Products of Interest
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Products of Interest VibeStudio Designer 2 3D Audio an environment and a pipeline editor Slate Digital FG-X Virtual Design Suite allows the user to turn on or off any Mastering Processor of the pipeline stages. The company’s VRSonic’s VibeStudio Designer 2 is a Wave Point Sampling (WPS) technol- The FG-X mastering processor is a three-dimensional audio design suite ogyisusedtorenderthe3-Daudio VST, RTAS, and AU plug-in that is for composing and rendering spatial on loudspeakers. The construction of designed to allow the user to increase audio to binaural headphones and audio scenes is independent of ren- the level of a mix without using speakers in 2.1, 4.1, 5.1, 7.1, 8.1, and dering in VibeStation so once a scene peak limiters, which the developers 10.2 configurations. The suite is made has been created it can be auditioned indicate can reduce transient levels, up of two applications: VibeStation and rendered for any surround format. cause problems with stereo imaging and Profiler. The VibeStation scenes are stored as and the mix balance, and have a The VibeStation application pro- XML documents and the application fatiguing effect on the ears. The vides an interactive 3-D canvas onto can act as a ReWire device or mixer. company calls the new algorithm which the user drags scene elements The Profiler application in the designed for this purpose Intelligent (see Figure 1). These elements can audio suite is designed for rendering Transient Preservation (ITP). include audio files, ReWire, audio sound binaurally for headphones. It The plug-in is made up of two or VOIP inputs, scene geometry, or takes the user through a series of parts, a compressor, and FG-level, motion paths. A timeline editor or listening tests to select an optimal which employs the ITP technology Open Sound Control (OSC) can then Head Related Transfer Function to increase the gain level. The pro- be used to control the behavior of (HRTF) specific to the user from a cess involved in ITP is to analyze the elements. A full sound propaga- database of more than 90. upcoming transients and groups of tion model, including attenuation, The VibeStudio Deisgner 2 is transients using a look-ahead detec- air absorption, material absorption, listed for US$ 595. Contact: VR- tion algorithm; a set of saturation propagation delay, reverberation, and Sonic, Inc., 2533 Wilson Blvd., curves are then used to optimize each occlusion effects, is used to render Arlington, Virginia 22201, USA; transient. The user can control the audio in real-time. A configurable phone (+1) 703-248-3200; electronic mix before and after the ITP process. audio pipeline architecture is used to mail [email protected];Web A transient function is provided simulate the propagation of sound in www.vrsonics.com/. to fine tune transients in the mix. A Lo Punch control allows the user to increase the impact and dynamics of low frequen- cies, and a Detail control can be used for providing clear, focused tran- sients for percussion instruments. The user can choose the saturation curves implemented. The plug-in features an off-line rendering mode, supports automation, and provides factory presets and user presets. The user can set the threshold and ratio in the compressor and also has access to ceiling and dither settings. The range and display velocities of the metering section can be modified. A demonstration version can be down- loaded from the product Web site. An iLok dongle is required for the full version. The FG-X plug-in is listed for US$ 299. Contact: Slate Digital; telephone Figure 1. The VibeStudio Designer (+1) 323-656-2050; fax (+1) 323-656- 2 3-D audio design suite. 2051; Web www.slatedigital.com/. 96 Computer Music Journal Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/COMJ_a_00062 by guest on 01 October 2021 Figure 2. The Focusrite Midnight Figure 3. The Nucleus DAW control Suite compressor and equalizer. from SSL. 3FX, UK; telephone (+44) 149-446- on the Nucleus includes bright LCD 2246; fax (+44) 149-445-9920; elec- digital scribble strips, DAW audio tronic mail [email protected];Web level meters, self-illuminating but- www.focusrite.com/. tons, and a range of LED indicators. Focusrite Midnight Suite The user can configure the control remotely using a software browser Compressor Plug-Ins Solid State Logic Nucleus DAW that allows a range of profiles to be set and stored. The Midnight Suite from Foscusrite is Control Nucleus has two combination XLR a pair of compressor plug-ins based on microphone/line/instrument level in- the company’s ISA110 equalization The Nucleus from Solid State Logic is puts, a USB audio interface, and a and ISA130 compressor modules from