to call up various big names in the rock world for this incredible solo project. Some of the names include Everything Recording’s good friend Nixon from Framing Hanley, insane drummer Morgan Rose from Sevendust, and Mark Tremonti just to name a few.

So go on’ get on over to his site and give him some cash. You won’t regret it.

To visit his site, http://bretthestla.bigcartel.com/

IK Multimedia, the leader in mobile music-creation apps and accessories, is shipping the new range of its smart iPad holders for stage, studio, office or home. The new iKlip™ 2 for iPad, and for iPad mini, are enhanced versions of the most popular iPad microphone stand holders for musicians and presenters, while iKlip Studio for iPad mini completes the range of IK’s practical tabletop stands for 7” tablets.

iKlip 2 is designed to securely hold an iPad 2 (and later) or an iPad mini on a microphone stand or other vertical or horizontal “pole” up to 2.1”/30mm in diameter. It secures to the pole in seconds with a sure-grip tightening system, leaving the threaded end of the stand open for other uses. iKlip 2 features a new ball-joint design that gives it amazing flexibility for infinite multi-angle adjustment and positioning with a simple touch. It can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally to find just the right viewing angle, and can be quickly rotated between portrait and landscape mode. The new iKlip 2 is available in two models: for the regular iPad and for the new iPad mini.

The new iKlip 2 adapters offer the ultimate in safe, secure holding of iPad and iPad mini at the optimum required viewing angle, and they are perfect for hands-free viewing and use with any type of apps and accessories, leaving all the iPad buttons and ports free from obstructions.

iKlip 2 applications are countless, and range from holding iPads for musicians on stage to teleprompter-style presentations on boardroom podiums; from securing the iPad anywhere for video and camera applications to mounting it as a multimedia display; from keeping the iPad on hand for order taking or form entry to using it in health care environments, as well as a multitude of other uses.

iKlip Studio for iPad mini is a new tabletop stand that follows in the footsteps of the iKlip Studio for iPad, a tabletop multi-angle holder for iPad and other 10” tablets. It offers the same great features and design, including an easily adjustable viewing angle, support for portrait or landscape mode, and the ability to fold up flat for total mobility. iKlip Studio for iPad mini can also hold other 7″ tablets such as the Kindle Fire, Galaxy Tab, and Nook, plus it can host a device with or without a case or protective cover.

iKlip Studio for iPad mini offers 8 viewing angle options in 10° increments: from a near vertical orientation to near horizontal, making it the perfect companion for any flat-surface application. It provides quick and easy set-up in seconds, and features non-slip feet that prevent unwanted movement of the device — securely holding it in place even when used with the most rigorous tap-intensive apps such as those used in music making or gaming.

iKlip Studio for iPad mini folds flat and fits easily in briefcases, carrying bags, backpacks and gig bags. With the line of IK microphones and apps like iRig MIC, iRig MIC Cast and iRig Recorder, any tablet can become an audio-capture-and-editing suite for podcasts, classroom lectures, boardroom meetings and presentations. When used with a wireless Bluetooth keyboard, the iKlip Studio for iPad mini is the perfect mobile workstation for tight spaces like airplane seats, crowded cafes, restaurants, lecture halls and library kiosks.

Pricing and Availability

The iKlip 2 for iPad and iKlip 2 for iPad mini are available now at electronic and music retailers around the world, and are both priced at $39.99 / €29.99 MSRP (excluding taxes). The iKlip Studio for iPad mini is priced at $29.99 / €24.99 MSRP (excluding taxes).

For more info, visit, www.ikmultimedia.com/iklip.

You like free things right? You like mixing right? You think you’re better than everyone else at mixing right? Perfect! Now you can prove that to all of your family and friends who complain about you being hunched over your keyboard at all hours that it was allllll worth it. You can even show them your shiny new trophy. Did I mention that trophy is in the form of possibly a pair of Focal Monitors? So head on over to the site at the bottom and sign up. It’s free and who knows, maybe if you’re good enough, Fab Dupont will invite you to his birthday party. (disclaimer: that almost definitely won’t happen) It’s good to dream though. Oh and while you’re at it, go buy a subscription to PureMix. I personally bought one and use it on a daily basis for training and medicinal purposes. Seriously, you won’t regret it.

The clock is ticking – you have just 99 hours to join us on cloud nine. This stunning offer will net you a total of nine outstanding MASCHINE Expansions for just 99 $/€ – a 78% saving! Add these ready-to-rumble MASCHINE kits to your arsenal – from the electro haze of DARK PRESSURE, through to the bass-heavy vibe of DROP SQUAD and the urban club swag of PLATINUM BOUNCE. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by: You have just 99 hours, ending at 3 pm CET on Friday, May 17.

