a few bits of freeware and create a great track than I do for a warez addict who just goes through the motions.
The sad thing for me is that this industry is losing programmers to big business because we can't compete in terms of salary and because they become demoralised by seeing their work passed around as worthless. It's hard to see people who love what they do and are very good at it walk away to something far less creative.
The BanPiracy thing is alarming on many levels - if their numbers are correct and studio piracy is as endemic as they say then maybe their existence is part of a 'cause and effect' situation. I like to stay positive so we hope the pendulum will settle more in the centre-ground at some point.

You were a sort of pioneer in hardware midi controllers with the Phat Boy. Do you see GForce involved in something hardware related in the future?

It's possible and there's no denying that hardware can't be pirated, which is what I think makes it attractive to software developers.
What I love about software though is that these are still early days and there's a spirit of adventure that's exciting. I spoke to the boss of a hardware synth company who said "If you're not able to manufacture in China, you won't even get on the playing field" which to me implied that everyone is chasing lowest cost manufacturing over creativity - software isn't like that.....yet!

Gforce is not known for being a super-productive company. Is that because in these years you spent too much time in trying to bring back to life your "vintage" Citroen Pallas ? (sorry, I found your personal page about that and I had to ask!)

Hehe - the truth is that my DS has been garaged for about 5 years and I still haven't found the time to devote to it.....yet. Every year I say "This year I'll get it back to tip-top condition" but something always conspires against me.
Everyone here has outside interests and it's these things that inspire and excite us within GForce. For example, during this last year I've contributed to two films, a couple of albums and helped out in a techie capacity on a couple of tours. It's inevitable that you draw from this stimuli and ideas are formed. Some of mine and Chris' best ideas have come from just talking about solutions to problems we've faced that day on the way to and from gigs or studios.

I swear I won't tell anybody... What's going on in your secret labs?

Hehe - I wish it was as simple as that but in truth we have lots of projects running concurrently and focus may change depending on what's inspiring at a particular moment in time. For example, we may hit a difficult point with one product so we'll put it on the back burner for a while and bring something else to the fore. I think of it like doing a mix - sometimes you have to give yourselves space so that you come back with fresh ears.
VSM only came about because of having to find that Solina and if you would have asked me a month previously what we were working on, I'd have said something totally different.

Ok, we've finished, you can have a beer now!

Cheers - Your health and our warmest regards to Italy!

Convert a DAW session? Pro-Convert

This is good news for those who need to work with different DAWs and studios.
SSL acquired from the german software house, Cui Bono, the rights on their translation application EDL Convert (from now on, Pro-Convert).
Pro-Convert it's a Windows only software and it should be able to work with these formats: ProTools, Soundscape, Cubase/Nuendo, Vegas, Sonic Studio, SADiE, Final Cut Pro, Audition, OMF, AES31, Sequoia, Open TL, Tascam BU.
Release time: first quarter of 2008.

Native Instruments: it's a cruel world

Many new releases from Native Instruments in these days: Kontakt 3, Komplete 5, e some other Ks here and there.
But the real news is a sad one: the good "old" Spektral Delay and Vokator are discontinued. What a cruel world, pray for them!

Off-the-record: Sonic Charge [ENG]

This time our special guest is Magnus Lidström, the mind behind Propellerhead Reason 2's Malström synth and our beloved µTonic (or MicroTonic), released under its own Sonic Charge brand. Magnus is taking a little vacation in the deep forests of Småland (Sweden, of course!), where he's meditating on his next software...


Do you feel more proud or more annoyed when the first thing that keeps being said about you is something like: "...oh, yes, he's the guy who worked on that Reason 2's synth..." ?

If there are things being kept said about me at all I am naturally proud. (At least if the things being said are positive.) Naturally you always want to top your previous achievements, so in honesty, I am always nervous about my new releases. I rather butcher products that I do not feel 100% confident about as opposed to releasing them just to cash in on my reputation. So the answer is a bit of both. I would perhaps be annoyed if Malström turned out the only thing that people would remember me by, but at the same time being remembered at all is really sufficient.

Why did you decide to create your own brand, SonicCharge, to release Microtonic? No one else was interested in releasing it at the time?

