Nembrini Audio’s new MRH810 V2 Lead Series Guitar Amplifier is a completely overhauled and re-written version of the original MRH810 plugin, and is based on a very popular British all-tube 100 Watt amp head from the ’80s. And for a limited time, you can grab this plugin for a very reasonable introductory price.
Nembrini Audio MRH810 V2
The new updated MRH810 V2 from Nembrini Audio has been completely re-written from the ground up to give you those classic ’80s JCM 800 tones we all know and love. I spent my formative guitar years wielding a Marshall JCM 800 half stack, and still have a soft spot for those glorious, though often deafening, amplifiers.
Nembrini Audio MRH810 V2
Cabinets Galore and more
The amp plugin has a clean and a lead channel, and is modelled with four 12AX7 and four EL34 virtual tubes. It includes the company’s new enhanced recording chain emulation, which has six well-selected cabinets, along with a selection of virtual microphones, which you can play around with and set up as on or off axis. This gives you a nice place to to start building your tones with. It also has an Impulse Loader that lets you load up to three 3rd-parties IRs at once. Once loaded, you can adjust the VOLUME, PAN, PHASE, SOLO, and MUTE controls to blend the cabs to your taste.
And to tame this beast, there’s a built-in NOISE GATE, as well as a CLEANER circuit with controls for RUMBLING and HARSH.
Nembrini Audio allows you to play with microphone and cabinet settings
Deal
You can grab the plugin for a fantastic introductory price of only $29 until August 17, after which it will go up to its regular price of $137. And for owners of the pervious version of the software, there is a special price of $9.99 using the code: MRH810UPGRADE.
If you already own the original, I think this upgrade should not be overlooked. But even if you don’t, when you consider the introductory price, it’s well worth a punt.
The plugin runs on Mac or Windows in VST2, VST3, AAX, or AudioUnits formats. You do need a free I-Lok account to authorise it. You can hear the plugin in action in the demo video below, or click the link to read the full specs.
RRP – USD 137 with limited time offer of only USD 29 until 17 August
Plugin Boutique offers the iZotope RX 7 Elements (€134 value) audio repair plugin as a free add-on with any purchase made in their online store throughout August. It’s barely been two weeks since our last article about iZotope’s recent deal for their VocalSynth 2 effect. At this point, it seems that iZotope and Plugin Boutique […]
discoDSP has released version 2.0 of OB-Xd, a freely downloadable virtual synthesizer (with optional $49 donation) for digital audio workstations on Windows, macOS, and Linux. OB-Xd emulates the Oberheim OB-X, OB-Xa, and OB-8 analog synthesizers. It isn’t meant to be a 100% accurate recreation of the original instruments, but rather a close approximation in a […]
Spectral editing is the de-facto tool for fixing broken audio or going off the deep end in experimental sound design. Today, Steinberg released SpectraLayers 7, the 7th generation of its spectral editing toolkit. It comes in two variants – Pro 7 and Elements 7. Both cover the heavy lifting when it comes to post-production, sound design, mastering and restoration.
Steinberg SpectraLayers 7
The biggest addition in version 7 is the introduction of artificial intelligence. The new algorithms allow for functionality such as automatic pattern detection, clip repair, un-mixing tracks to stems, and further downmixing stems to their components. More processes are automated as well, such as click repair, hum removal, and precision spectral de-essing. Other improvements outside the AI scope include better ARA 2 integration, VST3 plug-in hosting, customizable UI luminocity, direct layer rendering, and others.
Back to AI-driven functionality, the new Pattern Finder is able to automatically find and select sounds similar to the target sound you selected. A Voice Denoiser recognizes and isolates human voice to help extract dialogue from recordings. The Transform Tool is now able to transform entire selections. As for the unmixing functionality – in addition to extracting different instruments into separate layers, stems can be further un-mixed down into tone, noise, and transient component layers.
All in all, Spectralayers 7 is pretty serious business! Steinberg is bringing powerful AI into the spectral editing field and it can only go further from here. I presume version 8 will be on the level of “black magic” when it comes to AI-driven automated processing. Not that SpectraLayers isn’t incredibly advanced as it is.
