Learn Electric Guitar Production Techniques

macProVideo.com release a new tutorial

macProVideo.com has released a new tutorial in their Outside The Box series. Electric Guitar Productionfeatures guitar tips and tricks from Israeli composer & producer Eyal Amir. Here's what macProVideo.com has to say...

Eyal Amir is back with a new song and new course. Collaborating with virtuoso guitarist Alon Tamir, Eyal takes you through all the innovative guitar techniques he used to produce his latest tune: Deal With It –which Eyal wrote specifically for this course!

See how to build solid rhythm tracks. Learn how different picking techniques can be used to create effective musical expression. Watch Eyal and Alon collaborate on creating overtones, melodies, arpeggios, solos and more while they explain their Outside The Box production techniques. Most of all, see how Eyal –in his imaginative way– weaves all of these various guitar sounds into an inspiring musical fabric!

One of the most interesting aspects in this course is how Eyal communicates and works out his ideas with his musicians relying on their expertise and musicality to achieve his musical goals!

Finally, you'll watch and learn as Eyal artfully processes the tracks with compression, EQ and delay to give them a solid place in the mix.

Be sure to check out all of Eyal Amir's Outside the Box courses in our ever-expanding Studio and Recording Techniques courses.

Pricing and Availability:
$25/mth USD Unlimited Library Access
$19.50 USD: Buy Now and View in HD

More information:
MPV

Stereo-to-5.1 Surround Plug-in

ADL Releases Penteo 3 Pro

Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, has been appointed the exclusive U.S. distributor of a new plug-in from ADL, a leading developer of proprietary solutions in stereo-to-5.1 surround technology. They tell us that the plug-in, called Penteo 3 Pro, discretely converts stereo to 5.1, offering very fine control over sound image placement, thereby creating the warmest and best-sounding surround experience. Designed for post-production, broadcast and DJ professionals, Penteo 3 Pro's proprietary algorithm does not artificially manipulate the sound. ADL says that the listener hears a perfect surround experience with zero sonic artifacts, and uniquely, Penteo is 100% ITU down-mix compatible to the original stereo. Featuring an intuitive visual interface modeled after vintage gear, the plug-in offers six automated preset modes as well as manual fine-tuning for discerning ears.

Jeffrey Read, President, Penteo Surround Inc., told us, "We wanted to partner with an organization that knows all the main players in the post-production and pro audio market sectors – one partner that could give us national coverage in major markets like L.A., New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Nashville as well as the smaller regional markets. We are thrilled to be represented by a company that understands the full spectrum of post-production and pro audio worlds. GC Pro is a fantastic organization that meets all of these criteria, and we look forward to a fruitful relationship with them and the wider Guitar Center organization."

GC Pro Vice President Rick Plushner added, "We have seen a steady increase in demand for 5.1 content, especially among our post-production customers, so it feels very appropriate for GC Pro to represent Penteo. The sound quality offered by Penteo 3 Pro is astounding. GC Pro did extensive listening and testing with our engineering, sales and management teams, and to everyone's ears, Penteo is a superb piece of technology. There are thousands of potential uses for this plug-in, and we are excited to see it put to great use. We also look forward to offering demonstrations at our locations around the country, especially our new high-tech demo facility in Hollywood."

About ADL Penteo 3 Pro
Penteo transforms any stereo recording, soundtrack, DJ mix or live television broadcast into perfect 5.1 surround sound. Developed by ADL, Penteo 3 Pro is the warmest and best sounding stereo-to-surround up-mixer because only Penteo remains faithful to the original stereo mix: no artificial sound manipulation is used. The result is that the Penteo 3 Pro plug-in creates a perfect surround experience for all stereo media with zero sonic artifacts, the most crisp & discrete center-channel available and only Penteo is 100% ITU down-mix compatible to the original stereo. Through its comprehensive controls, automation settings and advanced low frequency management, Penteo 3 Pro provides the ultimate mixer experience. Penteo has been used by major studios on hundreds of films, TV shows and music recordings and supports RTAS, VST and AU formats. Audiotech Digital Limited (ADL) specializes in the development and marketing of high quality digital audio software applications.

Pricing and Availability:
Penteo 3 Pro will be available beginning February 2013 online at GCPro.com and GuitarCenter.com, with demos available at multiple GC Pro locations.

More information:
www.gcpro.com
www.perfectsurround.com

Indie Rock Construction Kits

Ueberschall Indie Rock 2 sample library features two guitars, a bass and drums

Ueberschall has releasd the Indie Rock 2 sample collection. A spokesperson told Sonic State, "Two guitars, a bass and drums - get your ideas moving and start jamming...Finally, the second part of our successful library Indie Rock is here! And we have even topped it. This library sounds a lot rougher and meatier than volume 1. An unpolished and lively sound you only know from these cellar-rehearsal-places. Fresh and careless, this library moves between genres. Punk, Rock and Pop meet with spirit and creativity - real Indie!"