No, that was not it. The whole point of creating Sonic Charge was to see if it was possible to create and sell software entirely on my own, using only internet distribution. My original intention was to release a lot of very small plug-ins only and decided that a synthetic drum-machine would be an excellent free teaser to bring attention to my site. Several months into the development on MicroTonic, I did a 360 and decided to focus on making a single very strong product instead.

We've reviewed Microtonic here, and as many we think it's a little jewel. What's your opinion on it, after some years, and what about its future?

I am honestly surprised how well it has stood the test of time. When I released it back in 2003 I thought that the life-time of a plug-in couldn't be much more than two years perhaps. MicroTonic is on its fourth year now and it is selling better than ever. (But of course, I have also released a few updates.) I still use MicroTonic a lot personally and for some reason I haven't grown tired of it yet, so I expect to continue working on it for long.

How did the TinTonic idea come out? It'so brilliantly, well... "nordic design"! ... Maybe you could also try to sell it worldwide through Ikea, eh eh!

Hehe. I give the entire credit of the idea to Wolfgang Merkle of Bitplant. I guess it takes a German to design something so characteristically Swedish, eh eh! In particular, I would never have thought of the idea of delivering the USB-memory inside a metal can. That's a stroke of genius.

Talking pattern based drum-machines in general, I'm quite surprised that the basic concepts behind them have not changed much through the years; for example I'd like them to be more "flexible" and suitable to less rigid, linear kinds of music (also dealing easily with non 4/4 time signatures, etc.). Am I asking too much?

Not too much no, but perhaps more than people would expect. When I designed MicroTonic in particular I wanted to stay true to the original concepts of pattern based drum-machines of the late 70's and early 80's. The lack of flexibility and the stiffness of these old machines were due to technical limitations, but turned out to change the way that music sounds (especially if you look at European dance music). The only innovation I allowed myself to add to the pattern programming was the fill buttons.

Which is the most difficult challenge in your job? Coming out with new ideas, hackers, bugs, or what?

Ideas grow on trees; it is the visions and the craftsmanship that matters. There is the phrase "it is not what you do, it is the way you do it", and I couldn't agree more. Sometimes though, my own perfectionism becomes my greatest enemy. Knowing when to give up and saying "it will pass" is especially difficult when you work alone. One of the major headaches is maintaining 100% compatibility with all the various operating system versions and host applications. I spend at least half the development time just testing what I code. The upside to this frantic testing is that I get rid of most bugs early in the development process, leaving very few for the beta stages, and (so far) virtually none in the released software.

When you make music, which are the instruments and fx (hardware or software) you really can't live without, besides your own?

I've always been a minimalist when it comes to the amount of artillery I utilize for my own musical mayhem. I enjoy deeply exploring the possibilities of a limited set of tools, rather than just scratching the surface of everything out there. When it comes to synthesizers I've enjoyed using z3ta from rgc:audio, AudioRealism's ABL and the Korg Legacy synths. Favorite effects include the CamelAudio effects and dblue Glitch.

Which are the artists (just a few names) and musical genres you're into?

I am afraid I am pretty predictable when it comes to music. I like music that pushes genre boundaries a bit, without stretching it unnecessarily far. Good music is a bit like good software, there have to be recognizable parts, like for example scrollbars and menus, and in music you have your familiar 4/4 rhythms and chord progressions etc. But there must also be a bit of innovation, otherwise it isn't unique. If it isn’t unique, it isn’t art, and when it is not art, it is mainstream, and I don't like mainstream. But I haven't answered your question. It is tough to select just a few artists, so I am going to simply put iTunes to shuffle and write down the next ten random artists. Here goes: Legendary Pink Dots, Chicks On Speed, Aphex Twin, Morcheeba, Vangelis, Front 242, Sophie Rimheden, Boards of Canada, Peter Gabriel, Groove Armada. Pretty predictable right? :-)

Your most recent work I'm aware of, is the collaboration on Addictive Drums, by XLN Audio. Which is AD's strongest point, in your opinion, compared to its more famous competitors?

Addictive Drums manages to pack a lot of muscle into a pretty slim outfit. With the built-in mixing environment and quick loading times you can easily check out 20 different drum production styles in just as many seconds. Lars and Niklas (who came up with the product idea four or five years ago) are professional musicians and sound engineers, and I think that shows in the end product. It sounds good, responds fast and looks pretty too.

Have you ever thought to implement your software products into an hardware device? And what do you think of new interfaces/technologies like multi-touch screen, etc.?

