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Archive for November, 2009
Monday, November 30th, 2009
This week I thought I should take a break from the Free Plugin of the week series to bring your attention to some great deals on plugins from AudioMIDI.com
AudioMIDI does some great “No-Brainer” deals, collaborating with designers to offer great plugs at massive discounts. Often the plugins are somewhat limited in features from the full priced versions, but sometimes they’re the same.
Right now there are 4 “No-Brainer” deals, 2 effects and 2 virtual synths.
Overloud Breverb audioMIDI Edition $4.99
Overloud BREVERB audioMIDI EDITION is a high quality reverberation plug-in, modeled after the most acclaimed hardware classics.
Nomad Factory Blue Tubes Analog TrackBox $15.00
Normally sold at $149- get it now for crazy-stupid No-Brainer price of just $15. Over 89% off! VERY limited-time offer- expires 12/6/09 at midnite, so get on it!
Applied Acoustics Ultra Analog VA-1 $15.00
A 32-voice polyphonic virtual analog synthesizer entirely based on physical modeling for outstanding sound quality.
XILS Labs XILS 3LE $20.00
The XILS 3 is a virtual instrument based on the of the architecture of a classic matrix based modular synthesizer. VST, Audio Unit, RTAS
“No-Brainer” is a great name for these deals, does it even need a second thought?
These plugins are for PC or MAC, VST/AU/RTAS
I can’t wait to try them (if I ever get time), let me know what you think of these deals and plugins.
Posted in Virtual Effect | 2 Comments »
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
It’s time for another recap of @theaudiogeek on twitter. Just trying to keep you in the loop. Because I care.
theaudiogeek
- 2010 Gear Porn Calendar http://trunc.it/3ngm7 NSFW obviously
- Great article from Smashing Mag – Critical Mistakes Freelancers Make – http://trunc.it/3mcao
- Watching the great new Kenny Gioia Pro Tools tutorials from @groove3inc http://trunc.it/3ob9o I always learn so much from Kenny.
- New AGZ post: Audiophile Bullshit Of The Year – Blackbody http://cli.gs/j4EHA
- @SlauBeSharp if it actually DOES do what’s advertised, I wonder what the effect on humans is?
- @SlauBeSharp Maybe it’s just a genius plan to get the worst audiophiles radiation poisoning and die of cancer?
- waiting… http://trunc.it/3mh7m
- Home Recording Show # 57 – Upgrading to PT HD and Vocal Performance http://www.homerecordingshow.com/?p=415
- Dear 1097 twitter followers. If you haven’t subscribed via RSS to Audio Geek Zine – http://audiogeekzine.com Why not?
- Thanksgiving? didn’t we do that more than a month ago?
- Win a new Macbook Pro on Cyber Monday 2009. Details here: http://bit.ly/29rFES
- New AGZ post: Gear Lust – A mic stand that doesn’t suck!! http://cli.gs/vrQqJ
- New Kenny Gioia Video to be released on Friday – Music Production with Pro Tools Vol 1 – Pop = http://trunc.it/3ke9p
- Drum comping then Beat Detective on the menu today. http://trunc.it/3lwlu
- In bed watching Masters Of The Universe. No that is not some kind of innuendo.
- Anyone got tricks for stopping mic stand sag? Its an epidemic over here {responses below}
- collagen injections if botox doesn’t do the trick
- counterweights!! Hang small children off the handle end!
- duct tape
- don’t do them up too tight when you put them away so the rubber parts don’t go flat. Then they’ll hold much tighter.
- gaffa tape….. Isn’t it the answer to everything?
- Viagra. On a more serious note, have you tried loctite o an equivalent?
- The rubber friction discs wear down – sometimes you can install an additional rubber shim in there (old bicycle tube) to fix.
- Get a new stand
- Grow a few muscles and tighten the stand more!!
- Try gluing a little emery cloth to the centre so clamp has something to grip
- New AGZ post: Free Sound Of The Week 05 http://cli.gs/R6yUW
- New AGZ post: Free Plugin Of The Week – Blue Cat’s Freeware Plugin Pack http://cli.gs/417G9
Posted in Site News, Tweetdump | No Comments »
Friday, November 27th, 2009
I tried to ignore this thing, but it’s just too blatantly bullshit I had to say something about it. The product info reads like an April-fools joke, but no, it’s and everyday fools joke. I’m trying really hard not to say anything that can be considered libelous, I’ll just link you to the product and post some things Less Loss Audio Devices wrote about their product. I am allowed to say it’s bullshit.
http://www.lessloss.com/blackbody-p-200.html
What is the Blackbody?
