I’ve never called my recording and mixing home environment a studio, not even a home studio, I’m too aware of what a real studio is. However, it’s time to rebuild my recording and mixing home environment. I just moved to a new place and I figured that since I’m about to rebuild and redecorate my entire work position I can design it however I want.

The freedom! You see, dear reader, I figured since I’m moving to a new place I figure I can make it anyway I want. Thus I give you a completely new series of articles. I’ll try to let you in on most of my decisions regarding the purchases and the construction of my home spot. For this post we’ll discuss the premisses. You see, this time I really wanted to create a plan and create my working environment based on my actual needs.

Here’s a list I wrote that I fell expresses some important needs my new spot should fill. As you might notice, it’s not so much about gear, for good reasons.

Noise free – or as much as possible. I’m sick of noise. I can’t stand to hear it when I make music.
Good acoustics – this is essential.
Organic – this is vague, but I need to feel I’m not sitting in a 21st century apartment.
An extraordinary control surface – mixer or controller. What I’ve noticed is that the general tasks are the problems, such as EQ and compression. I need great controls for this, whether it is 24 actual EQ’s or an excellent control surface controlling my plug-ins.
Good cabling – this ranges from keeping cables invisible (I hate seeing them!) to not having to switch cables.
Good place to sit – a good chair is essential! Don’t laugh – it is! If I’m gonna work there I’m not interested in sitting in a poor position for an entire day.
Good monitoring – sorry gearslutz, I’m not talking sound, I’m talking about the ability to switch between at least four different monitors with the touch of a button.
An excellent FX unit – I’m thinking a modular system here, or at least the capabilities of one. I don’t care if the processing happens in the digital realm as long as I have analog controls (i.e. a good control surface).
Real reverb possibilities – I’m still dissatisfied with the software reverbs, I need to bring my tracks and reverb them old school – with a speaker, mic and a recorder.
Different power-on stations – one of the things you rarely think about. Separate power on buttons for different parts of the place.
A remote for recording – it’s easier this way if you don’t have an assistant.
The possibility to stream music to the entire house – useful for checking mixes and for pleasure.
More light – light is life, and power.
Possibility to mic the entire room – I might ditch this idea, I guess it depends on the room.

This is what I came up with off the top of my head, maybe a couple of new things will pop up while I’m planning. Anyway, this is just part one, I’ll keep you updated on what’s going on. In the meantime, feel free to give me suggestions!

More info at Vienna Symphonic Library

Also, their LE to Native offer has been extended.

It’s a HP/LP filter with joystick control (up/down is for HP and left/right is for LP) making it super fast to tweak liberal filter settings. There are regular knobs as well if you prefer those. It’s working fine here, except that the preset buttons acts a bit funky on my controller.

You can grab it here

Wave Arts has presented a new saturation plug-in, simply called Tube Saturator, claiming it’s “the world’s most accurate real time tube amp plug-in”. I’m skeptic, and a little interested.

From Wave Arts:

Unlike other tube simulators, which use radically simplified models, Tube Saturator uses state of the art circuit simulation technology to capture every nuance of an analog circuit. With circuit simulation, the analog schematic completely defines the signal processing. The schematic is converted into a system of non-linear differential equations which is solved at each sampling period, in realtime. That’s mathematical talk for “it sounds exactly like the analog circuit”.

I’ll bite. Other tube simulators do not use “radically simplified models”, while many probably do, this does not mean everyone does. For instance, I believe SPL with their TwinTube by no means do this. Softube, which don’t have a pure tube saturator only products with tube emulations included, most certainly don’t. As for older plug-ins, such as DUY Valve or Antares Tube, I don’t know. Maybe they do or maybe they don’t.

The circuit simulation technology is extremely CPU intensive, and hence we are only able to simulate very simple circuits. Tube Saturator is in fact a basic circuit consisting of a Baxandall type three-band EQ feeding two 12AX7 triode preamp stages. It’s similar to preamp stages you’d find in a guitar amp, but it is by no means a complete guitar amplifier model, that would be way too expensive to simulate even with today’s fast CPUs. However, it is extremely accurate, and hence you can get the same distortion and tonal characteristics that you’d expect from a real tube preamp.