Price and availability
Available now from dealers and Steinberg’s own web store, Spectralayers Pro 7 and Elements 7 cost EUR 299 and EUR 80, respectively. If you activated the previous versions since July 6, you are eligible for a free upgrade. Various upgrade prices and updates are available in the Steinberg Online Shop.
This week’s collection of the best free plug-ins brings you a bundle of four free modulation effects, an emulation of the obscure Mattel Synsonics drum synth from 1981 and an all-in-one kick drum enhancer. Here’s SuperflyDSP, Synsonics-V and Essentials Kick.
As always, head over to our huge archives for many more free plug-ins.
SuperflyDSP
I had planned to include these four free plug-ins by SuperflyDSP in last week’s collection, but their website was down at that time. It’s back up now, which means that you should waste no time and download these four freebies, which include an auto-wah, a phaser, a tremolo and a chorus. All four plug-ins share the same design language and feature simple, but clear controls. It’s a great collection of four essential modulation effects, and it’s completely free.
The SuperflyDSP plug-ins are available for Windows, macOS and Linux in VST3 and AU formats.
The fact that it came from Mattel, otherwise known for barbie dolls and action figures, put the Synsonics squarely in the toy category when it came out in 1981. But the weird drum synth with four pads did have some surprisingly useful sounds and became known as the “poor man’s Simmons”. Digital Systemic Emulations has emulated the Synsonics for this free plug-in, and even made the sounds editable (which wasn’t possible on Mattel’s version). Get that early 80s retro vibe going!
Synsonics-V is available for Windows and macOS in VST and AU formats.
DJ and producer KSHMR has released this free plug-in pulled from the KSHMR Essentials suite. It’s a kick drum enhancer armed with a bunch of one-knob processors for beefing up your bass drum sounds. You can shape the frequencies with the sub, mid and air modules, control the transients, add multi-band compression with the pressure module and apply saturation with the tape module. Looks like a quick and easy way to get that bass drum sound just right.
KSHMR Essentials Kick is available for Windows and macOS in VST3, AU and AAX formats.
This week’s collection of the best free plug-ins brings you a bundle of four free modulation effects, an emulation of the obscure Mattel Synsonics drum synth from 1981 and an all-in-one kick drum enhancer. Here’s SuperflyDSP, Synsonics-V and Essentials Kick.
As always, head over to our huge archives for many more free plug-ins.
SuperflyDSP
I had planned to include these four free plug-ins by SuperflyDSP in last week’s collection, but their website was down at that time. It’s back up now, which means that you should waste no time and download these four freebies, which include an auto-wah, a phaser, a tremolo and a chorus. All four plug-ins share the same design language and feature simple, but clear controls. It’s a great collection of four essential modulation effects, and it’s completely free.
The SuperflyDSP plug-ins are available for Windows, macOS and Linux in VST3 and AU formats.
The fact that it came from Mattel, otherwise known for barbie dolls and action figures, put the Synsonics squarely in the toy category when it came out in 1981. But the weird drum synth with four pads did have some surprisingly useful sounds and became known as the “poor man’s Simmons”. Digital Systemic Emulations has emulated the Synsonics for this free plug-in, and even made the sounds editable (which wasn’t possible on Mattel’s version). Get that early 80s retro vibe going!
Synsonics-V is available for Windows and macOS in VST and AU formats.
DJ and producer KSHMR has released this free plug-in pulled from the KSHMR Essentials suite. It’s a kick drum enhancer armed with a bunch of one-knob processors for beefing up your bass drum sounds. You can shape the frequencies with the sub, mid and air modules, control the transients, add multi-band compression with the pressure module and apply saturation with the tape module. Looks like a quick and easy way to get that bass drum sound just right.
KSHMR Essentials Kick is available for Windows and macOS in VST3, AU and AAX formats.
With affordable audio interfaces and DAWs going free or low-cost, what may be missing from your setup is a pair of decent studio monitors. In this article, we will give you plenty of options for active studio monitors priced below EUR 500 per pair. This way, you can get your audio monitoring sorted without breaking the proverbial bank!
The best studio monitors under EUR 500 per pair
What a good studio monitor does is help you make the right decisions when recording, mixing, and mastering. As monitors do not color the sound in any tangible ways and offer a honest representation of what your audio really sounds like, the result will comfortably translate across a wide range of audio playback setups – speakers, mobile devices, PA systems, and so on.
