Neural DSP Launches Morgan Amps Suite Guitar PluginNeural DSP announced the launch of the Morgan Amps Suite guitar plugin, which combines the tonal sophistication and feature-laden functionality of Morgan Amplification with the virtual mastery of Neural DSP’s plugin technology. Morgan amps can be heard beneath the fingers of guitar legends, including the searing riffs of Josh Smith (Joe Bonamassa, Raphael Saadiq), the soulful melodies of Michael Landau (James Taylor and many more), and the genre-defying riffs of Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders).

In the world of guitar amplification, few brands shine as brightly as Morgan Amplification. Founded by the visionary amplifier builder and guitarist Joe Morgan in 2009, Morgan Amplification emerged as a beacon of craftsmanship and innovation for a new generation of guitarists. Drawing inspiration from era-defining vintage tones, Joe set out to create amplifiers that not only paid homage to the classics but also pushed the modern boundaries of sonic possibilities.

“What we share with guitarists is a deep and abiding respect for legacy sound,” observes Neural CPO Francisco Cresp. “Our modeling technology has been able to precisely capture the nuances and features of the Morgan amps, and bring them to life in a plugin version for anyone to access to their fullest extent.”

The Amplifiers

Inspired by classic designs, modernized and made more reliable, these amps were born out of a desire to provide the most touch-sensitive and responsive sound possible while also providing an unparalleled pedal platform.

AC20 — The Morgan AC20 is a single-channel, 20-watt amplifier based on a vintage Vox AC30. It provides very rich, thick tones at high gain settings. 

PR12 — The Morgan PR12 is a single-channel, 12-watt amplifier based on a classic Fender Princeton Reverb. It offers bright, super-clean tones to robust overdrives. The PR12 also features a distinctive spring reverb that has become a hallmark of this compact but powerful amp type.

SW50R — The Morgan SW50R is a single-channel, 50-watt amplifier based on a Dumble clean channel with the addition of a tube-driven reverb tank. Entirely hand wired and built to order, this amp encapsulates everything Morgan Amplifiers does best. At full volume, the amp breaks up dramatically, producing killer tones for grunge and stoner rock.

To learn more and purchase the Morgan Amps Suite, click here.

For more information on Neural DSP, click here.

Spitfire Audio launch MG Soft Acoustic Guitar Spitfire's new guitar library promises to deliver a remarkably authentic sound whilst helping to demystify the workings of the instrument for non-guitarists.

Taped Vibes: free HALion instrument from Steinberg Steinberg's latest HALion instrument offers a classic electric piano captured with a DI, vintage preamp and thorugh a Space Echo.

Bitwig and Orchestral Tools launch free sound package with “high-quality brass samples”Bitwig and Orchestral Tools have released a free sound package packed with “high-quality brass samples”.
With its diverse, dynamic palette of rich brass tones, timbres and articulation, the package is set to change the game in terms of digital brass digital sampling.

READ MORE: “There’s nothing I can do in Dolby Atmos to make the song ‘better’”: Music engineers weigh in on the Atmos boom

The broad range will include a wide range of solitary samples to dense ensemble sonics, as well as allowing users to freely combine the diverse selection of sounds; musicians will have the ability to toy with distinctive trumpet and horn sections, layer up trombone and tuba combos, or go all-out with the full force of the entire brass section.
Brass, Trumpet and Horn, and Trombone Ensemble and Tuba recordings will all offer sustained, staccato and marcato samples, with Brass also allowing for sustained soft, muted-sustained and muted-staccato options. The package comes with 18 presents, and eight remix presents for easy manipulation.
Every effort was made to replicate the true colour of each instrument, capturing each instrumental nuance, with natural volume balancing across all instruments to allow ultimate flexibility.
The Orchestral Brass package comes as the third release in the Orchestral Tools Collection specifically optimised for the Bitwig’s Sampler tool, following on from the Orchestral Strings and Orchestral Woodwinds packages respectively.
Orchestral Brass is available to download via the Packages tab within the DAW’s Dashboard, and is free for anyone with an active Bitwig Studio Upgrade plan. It requires 3.7GB of disk space.
For more information, head to Bitwig.
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2024 Music Industry Predictions from Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0We’re sharing 2024 Music Industry Predictions from our favorite thinkers and doers, and today, Bobby Owsinski takes the stage. Regular Hypebot readers know Bobby as a contributor via his Music. Continue reading
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Masterchannel has launched the “world’s first” AI clone of an audio engineerMasterchannel, an AI mastering company, has launched the “world’s first” AI clone of an engineer.
For the clone, the company has emulated the expertise of two-time Grammy nominee, Wez Clarke. In the same way that voice clones capture the vocal characteristics of singers, Wez Clarke AI encapsulates his own unique flair when it comes to the engineering and mastering process.