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Increasing the Drive control increases the (digital) input gain while decreasing the (digital) output gain, so you can easily adjust distortion levels. The FAT switch changes the bias circuit of the first preamp stage to increase gain.

From the description, it sounds like it will be most interesting on signals where you want an apparent distortion, even if Wave Arts states you can use it for “a little warmth”. As I said, looks interesting. Would especially be interested in seeing how well it fares against SPL TwinTube.

Wave Arts

Here’s the news…

From Waves:

Snow Leopard Support
Windows 7 Support (32-bit)
New VST3 Features in Cubase, Nuendo & Studio One
Side-chain support
Near-zero scan time on Mac & reduced scan time on PC
Real plug-in parameter units displayed in automation lanes
Plug-in menus sorted into categories

Bonus Plug-ins

• PuigTec EQP-1A & PuigTec MEQ-5 added to Platinum and Diamond
• V-Comp added to Diamond
• Vocal Rider added to Mercury

ICON Meter Support for Additional Plug-ins

• C1 Parametric Compander
• DeEsser
• Doubler
• L1 Ultramaximizer
• Q10 Equalizer
• Q-Clone
• Renaissance Axx
• Renaissance Compressor
• Renaissance Equalizer
• Renaissance Reverb
• Renaissance Vox
• S1 Stereo Imager
• TrueVerb

Improvements and Bug Fixes

• Reduced memory consumption during plug-in scan.
• Windows Vista and Windows 7 UAC (User Account Control) compliance.
• New Pro Tools DAE preference: Plug-in parameter single-click text entry.
• Fixed bug: In Pro Tools, pressing keys on the keyboard will no longer erase previously written Automation in Latch or Touch mode.
• Fixed bug: In Pro Tools, automation is no longer overwritten on second pass while using latch with latch prime enabled.
• Fixed bug: In Waves SoundShifter, AudioSuite processing of fragmented regions is now distortion-free.

V7 is available free to all Waves products covered by Waves Update Plan.

Waves

Mastering Pack consists of:

• Solera – wicked dynamic tool
• Epure – killer clean EQ
• Pure Limiter – eh… pure limiter…!

More about the Mastering Pack at Flux’s website

Modartt has announced the release of an “advanced version” of Pianoteq, called Pianoteq Pro, featuring note per note adjustment for physical parameters, among other things. The model is also improved, supposedly making the sound more realistic. This improvement is also included in the regular Pianoteq, now called Pianoteq Standard, with the release of version 3.5.

From the Modartt press release:

For the first time in the history of pianos, complete control of physical parameters of the piano is made available to the user. In the real world, reshaping a soundboard would require several weeks of work in the factory. With Pianoteq Pro, you have a new soundboard only one mouse click away!

Pianoteq Pro features the note per note adjustment for physical parameters. No less than 22 parameters offer this full control, such as tuning, unison width, hammer hardness, strike point, string length, spectrum profile, soundboard impedance, damper position… In fact there are thousands since each overtone of each note can be controlled separately with the spectrum profile parameter!

While I think that most people looking for a new piano VI simply wants something that sounds like a grand piano, I must say that this sounds like a milestone in piano emulation. Maybe emulation is the wrong word, because it’s not likely that note per note adjustments would be very common in the real world on pianos most people want emulations of. Who cares? Imagine the possibilities!

Another revolution in the history of piano manufacturing: the instrument creators can “duplicate” and share their creations, an impossible task to achieve with acoustic pianos! All instruments created with Pianoteq Pro can be loaded in Pianoteq Standard and used by the whole Pianoteq community.

Not exactly a revolution in my book, but the thought of sharing is at least in tune with the times. Sounds like a good idea. Hopefully the community is large enough, and sharing enough.

The following technical improvements come with Pianoteq Pro, and will also benefit
Pianoteq Standard 3.5 upgrade:

• Richer soundboard model providing longer beautiful singing notes,
• Extremely realistic sympathetic resonances model, with a Duplex scale that can now be
controlled separately by the user. The duplex scale resonance is issued from the un­
damped string parts located between tuning pins and frame and between bridge and
frame. This invention was patented in 1872 by Steinway, who was in relationship with the
physicist Hermann von Helmholtz, and enriches the harmonic content of the notes,
• Improved damper model, particularly noticeable in the bass when using partial pedals,
and also with keyboards sending variable key release velocity,
• Hammer strike point and damper position now available to the user,
• Modification of the quadratic model, particularly noticeable in fortissimo,
• User modifiable velocity curves for the sustain pedal and note release velocity,
• Adjustable playback speed of the MIDI player in the standalone version.