Here's the details in Ueberschall's own words...

Indie Rock 2 consists of 10 construction kits, including a total of 1.215 loops. Each construction kit is divided into five to eight parts. Available are intro, A-, B- and C-parts as well as breaks and outro, up to 16 bars in length. This large choice allows building 'real' song structures, avoiding the artificial looped character when using too little variations of a theme. Not with the varied parts of these construction kits! However, you may always pick certain kit elements and create looped-aesthetics intended - typical for remixes and crossover-tracks.

The electric guitars and basses of Indie Rock 2 have been recorded using real amplifiers - no modeling technology. All guitar riffs are available as amped sound as well as dry D.I.-recordings. You chose between a professionally mic'ed sound, ready-to-use, or the direct instrument version, ready to be sculpted with your favored tools.

As in most Ueberschall productions, the drums have been carefully and elaborated mic'ed, recorded and prepared. At first, there is a premixed drum-mix for immediate use. In addition, you also find the individual tracks of the complete drum kit: bass drum, snare (mic'ed from top and bottom), hi-hats, crash cymbals, toms, overhead- and room-microphones. Using these tracks, you can freely shape the sound of the drum kit to your taste.

This library delivers lots of inspiration for music productions of classic rock, powerful pop up to cross-genre tracks. Similarly, the construction kits are suited for target oriented, trendy jingles, television trailers, advertisements as well as for scoring movies and games. In all cases, the Elastik player supports a fast workflow and creative use of the sample content.

Elastik-Features
Ueberschall's Elastik player is clearly laid out in structure. For all loops of Indie Rock 2, details for base pitch and tempo are provided. This makes navigation within the library real easy. Zplanes' élastique-pro-algorithm allows for lightning-fast time-stretching and pitch manipulation of loops at highest quality and without tasking your CPU. All instrument loops of a construction kits can be transposed and integrated into other song kits effortlessly. Also, the whole production's drum sound is consistent across all kits and therefore completely interchangeable and combinable. Because all installed Elastik libraries are managed using an efficient and clear browser, there is immediate access to all installed loops. This comes especially handy with the production of cross-genre tracks. On top, Elastik player's intuitive functions such as formant, resample, reverse and its multimode filter grant freedom when using loops creatively.

Credits
Production: Uwe Kinast, Drums: Michael Fromm, Bass, Guitars: Kai Reuter

Features

• 3.2 GB, 10 construction kits, 1.215 loops
• Genre: Indie, Rock, Crossover
• Elastik soundbank for Mac/PC/AU/VST/RTAS/stand-alone
• Elastik player included - no sampler required

Pricing and Availability:
99 Euro

More information:
www.ueberschall.com/goto/525/Indie_Rock_2

Two New Rupert Neve 500 Series Modules

511 Mic Pre and 542 True Tape Emulator to make NAMM debut

Rupert Neve Designs has announced two new 500 Series modules: the 511 Mic Pre with Silk, and the 542 True Tape Emulator with Texture. The company says that, as two of the only 500 Series modules actually designed by Mr. Rupert Neve, the 511 and 542 combine the classic tone and versatility expected from a Rupert Neve design with the form factor and value of the 500 Series format. Here's the full details from Rupert Neve Designs:

511 Mic Pre with Silk
With a truly legendary preamp and the flexibility of variable Silk/Texture, the 511 provides exceptional sonic performance and flexibility for only $650 (list). Incorporating the pristine preamp circuitry from the 517, the sweepable high-pass filter from the 5012, and the power of a variable Silk circuit derived from the flagship Portico II Channel, the 511 is a Rupert Neve-designed workhorse for any user's most important tracks.

For company founder and lead designer Rupert Neve, the design process was far more intensive than copying existing designs: "Although creating a functional 500 Series mic pre is relatively simple, designing those modules to equal their non-500 Series counterparts with the current, voltage and space restraints is quite challenging. In creating the 511 we experimented with a number of different transformer and circuit topologies to achieve the same presence and sweetness found in the Portico Series of modules. The result of these efforts is that outside of the slightly lowered headroom, the 511's performance is nearly indistinguishable from standard Portico Series modules."

The 511 can be used for either mic or line sources, and pairs perfectly with any ribbon, dynamic, condenser or tube microphone. A polarity reverse switch is available to conquer phase issues when using multiple microphones. The 12 dB/octave swept high-pass filter can be dialed-in to remove rumble with minimal artifacts, and also to control proximity effect in close-mic'd vocals or other sources. To coax more rich harmonic content from the output transformer, the Silk Red mode can be engaged to add more thickness and sparkle in the high end as the Texture level is increased. While a little Silk Red can sound great on nearly any source, it is especially useful on dynamic and ribbon microphones that are inherently lacking in high-frequency energy and excitement.