Making the right choice depends on the limits of your room as well as personal taste. The smaller your studio room, the smaller your monitors should be in order to have their sound unaltered by room modes and reflections. As for personal taste, a choice of shapes and colors is there so that your monitors look and feel right.
One more thing – if you shop through the affiliate links here, Gearnews will be credited with a small amount. This helps us immensely. Also, if you believe a certain model should be included or does not belong on this list, feel free to write to us in the comments section below! And now to our recommendations:
Presonus Eris E5
A pair of Presonus Eris E5 studio monitors can be yours for as low as EUR 209. In addition to XLR, jack, and RCA inputs, the E5 offers some adjustments on the back panel to tailor the sound to your room. You may also have a look at the Eris E5 XT, which offers a slightly extended bass reproduction and a wider ‘sweet spot’ for listening.
IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitor
The IK Multimedia iLoud Micro monitors punch above their size, thanks to some DSP magic on IK Multimedia’s part. Equally great as studio monitors and computer/laptop playback speakers, they connect over RCA and Bluetooth and offer a flat frequency response with impressive bass output.
Kali Audio LP-6
Formed by former JBL personel, Kali Audio offer very good monitors at quite reasonable prices. The LP-6 is a very convincing model with proper value for money – great sound, decent bass, and wide sweet spot. Additionally, there are RCA, XLR, and jack inputs on the rear panel. Finally, there are switches to compensate for deficiencies in the frequency response.
JBL 306P MKII
The first-generation JBLs earned their praise as some of the best and true-sounding studio monitors in their price range. The MKII versions improve bass reproduction, frequency response, and stereo width. Our choice would be the 6-inch 306P MKII, but if 5-inch woofers are sufficient, you can easily go with the 305P MKII* and save some cash. Likewise, if you have the room to spare, the 308P MKII* offers an 8-inch woofer. All three sizes have XLR and jack connections as well as basic room adaptation options.
ADAM Audio T5V
The T5V features Adam’s Accelerated Ribbon Tweeters for better high frequency reproduction. The rest of the configuration is on point as well, given the price. Room adjustment options, XLR/RCA inputs, and a classic Adam Audio look and feel. A pair will set you back just EUR 310, which is insane for the reproduction quality you’re getting here.
KRK Rokit RP7 G4
With their yellow membranes, KRK monitors cannot be mistaken for anything else. Spanning four generations, the Rokit series offer enhanced DSP-controlled room correction options with a display providing feedback, preset functionality, and app support. Due to the extended bass response, Rokits are favorites among electronic music producers. Bear in mind, though, that the cheaper RP5 G4* also pack a punch and sound very balanced across the frequency range.
Yamaha HS 7
The Yamaha HS series is about neutral and forward-sounding speakers with very good bass reproduction and affordable price. The HS7 is an excellent choice for less than EUR 400 a pair, but a few more euros will sort you out with the big and bold-sounding HS 8* and its 8-inch woofer. Inputs include XLR and jack, and there are some basic room adaptation options. The link here is to the limited Matched Pair version.
So you need a new workhorse for mobile music production and you’ve decided to look beyond from Apple’s Mac OS. While the Surface Book 3 pulses with premium power the Surface Go 2 can offer some surprisingly music-friendly stability at a more affordable price point. Which one would make for an awesome DAW platform?
A Surface for every occasion
Microsoft’s laptop game has matured into an attractive lineup of touch-screen hybrids. By the time the Surface Book arrived the Surface Pro had already worked out most of the kinks in the combined touch/keyboard/trackpad workflow. I’ve been a Surface Pro user since version 3 (now on version 7) and I can tell you the ease of use and smoothness of transition between input protocols is superb. With any other laptop or MacBook I find I am confined to a chair and pushed into a singular way of working. With a Surface you can circle it, dodge in and out, walk past with a coffee and tap something, sit down and type, stand up and finger flick. Regular laptops drive me nuts.
Along with the Surface Pro we now have the Surface Laptop, Surface Pro X, Surface Studio, Surface Hub and the forthcoming Surface Duo and Surface Neo. But the focus of this article are the two latest models which define the top and bottom of the range – the flagship Surface Book 3 and the entry-level Surface Go 2.