I'd love to go hardware some day. There is just something magic about turning a real knob as opposed to using a mouse. One thing that bothers me about software is the way it quickly decomposes if it isn’t kept up-to-date by the manufacturer. Give it a few years without updates and you risk not being able to load it up anymore on your latest computer with the latest OS. Software loses value quickly this way, as opposed to hardware, which if kept in good condition can hold for decades, and actually increase in value. About future interface technologies I am really intrigued by the multi-touch interfaces you mention. The physical qwerty keyboard is for keeps (and physical MIDI-keys and knobs for that matter), but I’ll happily throw out the mouse any day.

Going back to Microtonic, and in particular to your website's f.a.q. section (which is a "must" for those who haven't seen it yet, btw), have you been able to make that "comprehensible interface" for your robotic voice compression alghorithm?

Nope. I still recompile the source-code whenever I change parameters for the synthesis. People really love that robot voice. I put it into MicroTonic to nag people into buying it, but some people have actually written to me expressing their disappointment over that the little guy went away after they purchased and registered. I have already heard three different songs that feature samples of the voice, so I guess it is well about time to make a little product out of it. :-)

Which is the relation between the environment and the development of new software? I know you're now spending some time in some deep (and I guess not that crowded!) forests, up there in your Sweden, and I'm very curious about your next things...

Funny you ask, because my very next Sonic Charge release will be something with more than one link to environment. I know you are very curious, and I would love to spill some details about it, but I know from experience that revealing secrets about unreleased products only risks putting me in a corner and limit my freedom. I can tell you this much that you haven't seen a user-interface quite like it before, and the way that you will create and explore sounds will be something rather new... something organic.

Off-the-record: Sonalksis [ENG]

Kieran Tyrrell and Dave Gamble, Managing Director e Chief Omnipotent Code Guru (?!?) at Sonalksis, talk to AudioNewsRoom about their "babies", ethos, iTunes playlists, Wii Tennis, touch, and much more...
Oh, and we also have the exclusive scoop about their next products!


AudioNewsRoom:
Boring questions have to come first... How did Sonalksis' story start?

Kieran:
It started when myself and Gus Miller met at AMS Neve. We were working on large mixing consoles and hardware dependant dsp systems, but we realised that the direction of the pro audio industry was moving towards computer based systems, and in particular host based processing systems. So we started to produce the first plugin (the SV517 Equaliser), and after about 6 months launched the company.
Being a software only company allowed us to start up with very little (financial) outlay, and we both liked the idea of working for ourselves!

AudioNewsRoom:
How many persons were at Sonalksis at the beginning, and how many now?

Kieran:
At the very start we were a core team of just 2, although we've always had other people working as contractors, so at any one time the 'team' can be as much as 6 or 8 working on any one project.
Now we are a 'core' team of just 4, but again, there are usually about 6 or 8 people working on each project.
[Below, the Sonalksis crew: were you brainstorming, right?]


AudioNewsRoom:
Which is the product or the idea you've developed you're more proud of, and why? And which are the competitors' products that you would have liked to design?

Kieran:
He he, good question! For me personally, I love all the products.
It's probably the combination of the products, combined with the values of the company, the people we work with (internally and as customers) and the development of the brand that I find most exciting.
As to competitors, whilst there are lots of people out there doing interesting things at the moment, we have a lot of very interesting things in development, so we expect that in the near future it'll be our competitors wishing that our products had been made under their brand.

Dave:
Well, we get a lot of feedback from customers, and generally the more excited the customers get, the more proud we feel - the products that the customers ask us for - like FreeG and TBK3 - have had amazing response from people, so I guess those are the most exciting.
As for competitors products... well - I think a big part of our ethos is making plugins "More Right" than anyone else does them.
I certainly notice that we spend a lot of time making sure that every little detail is correct.
Altho, it would have been great to be behind the MiniMoog!...

Kieran:
And Dave is responsible for all the TBKs, so I know he loves those babies, even if he's too modest to say so!

AudioNewsRoom:
Regarding your latest product, TBK3, I found it interesting also because it shows a different approach, beyond the typical "let's try to emulate this particular outboard", so common with software devs in these years.
How do you deal with the "simulation vs creation" dilemma?

