Distributed in 94 countries, Mix is the world's leading magazine for the professional recording and sound production technology industry. Mix covers a wide range of topics including: recording, live sound and production, broadcast production, audio for film and video, and music technology.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN, JANUARY 28, 2008 — Auralex Acoustics, Inc., the industry leader in innovative sound control solutions, provided acoustical treatments for Grammy-nominated engineer and mixer, Mark Williams‘ personal editing and mixing space.
Williams installed six pArtScience SpaceCouplers with two one-inch layers of SonoFiber onto varied sections of the drop ceiling of some rented office space, which was originally just used to store his personal equipment between projects. As an independent producer/engineer and mixer, Williams has worked all over the Eastern half of the US, recording and mixing in many different studios and mobile trucks. Due to shriveling budgets throughout the industry, Williams began to use that space for editing, vocal tweaking, etc. When he began utilizing the room to mix some tightly budgeted projects, he recognized the need for more effective acoustical treatments with the SpaceCouplers.
“The improvement in low frequency definition was immediate and so startling that I haven‘t stopped telling people about it,” stated Williams. “The Auralex SpaceCouplers are excellent devices and have really helped make my small room very useful. One of the great challenges for an engineer is to make mixes translate from the control room to the real world and Auralex‘s products help me achieve this.”
Designed by Russ Berger for Auralex Acoustics, the SpaceCoupler optimizes acoustical environments for a wide range of performance and recording styles. By providing an acoustical boundary interaction between loosely coupled spaces, the SpaceCoupler generates a low level reverberant tail to create a full, well-developed sound, even in small footprint spaces. Auralex‘s SonoFiber is a 1” thick charcoal gray natural fiber acoustic absorptive and is the perfect solution for those budget-conscious projects requiring a Class A fire rating.
“I was faced with a giant bass blob that I assumed was unavoidable in such a small space,” continued Williams. “I finally got Auralex‘s SpaceCouplers installed and was amazed to find the low end in my room hugely improved to the point that I have much more confidence in the mixes I can make there. I expected an improvement, but this is way beyond what I had hoped to achieve.”
About Auralex Acoustics, Inc.
Located in Indianapolis, Auralex Acoustics was founded in 1977 with a mission to provide top-performing acoustical treatment products at the best value. Since then, thousands of satisfied Auralex customers have experienced improved acoustics, expert advice and exceptional customer service. Auralex products enjoy widespread use among prominent artists, producers, engineers, corporations, celebrities and government agencies.
Auralex Acoustics has become the industry leader in innovative sound control solutions and continues to enjoy rapid growth through an international network of authorized dealers. Visit the Auralex web page at www.auralex.com. Auralex can be reached via email at auralexinfo@auralex.com or by calling 1.800.959.3343.
Mastering Engineers Nominated for Work with Foo Fighters and Herbie Hancock
Pictured (L-R) are Bernie Grundman and Brian “Big Bass” Gardner. Photo by David Goggin.
January, 2008 - It‘s rare for two mastering engineers from the same mastering studio to be Grammy®-nominated for mastering the Album of the Year, but Bernie Grundman Mastering has achieved just that.
Brian “Big Bass” Gardner is nominated for mastering “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace,” Foo Fighters. Gil Norton produced the album with engineer/mixers Adrian Bushby & Rich Costey for Roswell/RCA Records.
Bernie Grundman is nominated for “River: The Joni Letters,” Herbie Hancock, Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones, Joni Mitchell, Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza & Tina Turner, featured artists. Herbie Hancock & Larry Klein share producer credits, Helik Hadar engineer/mixer, for Verve Records.
The 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on Feb. 10, 2008, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8 - 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).
Bernie Grundman Mastering, responsible for a consistently large percentage of chart recordings, was launched in 1984, following Grundman‘s 15-year tenure with A&M Studios. In 1997, Grundman opened his Tokyo mastering studios and in 1998 relocated to expanded facilities in Hollywood.
ANAHEIM, CA — EASTWEST, leader in soundware development and distribution, is revolutionizing the industry with its preview of Quantum Leap Forbidden Planet, a virtual sample-based synth collection of more than 1,000 cutting-edge presets which allows users to combine, morph, process and modulate sample-based sounds in any way they desire. Forbidden Planet was previewed at NAMM 2008.