The Blackbody is a high-tech audio accessory which greatly enhances your audio playback experience by addressing the interaction of your audio gear’s circuitry with ambient electromagnetic phenomena and modifying this interplay. The Blackbody takes advantage of the quantum nature of particle interaction, and is therefore able to permeate metal, plastic, wood, and other barriers to affect the circuitry inside your components. This altered electromagnetic influence results in profoundly improved sound quality. [emphasis mine]
Read more about the how and why behind the product here: http://www.lessloss.com/page.html?id=60 This still comes across like a joke.
Buy this “product” for the uber low price of $959, an absolute bargain for a paper weight. They recommend purchasing 3 for a system. http://www.lessloss.com/blackbody-p-200.html
Smells like typical audiophile bullshit to me, I’d love to be proven wrong.
Posted in Commentary; Rants and Jokes, Gear | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Every mic stand I’ve used in the past month, new and old, ranging in price from $30-$80 all have failed at the simple task of holding a mic in the position I need. They all sag with the weight of a condenser mic. In one 3-hour session I had to go into the live room 5 times to tighten the stand for the vocal mic that kept sagging. VERY annoying.
What’s in common with the common boom mic stand made by countless brands? They all use rubber in the boom arm adjustment. The rubber dries out, slips or just doesn’t grip well enough.
Ya know what kind of stands don’t ever sag? Cymbal stands. Why? Because of the metal teeth that lock together. Mic stands should use this type of adjustment! But they don’t! Perhaps they do in very expensive designs, but the majority of stand designs use the stupid rubber junk that just does. not. work.
What the world needs is a revolution in affordable mic stand design. Metal Teeth!!
Does anyone have recommendations for great, affordable, and well designed stands? Please let me know.
PS. I honestly spent close to an hour looking for pictures for this post. I can not find a picture of the inside teeth of a cymbal tilt.
Posted in Commentary; Rants and Jokes, Gear, Gear Lust, Microphones | 7 Comments »
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Free Sound Of The Week is a new weekly series here on AGZ, once a week I’m going to share a couple sound samples I’ve recorded or created and manipulated.
This week I’ve got a bunch of samples of smacking a pot lid. Might not sound too interesting, but check out my examples below to see if they’re something useful for your productions. I think they’re pretty useful for a sort of tribal percussion feel.
There are 13 wave files, mono, 16 bit, 44.1kHz. DOWNLOAD HERE
A quick example of the sounds, just barely scratching the surface of what you can do is below. These examples are just dropping all the samples into the FL Studio step sequencer and drawing a random pattern
Example 1
Example 2
I’d love to hear what you can do with them.
Posted in Free Sound Of The Week, Samples | No Comments »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Every Monday I highlight free plugins new and old that are worth checking out. See all posts in the Free Plugin Of The Week Series.
Blue Cat Audio has been around for a few years, I’ve used some of their free plugins in the past and I would recommend them over some of the included DAW plugins. Blue Cat came back on my radar when they announced RTAS (Mac + PC) Beta versions for their Freeware Plugins Pack.
Blue Cat’s Freeware Plugins Pack
All Blue Cat Audio freeware audio plug-ins gathered together in a bundle. It’s here! Save download time and get them all in a single package.
The bundle contains a wide range of modulation effects, an EQ and analysis tools to get you started with your favorite Digital Audio Workstation, for free! This bundle is available for Mac and PC, in VST, RTAS (beta), Audio Unit and DirectX plugin formats. Enjoy!
Includes
- Blue Cat’s Chorus
- Blue Cat’s Digital Peak Meter
- Blue Cat’s Flanger
- Blue Cat’s FreqAnalyst
- Blue Cat’s Gain Suite
- Blue Cat’s Phaser
- Blue Cat’s Stereo Chorus
- Blue Cat’s Stereo Flanger
- Blue Cat’s Triple EQ
As with all beta software, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work quite right (or at all) on your system. There’s not that many Free RTAS plugins out there, especially for Mac, so if you’re looking for a big bundle of alternatives to the stock Digi and AIR plugins, give these a try.
Ignoring the Pro Tools compatibility for a second, Blue Cat Audio’s plugins work on ALL DAWs!
Supported Platforms: Mac-AU / Mac-RTAS / Mac-VST / Windows-DX / Windows-RTAS / Windows-VST – Yep that’s pretty much all of them.
Get the Freeware Pack here: http://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Bundle_FreewarePack/
Posted in Free Plugin Of The Week, Virtual Effect | 6 Comments »