Dave:
He he... how much time have you got?...
A lot if it is watching what people expect and how they react when they get certain things. For example I give you a Neve EQ plugin, and it sounds identical (90dB phase cancellation) to your old Neve strip that you love.
It can be exactly the same thing. But it won't be as good because:

1) you don't have the tactile interface and the physical/emotional attachment that that provides

2) in your mind, you exaggerate the potency of the original, because of (1) and because "It's a Neve"...

So we can do clones... that technology exists, there's a lot of it about - the URS stuff is a particularly good example - but why isn't it as exciting as the real gear? See above, 1+2.

So in TBK3, we started with the mechanisms for clones of a few key compressors, merged them together to make one "supercompressor" and then figured out how to do that "sound more"...
You can never give a plugin the tactile interface unless you build it a control surface so we compensate for (2), but making the plugin do way more than the hardware did and that way we're as good or better than the hardware, he he...
We exceed the users expectations of what it can do!
Does that make any sense?

AudioNewsRoom:
Yeah, absolutely....
Which are the artists/musical genres you're into? And how, if it happens, your musical tastes influence your products?

Kieran:
I like any music that creates an emotional response in me!
I listen to a lot of hiphop, but also like rocky stuff too. Top of my iTunes playlist at the moment is Lily Allen and The Go! Team

Dave:
I'm on a strict diet of James Last and Phillip Glass!

AudioNewsRoom:
Dave, I've read you're also a heavy d'n'b consumer, is it right?

Dave:
Maybe...James Last is much cooler tho.. he he!
To be diplomatic I ought to say dnb + breaks, and i'm supposed to shamelessly plug Funkatech records and Viral recordings at any given opportunity.... but we wont go there!...

Kieran:
As to our own tastes effecting the development progress, we always ensure our products can appeal to the widest possible audience. And in the team we have people who use the plugs for so many varied styles of music that we can be sure the products work well in all intended areas, from eurotrash, to heavy rock, to dnb, to classical and soundtrack...

AudioNewsRoom:
Does it happen to you to recognize one of your products, while listening to a song? And which has been the most surprising and gratifying "credit" you had from a record/artist?

Dave:
People generally don't tell me about it. I wish people would more. I know about all the goings on with our own beta group (who include some high profile producers)...
... occasionally I'll hear a TBK1 sweep on something and know what it is... I'm hoping to spot TBK3 crunch on every new record made for the next six years.... here's hoping!

AudioNewsRoom:
I'm sure it wil be recognizable!

Kieran:
It's always hard to pinpoint exactly when our plugs have been used in a mix (more so the EQs and compressors), but we have our suspicions...
We have good relations with some of our users and endorsers, so we get to hear a lot of stuff that they have used our plugins on.
Unfortunately we can't really name names, 'cos of our customer confidentiality rules...
But we will have an endorsements section on our website soon!

AudioNewsRoom:
Which is the funniest request you had from a customer?

Kieran:
He he, occasionally we get support requests that just blow my mind... I remember one request we had where the guy seemed to be enquiring as to where he should insert the CD... yes it sounds like a joke, but I think he was serious!
Or... 'Where's the stereo link button on the mono version?'
As to 'feature' requests, most of our users know what they're talking about so their requests are usually valid...

Dave:
All the support questions I see are basically sane. We have lovely customers, it makes me sleep well!

AudioNewsRoom:
I think one of the key issues in the audio software business is the "update factor".
Every few months there's new hardware available, OS updates, hosts updates, and plugs' developers are forced to follow these trends (and users too).
And this sometimes brings also to complicated relationships with customers (see Waves' often hated WUP).
In my view, new business models are needed. So, which is your approach? Which will be, in your opinion, the "winning business model"?

Dave:
I think it's become progressively more clear that the only real recipe for success is to obey a customer-centric business model.
Whatever serves the customer best will be the company that prevails. And the company who serves the customer best and provides the most innovative products is the one that stands to become dominant.
So I'm quite pleased that the Sonalksis ethos is predominantly focussed on serving the customer, and making them happy - with providing the most innovative products as a strong second!
We've never charged for updates. Ever.
As we observed, if you started off on an OS9 mac, with PPC, moved to PC and DX, then switched to RTAS on XP, then ended up using AUs on an intel mac on OSX, you won't have paid us an extra penny, and we'll keep it that way.

Kieran:
It's a tricky situatio