Geared towards film, TV and game composers as well as hard-driving electronica, gothic punk, industrial and ambient composers, Forbidden Planet will “wow” composers with sounds that jump out of their speakers, and ease-of-use that will quickly make it an industry favorite. Forbidden Planet gives users the best of both the analog and digital worlds. The collection offers more than 1000 presets that are based on sampled analog waves, modulators and sampled filters recorded through a custom Neve 8078 console and vintage Fairchild 670 compressors. For added variety and flexibility, Forbidden Planet offers parallel programs using the unprocessed analog waves and all of the digital filters, modulators and fx. Additional presets are provided by Troels Folmann and other leading sound designers.
Using the collection‘s new convolution technology, Q-FusionTM, users can create unique sonic combinations such as a very detailed electric cello that is modulated by an electrical disturbance or a theremin that morphs into an ethnic vocalist. Forbidden Planet also features Riptide™, a cutting-edge wave sequencer that incorporates real acoustic waveforms, unusual custom sound design elements, as well as sampled analog waveforms. The 3-dimensional audio image can be controlled using the collection‘s Q-Space™ function. Musicians can expand their sound options by selecting the type of analog filter model used.
The collection also provides users with a comprehensive set of built-in multi-effects including the new “Déjà Vu™” effects processor. “Déjà Vu” is a self-contained multi-fx sampling engine that gives musicians access to imaginative, sampled fx chains such as demonic effects and processors like tuned feedback, ring modulation and dozens of psychotic effects. To control rhythmic, glitched and melodic waveforms, Forbidden Planet also comes equipped with an industry leading time and pitch machine.
“Forbidden Planet goes way beyond sample sounds - it is a cutting-edge creative tool,” says Quantum Leap producer Nick Phoenix. “With no other collection can a user have alien vocal phrases echoing inside of a giant bronze bell. The combination options are endless.”
ANAHEIM, CA — Continuously developing products which give its users access to the most powerful and accurately recorded sounds available, EASTWEST has expanded upon its popular Quantum Leap Colossus collection by introducing Quantum Leap Goliath. Ideal for composers and songwriters, Quantum Leap Goliath is a complete collection of quality instruments and sounds from the multi-award winning EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP production team, spanning various genres and musical styles all with the company‘s new PLAY sample engine. Quantum Leap Goliath made its debut at NAMM 2008.
Quantum Leap Goliath encompasses the entire Colossus collection plus 8 Gigabytes of new content. With Goliath, users will now have more than 180 high-quality instruments and more than 600 patches including drums and percussion, guitars, basses, acoustic and electric pianos, keyboards and mallets, pop brass, orchestral instruments, choirs and vocals, ethnic instruments, new age ensembles, morphing atmospheres, synth basses, synth leads, and synth pads–all at their disposal. As part of the additional content, Goliath features the full collections of sounds from the EW/PMI Bösendorfer 290 Piano collection.
“Goliath was created to provide users with a comprehensive composing toolkit along with the added power and speed of the PLAY sample engine,” says Quantum Leap Producer Nick Phoenix. “Colossus‘ versatility and ease of use has made it an industry favorite and winner of “Virtual Instrument of the Year.” Goliath expands upon Colossus‘ reputation while incorporating the future of computer music creation by providing access to 64-bit support, enabling users to utilize all of the system RAM they have installed, and to load many more instruments than was previously possible.”
Goliath comes equipped with EASTWEST‘s PLAY sample engine as a standard feature.
In addition to purchasing the entire Goliath collection, current Colossus owners have the option to purchase an upgrade (customers will need to submit Colossus serial number at the time of purchase in order to receive the upgrade). This gives current users the access to the new content of Goliath along with the added power of PLAY at a discounted rate.
The full version of Quantum Leap Goliath carries an MSRP of $495.00 and the upgrade an MSRP of $149.00.
ANAHEIM, CA — Music, TV, film and game composers using Native Instruments‘ Kompakt/Kontakt software now have access to over 130 Gigabytes of EASTWEST‘s high quality virtual instruments in one package with the Complete Composers Collection for Kompakt/Kontakt. The company released the Complete Composers Collection at NAMM 2008.
The EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP Complete Composers Collection features seven of the company‘s most popular virtual instrument collections along with Native Instruments‘ Kompakt player (Kontakt 2.2 or higher is required for Intel Macs, not included). Virtual instrument libraries featured in Complete Composers Collection include:
EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP Symphonic Orchestra Gold Complete: (Gold Edition and Gold Pro Expansion (Gold PRO XP): recorded in a 125 million dollar concert hall by Grammy winning classical recording engineer Prof. Keith O. Johnson, this virtual instrument eclipses all others with the highest level of fidelity and realism. Beyond the orchestra’s phenomenal recording quality is its ability to breathe life into the virtual world, creating a real space and filling it with sound.
EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP Symphonic Choirs: imagine typing words into your computer, in any language, and hearing a world class Symphonic Choir sing those words in any key(s) you play “live” on your keyboard controller! Well imagine no more, that’s exactly what this revolutionary “award-winning” virtual instrument does. In addition, this is the first 24-bit Choir virtual instrument to include three simultaneous stereo mic setups (close, stage and hall), so users can mix any combination of mic positions to control ambience.
QUANTUM LEAP Colossus: a massive 32 Gigabyte (not Megabyte) virtual instrument, that includes 160 high quality instruments, and covers all of the basic musical genres, the way a keyboard workstation attempts to, except COLOSSUS offers much higher quality instruments and dynamics than any keyboard available today.
QUANTUM LEAP Ra: one of the largest and most detailed collections of ethnic instruments from six areas of the world: Africa, Americas and Australia; Europe, Far East, Middle East and the Turkish Empire; and India. Every instrument and ensemble was sampled extensively so that the character of each instrument is preserved.
QUANTUM LEAP Stormdrum: a massive 6 Gigabyte collection of loops and multi-samples from three world-class percussionists. The content is classic film score stuff: big fat booming drums, smaller ethnic hand percussion, enough metallic hits to make a steelworker feel at home, and a range of acoustic kits.
EASTWEST Percussive Adventures 2: the sequel to the multi-award winning Percussive Adventures. Designed for film, TV, game and music composers, Percussive Adventures 2 goes further than PA1 with lengthy and evolving rhythmic terrains. All edited into loop segments, alternate mixes and completely isolated layers.
EASTWEST/PMI Bösendorfer 290: this pristine piano library has finally captured all of the beauty of this piano. Up to 16 velocity layers, true release samples, true repedalling and two different microphone positions (close and ambient) for ultimate ambience control.
“With the Complete Composers Collection, you can use the included Native Instrument‘s Kompakt player, or import the collections into Kontakt, while being able to experience the superior sonic quality of EASTWEST products,” says EASTWEST Founder and Producer Doug Rogers. “Whether you‘re a composing novice or veteran, our Complete Composers Collection is the most affordable way to round out your sound collection.”
The EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP Complete Composers Collection retails for $1,195.
ANAHEIM, CA– Musicians now have a professional female soprano opera singer at their fingertips with Zero-G‘s Vocaloid Prima. EASTWEST, exclusive U.S. distributor of Zero-G products, featured Vocaloid Prima at NAMM 2008.
Powered by Yamaha‘s new VOCALOID2 Singing Synthesis technology, Vocaloid Prima is a virtual female vocalist presented with unprecedented detail and realism. Whether it’s soaring leads, harmonies or backing vocals, Prima can be programmed to sing any word a user requires. Sounds from Vocaloid Prima can be easily modified and shaped in many ways, offering users the freedom to be adventurous with their vocal choices.
Along with the endless word, syllable or phoneme combinations, Vocaloid Prima is able to spread any sustained vowel or voiced consonant across as many notes as the arrangement requires–with perfect legato. Users also have the ability to select from different natural vibrato types to be added to any note or notes, as well as control the time-position and amount of vibrato. For a performance that‘s true to life, users can control the timing of each note (precise position/length), volume, attack, crescendo or diminuendo, pitch bend (amount, and positionable in time), glide (portamento), resonance (frequency/bandwidth/amplitude), harmonics, noise, brightness, clearness and gender factor.