All Expansions run on MASCHINE and MASCHINE MIKRO, and the offer is available exclusively at the NI Online Shop.

To buy, click HERE.

iZotope, a leading innovator in digital signal processing, has released two new sound libraries for Iris, the ground-breaking visual synthesizer. Altered and Modular, the largest sound libraries to date, will join Glass, Wood, Voice, Toys, and Food to round out the new Iris+7 bundle, available now.

Altered, the first of two new instrument based sound libraries for Iris, reimagines familiar musical instruments like piano, guitar, and bass by uncovering unconventional timbres through bowing, scraping, bending, and more. Altered includes over 300 new samples such as Plastic Rod on Harp, Piano Strings Resonant Spoon, and Didgeridoo Into Fan, and 200 professionally designed patches like Spectral Bubble, Dub Trombone, and Visual Karate.

Modular, the second new library, is based on samples created from new and vintage modular synths. Ranging from pulsing tones and lush effects to glitchy syncopations and Cartesian sequencing, Modular is designed to harness varied sonic palettes into musical patches for any project. Modular features over 600 samples including Growler Bass, Butterfly Chaos, and Funk Bot Pulse, and 300 patches like Metal Sloths, Zaptastic, Murky Glitch, and Ghost Mallets.

“When Iris was first released in April of 2012, we explored the incredible sonic possibilities of materials like Glass, Wood, Voice, Toys, and Food,” says Jack Cote, Product Manager at iZotope. “Now in 2013, Altered and Modular are bringing traditional musical instruments and vintage synth designs into the Iris world, with thousands of new sounds to kick off your next track. If you don’t have Iris yet, it’s the perfect time to get everything Iris, all at once, with Iris+7.”

Pricing and Availability
Through May 23, 2013, all products in the Iris family are over 30% off, including Iris and all sound libraries.
Iris+7 is now available for $239 (reg.$349 / € 285 EUR MSRP)
Iris Altered is available for $34 (reg. $49 / €35 EUR MSRP)
Iris Modular is available for $34 (reg. $49 / €35 EUR MSRP)
To purchase, please visit www.izotope.com/products/audio/iris/buy.asp.

To learn more about Iris+7 and the new Altered and Modular libraries, visit www.izotope.com/iris.

The Scarlett 18i8 is the first interface from Focusrite to include four award-winning mic preamps. It can also record up to four line inputs at the same time, making it perfect for recording an entire band live. An ADAT option allows the connection of external mic preamps such as the OctoPre Mk II, extending the number of mic pres to 12. The unit also includes S/PDIF I/O.

The Scarlett 6i6 is designed to allow recording on a smaller scale. In addition to two Focusrite mic preamps it features a stereo line input, making it possible to capture, for example, vocals, guitar and a digital piano at the same time. Both models feature the signature Scarlett range unibody metal chassis for road-ruggedness, and the unique ‘signal halo’ LED rings around the input controls that indicate green for a good level and red for overload. They also include two headphone outputs each with their own level controls; the headphone outputs on the 6i6 mirror the main and sub-outputs whereas on the 18i8 they are fully independent.

Scarlett 18i8:

Four award-winning Focusrite mic pres
The best sounding interface in its class. Focusrite’s 25-years of design experience underpins this new interface with four award-winning preamps

18 inputs and 8 outputs
All of the analogue and digital inputs you need for home multi-track recording. No need for breakout cables – every analogue input & output has a dedicated socket

Two independent headphone outputs each with a level control
With two fully independent headphone mixes the engineer and the artist can both listen to mix levels they need

Scarlett 6i6:

Two award-winning Focusrite mic pres
The best sounding interface in its class. The two award-winning mic preamps are products of Focusrite’s meticulous approach to preamp design

6 inputs and 6 outputs
All of the analogue and digital inputs you need for home multi-track recording. No need for breakout cables – every analogue input & output has a dedicated socket

Two headphone outputs with level controls
With two headphone mixes the engineer and the artist can both listen to mix levels they need

Scarlett 18i8 and 6i6 both have:

High quality 24bit 96KHz audio interfaces for Mac, PC and iPad
Both feature professional conversion technology guaranteeing pristine audio quality and reliable synchronization on Mac, PC and iPad (or any iOS device)

Rugged metal unibody chassis
Whether you are in the studio or on the road your Scarlett will not only look great, but also withstand the impacts sustained by a mobile recording rig

