Pro Audio

More than semantics, equalization has very real practical consequences.

Today Toontrack released The Mix Toolbox EZmix Pack, an expansion for EZmix 2. It comes with a collection of presets “specially designed to overcome some of the most classic mix and master hurdles you might find yourself in“, according to Toontrack. From the sound of it, it seems like Mix Toolbox is all about fixing it in the mix. All content was designed by engineer Mark Hallman, known for his work with Carole King, Ani DiFranco and Toontrack’s Americana EZX.

Zoom North America’s new H6 Handy Recorder portable recorder has been released.

The team have been working flat out improving the quality of service for iLok users and they have asked us to post this update… All operations should be faster. Sync/repair may take a few minutes still, longer with iLoks with over a hundred licenses. Sync repair is NOT needed ongoing. Just one successful sync repair should do the trick. iLok License Manager errors that should all be gone Unable to Sign In (you may have to wait a little bit) Internet connection unavailable An unknown error occurred An unexpected error occurred An unexpected authorization error occurred License not found on server Cannot activate to this location (only when you really cannot). Session you were using is no longer valid The Sync Repair Operation will fix the following types of issues: Protected software no longer functions or DAW doesn’t see iLok Licenses missing from iLok or User account Licenses converted to “Temporary” Unable to synchronize iLok or fails to complete Synchronize removes valid licenses from iLok Unable to activate and deactivate licenses Unable to transfer license to another user Transferred license fails with multiple authorizations error Expired Trial/Demo licenses cannot be deactivated/removed from iLok Note: Sync/Repair now automatically deactivates expired auths from the iLok back to the account. This is an interim fix to get rid of expired licenses that can get in the way of a real one on the same iLok2 when using Interlok-based software. It may cause some confusion, “Where did it go?” or “I had 50, why are there only 46 now?” We are not done fixing this but it will help. Locked Group (Bundle) seem to split across iLoks There are a few users that are in what iLok call a ‘mid state’ and they are working hard to get those users back to normal. It does look at if they are finally getting things working properly. We are hearing from users that things are much faster and licenses are ‘coming back’. If you haven’t yet downloaded and used the iLok Manager if you have some downtime coming you might want to consider using it. But again if you are in the middle of mission critical work then our advice is wait until you have a break.

Suited for a wide variety of foreground/background sound reinforcement applications

Martin has released a new software version for M-Series consoles with hundreds of improvements and a new user-interface, built from the ground up to make programming performances easier and more efficient.

Behringer's CL Series combines acoustically-inert cabinets, custom-designed transducers and a subtle designer aesthetic into a package that should prove as flexible as it is affordable.

Analyzes and interprets input signals in real time, simplifying the mixing process and preventing feedback

Hopper installed a mesh screen material to serve as a background for the ADJ Inno Color Beam LEDs. The Inno Beams are mounted on 6 wire ladders in front of the mesh panels, giving the appearance they are suspended in mid-air. There are 9 Inno Beams on each side of the stage, evenly spaced in rows of 3, for a total of 18 fixtures.

In this week’s podcast we had two prize winning tips from community members. This one is from Julian Rodgers, who has created this session that he uses to help students understand how Mid Side works. Roger explains… Most people are aware of ms as a miking technique: That you can capture mid and side components and encode them to stereo. Lots of people are aware that you can decode stereo to mid and side components for processing mixes, however in my experience most people rely on plugins to do the matrixing and do not understand what happens under the hood. I have made a Pro Tools template which decodes a stereo file to m/s and then encodes it back to stereo. I use this as an exercise for my students. Even if they don’t understand how it happens they recognize the sound of m/s and how to read a phase scope. If for no other reason use it as a listening tool to listen to the sides only of some of your favourite music and get a new perspective on the arrangement and especially the use of reverb. I know I’ve learned a lot doing exactly that. To use just import a stereo file to the clips list and drag it onto the audio track. Show the phase scope on the master fader and play with the aux faders. You could show the hidden tracks and follow the signal flow through the busses. The comments in the mixer should help.