Spotlight Journal Issue 4

ISSUE 04 / DECEMBER 2021 HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET UK £3.95 / USA $6.95 / CANADA $7.95

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THE SUBWAYS

BILLY LUNN SSL

GENELEC

LEAPWING

FUSION VIOLET EQ & NATIVE X-ECHO

8341A & GLM 4 CALIBRATION KIT

ULTRAVOX VOCAL PROCESSOR

“Lose your dreams and you might lose your mind.”

— Mick Jagger

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SU P

MUNITY M SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

EATIVE CO CR

TING TH R E O P

04 Upon reflecting on what has been another rollercoaster year – albeit not quite as chaotic as the last – Headliner is humbled by the fact that despite the continued bombardment of obstacles and challenges on those working in music and audio, along with nearly every other industry, innovation has remained at a level that we should all be very proud of. While we’ve seen bad news ebb and flow, with plans and their contingencies thwarted at the drop of a hat, it hasn’t stopped the rollout of an impressive raft of new products and services into the market.

In fact, it could be very plausibly argued that appetite for new audio and music gear is currently at an all time high, evidenced by the incredible response that Headliner has received to a product giveaway competition that we’ve been running this month in partnership with US microphone manufacturer Audix, and pro audio giant Solid State Logic. It’s a truly massive prize that includes a recording interface, professional grade microphones, headphones, and the entire SSL plugin range to boot.

It’s these kinds of initiatives that show how committed pro audio companies are to nurturing innovation, and of course meeting demands from bedroom producers who yearn to transform their rudimentary setups into a fully-fledged home recording studio.

In every corner of the industry, advancements designed to streamline the workflows of audio

pros and amateurs alike are being made every day.

At the time of launching Spotlight Journal almost exactly one year ago, there was a lot more uncertainty around the state of the world, and how we would deal with the challenges to come. This year however, one thing is for certain: we have weathered a pandemic and bounced back, and so we can do it again.

And while question marks still remain around the state of the live music industry following the latest announcements in the UK, those who have been affected have demonstrated their resilience and unwavering ability to adapt in a time of crisis. If we can continue forward in the same vein, the team at Headliner are confident that when this is all (finally!) over, the music and audio industries will come back bigger, better and stronger than we’ve ever seen before.

Colby Ramsey Group Editor, Headliner HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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ISSUE 4

Spotlight Journal

REVEAL 10-11

UNIVERSAL AUDIO

Volt

12-14

NEUMANN

Miniature Clip Mic System

IN THE MIX 18-24

26-29

BILLY LUNN

Cover Story | The Subways

GIZMO VARILLAS

In The Loop

ISSUE SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

CONTENTS

7

REVIEWS 32-36

SENNHEISER

FA 500 Custom IEMs

38-42

EVENTIDE

SplitEQ

44-48

SOLID STATE LOGIC

Native X-Echo

50-54

MIPRO

MI-58 IEM System

56-59

EVENTIDE

Blackhole, UltraTap & MicroPitch

60-64

GENELEC

8341A & GLM 4 Calibration Kit

66-68

SPITFIRE AUDIO

Aperture: The Stack

70-73

LEAPWING AUDIO

UltraVox

74-76

SOLID STATE LOGIC

Fusion Violet EQ

78-82

BABY AUDIO

TAIP

UE 04 HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

REVEAL

UNIVERSAL AUDIO

Volt

by col b ds

ramsey

VOLT

y

Wo r

10

UNIVERSALAUDIO Universal Audio has announced Volt, a new range of compact audio interfaces designed to let users easily record audio with a classic studio sound.

interfaces have been designed to add clarity and punch to voice, instruments, and other sources with an analog compressor based on UA’s iconic 1176.

Ready to capture music, live stream, or podcast content with professional studio tone, Volt

All Volt interfaces utilize classleading 24-bit/192 kHz audio conversion, and include a vintage

SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

mic preamp mode with tube emulation circuitry for a rich, full sound.

An essential suite of audio production software also comes packaged, including Ableton, Melodyne, UJAM’s Virtual Drummer, Marshall, Ampeg, and more.

REVEAL

11

REVeal

“VOLT INTERFACES HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO ADD CLARITY AND PUNCH TO VOICE, INSTRUMENTS AND OTHER SOURCES WITH AN ANALOG COMPRESSOR BASED ON UA’S ICONIC 1176.”

The first and most compact model in the range – Volt 1 – is designed for singers, songwriters, guitarists, and podcasters who want to create classic-sounding music productions, live streams and podcasts on Mac, PC, iPad, and iPhone.

Universal Audio says Volt 1’s exclusive built-in tube emulation circuitry allows it to produce the rich, full sound of the UA 610 tube preamp, a classic mic/line/instrument preamp used to record everyone from Ray Charles to Van Halen.

Volt 1 provides simple one-in/two-out audio connections; those travelling light can plug Volt 1 into an iPad or iPhone to easily create beats and samples, record a band’s rehearsals, and edit songs anywhere. Volt 2 meanwhile provides increased versatility with its two-in/two-out audio connections.

Volt 176 is designed for singers, songwriters, musicians, livestreamers and podcasters who want to easily record audio with big studio tone. The unit’s onboard 76 compressor – an analog circuit inspired by UA’s classic 1176 limiting amplifier – features three tailored presets to tame voice, guitars, synths and drum machines.

Volt 276 has been designed to the same standard, albeit with two-in/ two-out connections.

Round back, there’s MIDI I/O and USB-C connectivity. Unlike other UAD interfaces, the Volts don’t have any DSP power of their own to run the suite of UAD plugins you might have heard of before; you’ll still need an Apollo or other UA interface for those needs.

producers and content creators looking to record larger projects with that same big studio sound. Volt 476 includes four-in/four-out audio connections, as well as a 5VDC power supply.

Other key features include 48V phantom power for condenser microphones, direct monitoring for latency-free recording, one-in/oneout MIDI connections, and a USB-C to USB-A cable in the box.

Volt audio interfaces and Studio Packs – which include Volt 2 or Volt 276, a condenser mic with XLR cable, and closed-back headphones – are available for pre-order from select Universal Audio retailers, with general availability projected for late November 2021.

The final model in the range is Volt 476, designed for musicians,

HIGHLIGHTS + Vintage mic preamp mode for rich, full sound + Built-in 76 Compressor with ‘perfectly tailored’ presets + An essential suite of audio software included UAAUDIO.COM

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

NEUMANN

Miniature Clip Mic System

s by COL rd

NEUMANN German microphone specialist Neumann.Berlin has announced its first product range designed especially for close miking instruments...

SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

RAMSEY

MINIATURE CLIP MIC SYSTEM

BY

w o

REVEAL

12

REVEAL

The system’s modular construction has been designed to ensure superior stability and long service life for live and stage performances.

been dissatisfied with the sound delivered by electret solutions for quite some time. Technicians and artists alike want greater substance, higher precision for low and medium frequencies and more openness. At the same time, we wanted to finally be able to create electret microphones that offered constant performance, so that sound engineers would not have to continuously deal with production tolerances impacting sound level and frequency response.”

Neumann Portfolio Manager, Stephan Mauer, said: “We had

With minimised self noise and an extremely high maximum

The company says the new KK 14 capsule in its new Miniature Clip Mic System is ‘able to capture the details of sound better than anything that came before’ – without any of the production tolerances that have been associated with electret solutions to date.

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sound level of 152 dB, the KK 14 is designed to deliver perfect results for both very quiet and very loud instruments. The capsule can be easily unscrewed from the gooseneck connector whenever necessary, and the system boasts nine options for attachment to brass, string and stringed instruments, pianos, drums and percussion.

“Our field tests quickly revealed that all users share a desire for being able to reliably and securely position the microphone,” added Mauer. “Another wish that they all HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

14

NEUMANN

Miniature Clip Mic System

had in common was wanting to avoid damaging sensitive surfaces of their instruments. This gave rise to self-adjusting spring-loaded systems and newly developed mounting concepts for specific applications.”

Neumann CEO Ralf Oehl believes that this new system marks the beginning of a new standard. “We are proud that we have succeeded in redefining

the potential of electret capsules,” he said. “For the first time, they are more than just a compromise solution for technically demanding situations.

With this product, we have created a new reference for sound that is truly natural, neutral and reliable – even in challenging technical or acoustic situations.”

musical productions, concert halls, big bands, brass sections and drummers. Thanks to connection cables with either a 3.5 mm jack, Lemo, MicroDot or 4-pin mini XLR connectors, the system is compatible with all standard bodypacks for wireless setups.

The Miniature Clip Mic System is designed for orchestras, theatres,

The list price of the KK 14 capsule is €279/$299. Prices for sets start at €629/$699 (capsule, gooseneck, cable, mounting system, XLR adapter and windscreen). The Miniature Clip Mic System will be available in spring 2022, and the pre-order period is open now.

HIGHLIGHTS + Modular construction for superior stability and long service life + Minimised self-noise and high maximum sound level + Wide variety of connection and mounting options NEUMANN.COM

SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

Unleash your creativity Introducing GLM 4.1 loudspeaker manager software For 15 years, GLM software has worked with our Smart Active Monitors to minimise the unwanted acoustic influences of your room and help your mixes sound great, everywhere. Now, GLM 4.1 includes the next generation AutoCal 2 calibration algorithm and a host of new features – delivering a much faster calibration time and an even more precise frequency response.

So, wherever you choose to work, GLM 4.1 will unleash your creativity, and help you produce mixes that translate consistently to other rooms and playback systems. And with GLM 4.1, both your monitoring system and your listening skills have room to develop and grow naturally too.

Find out more at www.genelec.com/glm

IN THE MIX

BILLY LUNN

Going Underground

Photographer: Sarah Louise Bennett

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BILLY LUNN SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

COVER STORY

19

ds bY or D w

GUMBL E AN

GOING UNDERGROUND It was perhaps inevitable that Billy Lunn, frontman, guitarist and creative engine of three-piece power pop trio The Subways, would one day become a producer. In everything he does, in and out of music, there is an almost obsessive determination not just to do, but to conquer in his endeavours. Over the course of the four Subways albums released to date – a fifth one is now written with a release date yet to be confirmed – he has relished in his role as the band’s chief songwriter and leader. In the world of academia, not merely content with being a fan of literature – albeit an extremely well-read one – he took a break from his career as a musician to achieve a lofty degree at Cambridge University. And having been enamoured by each of the producers The Subways worked with on their first three albums, it was only a matter of time before he would seek to master the art for himself and take control of the band’s sonic destiny.

Lunn’s passion for production began long before The Subways were born into existence when he heard Nirvana’s 1991 classic Nevermind, famously produced by alt rock producer extraordinaire, Butch Vig, who would eventually wind up producing The Subways’ second album, 2008’s All Or Nothing.