Unique gain halos for safeguarding your levels
Unique gain halo indicators make it clear when you have a good signal for recording. When the halos are green you have a good level, and when they turn red it means you need to turn the gain down

Large main monitor control
A large main monitor control knob keeps your volume levels right at your fingertips

Scarlett MixControl ultra-low-latency DSP mixer and router
Scarlett MixControl provides a DSP mixer with flexible routing capabilities, intuitive one-click presets, and lower than 1.4 ms latency

Powerful software bundle
Scarlett comes with Ableton Live Lite, the Scarlett Plug-in Suite, Novation Bass Station soft synth and Loopmasters sample content

Availability: Worldwide from June 2013

Pricing Information:
Scarlett 6i6 MSRP $299.99 / $249.99 at dealers
Scarlett 18i8 MSRP $449.99 / $349.99 at dealers

For more info, stay tuned HERE.

So now lets take one of the greats in mixing and combine it with the man who is, undoubtedly, the king of drum libraries and drum related software. Steven Slate is hitting home runs in just about every digital aspect of audio and is even making huge waves in the analog world as well. When Joe Barresi uses a hardware compressor you made along side his multimillion dollar spread, you know you’re doing right. Legend has it that Steven Slate was throwing one of his would famous parties at one of these conventions and met up with Chris, and after a very long (and probably one of the most informative) conversations about drums, this project came about.

So this pair joins forces and we get the Slate CLA Expansion pack. This isn’t just recycled Slate samples with CLA EQ and Compression. Chris wanted to do this right, so they both headed over to Ocean Studios to their world renown drum rooms to personally track these samples together. He incorporated his own personal preference of mics as well as mic placements to really dial in his signature drum sound. The results of all of this work give you 11 variations of kick, 12 variations of snares, and 5 toms. With each variation you get multiple articulations and mic placements all the way down to a print of Chris Lord-Alge’s famous Sony reverb unit. This review is using the package for Trigger.

Install was very easy. Simply download the pack and license file, drag them into your SSD Instruments folder, go into settings in trigger and browse the license file, and you’re good to go.

The Kicks:

The 11 variations of kicks all come from either a DW 22 or 24″ kick with either hard beater or soft beater, snares on or off, or a dry version of each. You get the kick in, kick out, subkick, Sony reverb, 2 rooms, and overhead. The mics he used to capture this are an EV RE-20, a Fet47, and an NS10 speaker for the subkick feed. Add in Ocean Way’s Neve board with 1081 Pres and you have a deadly combo for getting the punch to bring a kick out front in the mix.

The Snares:

They really pulled out the stops on the snares giving you a DW Maple, Ludwig Black Beauty, Ludwig Chrome Plated Steel, Pearl Reference Brass, Pearl Reference Maple, Pearl Steel Sensitone, Tama Bell Brass, and a custom made “Dong” snare. Each give you a choice of 2 Rooms, Top, Top B (which is an AKG 451 taped to the 57), Bottom, Overhead, and the Sony Reverb.

The Toms:

With the toms you get a gorgeous set of DW maple toms coming in sizes 10, 12, 14, 16, 18″ . The main mics used on these are Sennheiser 421′s. You get a Close, Mono, Overhead, and 2 Rooms. Strangely enough, no Sony Reverb shows up on the toms. I know this isn’t a necessarily widely used thing, but in some cases reverb on toms are just the trick.

Put it all together and you get:

Well, you get a variable onslaught of rhythmic audio that leads a track with power and dynamics. The drums seem to find a way to stand out, yet fit in just about every type of music you could throw at it. What would you expect from these two? I mean… they used Vintage C12′s, M49′s, U87′s for overheads and rooms. Combine that with a Neve console in tracking, THEN sent back to Chris’s Mix LA studios with his SSL and his arsenal of gear and you cannot go wrong. One of the great things about using this kit is not just that you get these great sounds with minimal effort; you actually can load up the presets they have created and see just how Chris combines aspects to make the sound he creates in each of his mixes. It’s a great learning tool in itself even though it was not intended as such. I initially started out using the presets that were included but quickly ended up taking aspects from each and making my own. The snares can be combined with each other and somehow seem to perfectly mold into one perfect sound. You don’t have to sit there for hours trying to find the exact combo to make everything fit. It just does it on its own. I literally grabbed random parts of different snares and threw them together on a whim without thinking and it still ended up in something very useful. There is no wrong way to use these samples.