“Vocaloid Prima, when used in conjunction with Yamaha‘s VOCALOID2 Singing Synthesis technology, offers musicians and composers the most realistic performance possible,” says EASTWEST President and Founder Doug Rogers. “The collection is feature-rich, allowing the vocals to be adapted to a variety of projects.”
ANAHEIM, CA — EASTWEST (www.soundsonline.com), the industry leader in soundware development and distribution, proudly announces that Quantum Leap SD2 - The Next Generation virtual instrument, the sequel to Stormdrum is now shipping. EASTWEST featured Quantum Leap SD2 - The Next Generation at NAMM 2008.
“The original Stormdrum was the most successful acoustic percussion library ever released,” states Quantum Leap producer Nick Phoenix. “SD2 - The Next Generation, is a completely new and improved concept that eclipses the original, and is destined to become the new standard for years to come”
Packed with over 12 GBs of percussion, SD2 - The Next Generation draws from the secret collections of three world-class percussionists, offering some of the most amazing multi-sampled percussion imaginable.
For the maximum customization without sound degradation, SD2 - The Next Generation delivers MIDI performances created with Roland V-Drums and Zendrum percussion controllers. This allows the user to change anything, with absolutely no effect to sound quality. MIDI performances are pre-mixed, panned and produced for quick use.
All recordings were made with vintage Neumann microphones in the famous EASTWEST STUDIO 1, providing that unmistakable Hollywood soundstage vibe and a sound far beyond any other commercial percussion library. Superior reverb impulses are included, recorded by Prof. Keith O. Johnson and Nick Phoenix.
Key sounds featured in SD2 - The Next Generation include: • Tibetan, Indian and Chinese bells and gongs
• bowed gongs and bowls
• Indonesian hand drums
• Anklung, Udu, and Chinese bowl drums
• 5-foot O Daiko.
SD2 - The Next Generation also features typical drums like congas and bongos, finally recorded in a way that does the instruments justice.
Additionally, SD2 - The Next Generation provides access to 100 film score-oriented MIDI performances, each with dozens of variations, intros and endings ranging from bombastic to hypnotic. The SD2 software allows for millions of variations of each MIDI performance and enables users to change sequence tempo, enhance tone, add effects, alter dynamics, create unique rhythms, and mute or replace specific sounds. This feature can be a real timesaver, allowing composers to achieve a full Hollywood sound without scrolling through their instrument collections, selecting instruments to create a similar end result.
A huge collection of original sound design percussion includes:
• Earthquake Ensemble
• Devil Chasers
• Whale Drum
• An 80-foot metal bridge
• Giant Log Drums
• Godzilla Toms
• Brushed Percussion
• The biggest floor tom on earth, specifically built for this project by Remo.
Quantum Leap SD2 - The Next Generation carries a MSRP of $495.
ANAHEIM, CA — After more than a year of meticulous recording by leading producer Chris Hein, Best Service a leading developer and distributor of soundware products introduces Chris Hein Bass. EASTWEST, exclusive U.S. distributor of Best Service products, featured the collection at NAMM 2008.
Chris Hein Bass presents 12.7 GB of exceptional bass sounds, some of which feature the powerful tones of a Music Man StingRay electric-bass–both picked and slapped; a LeFay fretless bass as well as the sounds of a unique upright bass. For a playing style that will fit any musical genre, the upright bass is played with three different sets of strings: steel-strings for the classic jazz sound; nylon-strings for a high-fidelity sound and gut-strings for that old-school swing sound of the 40‘s.
Chris Hein Bass‘ Kontakt 2 Player Audio Engine offers users the opportunity to create bass sounds that surpass the options a real bass can provide. The collection supplies users with 112 MIDI-controllable features including the groundbreaking repetition-hotkeys, fall-control, keys-vibrato, bridge/center playing, pickup micro-blending, expression-samples, pinch-harmonics, automatic-mode, slide-mode, chord-mode and more. To incorporate more sound variations to the natural, basic bass instruments, Chris Hein Bass also includes an IK Multimedia Ampeg SVX Uno bass-amp plug-in.