“I recently listened to Nevermind again and each time I hear it, it sounds as powerful as it was the first time,” Lunn explains to Headliner over a coffee in his hometown of Welwyn Garden City. “But it also sounds quite different to my ears. That’s partly because of my own personal journey I’m going on as a producer and a songwriter, but it was when I first heard that album that I thought,

‘how and by what processes is an album made to sound that good’?

That raw, that full, that powerful and that poppy. It seemed like an almost mechanical architecture that was happening. The drums are doing something more than just playing, they are physically interacting with my ears. It felt like the kick and the snare were punching through the speakers. The guitars were like buildings falling down, and then you had Kurt Cobain’s double tracked vocals - that was the first time I realised double-tracked vocals were a thing. There is contouring going on and I started to see an album and a mix in 3D. “That was when I started getting into Butch Vig’s other works, like Garbage, HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

BILLY LUNN

Going Underground

Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth.

It broadened not just my interest in production but my taste in music.

And I really wanted to learn how that happens – it can’t just be a case of a band going into a studio and playing what they usually play. There must be a level of understanding of how their part is going to appear through those stereo speakers. That was when I decided to get a recording unit and see how I could achieve the contours that appear in that record. And it’s glued together so seamlessly, which is due to the mixing by Andy Wallace.

Hearing how stark things can be but how gelled they can be, that paradox still fascinates me today. It sits at the top of my brain whenever I’m working on something. How can I create separation but also make it feel like a unified whole?”

THREE OF A KIND While working with the producer of his favourite record of all time was always going to leave an indelible mark on Lunn’s path into production, the impact of those who helmed The Subways’ first and third records cannot be understated. The band’s 2005 debut Young For Eternity was produced by lauded producer and Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie, while 2011’s Money And Celebrity, the follow-up to the Vig-produced All Or Nothing, saw Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur, The Cranberries, Kaiser Chiefs) drafted in for production duties. Each of these records would provide distinct and invaluable lessons from which Lunn would draw inspiration. As he puts it, “if I couldn’t take those experiences and repurpose them as a producer myself, that’s my problem!”

From as early as the initial sessions on Young For Eternity, Lunn was eager to learn how he one day would be able to do the job himself. By the time the band was ready to begin work on their fourth album, 2015’s The Subways, he felt sufficiently prepared to take the plunge.

SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

Photographer: Steve Gullick

20

“It was necessity and desire,” Lunn explains of the decision to produce the record. “I’d recorded all of our demos in my mum and dad’s council house, and that came about because I didn’t like handing over power to somebody to decide how we sounded. That has always stayed with me.

“When we were recording our first album with Ian Broudie, I was leaning over his shoulder the whole time and I felt really weird that I wasn’t in control and making the sonic decisions. With Butch Vig, I came to terms with that a lot more easily by virtue of the fact he’s the producer of my favourite album!

But also, because he made me feel at ease. That’s been the case with all of the producers we’ve worked with, but Butch is very avuncular, very measured and softly spoken. He claims authority because of who he is, his work and the brilliant ideas he comes up with all the time.

When we were working with Stephen Street, he made the album sound incredible, but the demos he said I’d handed him were 75 percent done.

So, I felt like with the next record I could do this. And I did. A lot of it was also to do with finances – I didn’t want us to spend another £40,000 on two weeks in a studio. I wanted us to buy our own equipment and decide if we were happy or not, and if we’re not we’ll keep going until we are.”

Throughout those sessions with Street, Lunn took every opportunity he could to prepare himself for his debut production.

“He imported my Pro Tools files and started filtering through, going ‘we’re going to redo this, I don’t like the tone of that’. Because we were using something I started off with as the foundation, any changes that were made, my antennae were hyper alert.

I inherently felt some sort of claim to those files because we were building on foundations I created, but at the same time, Stephen knows infinitely more than I do about engineering and mixing. So, I’d be like ‘ah, what’s this microphone, why are we using it and what is it taking the place of from my original recordings’? He’d say, for instance, ‘that’s a Sennheiser E906, you’re going to want to get those for the guitars’. I came out of those sessions with pages of things I needed to do or buy or use. I could hear the changes he was making and that was a massive learning curve. It almost put me off, as I’d listen to a mix and feel as though it was light years away from something I could do. But nothing is impossible; I had an idea of where I wanted to go, and what kind of producer I wanted to be. We’d had three incredible mentors.”

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Photographer: Sarah Louise Bennett

COVER STORY

“I’D RECORDED ALL OF OUR DEMOS IN MY MUM AND DAD’S COUNCIL HOUSE, AND THAT CAME ABOUT BECAUSE I DIDN’T LIKE HANDING OVER POWER TO SOMEBODY TO DECIDE HOW WE SOUNDED. THAT HAS ALWAYS STAYED WITH ME.”

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

22

BILLY LUNN

Going Underground

GUIDING PRINCIPLES “I like to take things in very specific steps,” says Lunn of his approach to a session. “I like to think of the drums as the skeleton, the bass and guitar as the flesh and the organs and the vocal as the beauty. I prefer the band to have a really good idea of exactly how they want to perform the song in the studio, and that comes through pre-production. I love working in Pro Tools, it’s invaluable to me.

“Making sure that the band is well versed on how the session is going to work is really important – we’re going to use a click track, we will tempo map and I want you to perform live in a single room but making sure they know they are going to be overdubbing. I know some bands are adamant that they want to perform live and do it in a couple of takes.

That’s fine, I’ll do that, but I prefer to record the drums in isolation and then set up and record the bass in isolation, and the guitars in isolation. And by

SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

virtue of everyone knowing what they are doing, that’s where the gelling happens. And it’s also about everyone knowing the song back-to-front, inside and out.”

Though constantly expanding his existing studio setup, there are a handful of staples that have become central to achieving the perfect sonic blueprint for a Lunn production.

“It’s all about the 1073 pieces - I really just love that rich sound, but also the openness with the top end, the air that that offers I can’t do without,” beams Lunn when talking us through his audio arsenal. “I have two 1073 SPXs and I’ve just got two Rupert Neve Designs Shelford channels, which are really handy because you have your pre mic gain, EQ section and compressor section, then you have the Silk, so you can saturate the low or the top end. That’s really great for guitars, snares and vocals. And I have Audio Maintenance Ltd 500 Series 1073s and

54F50 compressors, which are based on the Neve 2254 design. They are absolutely amazing.

“Then I have some other things to add colour,” he continues. “I really like API stuff, I have some Fathom Series 312Cs; the Cranborne Audio Camden 500 Series pres are really good. It’s all surface mount but it’s so clear and transparent. And I’m just about to get my second 8801 channel strip from AMS Neve. Recording vocals on those is like nothing else, they are just so lovely. And I just bought a Neumann U67 reissue. Before, even on The Subways new album, I recorded all my vocals with a AKG Perception 220, and you can really hear it [he laughs], although there’s still some gloss to it. But the U67 is going to be the centrepiece.”

COVER STORY

23

“IT’S ALL ABOUT THE 1073 PIECES - I REALLY JUST LOVE THAT RICH SOUND, BUT ALSO THE OPENNESS WITH THE TOP END, THE AIR THAT THAT OFFERS I CAN’T DO WITHOUT.”

RETURN OF THE SUBWAYS For Lunn, The Subways served in part as an extension of the learning curve he had been riding with Broudie, Vig and Street. Not only in his approach to handling the technical aspects of making a record; he was also learning how to manage the people and personalities in the band.

“One of the things that touched me most was that [bassist] Charlotte said I’d made her feel the most comfortable we’d ever felt in the studio,” he says. “So that was great, as we’ve always felt a bit tense in the studio. And it worked out in such a way that we came out with a nice punk record, but at the same time I look back and wish I could have done

more. I was using exclusively an Avid Pro Tools print. There was no colour to it. Any changes I wanted to make in the mix had to be done in post and it was arduous. So, I made sure that for our new album I was using a variety of pres, EQs and compression going in – when I recorded that fourth album nothing was compressed going in.”

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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BILLY LUNN

Going Underground

Ph ot og ra ph er :

h ra Sa tt ne en eB uis Lo

The new album Lunn speaks of is the band’s upcoming, as yet untitled fifth record. Once again produced

by Lunn, he tells us that fans can expect a significant sonic and musical departure from The Subways.

“It was really about making sure there was a lot more character to this album,” he states. “In songwriting terms, I became obsessed with the SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

Stranger Things soundtrack, so once I started to get into synthesizers, I had it in my head that I was going to make an album of Nirvana meets Stranger Things! That’s the direction I’ve gone in. The record label, Alcopop Records, have said they think it’s the best record we’ve ever made, so we’re really excited about it. We just had so much fun making this album.”

A release date and title for the new album remains to be set. But fans can be sure there is much to look forward to in 2022.

THESUBWAYS.NET

Case Study

FOCUSRITE PRO IN WAYSTATION STUDIOS GRAMMY®-winning producer/engineer Dave Way's resume runs across all genres, spanning pop, rock, R&B and more, and his credits include such acclaimed artists as Christina Aguilera, Fiona Apple, Ziggy Marley, Macy Gray, Michael Jackson, “Weird Al" Yankovic, Phoebe Bridgers, Ringo Starr and dozens of others, in addition to the acclaimed soundtrack to Echo in the Canyon.

His most recent GRAMMY nomination was for “Best Immersive Audio Album," for his work as immersive audio co-producer on the 2019 album The Savior by A Bad Think.

Learn more at pro.focusrite.com or scan the QR code below

Like many working in the world of immersive audio, Way's attention has turned to the Dolby Atmos® format, and in 2020 he took the leap and upgraded his personal facility, Waystation Studio, to be able to mix in Atmos.

Since last year, he has been settling in with the new setup, mixing several projects and even recording an entire album specifically to be mixed in Atmos – helped in no small part by his arsenal of interfaces and a RedNet R1 controller from Focusrite Pro.

GIZMO VARILLAS

In The Loop

by ALIC E ds

IN THE LOOP

STAFSO N GU

Wo r

26

Photographer: Kelia Anne Maccluskey

GIZMOVARILLAS

SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

PRODUCER

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The last few years have seen singer-songwriter and bedroom producer Gizmo Varillas successfully make the difficult transition from part-time to fulltime musician. The independent artist spent the lockdown period finessing his production techniques in his brand new home studio, which is now home to a Focusrite ISA 828 MkII mic preamp.

You’re now getting over a million monthly streams on Spotify; how has the streaming service been a useful tool for you as an independent artist?

It’s definitely a milestone for me – it’s a big one! There are a lot of mixed messages about how streaming works for artists. For me, it’s been a good experience because without the likes of Spotify and streaming, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do for a living, especially during lockdown with no gigs and not being able to promote my music as usual.

Streaming has really helped me to be the artist I am today. I’m fully independent, which has allowed me to do what I love. I’m seeing where this journey takes me. For example, in the past year I’ve expanded to writing with other artists, and that’s a whole new world unto itself.