Surface Book 3
The Surface Book has now reached its third generation and harbours a 10th generation Intel Quad-Core i5 or i7 processor. The 13.5″ or 15″ screen is gorgeous at 3000 x 2000 or 3240 x 2160 resolution respectively running on a Nvidia GTX 1650 4GB or 1660Ti 6GB when attached to the base and drops to the Intel Iris Plus when you pull the screen off via the awesome detachment mechanism. You can opt for 8, 16 or 32GB of memory and 256, 512 or 1TB of storage. Prices start at £1599.
Microsoft Surface Book 3
It’s a stunningly made laptop that looks good and feels great and has a respectable amount of power for all your computing needs combined with a ridiculously long battery life. But is it any good for music production?
Surface Go 2
I got hold of the original Surface Go when it made it to the UK last year and it’s a fabulous little machine. The version 2 ups the processor to an Intel Gold Processor 4425Y or 8th Generation M3. and increases the screen size just a tad to accommodate a more common 1920 x 1280 resolution and aspect ratio. Otherwise the choices of 4 or 8GB of memory and 64 or 128GB of storage remains the same. Prices start at £399.
Microsoft Surface Go 2
Can you run any music software on such a little device?
Running music software
Right, this is where assumptions and reality have a hard time matching up to one another. The assumption is that if you have a nicely powerful processor then you’ll be able to run masses of plug-ins and instruments and have a lovely time making music. The reality is that laptops are not built with audio production in mind. It’s certainly true that processor speed is your friend in terms of plug-in counts and complex software instruments but that power does not determine the ability for any given laptop to successfully run music software at low, playable latencies.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Buy a powerful laptop and you may well be able to run Ableton Live, Pro Tools, Studio One etc. without any bother. What I am saying is that processor power is no guarantee of a glitch-free music-making experience. The problem comes down to the way the processors work. Mobile processors are designed to save power as much and as often as possible. They clock down as soon as they’re able and only clock back up when the load increases. This clocking or SpeedStepping can cause havoc with realtime audio playback. It can cause spurts of audio glitches or sudden drops in power when a temperature threshold is reached and your plug-in heavy project collapses.
Processor Power
There are ways around these issues that are to do with High-Performance power profiles and disabling the turbo mode. But what alarms me about the Surface Book 3 is that its base processor speed is only 1.3GHz. It can turbo boost up to an extraordinary 3.9GHz which is awesome for any computing task that doesn’t rely on low latency realtime audio. But for audio applications that means there is 2.6GHz of floating power that can’t be reliably fixed to the task of running your DAW. If you turn off turbo mode to get a reliable, stable processor you find yourself with a very expensive Quad Core laptop running at 1.3GHz.
This is where the Surface Go 2 comes in. The Gold Processor 4425Y runs at a steady 1.7GHz. There’s no turbo mode, there’s no clocking up or down and no thermal threshold. The Surface Go 2 will always be able to run the same number of plug-ins and virtual instruments every time you turn it on. There’s no audio glitching, no drops in performance it’s as steady as a rock. Of course the potential of the Surface Book 3 is enormous compared to the Surface Go 2 but what good is potential if your audio is glitching playing a single instrument?
You must be joking?
I wish I was. I should stress that I haven’t tested the Surface Book 3 and so I’m only going on my experience with the Surface platform and other laptops so far. I’ve been testing the Surface Pro generations for music production since version 3. I also reviewed the original Surface Book and Surface Go. Every time it’s slightly different but I’ve always found the right tweaks to get decent performance out of it for music production. This nearly always means turning off turbo mode. This wasn’t a major problem when the stock speed was 2.6GHz so you were only losing a few GHz for the sake of stability. What will happen with the Surface Book 3 is unclear until someone tests it out with music software – you won’t know until you try because no amount of computer-based benchmarks or reviews will tell you anything about glitch-free low-latency audio performance.
By way of example I reviewed the Asus Zenbook Pro Duo UX581GV laptop for Sound On Sound magazine recently. It has extraordinary desktop-level processing power. It would not play a single virtual instrument without glitches in the audio until I turned off the turbo mode. In comparison when I reviewed the original Surface Go with its paltry 1.6GHz processor it ran decent numbers of virtual instruments and plug-ins right out of the box and you could keep on loading it up until it maxed out whereas with more powerful Surfaces you rarely get above 70% CPU before the glitching begins.