“For the first time, all the nuances and playing techniques of the bass are implemented into one virtual instrument collection,” says Doug Rogers, founder and CEO of EASTWEST. “The sonic fidelity and variety that Chris Hein Bass presents makes it a must for any composer‘s sound collection.”
The collection retails for $449.95 and is available in the following formats: PC: VST 2.0, RTAS, and stand-alone; Mac: AU, VST 2.0, RTAS, and stand-alone.
ANAHEIM, CA– EASTWEST has given one of its most popular collections, the EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP Symphonic Orchestra, a turbo boost by upgrading the line (Platinum and Gold) to the company‘s PLAY 64-bit sampling engine. PLAY-upgraded versions of Symphonic Orchestra were introduced at NAMM 2008.
Recorded in a state-of-the-art concert hall by Grammy-winning classical recording engineer Prof. Keith O. Johnson, the EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP Symphonic Orchestra stands out among sound libraries for its quality. To achieve the feel of a live concert hall performance, EASTWEST recorded each instrument and section with three mic positions, close, stage (conductor‘s position) and hall. By selecting different mic positions, users can mix these sounds together to create any kind of natural ambience their project requires. This eliminates the need for adding artificial reverb which further degrades the sonic quality of a composition.
“EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP Symphonic Orchestra has already come out on top in a recent roundup of orchestral collections for its level of warmth and detail. Now with the incorporation of PLAY, users of the upgraded EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP Symphonic Orchestra will experience the benefits of the new sample engine immediately,” says EASTWEST Founder and Producer Doug Rogers. “With the typical orchestral composition encompassing a large amount of instruments, EASTWEST‘s PLAY software will streamline the process by allowing many more instruments to be loaded at one time than with previous systems.”
EASTWEST‘s PLAY sample engine, the only multi-platform 64-bit (with 32-bit compatibility) sampling engine, is a fully integrated solution for the most demanding production requirements. In addition to 64-bit support, the PLAY sample engine comes equipped with EASTWEST‘s built-in network control which allows users to load their instruments onto other computers that are managed by the host computer. KVR switching or trips between multiple computers is no longer required when loading projects. PLAY makes selecting instruments user-friendly with a browser that displays all instruments available and a “favorites” option which groups together instruments used most frequently for easy access.
ANAHEIM, CA — Zero-G/XFONIC has tapped the raw sonic power of VSTi analog synths for its latest collection Phaedra. EASTWEST, exclusive U.S. distributor of Zero-G, introduced the collection at NAMM 2008.
The culmination of a three-year project by producer/composer Sam Spacey, Phaedra offers users with one of the most complete virtual analog synthesizers ever created — including over 4 gigabytes of both samples and patches — made specifically with composers in mind. Constructed with the same attention to detail as a huge orchestral sample library, each of the collection‘s 20,000 samples has been edited and looped by hand. To give users access to the random magic of an analog synth sound, Phaedra‘s loops have been left very long to extract this distinct sound. In most presets, each separate note has been sampled to eliminate aliasing within the instrument‘s range.
Synths featured in the collection include: Mini Moog D, Welsh Moog, Yamaha CS5, Yamaha CS-15, Yamaha CS-30, Korg MonoPoly, Korg MS-20, Studio Electronics SE-1, Studio Electronics SE-1 with filter input, Roland SH-101, Crumar Multiman, Akai AX-73, Analog Phaser (based on the Small Stone that was modified and used by renown electronic musician Jean Michel Jarre), Roland Analog Chorus Pedal, and Ensoniq Esq-1.
“The synth sounds found in PHAEDRA are adaptable to a variety of musical genres, providing composers with a very versatile tool,” says Doug Rogers, president and CEO of EASTWEST. “These high-quality recordings, combined with Phaedra‘s Kontakt 2 audio engine make this library a full synthesizer in its own right.”
The collection is available in VST 2.0, DXi, ASIO, AU, RTAS formats for both Mac and PC. Phaedra retails for $199.95.
Attention game sound developers: We're guessing you didn't always work in videogames; we know a lot of you have roots in music and post. Tell us why you made the switch to the game world, and the name of the first title you worked on by e-mailing mixeditorial@mixonline.com.