542 True Tape Emulator with Texture
The second new module, the 542, is a follow-up to the acclaimed Portico 5042. As such, it delivers a remarkable simulation of classic tape sound through the inclusion of genuine tape drive circuitry while also incorporating a number of new methods for adding analogue color to individual tracks and mixes. List price is $895.

The 542's "True Tape"emulation circuit provides the nostalgic rounding and compression typically achieved only through the use of tape, and can offset the harshness often found in digital recordings. Unlike digital emulations, the "True Tape" drive circuit works by feeding a tiny magnetic "record head," which in turn is coupled to a correctly-equalized replay amplifier. As the voltage rises on the "record head," saturation increases, and a soft-clip circuit engages at higher levels to round off harsh peak transients. The sound of the tape circuit can be further modified with selectable 15 and 30 ips modes, providing a "saturation equalization" of sorts, and a pre/post-tape blend control. In addition to the tape circuit, the 542 also includes the variable Silk/Texture circuitry found in the Portico II series of modules (with both much-loved Red and Blue modes), which allows the engineer to fine-tune the harmonic ratio and tonality of the output transformer.

For engineers, the 542 is an intuitive and dynamic tonal control. The non-linear qualities of the "True Tape" head, Soft-Clip and Silk circuits can be combined and tuned by simply adjusting the saturation, blend and texture controls. These effects can help breathe new life into sterile tracks and enhance performances with their dynamic response. For example, a snare drum captured with a dynamic microphone that sounds anemic and "dead" in the high-end could be run through the 542's tape and Red Silk circuits to simultaneously thicken the low end and sweeten the high end. If the snare is overly dynamic, the saturation knob can push the signal into soft-clip mode, thus reducing transient spikes. Additionally, the blend control can be used to preserve the drum's natural dynamics and transient content even with more extreme applications of soft-clip and saturation.

Similarly, using two 542s across a mix, the gain staging can be optimized such that the tape circuit provides extra intensity and excitement in the loudest sections before final compression and limiting. Using this technique can help retain a more dynamic feel, even after the dynamics have been reduced, as the instances with the most compression correspond to the instances that have more pleasant harmonic distortion provided by the "True Tape" circuitry.

With the introduction of the 511 and 542 to the Portico 500 Series, which also includes the existing 517 Mic Pre/Compressor/DI and the 543 Mono Compressor, the 500 Series now has four of the most versatile tone controllers and mic preamps available on the market. In a world with numerous imitations, only the Portico 500 Series modules carry on the legacy of tone,quality and craftsmanship synonymous with the Rupert Neve name.

Pricing and Availability:
TBC

More information:
www.rupertneve.com

Free UAD Powered Plug-Ins

Buy a UA Apollo audio interface and get Studer, Lexicon and Neve plug-ins

If you've been thinking about upgrading your studio with Universal Audio's new Apollo recording hardware and UAD software, now is probably the time to do it as the company have a special offer running during January, February and March. Here's the details that they have supplied us with

From January 1st - March 31st 2013, purchase any new Apollo Audio Interface with Realtime UAD Processing, and you'll receive several best-selling UAD Powered Plug-Ins.

There are two separate offers:

Purchase an Apollo QUAD Audio Interface -- receive the Studer A800 Tape Recorder, Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb, and Neve 88RS Channel Strip plug-ins FREE -- a $997 value.
Purchase an Apollo DUO Audio Interface -- receive the Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb and Neve 88RS Channel Strip plug-ins FREE -- a $648 value.

No coupons or redemption codes are necessary. The plug-ins will be automatically added to your account once you register your new Apollo.

Already own any of these plug-ins? No problem. Purchase a new Apollo and you'll receive a single-use coupon of equal value to promotional plug-in packages ($648 or $997, respectively) – redeemable for any UAD plug-in up to and including UAD Software v.6.4.*

Pricing and Availability:
Offer open to new and existing UA customers until March 31st, 2013.

More information:
www.uaudio.com/promotions

Otherworldly Sounds

Camel Audio releases Biolabs: Light Space for Alchemy and Alchemy Player

Camel Audio has released Biolabs: Light Space for Alchemy and Alchemy Player. They tell us that, created by respected sound designer, biomechanoid, the unique sound explorations of Light Space are filled with light and shade, movement and detail, fragile beauty and subtle shifting colours.

A spokesperson told us, "Featuring otherworldly, 'almost real' instruments with unprecedented depth and expressive subtlety, playable textural synths, evocative atmospheres, mysterious treated bells, flexible evolving rhythmic textures and arps, restrained basses, subtle percussion and drum kits. With each patch providing a wealth of creatively twisted variations, Light Space covers a wide range of genres and moods."

Pricing and Availability:
Biolabs: Light Space is available now for $35 USD / 29 EUR / £25 GBP, or as a bundle with Biolabs: Dark Space for $59 USD / 49 EUR / £39 GBP.

More information:
Biolabs: Light Space