a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) digital S/PDIF input/output. The their Forte console. control in a portable desktop unit microphone pre-amplifiers use the The Midnight Compressor al- (see Figure 3). It features SuperAna- company’s SuperAnalogue technol- lows the user to control input gain, logue monitoring, analog microphone ogy and the microphone inputs have threshold value, compression ratios, preamplifiers, and a USB audio in- an 80-Hz high-pass filter and phase re- attach and release, and the balance of terface. The control is designed for verse. They also can provide phantom wet/dry (see Figure 2). The compres- music and film/TV post production. power for condenser microphones. sion ratios range from 1.5 to infinity. The Nucleus is compatible with Pro The signal path in the Nucleus also The release can be automatically or Tools, Logic, Cubase/Nuendo, and uses SuperAnalogue technology and manually set and a make-up gain other popular DAWs, and can be used provides monitor output to –4dBu control can be used to compensate to connect to three different DAWs and –10 dBV connections. Two head- the gain reduction caused by the with a single button press used to phone outputs are included, as are compressor. Two meters are provided switch between them. The control an iJack monitor input for use with on the GUI, the first shows the input uses HUI or MCU protocols for con- iPods and other portable devices, and or output level and the compressor nection, and it can transmit MIDI 1 a 4 -in. jack footswitch input. Four threshold, and the second displays controller data. USB ports are provided so the control the amount of gain reduction being The control provides two banks of can be used as a four-port USB hub. applied to the signal. The Midnight eight channels, each with 100-mm Nucleus is bundled with Solid State EQ is a four-band fully parametric touch-sensitive, motorized faders, Logic’s Duende Native Essentials equalizer with peak, shelving, and user definable soft keys and V-Pots, plug-ins. low- and high-pass filters. The GUI of dedicated select, solo, and cut but- Nucleus is listed for US$ this plug-in shows the output level. tons, and ten-point channel level 4,999. Contact: Solid State Logic, The plug-ins are available in VST, meters. The center section includes 25 Spring Hill Road, Begbroke, AU, and RTAS formats. large heavy duty transport buttons, a Oxford OX5 1RU, UK; tele- The Midnight Suite is listed for jog/shuttle wheel, bank, channel and phone (+44) 186-584-2300; fax: US$ 99. Contact: Focusrite Audio En- layer selection buttons, global DAW (+44) 186-584-2118; electronic gineering, Windsor House, Turnpike parameter controls, and USB key- mail [email protected]; Road, High Wycombe, Bucks HP12 board emulation buttons. Feedback Web www.solid-state-logic.com/. Products of Interest 97 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/COMJ_a_00062 by guest on 01 October 2021 Figure 4. Grace Design’s M903 D-A converter and monitor controller. 24 microphone/line inputs with mi- crophone pre-amplifiers, two dual input stereo channels, two mono- phonic valve inputs, six auxiliary buses, four audio sub-group buses, along with stereo and monophonic master buses. A rear panel slot can be used for a FireWire/ADAT or analog interface. The FireWire interface has 32 channels and ADAT optical in- put/output. A digital send and return is available on all the input channels, and the stereo master. An analog Grace Design M903 D-A s-Lock phase lock loop sample clock interface with D-type connectors and Converter and Monitor regeneration for ultra-low jitter, and a MIDI module is also planned for Controller improved power supply architecture release. that isolates the headphone power The control section of the console amplifiers, the line amplifiers, and features 24 100-mm channel faders Hardware manufacturer Grace Design the D-A convertors. The crossfeed has released a headphone amplifier, which are used for audio and MIDI circuits have also been improved to tracks. The MIDI control section digital-to-analog converter, and mon- ensure there is no perceived loss of itor controller in one (see Figure 4). also includes 26 select switches, 12 low frequencies. A monophonic mode rotaries encoders, 19 MIDI switches, The M903 can be used to monitor allows the user to check a mix for S/PDIF, AES3, optical TOSlink, bal- 2 MIDI faders, and a jog wheel. phase problems. A range of 99.5 dB Mode switches are provided for anced XLR, unbalanced RCA, and of level control is available in 0.5 dB USB audio input. The user can choose choosing different levels of MIDI steps, along with channel level match- control and integration with software the input source using a precision ing accuracy of 0.05 dB. All signal rotary front panel switch.