For instance, I wrote Holding Onto The Feeling with Bobby Bazini, but two weeks before that I couldn’t write a song – it just wasn’t coming out at all, and it was really difficult.

Then Bobby came over, we started jamming, and we wrote that song really fast. Sometimes you can get in the way of yourself, and you just need that spark of inspiration to create a song. By working with lots of other artists, you’re pushing the boundaries of what you can do, and you learn in that process as well.

“Sometimes you can get in the way of yourself, and you just need that spark of inspiration to create a song.”

You’re not the kind of artist that likes to repeat themself; does this mean fans can expect something different in your next album?

I’m definitely pushing the boundaries of what I’ve done before; I’m halfway through my fourth album. Every song is revealing itself, and showcases a new side of me – which I like because if a song surprises me, I’m like, ‘well, I didn’t know I could do something like that!’ That’s what I’m striving for: to find a new sound that I haven’t explored yet.

You recently moved from London to Hove, transporting your entire home studio to a new seaside location. How has your bedroom production journey progressed with each album?

This is the first time that I’m able to actually set up the studio in a way that I can have everything here without it being cluttered – it’s a real working space for me where I can get the creative juices flowing.

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GIZMO VARILLAS

In The Loop

I’ve been building the studio since I started making music. I started off with a little old ThinkPad laptop and a really cheap interface – and I recorded my first album on that.

Freedom For a Change, which is one of the singles from that album, has reached over 15 million streams on Spotify, which is crazy for a song recorded in a bedroom on a laptop!

I had no idea about production, and I wasn’t an engineer. I literally just had a sound card, a cheap, entry level guitar microphone and SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

I layered up lots of guitars and percussion. I was recording without having a clue what I was doing.

Funnily enough, I was supposed to go to an actual studio and record with a producer, but the vibe just wasn’t there. So I ended up keeping the demo, and the songs that made it onto the actual album were the ones that I mixed without having a clue what I was doing!

I think the songs shine through and even though the production was more DIY, it had a charm to it and

rougher edges, and people like that.

It’s been an interesting journey from there. This last year I’ve really been studying and teaching myself how to build an actual studio, and what equipment you actually need. I’m learning how to become an engineer and how to shape sound. Ultimately the idea is for me to be able to produce music to a level that I can be really proud of. The beauty of music is that you’re always learning; I find that whole process fascinating.

PRODUCER

You recently added a Focusrite ISA 828 MkII eight-channel mic preamp to your studio’s arsenal.

How has it enhanced your workflow?

Focusrite is a classic audio brand and I used the ISA 828 MkII recently to make a loop video with a guitar, and I’ve got to say, I was really impressed with the sound of the preamp. Just by plugging my guitar straight in, it added a really nice character to the sound. You can definitely tell the difference when you’re plugging into a quality analog preamp – it gives the sound a nice warmth and texture.

That’s what you need from a preamp – for the source to be really good quality, so that was a big tick. One of my favorite things about the unit was that even though it’s got eight channels – because it has eight XLR inputs, eight jack inputs, as well as four

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instrument line inputs at the front – that adds up to 20 inputs. Sometimes I’ll have a guitar, bass, vocal, percussion mic, a couple of mics for a drum kit and maybe an ambience mic, so with so many inputs, unless you have something like this Focusrite unit, you’re constantly having to plug things in, which breaks the cycle of creativity.

expensive gear. I only had my sound card last year – I didn’t have enough inputs. That preamp would have just saved my life because I could have recorded all the drums and still have my bass, guitars and my vocals plugged in, and not have to worry about plugging in and plugging out. It was a revelation!

It’s high-end gear, and it’s worth every penny for quality. It’s really good for any kind of producer that has lots of different inputs that they need to connect, and don’t want to be moving cables all the time. It was so easy to use too, I just literally pressed a button, switching between the different inputs.

This unit is exactly what I needed last year when I was recording my own drums! With drums, you need so many different microphones, and sometimes it’s hard to be able to record simultaneously unless you have

It’s almost like having a mixer, because when I’m doing live loop performances, I just have the preamp connected to the looper and change the inputs to loop the sounds. For a studio setup it’s great because you can route all those inputs wherever you want to produce music.

Check out Gizmo’s loop video using a Focusrite ISA 828 MkII at Headliner’s YouTube.

PRO.FOCUSRITE.COM GIZMOVARILLAS.COM

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

REVIEWS

SENNHEISER FA 500

Custom IEMs

s BY D rd A o

SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

GUMBLE

SENNHEISER FA 500

N

CUSTOM IEMS

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REVIEW

REVIEW

In the not too distant past, the big monitoring debate concerning live performance was generally around wedges versus IEMs (in-ear monitors). For many performers, particularly in the rock world, wedges were not only a tried and tested monitoring solution, but were almost part of the stage dressing, providing many a showboating guitarist or vocalist an extra pedestal from which to demonstrate their widdly-diddly chops. Of course, they are far more than just simple props, and for many they offer more of a ‘live’, perhaps less clinical feel when onstage.

However, particularly in the 21st century, the popularity of IEMs amongst performers has skyrocketed.

As audio technology has advanced and grown ever more sophisticated, the capabilities of in-ears have followed suit. The detail and quality that can now be found in these pocket-sized packages has not only prompted many a wedge user to make the switch, but also established the format as the go-to monitoring solution for most artists.

So – and again, not to diminish the qualities of monitor wedges in any way whatsoever – the debate

today is really IEMs: universal versus custom.

Which brings us on to the Sennheiser FA 500 Custom IEMs, made in conjunction with Fischer Amps.

Put simply, the debate just mentioned isn’t really a debate. Yes, there is a notable difference in price, but if we’re talking quality of product, for regular live performers a set of custom IEMs can be invaluable. And Sennhesier’s FA 500 Customs are just about as good as it gets. Here’s why…

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Custom IEMs

“I’m super energetic so I get hot and sweaty, so getting some fitted in-ears is going to change everything for me.” ~Wes Nelson

THE PROCESS For those who have never had an impression taken of their inner ear, the process can be likened to having your head slowly submerged in a vat of silly putty. In a good way. It’s a painless, rather relaxing procedure in which a syringe of neon coloured gel is pumped into each ear to create a mould of the ear canal. This is what the monitor is based around.

For the purposes of this review, I had the pleasure of having my impressions taken by the excellent Gisele Flower, founder of Aid2Hearing and ear care specialist to the stars. And I just so happened to be having my impressions taken alongside one such star in the form of chart-topping artist and former Love Island contestant Wes Nelson.

Firstly, there’s the initial cleaning of the ear, which I would recommend everyone has done at least once in their life, even if you’re not having moulds taken. The difference this can make to SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

your hearing is not to be understated – it’s completely pain free and left me feeling as though I had just removed a set of invisible ear plugs.

Once the ears have been given a thorough MOT, it’s then time for the moulds to be taken, at which point Flower talked us through why custom in-ears are so beneficial.

“You’re benefiting from cutting out all the background noise, so as well as not having to compete with all that noise, you’re also getting the health benefits of ear protection,” she explained. “I’ve noticed more and more people are getting custom-made IEMs from the beginning, as soon as their career starts. When I first started, it felt like it was just the established artists who could afford it, but that has changed.

Now, as soon as someone gets a deal, I’m getting a phone call saying they need custom in-ears. With generics, they don’t fit as tight, so there’s movement. As you sweat and move,

they come loose, so they leak and then you have all that noise coming in from the stage. That’s a lot of noise exposure, but also the artist is then not feeling as confident in their performance and not hearing their feed properly.”

Nelson, who at the time of our meeting was about to begin his first string of live dates outside of a TV studio, also chatted to me about why he was opting for the FA 500 Customs.

“I’ve performed live on The X Factor and done some other TV performances, but it’s always been with generics,” he said. “They don’t stay in, and I move around a lot. I’m super energetic so I get hot and sweaty, so getting some fitted in-ears is going to change everything for me. And I need that confidence; I need to be able to hear what I’m doing. To get these fitted properly and know I just have to focus on performing and singing makes me feel a lot more comfortable.”

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SENNHEISER FA 500

Custom IEMs

THE PERFORMANCE While the merits of custom IEMs in general are undeniable, what about the FA 500 Customs themselves?

Unsurprisingly, for a piece of kit comprised of such high-end components, they deliver astoundingly on every front.

Combining Sennheiser’s TrueResponse technology with Fischer Amps’ custommade acrylic housings, they really are built from the ground up for each individual user to deliver a monitoring solution that is as powerful as it is natural and detailed. This is due to the implementation of a single unimpeded sound source, providing far greater subtlety and accuracy to the multi-way systems that can be found in many loudspeakers and universal IEMs.

The first thing that struck me when popping these into my ears out of the box was the comfort. Having had mould impressions taken in the past for ear plugs and other in-ear products from other brands, these are by far the most comfortable I have experienced. Over several hours at a time, I never felt the need to take them out or reposition them. They sit perfectly snug without causing any discomfort, even when moving around at pace and at high temperatures. This means no unwanted noise leaking in mid-way through a performance, and total freedom for the performer.

the entire frequency range, the detail and intricacy of audio reproduction is outstanding. Even when driven to very high volumes, there is virtually no distortion to speak of. This, in addition to hallmarking the quality of the technology and components on offer, is also an absolutely essential asset for performers and monitor engineers alike.

Then, of course, there is the audio quality. With true phase linearity provided via the single 7mm TrueResponse transducer covering

In summary, if you’re looking to move on from wedges or universal IEMs, you cannot go wrong with a set of these.

As a nice little extra, they are available in a variety of different color finishes at no extra cost, while Fischer Amps can also add personalized designs and logos on request.

HIGHLIGHTS + Ultra-lightweight, customised acrylic housing and ear mold design for secure fit and consistently high sound isolation + Single 7 mm TrueResponse transducer provides true phase linearity + Virtually distortion-free with only < 0.08 % total harmonic distortion SENNHEISER.COM

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EVENTIDE

SplitEQ

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SPLIT EQ

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EVENTIDE SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

SplitEQ offers a new approach, featuring what Eventide calls a ‘Structural Split engine’ that divides incoming audio into separate transient and tonal streams feeding eight bands. The result is a highly innovative EQ design for both corrective and creative EQ applications.

Eventide has a rather amazing history and holds a special place in analog studio mythology, with its range of harmonizers from the ‘70s and ‘80s.

More recently, the company brought these legendary units back to life in plugin form with a few added bells and whistles, designed to bring them up to date for the digital studio engineer.

One thing has remained, and that is the unique range of quality audio afforded by these plugins. So while they remain at the higher end of the market in terms of price, this also reflects their unique status and the esteem in which they are still held.

TWO SIDES TO EVERY STOREY For me, it was a treat to be asked to have a play with Eventide’s new SplitEQ plugin. The very concept is fairly unique and, at the point of putting pen to paper, I’m not aware of anyone else doing anything similar.

However, I don’t profess to know everything, and it seems that every day brings a new plugin of some description.