Here’s a clip of the Zenbook glitching. The problem was exacerbated by using the touch-screen at the same time but it would glitch all by itself.
Meanwhile here’s my review of the original Surface Go from last year:
What now?
We are at a critical time. The method by which I was disabling the turbo mode in Surface products has been squashed by the Windows 10 May 2020 update (2004). They don’t actually like you messing about with power profiles. I’m reliably informed that there is another way to do it but none of my Surface Pros have updated to the new version yet and so I can’t test it out. Hopefully, we can tweak this new Windows 10 update into something helpful. I also hope that we can find stability in the Surface Book 3 because in every other respect it’s an awesome laptop. But we won’t know until I get the opportunity to try it out.
But don’t despair. If you want a cool and reliable little music-making platform then spend £529 on the 4425Y, 8GB, 128GB version of the Surface Go 2. Oh and don’t buy the M3 version as that has a turbo mode too!
Developer Baby Audio is gaining steam with its modern, thought-through plug-ins. Super VHS, for example, degrades your audio in a nostalgic and vibey way. Magic Switch is a free chorus based on Super VHS, while Comeback Kid is an unorthodox delay. Now, Baby Audio is throwing its hat into parallel processing again. It has followed up its I Heart NY parallel compressor with a new plug-in called Parallel Aggressor – a compressor, filter and saturator!
Baby Audio Parallel Aggressor
Parallel processing is about processing copies of a track individually, rather than piling up all your effects onto a single track. The heavily processed individual tracks are blended with the dry original to form a cohesive, good-sounding whole. The technique works on all kinds of audio, including drum buses, individual tracks and entire mixes.
Parallel Aggressor splits audio in three ways. First comes the dry track. A second copy is run through the Spank compressor, which features four modes – Extra Punch, Extra Smack, Sidechain Filter, and Mono. A third copy goes into the Heat saturator module, which also has four styles – Extra Hot, Tone, HP Filter, LP Filter.
At the end, the three tracks are blended between each other using the provided mixer. Each track can be soloed to hear exactly what the processing is doing. Tracks are also automatically gain-matched to the input signal so you can make your decisions easier.
As a final touch, Parallel Aggressor has three color schemes for its interface in addition to 25 presets done by name producers that are friends with the developers. All in all, a spankin’ hot release!
Price and availability
Parallel Aggressor is on sale for USD 29 until August 30. The regular price will be USD 49. The plug-in is available in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats for Windows and macOS computers. A free demo version is available on the website.
Celebrating 20 years in the music tech biz, Arturia started off with an exclusive package containing its flagship software releases. But the French are not stopping there! Arturia launched a sale on all its software products, offering them at 50% off!
Arturia 20 Year Anniversary Sale
The Sound Explorers Collection is excellent value, indeed! But it’s a physical product that is acquired from Arturia’s dealers. If you want to get your hands on Arturia’s synths and effects right away, now is a great time to hit up the webshop. The sale covers all synthesizers from Arturia’s V-Collection 7, all effects from the manufacturer’s Effects You Will Actually Use collection, and the Pigments 2 hybrid software synth.
Discounts
As mentioned, all 50% off discounts are found in Arturia’s webshop. Additionally, the software synthesizer Pigments 2 is also available at Thomann at the special price of EUR 99, down from the regular EUR 199.
Availability
The sale runs until August 12, 2020. Arturia’s plug-ins run on macOS 10.11 or higher and Windows 7 or higher. They are available in VST, VST3, AU and AAX formats for 64-bit systems. They also support the Native Kontrol Standard, which means they come pre-mapped for Native Instruments’ Machine and Komplete Kontrol MIDI controllers. Trial versions and PDF user manuals for all products can be downloaded free of cost.
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Nembrini Audio’s new MRH810 V2 Lead Series Guitar Amplifier is a completely overhauled and re-written version of the original MRH810 plugin, and is based on a very popular British all-tube 100 Watt amp head from the ’80s. And for a limited time, you can grab this plugin for a very reasonable introductory price.