I’m interested in hearing how much the sound has been improved. Modartt claims “vastly”, which to me would mean a great sound. Pianoteq 3 appeared to me to sound a lot better than version 2. Pianoteq Pro users will also have the option of using sample rates up to 192 kHz by the way.

Pianoteq Pro is sold for 399 €. Pianoteq customers can upgrade from Pianoteq Standard to
Pianoteq Pro for 150 €. The upgrade from Pianoteq 3.0 to 3.5 is free for all Pianoteq customers.

Modartt

So I got the Trilian press release and figured I might as well post it as well for the few folks who prefer reading over watching videos.

From the Spectrasonics press release:

Trilian is designed from the ground up to be the most versatile bass virtual instrument available today with a new level of expressive, real-time performance for acoustic and electric basses – plus cutting-edge synth bass tones with powerful editing and extraordinary sound quality. Trilian is the successor to Spectrasonics’ award-winning Trilogy bass instrument, with the new instrument offering a deeper control of musical expression and much greater flexibility of sound shaping. Trilian’s 34GB library is 10-times the size of Trilogy and features all new acoustic, electric and synth basses. With its comprehensive design, Trilian brings many different types of bass together into one extraordinary-sounding virtual instrument. Trilian has an MSRP of $299 US and €229 Euro. An upgrade for all Trilogy customers is available from the online Spectrasonics Techshop.

Powered by next generation STEAM Engine technology, Trilian is the first instrument to feature core library integration with Spectrasonics flagship Omnisphere(r) synthesizer – allowing Trilian’s sounds to be used within the Omnisphere environment for further sound design and keyboard/bass splits.

“At Spectrasonics, we’ve always loved Bass sounds.” notes Eric Persing, Founder and Creative Director. “When we started 15 years ago, our very first product was the best-selling Bass Legends sample library. Then in 2002, we introduced Trilogy – the world’s first Bass Virtual Instrument. Today, we are very pleased to release Trilian, which represents a whole new generation of our Bass development. Trilian is built on the STEAM Engine that powers Omnisphere, which has allowed us to create the most expressive and flexible Bass module we’ve ever made.”

PERFORMANCE
The new acoustic and electric basses in Trilian are sampled at an extremely high level of detail. The combination of the software’s intuitive, automatic selection of legato and release articulations as the user plays – and the extensive ‘Round-Robin’ variations introduced for natural sounding bass lines with repeated notes – create a more dynamic and subtle playing experience. Newly developed multisampled dynamic slides let notes realistically slide from one to another. Each of the new basses feature multi-channel mixing between phase-locked microphone/amplifier and direct outputs of each bass.

BASS INSTRUMENTS
Over sixty different 4, 5, 6 and 8 string Electric basses are presented in fingered, picked, fretless, slapped, tapped, and muted technique variations – providing a huge variety of sounds for any musical genre. Highlights of the new Electric Basses include a Music Man(tm) 5-string Studio Bass, Chapman Stick(r), Lakland(tm) Rock P-Bass, Clean Fender(r) Jazz Bass, a Hardcore Rock Bass, a Retro 1960’s Epiphone(r) Viola Bass and much more.

Trilian’s stunning new Acoustic Bass is the most detailed instrument Spectrasonics has ever released, with 4 audio channels and over 21,000 samples to create this single instrument! All this combined with Trilian’s high-resolution streaming of the sounds puts a depth of realism into performances that is truly inspiring.

SOUND CREATION
For Synth sounds, Trilian features newly-developed 4-Pole “Juicy” and “Power” Filter algorithms with oscillating resonance that are ideal for electronic bass. Hundreds of synth soundsources were created using over 30 of the most exotic and coveted hardware synthesizers – from the original Moog(r) Taurus Pedals to the latest boutique analog modular synthesizers. A multitude of extremely powerful editing controls are available for sound design – including the “FlexMod” modulation system, Dual Filters with more than 19 filter types, 6 multistage looping envelopes, 6 full-featured LFOs, dual morphing modulation, modulatable FX racks and much more.