So what is SplitEQ? Quite simply, it’s two EQs in parallel. The incoming

signal is split into its Tonal and Transient elements using Eventide’s patented Structural Split. It then passes through the parallel EQs, one acting in a conventional way on the tonal source signal and the second on the transient element of the source. They are then combined at the output. This allows you to adjust transient or tonal signals independently or together.

Immediately you can see a whole host of possible applications for the SplitEQ. Two common examples are, you want to add some air to the mix but you want to avoid increasing sibilance. You can increase the tonal element of the top end but leave the transients where they are, or possibly reduce them slightly if sibilance is creeping in.

Alternatively, you want to increase the weight of the kick drum but don’t want to simply add a low shelf boost, as this will muddy the sound, so just add the low shelf boost to the transient signal - immediately you have a more potent kick drum with none of the headaches. If you want to hear some of these ideas in action, check out the Eventide SplitEQ Video on our YouTube channel Headliner Hub for examples of the above, along with a few other ideas.

SIMPLICITY A quick glance at the interface reveals eight bands of processing, the two extremes of which are by default high and lowpass filters, but the other six offer low/high shelf, peak, notch, tilt or bandpass filter types per frequency. Although each band is sweepable to a set frequency for both the transient and

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tonal splits, all other parameters are completely independent, so you could have a transient boost with a completely different Q to that of your tonal cut at the same frequency for example.

Again, by default the Q for each band was set at 1.0, but by simply moving the mouse over it, it splits into a Green and a Blue 1.0, allowing you to either click and type in a value or click and drag up and down to the desired value. The significance of the Green and Blue immediately becomes apparent, as all Transient processing is represented in Green and all tonal Blue. This is further emphasized by the master control section on the right, which has a Green and a Blue fader for each of the split EQ characteristics and allows you to really pull your mix apart to see what sits up and what gets lost. A real handy and very necessary master section.

On the right, below the master Transient and Tonal faders, is a value box for each, should you find dragging the faders up and down a chore. I thought the calibration and ability to drag stuff about and hit precise values was excellent and probably quicker than typing in the values, but the option is there. Below that is a pan value, which would ordinarily be left at C for center, but you can drag your master processing HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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SplitEQ

focus for either the transient or tonal processing off center should you wish.

Below that is an EQ scale control, which by default is at 100% but you can roll this back if you wish. In doing so, it slowly rolls back the level of processing you have applied, in essence behaving similarly to parallel processing where you are letting an increasing amount of the source signal through.

Below that is a bypass section that gives you the option of a global bypass for the plugin or just the EQ section.

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And finally, below that are a number of options for the Analyzer, which gives you a graphical representation of your audio in the GUI, and with pre and post option buttons you have a handy visual guide to the original and affected audio.

In the top right hand corner of each of the band information boxes is a headphones icon that brings up a further three icons - Green, White and Blue - when you hover over it.

This allows you to hear in isolation the effect of your processing choices

in each band, and although the Green transient selection can sound a little darker, this is fairly common in other transient design tools and is very much what you will hear when you’re attempting to isolate transient information. For an overview of the full frequency range of the transient or tonal elements of your audio there is a further headphone icon on the right side of the bottom panel that you can select, which then splits into a Green and Blue icon and you simply click the one you want.

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“THIS IS AN EXCEPTIONALLY USER-FRIENDLY PLUGIN, WHICH SOUNDS WONDERFUL AND IS SURPRISINGLY MODERATE IN ITS CPU USAGE.”

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EVENTIDE

SplitEQ

PANNING TRANSIENTS Now we come to the really clever part. Along the bottom panel are the EQ and PAN options, by default EQ is selected but if you select pan the boxes change to provide a transient and tonal balance control. Now you have a set of controls with which you can shape your audio within the stereo sound stage, providing you another dimension of control. By selecting an EQ band and dipping the transient off center in the area of the overly aggressive Tamborine, you can hold it back, making it part of the performance rather than a feature. I actually had a lot of fun playing with some well known songs just to see how manipulation in all the dimensions this plugin offers could have solved issues that at the time were left to creative licence.

Following on along the bottom panel is a small menu button next to the SPLIT heading, which gives you a selection of different algorithms for detecting and making the split for different instruments. By default it is

on full mix but there are a number of algorithms for drums, acoustic and electronic, as well as bass, piano, guitar and vocals, so there is very much a focus on this plugin being a mix tool as well as a mastering tool.

Following on from the Split algorithm is a Transient percentage, which by default was at 50% but I found when I increased the percentage I got much sharper transients when they occurred but less of them. In isolation, they sounded very metallic and unnatural but conversely gave the most dynamic and alive sound when brought together with the tonal alterations. Likewise, reducing the Decay time also helped to focus how long the transients stayed present.

Lastly, Smooth - in milliseconds - is the smoothing period of transition from transients back to the tonal regions.

Along the top is the familiar undo/ redo, a comprehensive range of factory presets, A/B buttons, a link for a very comprehensive user manual, which I’ve only just found, and a dB scale selection for the GUI. Of course,

HIGHLIGHTS + Eight-band parametric EQ with musical filters + Control Transient and Tonal Output levels + Globally scale the EQ curves together or independently EVENTIDEAUDIO.COM

SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

there’s also a save and recall facility for creating your own presets, which can be recalled in the various different formats of this plugin.

This is an exceptionally user-friendly plugin, which sounds wonderful and is surprisingly moderate in its CPU usage. To try to emulate what this plugin does in one instance you might need to employ a pretty high quality EQ and possibly a number of instances of a good transient designer. While it’s clearly an excellent high-end mastering tool, its range of presets and the inclusion of selectable algorithms for transient detection would suggest this is far from being a one trick pony.

THE REFERENCE – SINCE 1928

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It took us a moment since we had to elevate the electret technology to Neumann standards.

But now, it is ready: We are proud to introduce the Miniature Clip Mic System MCM. You can hear the true sound of any instrument. And you can rely on an ROI and on mounting options that last for a long, long time – not just one season.

Preorders start now Your Neumann sales rep has all the details, or you can find your Neumann distributor here: miniature-clip-mic.neumann.com

WWW.NEUMANN.COM

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SOLID STATE LOGIC

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Native X-Echo

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NATIVE X-ECHO

SOLID STATE LOGIC SSL (Solid State Logic) has just released the brand new Native X-Echo plugin. Could this be the ultimate vintage tape echo? With all the classic features you’d expect (plus a whole heap more), we couldn’t wait to put this corker through its paces.

I first used a couple of SSL emulation plugins as part of the Universal Audio Suite with the legendary SSL E Channel Strip and the SSL G-Bus Compressor plugins, which both capture the flavour of the original consoles pretty admirably. However, when I started using SSL’s own Native and Fusion ranges, things got even better.

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If you’re not yet familiar with either of these ranges, SSL offers a 14-day free trial for a number of individual plugins, or a 30-day subscription trial on a per suite basis which requires an iLok account. All individual Fusion plugin perpetual licenses are available with an early adopters 25% discount for the first 30 days from their launch, while all are available as part of the SSL Complete Bundle Subscription, currently only $14.99 per month.

The SSL Native X-Echo is a vintage tape echo plugin with a twist. It clearly pays homage to those tape echo units of the ‘60s, specifically the EchoPlex, and features a set of controls like Wow & Flutter and SSL’s classic distortion style saturation to give you that analog hardware warmth. However, there are quite a few additional bells and whistles here that demand close inspection.

SSL Native X-Echo is by far the most comprehensive vintage tape echo plugin I have come across. Like all SSL plugins, the user interface just oozes class; it has the feel and lines of a highend device and even though you’re still dragging and moving faders and pots with a mouse or trackpad, you feel like your new tape echo unit is in another league, dare I say dimension.

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Tap in Sync The main body of the interface gives a graphical waveform visualisation of the audio. Down the right side are four tape head buttons below the green visualisation of the original signal. To the right of this, a dial displaying delay time in milliseconds, and below that a project BPM display followed by Sync and Tap icons. This affords quick and easy set up of echo, repeats, custom time, tap time, or sync to BPM. Along the lower section of the timeline are what look like tape head positions marked with musical symbols for beats in the bar, additional bars and a couple of rest symbols – all of which seem to define the number of musical note/tape head positions within the four-second timeline. This allows for rapid syncing to note values. By selecting one of these positions, you can in an instant become Brighton Rock-esque Brian May and with another, the nameless streets of The Edge.

Of course, by un-syncing and selecting something of a random nature, you can produce all manner of delay, chorus and flange style effects. During this review period I was forced to selfisolate when I tested positive for Covid;

you can’t imagine my joy at having such a good excuse to lock myself away with a couple of guitars and a set of headphones and the SSL Native X-Echo plugin!

Along the lower control panel I found the classic SSL Saturation control to add as much or as little of that vintage dirt as you like. I say dirt, it’s anything but dirt. It’s more peaches and cream or crumpets on an open fire; it’s all warmth and taste. If like me you were in and out of SSL-equipped studios during the ‘80s, you’ll know what I mean. It’s distinctly SSL and although it’s full of that SSL character, something you can add to excess, it never sounds over the top or anything other than transparent.

On the lower row of controls is the Wow & Flutter mentioned earlier, which is a real hats off to tape degradation and capstone style noise that you’d likely find on an EchoPlex or Space Echo. The one difference here is I don’t remember my old Roland sounding anywhere near this good, even without worn tape or a dodgy pinch wheel! The Wow & Flutter also lends weight to some unusually lush style chorusing, which is again something I don’t remember being able to do this easily on a Space Echo or the EchoPlex.

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Again, I really like the modulation and almost mechanical, rotary noise Wow & Flutter dishes up. Although I would question which actual tape echo device it is being authentic to – in terms of musicality and user friendliness – it’s really good to see a company pushing the boundaries and giving users a whole heap more than they bargained for.

Moving along the lower control panel, between the Wow & Flutter and Saturation controls are real-time Freeze and Kill buttons. Freeze holds the delay feedback at a constant rate, while Kill stops feeding the source signal and lets the current echo die. Following these two buttons is the feedback, which reads on a scale of 0% to 150% for more real-time effect manipulation, as well as reintroducing repeats.

Deep and Wide Along from the Saturation control is a Diffusion pot, which dials in a retro bucket brigade-style delay/ modulation sound to give the delays a varying amount of depth. In the off, hard left position the delay is distinctly prominent, and almost in your face. Dialling

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in the Diffusion sends it back behind the original signal, and sounds like it starts to dirty it up bucket brigade style, but then it changes to a spacey, airy reverb – thereby giving it a very modern sound.

The last control in this section is the De-Esser; not something you’d expect on a tape echo, but it proves very useful on vocals and guitars. I found that a little goes a long way, and it really took the sting out of aggressive guitar plucks as well as helping to blend the echo into a feature of the sound rather than an obvious effect; really capturing the mellow tones that are synonymous with vintage tape echo. This blend of modern control over vintage tone runs all the way through this plugin, and makes it just as easy for all skill sets – whether you have experience of tape echo or not – to quickly find your way around.

