I knew it was only a matter of time before the music industry would be taking advantage of cloud based services. This is something I can get behind. You can either get The Pro Sound Effects membership ($149) or The Pro Loops and Samples ($199). Give this some serious thought… Do you want to hop from computer to laptop trying to stalk samples down you THOUGHT you had organized OR even use a clunky external hard drive taking up your few USB ports you have left from all of those USB licenses you have? Of course not. So free yourself from the cables and get in the cloud. This service is roughly 11-15$ a month. That’s nothing for the power to access over 20,000 samples that are so good, even Reason has used some in their software. Have you heard Reason 6′s new drums? They’re AMAZING.

Now you can have access to the PowerFX individual sound library! With either a Pro Sound Effects Account or Pro Loops & Samples Account, you will have instant access to over 20,000 sounds in a searchable, online database. No worries about storing, saving and organizing sounds, it´s already done! The massive PowerFX sound database is available from wherever and whenever you need it, just login, search, download and get producing.

“I think producers and sound users who work in different places or have multiple work station setups will really appreciate this service”, states Bil Bryant CEO of PowerFX.  “For sound users today, it´s not about owning, it´s about having access and simple license to use just what you need, when you need it.”

PowerFX has been a leading producer and distributor of award winning sound libraries for over 10 years and has licensed sounds found in DAW´s Logic, Garageband, Cubase, SONAR and REASON. The Loops & Samples individual sound library includes many sounds from their own unique titles, like Downtown Strings, Drummers of Motown, World Loop Spice Rack, and the sound effects library that includes the historical sound archives from National Swedish Television (SVT).

The Pro Loops & Samples Account is $199 a year and the Pro Sound Effects Account is $149 a year. For more information on the Full Access accounts click HERE

In these times of over-corrected vocal nonsense, a true winner emerges from the pile of “quick fixes” (that make artists sound like constipated robots) to take the crown and give us intuitive pitch correction without the artifacts. Melodyne is that winner. I’ve used Melodyne for quite some time and with each upgrade, I get pumped. This upgrade is no exception. They’ve basically added most of the tools I have suggested in previous posts. I like the flatter myself and say they got it from this site, but in most cases, probably isn’t the point.

With Version 2, Melodyne editor has become still more musical, capable of editing in still greater depth, and even more widely compatible. The most important new functions are:

Extended timing tools: With the Attack Speed tool, you can edit the transients that are of crucial importance to the sound –  even for each note individually: an important creative tool not only for percussive sounds. In addition, the new Time Handles allow you to shape even the time course within notes, which, for example, makes even more detailed editing of vocal phrasing possible.

True Scale & Tuning: The new scale functions now permit even the editing of Arabic, Indian, contemporary and microtonal music with Melodyne. Countless scales, temperaments and tunings can be loaded, edited in detail or created from scratch. The highlight is the Scale Detective, which is capable of analyzing any piece of music or sample so that even users with no detailed knowledge can transfer the scale and tuning of one recording to another.

Rewire support: Melodyne should be of use to as many producers as possible – regardless of which DAW they work with. For this reason, Melodyne editor now also supports Rewire and therefore allows operation with DAWs that have no plug-in interfaces or were previously incompatible with Melodyne.

Greater transparency and ease of use through features like keyboard shortcuts in plug-in mode, highlighting of blobs as they play back, and an improved display of the time and pitch grids.

The price of Melodyne editor is US$/€ 399. An update from Version 1 costs US$/€ 99. The update is free for users who registered Melodyne editor for the first time after October 1, 2011. With the update to Version 2, Melodyne assistant and essential profit from minor improvements and Rewire support, these updates being free of charge.

You can find out more about Melodyne editor at www.celemony.com/editor2. With a new trial version, Melodyne editor can be tested without limitations for 30 days – even if you have already tested an earlier version.

Films demonstrating the new functions can be found on Celemony’s YouTube channel.

Here you go Windows users. You say I don’t post enough stuff for you so here’s a great addition to your synth plug-ins that models those all too popular analog synths we have all come to know and love. So pull out the USB controller and get to re-learning all of those Van Hagar intros!

Tone2 are pleased to announce the 3.3 update of Filterbank, an analog modeled filter & synthesizer plugin bundle with routable
modules and 58 filter types.
Filterbank’s modular design and flexible modulation using LFOs, envelopes and a step sequencer gives you nearly unlimited
possibilities to filter or create complete sequences and textures. Next to its two independent stereo filters and reference-class
sound quality Filterbank offers self-oscillating filters, a large selection of standard as well as exotic filter types, FM, AM, feedback
and a saturation module with multiple distortion & lo-fi effects.

New features:
64 Bit support for PC
Standalone synthesizer version for PC
Improvements:
PC installer automatically detects VST directory
Improved compatibility with Windows7 and Vista Systems
Faster loading
Improved stability
Improved performance
Various workarounds for host related bugs

For more information and demo versions, please visit the Tone2 website.

Been looking for a new Ribbon to add to your “go to” collection? Of course you are. What we have here is the Cascade Knuckle Head ribbon mic. This mic has the same artifacts as the famed “Fat Head” ribbon mic used by Steely Dan and many other pro’s in the business. I actually have an Elroy and I’m very partial to it so I’m sure this mic is just as versatile. You have the choice of the polished nickel black body or my personal favorite, the antique copper.

The Knuckle Head is a passive ribbon microphone that combines the acoustic components of the successful Fat Head ribbon with a shockmounted headbasket design reminiscent of early broadcast microphones.

The ribbon motor uses Neodymium magnets surrounding a 2.5-micron corrugated aluminum ribbon measuring 5mm x 45mm. The ribbon is mounted symmetrically within the magnetic gap, making the Knuckle Head suitable as the “mid” mic in a MS setup — the front and back of the mic should produce the same sound.

The ribbon motor and headbasket are suspended within a 6-inch diameter metal hoop by eight springs. The output transformer is located within the cylindrical shaft below the shockmount hoop.

The Knuckle Head ships with a micro-fiber cleaning cloth and a mic clip in a padded aluminum flight case. It will be available in either of two finishes, with an optional Lundahl 2912 or Cinemag CM-9888 transformer upgrade.

I’m not completely sure on price yet but they will be shipping very soon.
For more info, click HERE