Trilian’s FX racks include all of the renowned FX processors from Omnisphere and Stylus RMX – including a wide variety of amp and speaker models, distortions, dynamics processors, equalizers, chorus, phasers, flangers, delays, reverbs, unique specialty FX and more.

LEGACY
As Spectrasonics’ next-generation bass instrument, Trilian includes enhanced, remastered versions of Trilogy’s core library – taking it to a new level of sound and expression. As a special bonus, Spectrasonics’ original “Bass Legends” multisamples have also been remastered and included in the Trilian library, featuring Marcus Miller, John Patitucci, and Abraham Laboriel (bass sounds which some hardware synth users may remember from popular Roland Xpansion boards and the classic MBD-1 rack bass module).

INTEGRATION
Trilian is the first virtual instrument to feature core library integration with Spectrasonics award-winning, flagship Omnisphere synthesizer. Trilian’s complete sound library can be opened within Omnisphere for further synthesis and expanded performance possibilities.

Trilian’s Arpeggiator features the “Groove Lock” technology Spectrasonics pioneered in Omnisphere and Stylus RMX’s Time Designer – which means that with a simple drag and drop action, the feel of bass patterns created with Trilian’s Arpeggiator can be perfectly synchronized between all three of Spectrasonics instruments.

INTERFACE
The new Custom Controls interface on the Main page of each patch brings out the most useful and interesting sound modification controls for that specific patch, and a single control can even modify numerous parameters to create unique FX. The Custom Controls are all MIDI Learnable, Automatable and users can create their own configurations of Custom Controls.

COMPATIBILITY
Trilian is cross-platform compatible with Apple Macintosh OS X 10.4.9 and higher as a native Universal Binary for Intel-Macs and Macintosh G5, and also with Microsoft Windows 7/Vista and XP SP2 and later. 32-bit Audio Units, VST, and RTAS plug-in formats are supported for compatibility with all major host software. Trilian is currently available with 64-bit native support on Windows, and 64-bit native Mac OSX support is in development.

Trilian is now shipping, and the MSRP is $299US and €229Euro. All Trilogy customers can upgrade to Trilian for $99US. There is also a special FREE upgrade offer for original Trilogy customers on the Intel-Mac platform and for original customers who purchased Trilogy in 2009. Upgrades are available exclusively through the Spectrasonics online Techshop.

Visit the Spectrasonics website for exact system requirements, upgrade info and more detailed information about Trilian: http://www.spectrasonics.net/instruments/trilian.php

Hi-Definition Videos with Eric Persing demonstrating Trilian can be viewed at:
http://www.spectrasonics.net/instruments/trilian_videos.php

Highlights of Trilian:

• Trilian(r) is the long-awaited successor to the award-winning Trilogy software plug-in

• Vast 34GB Core Library with a huge variety of Bass sounds for all types of music production

• Electric Basses include all types of techniques: Fingered, Picked, Fretless, Slapped, Tapped, Muted

• Omnisphere library integration: use any of the Trilian sounds inside Omnisphere
(Omnisphere version 1.1 or higher required for Trilian library integration)

• Designed for expressive, real-time performance – Trilian’s new sounds feature:
Intuitive, automatic selection of legato and release articulations
Extensive ‘Round-Robin’ articulations for natural sounding bass lines with repeated notes
Multisampled dynamic slides – realistically slide from one note to another
Multi-channel mixing between Microphone/Amplifier and Direct outputs of each bass

• Arpeggiator with Groove Lock(tm) for instant bass line syncing to any RMX groove or MIDI file

• Integrated FX racks, including all 32 effects from Omnisphere

• High Definition streaming sample playback STEAM engine technology

• 8-part multitimbrality allows multiple articulations in a single plug-in – with instant, seamless key-switching

• Live/Stack Modes allow user configurable key/velocity/controller articulation mapping and switching

• Custom Controls page for rapid editing of essential controls and interface customization per patch

• State of the art Browser with Searching, Attributes/Tags, Images

• Edit page offers powerful sound manipulation features: dual filters, advanced envelopes and full modulation

• Expandable sound architecture allows user customizable patches and new Bass sounds

• BONUS: Includes classic ‘Bass Legends’ multisamples – featuring Abraham Laboriel, John Patitucci & Marcus Miller

Spectrasonics