The output section starts with a width control which simply spreads the echo out into the stereo field. Its pot has a 0 to +200 value, and at 0 it reduces the field to mono. At 100, it maintains the current stereo field, and

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Native X-Echo

at 200 throws it to the extremes. Next to it is a handy little Ping Pong button that sends your echo alternately left and right. The usual handy Bass and Treble pots are next to further shape your tone.

Finally, the mix control from Dry to Wet has a lovely little lock button next to it, so you can flip through the preset library for example while keeping the mix 100% wet, should your unit be on an FX bus rather than direct on an instrument channel.

This bottom control strip is preceded by an input pot and ends with an output pot, both with a range of -24 / +24, and both of which sit below a stereo level meter. SSL’s customary undo, redo, A and B icons sit across the bottom along with a pretty comprehensive selection of factory presets.

Let Me Repeat This It’s not often I’m so bowled over by the range and scope of a product that I simply don’t know where to start or what to praise first. But the more I play with this wonderful plugin, the more great new sounds, along with those very retro sounds of years gone by, I keep finding. Whether you just want a clean slap-back or a full on EchoPlex-style multi echo still sporting the original tape, then it’s highly likely this is the echo plugin you’re going to reach for.

As a guitarist, I found this plugin a real joy to use as I took it through a whole range of digital, bucket brigade, tape echo, reverb and chorus sounds. While I’m in no doubt it’s a real professional’s tool, it was so inspirational that I was actually playing with it when I should’ve been writing about it! It really is excellent, and a whole heap of fun.

Pricing + VAT: £139 / €159 / $199

HIGHLIGHTS + Four switchable tape heads for adding variation + Models classic hardware tape echo devices, including the looping EQ, soft clipping, gentle tape hiss and more + Tape-style analogue degradation with classic SSL-style distortion characteristics using the ‘Wow & Flutter’ and ‘Saturation’

SOLIDSTATELOGIC.COM

SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

U N LO C K T H E A R T I N A U D I O W I T H L- I S A S T U D I O Put the power of mixing and creating immersive sound anywhere - at your fingertips - with L-ISA Studio software suite. Made for speakers or headphones with binaural monitoring, L-ISA Studio can process 96 inputs and 12 outputs. Developed to improve the workflow and unleash the creative potential of concert-proven L-ISA technology, it seamlessly interfaces with leading digital audio workstations and show control software. Download and start creating.

More information on www.l-isa-immersive.com

www.l-acoustics.com

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MIPRO

MI-58 IEM System

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MIPRO Headliner recently got hold of MIPRO’s MI-58 Series to discover how useful this digital IEM system can be for personal and professional stage monitoring...

frequencies and check they were working before handing them to the relevant musicians. What I do know is that those that own MIPRO kit, swear by it!

This was my first experience of a MIPRO radio device, other than a couple of the UHF version IEMs turning up at the side of a festival stage with some of the acts I worked with earlier in the summer. In all the haste, I only got a minute to work out how to alter the

Firstly, a little about the 5.8GHz (5725 - 5850 MHz band) which is a licence-free ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) allocated band providing 150MHz of bandwidth. It’s one of the bandwidths your dual band WiFi router utilises; the one that while

noted for having a more localised coverage area than the 2.4GHz, transmits data at faster speeds.

Within the 5.8GHz band there’s scope for multiple high speed channels and within each channel are locks for multiple streams. This means there should be more than enough capacity for running as many sets as you require for most band and theatre applications, with a total of 64 IDs across all MIPRO 5.8GHz kit.

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MI-58 IEM System

TRANSMIT The system consists of the MI58R body-pack and the MI-58T transmitter. The transmitter is a half-U that can be rack mounted or paired and rack mounted with optional kits. Inputs to the transmitter are by way of a pair of analogue balanced line-in XLR or TRS jacks, while there are also a pair of loop out TRS jacks to daisy chain further devices. For the digital purists, there’s a Dante option – the MI-58TD. The transmitter seems well built, sturdy, and able to withstand a certain amount of abuse despite its light and compact footprint. Sample rate for the audio conversion is 24bit at 48kHz. Latency is fractionally over 2ms. Power is supplied via an external 12v PSU and the transmission power is limited to the European permissible standard of 25mW for PMSE equipment.

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The MI-58T’s front panel is actually a bit of a revelation compared to similar products in this price range.

For starters, the display is really easy to read even at a distance, especially in the dark, but just as easy under strong light. The OLED screen gives you left and right level readings, Group, Channel and ID settings along with AF input source, stereo/mono mode, RF on/off and lock on/off. There are also LED indicators to the left for each channel that indicate a low, good or peak level. Below this are independent level up or down controls for each channel.

To the left of the transmitter’s front panel is a monitor section equipped with both 1/4 inch and 1/8 inch jack sockets and a volume pot. I strongly advise making sure the volume is turned down before you plug in any headphones etc. as this is a pretty

potent headphone amp! On the far right is the menu select rotary with push to select. Next to this is the ACT button which is a means of syncing transmitter to receiver, which took a mere second every time I resynced settings, IDs etc. The ACT control system is also available from a web browser by daisy chaining multiple units together via a MIPRO MES-100. I personally would have preferred an RJ45 rather than the RJ11s on the back of this unit, as these days most engineers already run some form of Cat5e or Cat6 with a Cisco switch or two.

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RECEIVE The bodypack is light and compact. A fair proportion of the weight is the rechargeable 18500 Li-Ion battery – again a bit of a revelation at this price point. There are contact points on either side which allow it to be slotted into one of MIPRO’s handy charging caddies. It took around two hours to charge up, but it still had a little charge left when it went in. More impressive was how I was able to write a review, walk around my house, make lunch, miss numerous phone calls and as day turned to night, this pack was still going strong. I reckon I probably had a good six hours of listening, at which point the battery was still showing two bars – more than enough power for rehearsal, soundcheck and the gig. At one point I was trying to locate some boxes in my cellar, which is below huge slabs of Yorkshire flagstone, two floors, and a couple of walls away from the transmitter. I had the odd glitch while descending the brick wall enclosed staircase

to the cellar, but once underground I had surprisingly stable reception.

This system is also unaffected by other radio equipment in close proximity, something which can and has rendered other systems almost completely useless in a professional environment. To this end, I waved a selection of other radio transmitters next to this pack, imitating what a singer is very likely to do during a performance. I tried UHF kit on both channel 38 and the old licence-free channel 70 for those still carrying that trusty old faithful.

Nothing seemed to phase it, excuse the pun.

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MI-58 IEM System

“THIS RECEIVER STANDS UP IN ITS OWN RIGHT, AND IS NOT JUST A PIECE OF DIGITAL HARDWARE THAT’S BEEN OPTIMISED FOR USE WITH ITS OWN SET OF EARPIECES.”

BONUS TIME The combined system boasts an extended frequency response of 20Hz to 23kHz, which to appreciate would depend more on your age and what you plug into it at either end. However, any system that can provide more air to what can – in other systems – sound like a closed and claustrophobic environment, I very much welcome.

I kind of assumed the supplied in-ear buds were a bonus in this price range, so was pleasantly surprised when

they turned out to be quite reasonable. They have a similar design to the Sennheiser IE100 and 500s I looked at earlier this year, which all feature a single miniature transducer-style driver. If you don’t yet own your own set of custom moulds, then these are as good a place as any with which to start your IEM journey, and even if you do, these make a very useful backup.

CONCLUSION The most important thing is how do they sound, right?

It doesn’t really matter how cost-effective they are if the quality of sound isn’t up to par. Actually, I was very impressed – not only did they sound superior to many UHF systems in the same price range, but the tight, clean bass and crystal clear highs even from MIPRO’s included IEM buds put some far more expensive systems in the shade.

Having a range of custom mould IEMs and generics to really put the MI-58R through its paces also proved that this receiver stands up in its own right, and is not just a piece of digital hardware that’s been optimised for use with its own set of earpieces.

It’s loud, I mean properly loud, and actually seems to favour multi-driver IEMs like my custom JH16s or the generic Roxannes, which in flat mode are superbly detailed and distortion and artifact free. I was genuinely impressed with not only the sound quality but the stability and performance level of the receiver unit; accidentally waving a UHF handheld mic against it had no effect at all.

Lastly, the build quality is pretty good, and for those who are buying it for their own personal use, and are more likely to look after it, this is a great device. When I did accidentally drop it, it was light enough that it didn’t pull out the set of moulds I was wearing at the time, which actually broke its fall inches from the floor. I then dropped it a second time, also accidentally, from waist height onto my living room laminated floor; not a mark on it!

I did notice that the plastic case is more of a shell in detachable sections via tiny screws. If these parts become, or are available as accessories in the same way as the rechargeable batteries and caddies, then the MIPRO MI58 system could be a product well worth considering as hire stock. Honestly, it sounds that good!

We recently headed into the studio and let Headliner’s very own Grace McGuigan use the MI-58 while performing an original song – check out the video on the Headliner Hub YouTube channel.

HIGHLIGHTS + Long-distance transmission for personal and professional stage monitoring + Stereo/Mono/Mixed output modes and EQ settings to suit user preference + Expanded frequency response range, improved S/N ratio, and reduced audio latency MIPRO.COM SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

JOSHUA FAULKNER ON USING THE MUSIC MISSION “One day you could be recording a string section, the next you could be recording a Skepta vocal or a soprano. So having something as solid and easily portable as the Anubis interface, which sounds amazing every time, is priceless.”

merging.com/anubis

Merging Technologies SA, Le Verney 4, CH-1070, Puidoux, Switzerland

T +41 21 946 0444

E anubis@merging.com

W merging.com

EVENTIDE

Infinite Possibilities and Wobbly Goodness

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Eventide Audio has long been at the very forefront of several aspects of the music and audio industry at large, including guitar and effects pedals, plugins, rackmount, broadcast and more.

Headliner endeavoured to see if they are still delivering the goods for pedal enthusiasts by having a lot of fun with a choice selection of their pedals, by seeing if they could complement two analogue synthesizers from Modal Electronics, the Argon8 and Cobalt8.

Eventide was one of the world’s first companies to manufacture digital audio processors, and its products are mainstays in sound recording and reproduction, postproduction, and broadcast studios.

And considering they were founded in the basement of a New York City studio, it’s wonderful to see them as

a hugely popular and established international brand.

So for this little experiment, Headliner opted for three of their flagship products: The Blackhole Reverb, UltraTap Pedal and MicroPitch Delay.

The Blackhole Reverb is already quite a name, not only in physical form, but it is very popular as a software plugin also. It is billed as an ‘otherwordly reverb’. This description certainly seems to suggest that those wanting ethereal and ambient textures are in the right place. It boasts five presets and many more available from Eventide’s website.