I’ve personally tried to find something negative or constructive to say about this kit, but I just can’t find anything bad to say. As a reviewer I have to give the good and the bad, but in most cases with Slate’s releases, they’ve pretty much thought of everything.  My only complaint comes from something internally with Trigger, but not the expansion. The complaint is that I spend 60 percent of the time away from my home studio and have to switch back and forth from my laptop to computer. I have directed the instruments library in documents of each Mac, and have everything as close as one can get but I have to manually add the samples each time. This is an inconvenience at times and there needs to be a button that will automatically link the samples by looking at the parent directory. But, that is a Trigger issue.

I even went as far as to peruse multiple message boards to see if anyone had a valid complaint. I found one… sorta… and will address it now. Some of the people complained that it lacks diversity in application and most of the samples lack variety from sample to sample. Basically they call it a one trick pony and all of the snares have the same sound. My answer is, that very well may be the case, but when an engineer puts HIS name on it and stamp of approval, it will be HIS sound. Others would cite some of Chris’ work and say “I don’t hear this snare in the library” when actually there is a variation present in combining the samples given as well as EQ and Compression that will in fact get you close. Pepsi is not going to give you the exact combinations and measurements of ingredients to make Pepsi are they? So why should someone who makes his living off of his signature mix? If you feel that way, you are in fact lazy and delusional. Would you do it? I doubt it. I personally feel Steven Slate and Chris Lord-Alge did more than their fair share and went above and beyond for this project.

So in summary I feel this pack is a home run. You get a solid kit of drums that can be used in any combination to get a very close CLA drum mix. The drums stay right in front with very little external processing but do not crowd up a mix. Perfection has become expected out most musical styles and most of us do not have the budget or equipment to get huge drum sounds. Steven Slate has brought that to you in spades.

Everything Recording Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Price at time of review:
For Trigger: $149
For SSD4: $149
For both: $199
For more info and to purchase, visit Steven Slate’s website HERE

Today Toontrack Music released a new EZX expansion focusing on capturing the organic, warm, intimate and ambient sound characteristic of the indie folk genre. The EZX, aptly titled the Indie Folk EZX, was recorded at the Avast! Recording Co. in Seattle, home to bands such as Fleet Foxes, The Shins and Band Of Horses. It comes with three complete vintage kits: a 1960s Gretsch Round Badge sampled with both sticks and mallets, a Ludwig from the 1950s as well as a Slingerland Rolling Bomber kit dating back to the 1940s. Also included are two tambourines, a hi-hat mounted tambourine jingle, an extra kick and snare as well as a 28″ floor tom.

• Three (3) complete kits
• Two EZXs in one! Each kit is available in two variations: a standard multi-mic mix and a classic four-mic mix
• Custom drums from the 1940s to the 1960s
• Default kit sampled with both drumsticks and mallets
• Recorded at Avast! Recording Co. in Seattle, WA
• Included MIDI performed by sampling drummer Stephen Belans

So arm your vocal track with an ungodly amount of reverb and put on the Indie Folk Drums.
Price: $89

To purchase and for more info, click HERE. And YES! I will be buying this even though I just made fun of hipsters. It’s not the product I hate, it’s the lifestyle.

 John Perry knows a thing or two about vocals. He sang with The Beatles on Hey Jude, and as a support singer, he has worked with Kiki Dee and Elton John, Roger Daltry of The Who, Leo Sayer, Elkie Brooks, Al Stewart, and many others. He knows that everything from mic placement to reverb settings can make or break the perfect vocal take. To get the best results, John likes to work with Nectar and Nectar Elements.

He now shares his knowlegde about best practices for getting the most out of your vocals. The 8 part Vocal Master Class at http://izotope.com/products/audio/nectar/protips.asp is the latest addition to iZotope’s Pro Tips.

For more info on Nectar and Nectar Elements, click HERE.
For the video master class, click HERE.

Satin is a tape simulation plug-in that includes tape delay and true flanging. Under-the-hood features: record / playback head calibration, tape coating selection, NR-encoding/decoding and more. Satin created such a buzz during the show that we can’t wait to release it!

Satin will arrive in May (we hope) for VST2, VST3, AU (AAX tba), price about USD 129

Bazille

Many of you will already know the alpha version of Bazille, a spin-off from our long-term project “Berlin Modular”. It’s been a few years already, so its about time we finished the job! For those who didn’t know, Bazille is a large modular synth with FM, PD and Fractal Resonance built into each oscillator:

- Unique FM / PD based modular synthesizer, audio-rate modulation
- Quality effects and many other features not available in the alpha version
- ETA is June, price approximately USD 149

For more info on this exciting news, stay tuned HERE.