The Predelay, Feedback and Gravity buttons are enough to whet the appetite.

The UltraTap pedal is a different prospect, offering tape delays,

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reverb, modulation and more, so fittingly described as ‘a multiverse of tone.’ It has onboard LFOs and envelopes, and the lovingly titled ‘Slurm’ control for smearing and slurring taps together to create unique reverbs and choruses. On top of all this, you can control feedback, the spread/distance between taps, and ‘chop’ for expressive modultations.

And completing the trio is the Micropitch Delay, a lovely little red pedal, an iconic sound of Eventide’s that originated in the H910 and H949 Harmonizers, and later popularised with the H3000. It has positive envelope and negative envelope modulation sources, and can achieve subtle tone fattening, lush stereo widening, rich detuned delays, thick modulation, and tempo-synced special effects.

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EVENTIDE PEDALS

Infinite Possibilities and Wobbly Goodness

“THERE’S ALMOST A DANGER OF FEELING LIKE MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY IN INTERSTELLAR.”

Being something of a reverb-head myself, I can’t resist first plugging in the Blackhole pedal. Once going, any fears that ‘as big as the cosmos’ just being overblown marketing gimmickry are quickly dismissed. You really can achieve the metaphysical almost as soon as the TS cable is plugged in. The Cobalt8’s pads gain even more warmth and charm rapidly.

But let’s not get carried away; as with the right settings, subtle and small ‘verbs work beautifully as well, if you are simply seeking to add the right splash of colour and smaller spaciousness to your chosen instrument. But the fun really begins when you crank up the Mix, Gravity and Size buttons. The cosmos is an accurate reference point, as the word infinite keeps springing to mind when twiddling with them.

There’s almost a danger of feeling like Matthew McConaughey in Interstellar. Especially when you can SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

easily achieve that Hans Zimmeresque synth hugeness with this little box at hand.

So with a giant green tick plastered onto the Blackhole, it’s time to add some delay to proceedings. And also reverb, modulation and a hell of a lot more. Enter the UltraTap. There’s many examples of how these quirky combinations of effects with delay can achieve fairly majestic results with synths (think Nils Frahm and Sigur Rós), but can the UltraTap do such business?

Well if you like things to be tastefully quirky, then my goodness, yes it can.

The word infinite almost immediately springs to mind once more, as you can keep the delays hanging around to an almost ghostly extent. And with the modulation capabilities, that classic detuned quality of old synthesizers that sounds bad on paper but so many people adore goes off absolutely brilliantly here.

And as mentioned earlier, there’s so much power in the user’s hands in terms of controlling the delay.

The Taps and Length buttons keep the power within reach. Delay is a notoriously difficult beast after all. With that said, though, the Feedback switch is where the spontaneous joy occurs, especially if you change it vigorously.

Last one to try is the little red box that is the MicroPitch Delay.

It’s almost unthinkable that this diminutive bit of gear, as attractive as it may be, is seeking to emulate the H910 and H949 Harmonizers of yesteryear. But we’re once again shown that you don’t always need giant racks to achieve great sounds. One of the Argon8’s preset sounds is a gorgeously quirky, staccato synth with a ping pong quality, and the MicroPitch compliments it wonderfully.

REVIEW

This sound in particular is so ripe for pitch shifting, and an enormous amount of fun is had with it. In fact, as the pedal has dual pitch shifting options, the possibilities are pretty endless. The stabby-synth pops and soars even when I’ve hardly touched the MicroPitch. That could be down to the luscious stereo widening within

the pedal, the richly detuned delays, or any other multitude of things this pedal is able to do. Delay pedals are so often one-note and disappointing, but this little red machine is, once again, cosmic in its scope.

Eventide are keen to point out these aren’t just guitar pedals, and nor

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does this review want to give the impression they’re only great for keyboards either. Try them out with anything and you’ll almost certainly be deeply impressed. It turns out you don’t need the wealth of Branson or Bezos to be launched into space, just get one of these effects pedals instead.

HIGHLIGHTS + Blackhole - Soft attack and lingering, harmonic tails for guitars, strings, and pads + UltraTap - Multi-tap effect pedal for staccato leads, swelling chords, and other evolving effects + MicroPitch - Fine-resolution pitch shifter for subtle tone fattening and delays for dramatic slap back effects

EVENTIDEAUDIO.COM

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GENELEC

8341A & GLM 4 Calibration Kit

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GENELEC Genelec describes its 8341A as a point source monitor with the perfect blend of size and performance. Headliner recently got hold of a pair, along with a GLM 4 Calibration Kit, to find out how they perform in a less than ideal acoustic environment...

Recently, a courier delivered to my house the largest Peli case I’ve ever seen. In it were a pair of Genelec 8341As and a GLM Calibration Kit. We have a pair of these in the Headliner London studio and while they’re hugely impressive, nothing quite beats the anticipation of using a new product in your own space.

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8341A & GLM 4 Calibration Kit

SETUP I was keen to press these into action and at the same time get the huge Peli case off the living room floor.

After carefully removing my trusty monitors of 14 years, I hooked the Genelec 8341As to the mains and my SSL SiX using a couple of XLRs – nothing! It dawned on me that I might need to set up the 8341As using either the dip switches on the back or, as I needed to try it out anyway, the GLM software.

Connecting the GLM Adapter requires mere common sense and simply connects to your computer via a supplied USB cable. Each speaker has both digital AES, EBU input and thru connections as well as analogue inputs. There’s a euro mains socket, two RG45s and a whole bunch of dip

switches: more on these later. I daisychained the speakers to the GLM Adapter with a couple of Cat5 cables and searched for Genelec GLM software in my web browser.

be any confusion as to which is left and which is right.

After entering my email and answering a simple question as to which speaker model I wanted to set up, I was sent straight to the GLM V4 download page, with the option for Mac or Windows. The download and installation took seconds, and I was really chuffed to bits when I heard the strange swishing sound as I dragged each speaker into position on a grid, which represents how your speakers are positioned within your space – confirmation that I was on the right track. Each sound is played through one speaker at a time, so there can’t

Essentially, you’re setting up what Genelec refers to as a Smart Active Monitoring (SAM) layout of the system, which in this case is – in its simplest form – with just a left and right monitor. However, the same could also be done for a multiple surround or immersive multi-monitor system. When you’re happy with the layout and its included speakers you can save it as a preset group. If you have a main monitoring system with a sub, this could be one group, and your near/midfield 8341As like mine could be your second group. Genelec makes controlling and switching between groups easy with the GLM software.

side of your stereo spectrum being corner locked. The overall separation of the stereo field was excellent, but I’m more inclined to put this down to a really excellent set of speakers and not just a clever piece of software.

target you’re searching for, and then store that as a preset. That ability to move work from room to room while retaining a greater degree of consistency has got to be of huge benefit to music professionals.

If I could find the room to move my speakers I would, but it’s systems like this that make it possible to continue to create, mix and produce in the face of adversity. I’m sure most musicians would rather have a great tool to more accurately produce good results, even if they have to work in an attic so as not to disturb other household members!

You also have the ability to set various listening positions. For example, you could have the engineer’s and producer’s chairs as well as the band couch, with the software’s ability to precisely calculate distances for each monitor together with its own unique calibration to represent the best possible sound at any given location.

Phase alignment between subs and monitors can also be calculated for any listening position. You can of course keep the calibration mic plugged in permanently which then acts as a handy SPL meter. Also, having an onscreen remote volume control and dim button is very useful if your interface is racked up.

CALIBRATION The GLM 4 program simply prompts you to place the mic supplied as part of the kit at ear height in your listening position. The handy little mic clip fitted perfectly to my camera stand, so I used that as my means of mic positioning. When all was set up and ready, I clicked on the calibrate icon and the system sent a loud sweeping tone to each speaker in sequence, bringing up a frequency response chart for each, the filter sum to be applied and the resulting corrected response. Each time, you’re prompted to confirm and the filter is applied to the monitor speaker in question.

Having recently looked at alternative room correction software, I wasn’t surprised to see how wildly different the responses were from left to right speaker. My little mix room is a bit limited on space so the left speaker is almost corner locked which isn’t ideal. I really liked that the speakers negated that enhanced effect of one SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

GLM 4 also allows you to customise your frequency response further. For example, you’ve been working in a particular room with a characteristic sound that you want to replicate in your home studio or mix room.

No problem – you can tweak the response to more closely mirror the

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THE MONITORS In recent years I’ve had the luxury of hearing and working with Genelec monitors, and it’s become apparent that these are tools designed to get the best out of your creative input – to give the clearest picture sonically and the best possible results whatever the genre and environment.

On the back of the monitor is a bank of dip switches that allow a certain amount of tweaking without setting up the GLM Adapter, although it really is a must to initially set up and calibrate your system. If, like me, you have limited space and it’s desirable to remove the mic, cabling and

controller from your workspace, you can store your calibration directly to the monitor by setting the memory switch to on: the monitor loads the stored GLM setting every time you power it up. Without GLM you can also select which digital channel you want to pick up from the AES/ EBU input, either A (left, odd number) or B (right, even number). You can select both, at which point the input signal is summed and attenuated to compensate for the increase in level.

Two of the dip switches on the back panel deal with a varying amount of attenuation depending on the

combination, another turns on and off the front casing LED indicator if it’s a distraction, and another the ISS power saving function – the activation time of which is an hour. A further four switches deal with various EQ tweaks to help reduce common problems associated with monitor placement. Having said that, why anyone would struggle trying to set up these monitors without GLM is beyond me. It was so incredibly quick and painless, and in my case with not particularly ideal monitor placement, it would have been impossible to get the great results I did.

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8341A & GLM 4 Calibration Kit

CONCLUSION There are defining moments in your life when the penny drops, so to speak, and you wonder why it took so long to realise that you could have been producing great work quicker and far sooner if you’d only listened to those already in the know. The set-up of the Genelec 8341As with the GLM V4 software is one such special moment.

struggled to get right in mixes for some time. There’s beautiful detail and separation in the midrange and air and sparkle without harshness or jarring. I spent pretty much the whole day listening to music again and really enjoyed it. In fact I was blown away. It’s not often you bring something new into your own work environment that shines so brightly.

They sound incredible even with less than optimal placement, and achieve tight, punchy lows that I’ve

HIGHLIGHTS + + + +

8341A - Smart Active Monitor (SAM) system with Directivity Control Waveguide (DCW) technology Increased LF extension and high SPL capability GLM 4 - New AutoCal 2 algorithm for quicker and more precise calibration Monitor control allows switching between multiple monitoring systems using same DAW outputs

GENELEC.COM

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SPITFIRE AUDIO

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Aperture: The Stack

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APERTURE: THE STACK

SPITFIRE AUDIO Ever wondered what 56 amps and four subs would sound like if you stacked them all together and ran guitars, basses, drum machines and modular synths through them? Spitfire Audio has done all that, and more, in its new beast of a library, Aperture: The Stack. Touring musician and composer, Daniel Pereira, finds out just how powerful and inspiring this quirky VI can be...

Since the pandemic started, it seems to me that more musicians are turning towards instrument sample libraries. When it comes to composing, I have always struggled to filtrate which libraries I really need, although when it comes to Spitfire Audio, they always seem to hit the nail on the head. Aperture: The Stack, Spitfire’s latest offering, was recorded at London’s iconic AIR Studios, and is arguably the manufacturer’s most inspirational yet.

Anyone who knows Spitfire will be aware of their prestigious orchestral sample libraries. However, Aperture: The Stack was a surprise, and is unlike any other thus far. Guitars and basses are at the core, along with many a drum machine and modular synth, all of which have been played through a whopping wall of 56 amplifiers. As a guitarist for the band Fuzz Skyler, and a composer with a fascination in modular synths, it’s essentially all my Christmases come at once.

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SPITFIRE AUDIO

Aperture: The Stack

“PRESS A KEY AND THESE SOUNDS WILL START TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU IN A WAY THAT NO OTHER SOUND LIBRARY HAS DONE...”

My first thought when opening the product is how user friendly it is. It is organised in a way that everything you need is on display and therefore easy to find, enabling creativity to quickly flow. As I’m sure any composer will agree, this makes the process of creating way more enjoyable.

Aperture: The Stack has four different elements: Dave (which mainly consists of pad-like sounds); The Synths; The Guitars; and The Machines (drum machines). Each of these has a depth to it worthy of full score creation in itself, though it’s The Synths category that really blows my mind. If you have used modular synths, you will know that those machines are spectacular, and breathe life, and Spitfire has managed to grab that exact same feel and essence across the board. These sounds will start to communicate with you in a way that no other sound library has done the minute you start to explore them.

Being a guitarist, The Guitars element is also a natural draw. Spitfire’s approach is somewhat unique, and sonically these sounds are nothing

short of jaw-dropping. It’s important to get across that these are not regular guitar emulations – far from it. They’re guitar sounds that would be extremely difficult to replicate in any conventional studio, and that, I find really special – no doubt heightened by the acoustic of the magical room they were recorded in. They all boast immense detail and their own unique character with varying levels of punch and depth, and although the presets are epic, these sounds are so easy to manipulate – dramatically, should you choose to. The Guitars sound great on their own, but they would also work perfectly as an extra colour or flair element to a band production.

Versatile is the word, basically.

Furthermore, I was also impressed with The Machines, which for me is the cherry on top, because I get an 808 drum machine with a very welcome twist!

The most challenging part of this process was trying to pick my top three favourite sounds… But here goes: ‘Synth Pulses’ is simply beautiful; ‘The Failed Ascent’ is awe-inspiring – try to imagine a huge ensemble of horns

HIGHLIGHTS + Includes vintage synths, drum machines, eurorack and guitars, all captured in AIR Studios’ Lyndhurst Hall + Four amp settings for varying levels of dynamic control + Spitfire’s biggest ever sample library, captured through the largest amount of amps ever recorded SPITFIREAUDIO.COM

SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

performing a crescendo with a bend up kind of sound and you’re getting close; and ‘15,000 Watts’, which is what it says on the tin: wonderful guitar tone at the core, recorded through a wall of 56 amps, which needs no further explanation, really!

Having made a score composition using only Aperture: The Stack – and in no time at all - I can honestly say that the sounds themselves are truly inspiring, and the ideas started to flow immediately and beautifully, without much effort. Using the Aperture control with the modulation wheel, you can make the sounds go from tame to wild, making them jump out of your speakers to give you that smack in the face, thump on the chest, or fall off your chair type feeling.

So to summarise, I believe any musician looking to further their sonic palette, or to add colour or pizzazz to existing projects, will get a lot out of this library. It’s fun, it’s exciting, and it can massively enhance your productions regardless of genre.

The hybrid SSL studio Add the perfect balance of Fusion’s six analogue processors on 2-bus or stems, command your creative session with UF8 Advanced DAW Controller, or apply SSL Native processing like you’re piloting an SSL console with UC1 Plug-in Controller.

Solid State Logic has taken its renowned legacy in studio workflow and ergonomics and combined it with the latest forward-thinking production tools to create the hybrid SSL studio.

Fusion

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Bus Compressor

#WhatWillYouCreate www.solidstatelogic.com

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SSL Native Plug-ins

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500 Series

LEAPWING AUDIO

UltraVox

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UltraVox is another well thought out idea from Leapwing that brings together the key processing components of vocal recording and mixing in one plugin. There are four unique algorithms: Compression, Gate, Harmonics and Air, with each one represented by just a single control. The Compression and Gate for example are set by a threshold dB value and the algorithm does the rest, including auto gain levelling, so it’s really easy to hear in real-time the result of the amount of compression you apply.

Gating a recording – especially something as dynamic and varied as a vocal – can be quite tricky, so

some engineers leave this process for the mix stage. I was interested to find out how easy it was to use the Gate feature of this plugin in my DAW and record through it. With many interfaces you can set up different routing for the performer from within the interface, which includes reverb at near zero latency while the engineer can monitor the processed audio being recorded by the DAW. However, I used it in Logic in low latency mode and the plugin didn’t seem to introduce any noticeable latency at all. The obvious benefit here is a single plugin that’s not only a useful mix tool, but that can also provide a really quick, low latency, great sounding vocal processing chain for recording.

With UltraVox, spending a couple of minutes setting the Compression and Gate thresholds while you sing through it, then saving that using the save preset option in the preset menu, leaves you with a very simple low latency solution ready to go every time the inspiration takes you.

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LEAPWING AUDIO Over the past year or so, Headliner has taken a close look at the entire Leapwing product range, of which we’re big lovers and users. So, when we heard of a new plugin from Leapwing aimed at simplifying the vocal processing chain, we were all ears.

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What was interesting was that the Compression and Gate seemed to work in harmony, as if they knew what was vocal and what wasn’t, almost like a look-ahead feature without the latency. Of course it still lets through finger clicking, foot tapping and sharp intakes of breath, but background breathing and headphone bleed were gone, making it easier and quicker to edit out later while keeping your vocal performances intact.

ONE STOP SHOP When it comes to mixing, the algorithms again work their clever magic. When dialling in compression from the single threshold control -60 dB to 0 dB, it has program-dependent fast attack and slow release times, and seems to have the perfect ratio and gain make-up depending on the nature of the vocal track. How it works is of course Leapwing’s own closely guarded secret, but what it does is balanced and always musical. As you reduce the compression level HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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LEAPWING AUDIO UltraVox

“HERE IS A SINGLE PLUGIN THAT’S NOT ONLY A USEFUL MIX TOOL, BUT THAT CAN ALSO PROVIDE A REALLY QUICK, LOW LATENCY, GREAT SOUNDING VOCAL PROCESSING CHAIN FOR RECORDING.”

threshold, the voice comes forward and warms up. As you continue, it starts to move back again but still maintains its integrity and detail.

The Gate, also with variable program dependent attack and release times, is really easy to apply in the mix process and is admirably suited to further processing of vocal recordings.

I picked a couple of recordings that I knew were littered with headphone and foot tapping, as well as preparation noises, lip licking and breathing etc. and I could precisely remove them with just a single level control, almost as if UltraVox has a listen-and-learn feature.

Now to the two great inclusions that really make this plugin somewhat of a gem. The first is Harmonics, which SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

is again just as at home on the front end and in some ways has a kind of vintage vibe about it when applied; by blending in a varying amount of second and third order harmonics you can really increase the depth and presence of your vocal. Again, this is a feature you can use to enhance the recording as well as mixing, and in some cases can make an ordinary mic/pre interface sound far more than the sum of its parts.

Finally there’s Air, a custom curve boost around 12kHz which adds a crisp sparkle to proceedings without causing any enhancement to possible sibilance. Again a really nice touch if you’re singing enclosed by baffles and want to just open up a little space around the vocal.

Leapwing has created a number of really useful presets from which to get up and running, and the preset menu also features a save preset option so you can easily store and recall user presets for your own way of working.

There’s the usual undo/redo buttons available to skip back and forth over the last change and an A/B feature to compare different quick stored preset edits in detail. There’s an overall bypass button that maintains the plugin latency to compare processed audio with unprocessed. As with all Leapwing plugins, there’s an ‘In’ slider on the left for controlling signal level into the plugin, and on the right, the ‘Out’ slider to allow gain staging in your DAW.

REVIEW

ONE STOP SHOP As a recording tool for songwriters and musicians, this is a really clever plugin that offers a straightforward quick and easy solution for optimising your vocal input signal path without introducing unworkable latency or without the need for any real expertise as a recording engineer. However, in an age when workflow is of growing importance, I can see UltraVox being

equally important and trusted by busy professionals. At no point while I was playing with UltraVox did I dial in a setting that actually made a vocal sound anything other than a better version of itself, and all with a high degree of transparency.

As a mix tool, Leapwing has come up with a really excellent time saving product in UltraVox that takes the faff out of trying to build the perfect vocal

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mix chain. What I can also tell you is that UltraVox does all the obvious things extremely well, and if you haven’t yet tried any of Leapwing’s excellent plugins, start with this one!

UltraVox is available for PC and Mac in AAX-Native, VST, VST3 and AU formats.

You can download a fully functioning copy now on a free 30-day trial, and it is also currently on special offer direct from Leapwing.

HIGHLIGHTS + Dynamic control tames vocal peaks and unwanted noises + Harmonics and Air controls provide polished character and tone + Highly optimised algorithms for vocal processing LEAPWINGAUDIO.COM

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SOLID STATE LOGIC

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Fusion Violet EQ

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Fusion Violet EQ

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SOLID STATE LOGIC Solid State Logic’s new Fusion Violet EQ is a two-band minimum phaseshift shelving EQ from the critically acclaimed Fusion Stereo Analogue Colour processor. Being the first SSL analogue EQ design in more than 25 years, Headliner just had to see what all the fuss is about…

SSL’s Fusion Violet EQ is the latest plugin to emulate a big slice of the Fusion cake, and an emulation of the first analogue EQ circuitry we have seen from SSL for some time. Circuitry which also features as part of SSL’s equally respected UltraViolet 500 series stereo EQ module. What’s more, if you already subscribe to the SSL Complete Subscription Bundle, this new plugin won’t cost you a bean!

Firstly, for those not in the know, the ‘Fusion’ analogue hardware device is aimed squarely at the mastering industry, but has created somewhat of a stir among individuals who are looking to improve their skill set and try their hand and ears at mastering.

It brings together a number of circuits for which SSL is well known, like its signature Saturation, together with a couple of new ones like the Violet EQ.

MASTER STROKE Fusion Violet EQ is designed to emulate the minimum-phase shift shelving filters of the original hardware. Four selectable frequencies across two bands with complementary response curves help to add low end weight or gentle reduction of low frequencies if needed, and likewise in the high end to add air and crispness to a mix.

The frequency selection is stepped; the low band offering 30Hz, 50Hz 70Hz and 90Hz and the high band 8kHz, 12kHz, 16kHz and 20kHz. The Gain pot is centred and offers ±9dB of cut and boost. The curves are extremely smooth and musical, perfect in fact for shopping the low end to make sure your mix makes the transition from iPods to dancefloors seamlessly. The high shelving was just right for putting back what compression can often reduce.

When mastering it is often the low and high ends which require the most attention and likewise, good ears and as much experience as you can bring to bear. I remember many years ago

sitting in on a mastering session and feeling slightly in the dark as to what was actually going on. I must confess that I struggled to hear the nuances and subtleties of the changes being made and it was only at the end of the session when the two-track tape was compared to the test pressing from the freshly cut acetate that all became clear. I remember the engineer smiling at me and saying “you have to really train your ears to do this job”, followed by “if it was easy, everyone would be doing it; milk two sugars!”

MIXING THE MAGIC In today’s topsy-turvy world, I have found putting a high quality EQ on my master bus and adding that little extra to the highs and lows allows me to work at lower overall levels for longer periods of time. It’s a little bit like turning on the loudness button on your ‘70s and ‘80s Hi-Fi amp or receiver, but without the colouration and with far more transparency.

However, it’s not unusual to find certain mix engineers using similar shelving EQs across the master bus, partly because of that tendency in HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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SOLID STATE LOGIC

Fusion Violet EQ

“THIS PLUGIN IS EVERY BIT A QUALITY SSL PRODUCT. IT’S CLEAN, MUSICAL AND UTTERLY TRANSPARENT.”

mastering but also because modern production and mixing often uses larger processing chains that focus more heavily on detail in the midrange.

This is very likely to be a contributory factor as to why what was essentially a great analogue mastering tool in SSL’s Fusion has found its way into mix rooms and production studios.

Of course, you no longer have to make that kind of investment or provide the associated rack space to have this little slice of magic at your disposal. I think it speaks volumes that SSL isn’t the only company offering emulations of its historic analogue products. Either way, it is still bringing innovative and beautifully sounding products to the market.

I really love this simple, straightforward and utterly transparent EQ plugin.

As well as being a useful tool for the master bus, I’ve also found it perfect for sweetening samples and loops. In fact, anything that doesn’t need bell or notch filters. A very useful button is the Eco

button, bottom right, which switches the EQ into low latency mode – very handy for tracking and mixing. And as with all SSL plugins, you have input and output trims for easy gain staging together with comprehensive metering.

For additional tone shaping there’s a high pass filter and a FAT button which adds dimension and weight without adding additional bass, and sounds like harmonic saturation. Again, very musical and just gives added definition to kick drum and bass material without any level change. I think it should be called the sweet spot button!

SSL provides useful presets to get you started, including a selection from producers Adrian Hall, Sean Divine and Wes Clarke. There are the usual A/B save and compare features as well as undo/redo. You can also recall presets you make in one DAW with one format in another: Fusion Violet EQ is available for PC and Mac in 64-bit AAX, VST, VST3 and AU formats.

HIGHLIGHTS + + + +

First new SSL analogue EQ circuit for more than 25 years Includes the high-pass filter from the SSL Fusion hardware unit Four switched frequency points and +/- 9 dB attenuation Comes with presets from world-class producers and engineers Adrian Hall, Sean Divine and Wez Clarke

SOLIDSTATELOGIC.COM SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

CONCLUSION I like a lot of things about the Fusion Violet EQ, but then I really like the original Fusion hardware. I’ve also been lucky enough to have a hands-on with the UltraViolet 500 series module and that has two additional bands of comprehensive EQ control. The plugin has some very useful additions, especially the FAT button, and is every bit a quality SSL product. It’s clean, musical and utterly transparent. Make sure to take full advantage of the 14-day free trial which is available for any of the SSL plugin ranges.

DRUM RE-SYNTHESIZER

A revolutionary way to design your own drums – Backbone is your new, innovative drum designer for single kicks, snares, hi-hats, percussion, rises, hits and more.

Layer up to eight samples and shape them with classic subtractive synthesis, decompose samples into tonal and noise elements and re-synthesize samples to manipulate them in unheard ways.

steinberg.net/backbone All specifications are subject to change without notice. Copyright © 2020 Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. All rights reserved.

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BABY AUDIO

TAIP

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BABY AUDIO Baby Audio recently launched its brand new TAIP AI-Powered tape emulation plugin, but does it deliver?

Headliner finds out…

This is a new one on me; I’d never heard of Baby Audio until a request for a review, together with a link and a licence key, showed up in my inbox. A quick search on Baby Audio threw up a number of interesting plugins, specifically one called Super VHS, which is a fairly popular and incredibly low priced, lo-fi ‘80s style tape emulation.

So Baby Audio are no stranger to this style of plugin, however there are so many tape emulators, saturation and modulation recreations – some of which I already have – that it might seem strange to bring yet another similar plugin to the market. Well, that’s exactly what I thought until I started using it!

A.I. rules!

Taip, or T.AI.P as the GUI suggests, is an AI-powered tape plugin. Instead of using algorithms to emulate what

happens in the analogue circuitry of a tape machine, this plugin uses an AI algorithm which has spent thousands of hours detecting the difference between the dry and wet audio examples.

This isn’t utilising the AI algorithm while listening to the audio you feed it and making decisions in real-time; the learning has already been done for you and has been broken down into a number of flexible parameters.

The wet signal is adjusted with the aid of a control panel sporting a very HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

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BABY AUDIO

TAIP

useful and musical set of controls, which give you everything from tape hiss to a badly biased and calibrated tape channel.

I’d like to say I can tell which tape machine was used, but my memory

isn’t that good these days, so if I was to hazard a guess I’d plumb for the two-track Studer A67 or Revox B77 which shared some of its circuitry.

Either way I doubt very much if anyone had the gaul to deliberately push the original machines to

produce some of the range of sounds that this plugin is capable of. Seems these days rules are there to be broken, and the musical landscape is far richer for it!

level at which it’s driven actually seems to stay fixed at the level set by the right reel - output level control.

meter showing input signal level and likewise on the right, the output signal level. Above the TAIP logo in the middle is a handy bypass button simply named Baby Audio, which allows for a quick A/B of processed and dry signals.

IN CONTROL The interface is laid out like a tape machine in a very logical and obvious way. The left reel is the drive control and the right reel the output level. Driving the input level is what creates the analogue style tape distortion; the more you drive it the more it distorts and breaks up. One point to note is the signal; although it can sound louder, the

Between the reels is a Drive AutoGain On/Off switch and below that a Mix fader which blends original with processed signals. On the left side is a very stylish slim level

CONTROL FREAK This is where it starts to get interesting, and with care-free manipulation of the bottom bank of controls, some really freakish sounds can be achieved; probably well beyond what you might think possible from other, mere emulation tools.

On the bottom left of the control panel are three horizontal faders: Noise, Wear and Glue. Noise adds a healthy adjustable amount of background hiss to your audio signal but closes off a bit like SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

it’s being gated about a second after the audio signal finishes. If you wanted it to run for an entire track you would need to place it on a track with constant audio on it from start to finish. The second fader marked Wear produces a really lovely wow and flutter style of modulation and degradation.

Reminded me a little of a few years back when I made an attempt to go back through a collection of cassettes to retrieve some of my melody ideas; 30-40 years on they hadn’t fared so well!

Below that is the Glue fader. This seems to change its characteristics depending on what kind of source material the plugin is placed. For example, on percussive material it seems to behave as though with a slower attack giving a more aggressive sound with a longer top end decay. Either way, it glues the drive and source together in a very musical way, giving a lovely range of subtle to upfront compression.

REVIEW

81

“THE FLEXIBILITY OF TAIP FROM BABY AUDIO IS IMMENSE AND CAN TAKE YOU DOWN PATHS YOU HADN’T THOUGHT OF GOING DOWN BEFORE WITH YOUR CREATIVITY.”

HEADLINERMAGAZINE.NET

82

BABY AUDIO

TAIP

In the middle are two option switches.

Input switches between Normal and Hot and Model switches between Single and Dual. Hot, as you might expect, gives a subtle boost to the nature of the distortion and seems almost superfluous to the power of the Drive control. However after some time playing with it, it’s possible that Normal and Hot are two slightly different flavours of saturation which become far more obvious as you increase the Drive.

The Model option of Single or Dual was slightly harder to work out as the differences here are far more subtle.

But in headphones while I was making the video the sound in Dual Model

is bigger and bolder which leads me to conclude that Single is going through one tape machine while dual is sending signal through two tape machines.

On the right hand side are three more horizontal sliders which start with the presence control. As is usual, the presence gently lifts the high-mid and high frequencies and brightens up the signal. Whereas all the faders so far have operated from left-to-right to increase values, the last two start in the centre and provide plus or minus values. The controls are described as Hi-Shape and Low-Shape and I think they are a modern twist on the old bias and EQ gain settings that were used

to calibrate tape machines and make adjustments for the different formulas of professional audio tape that are available.

Although it’s many years ago now, I remember regularly listening to and stripping tape with test tones which were used as a means of setting the correct bias for the tape so it could easily be moved from studio to studio.

While these controls don’t directly relate to any particular known analogue control, what they produce is the sound of a correctly to a badly set up tape recorder. If you move to the right they enhance the frequency range and to the left they seem to break down and remove those frequencies.

IN USE I had a lot of fun making the video and reviewing this plugin.

I just kept smiling while trying to make things sound as bad as I could – things just kept sounding good however bad they became. The flexibility of TAIP from Baby Audio is immense and can take you down paths you hadn’t

thought of going down before with your creativity. It was exceptionally good at putting the human touch back into programmed music. It brought flat and soulless audio to life and put the dynamic back in drab. This is a plugin everyone will love.

CONCLUSION It’s actually easier these days for musicians and producers to create high quality in the box music with modern technology.

Whether that music is good or not is very much in the hands of the consumer. The thing is, good music is not always the best programmed or the technically best played or even the cleanest. Sometimes you just need to dirty it up a bit to make it sound real and alive again. And this is another very good tool to help in the pursuit of musicality. Whether it’s bit crushers, valve emulations, distortion and saturation

enhancers or analogue summing amplifiers, there are no shortages.

What sets TAIP from Baby Audio apart is its musicality, ease of use and its price. I expected that a high quality plugin of this nature would set me back $150 plus, but the retail price is expected to be a very modest $69. I’m so impressed I’ll be checking out some of the other plugins from Baby Audio.

HIGHLIGHTS + AI-powered algorithm provides true warmth of analogue tape + Flexible feature set allows users to create a custom ‘tape flavour’ for any need + Adds musical saturation and glue to drums, instruments, vocals and more BABYAUD.IO

SPOTLIGHT JOURNAL

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8424

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