READ MORE: YouTube’s Dream Track could be the tipping point for AI-generated music

Clarke has mixed 13 UK Number 1 singles, with hits for artists including Beyoncé, Rudimental, Tinie Tempah, Naughty Boy and Little Mix. He also mixed Clean Bandit and Jess Glynne’s Grammy-winning hit, Rather Be.
This new launch builds on Masterchannel’s existing AI mastering service which functions autonomously, and provides both bedroom musicians and professional artists with the opportunity to experience the “meticulous decision-making” of Clarke.
Clarke licensed his expertise to Masterchannel for the collaboration, and will receive 100 percent of the extra revenue generated via use of the AI tool. This follows off the back of recent research from the IFPI which revealed that 74 percent of music fans worldwide agree that AI should not be used to clone or impersonate artists without authorisation. The service also operates without relying on extensive datasets of songs or copyrighted material.
Simon Hestermann, Masterchannel’s CTO, spatial mastering patent holder, and former audio researcher at Fraunhofer IDMT, states: “This latest addition enriches our mastering technology, allowing users to tailor their tracks in Wez Clarke’s signature style. Having Wez Clarke collaborate with us, acknowledging the potential and future of AI in music, is a testament to how artists can use AI to their benefit.
“While there is widespread concern about the unauthorised impersonation of artists, this launch demonstrates that artists can actively shape and harness AI’s role in the industry. Not only does this launch pave the way for other engineers to explore new revenue streams, it also exemplifies a balanced approach to AI use in music, prioritising fair compensation while embracing technological innovation,” he adds.
Clarke comments, “The exciting thing about the clone is that it’s opening up what I can deliver to a much wider audience of bedroom artists and producers. It’s great that they can experience working with a major engineer – I would have loved to have had the opportunity to use something like this when I was just starting out, because it’s a perfect way to learn.
“Producers can get so used to the way their music sounds, and not realise how much better it could get. The clone gives everyone the chance to make their music sound as good as released music, and ultimately they’ll learn how to achieve that professional sound themselves.”
Existing Masterchannel users have the option to upgrade their existing plan to include the Wez Clarke clone now. Find out more at Masterchannel.
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Apple to reward musicians who mix their songs in Dolby Atmos formatApple is reportedly set to offer incentives to record labels and artists who mix their songs using Dolby Atmos technology.

READ MORE: Damon Albarn on posthumous AI releases: “It’s a good opportunity for everyone…There could be hundreds of my songs released after my death”

According to Bloomberg, who cited anonymous sources, the Cupertino giant has plans to “give added weighting” to streams of songs mixed in Dolby Atmos – which means that artists who adopt the tech could see bigger royalty payments.
Notably, users don’t need to listen to the Atmos version of the song for artists to benefit. What’s crucial is that the song is made available in that particular format. The new policy will reportedly motivate artists and labels to record and mix music in Dolby Atmos, even for previously released tracks.
Per the sources involved, mixing music in Atmos is generally inexpensive, making it a viable investment for well-established artists and labels who are looking to increase their royalty earnings.
And given how Apple audio products like the AirPods and HomePod all support Atmos playback, having more tracks available in spatial audio can help drive product sales as well.
Spatial audio made its debut on Apple Music back in 2021. The format is supported by technology from Dolby Atmos, and strives to replicate the immersive, surround-sound quality of in-person music experiences.
At present, Dolby Atmos is also supported by Amazon’s Music app as part of their subscription, while Spotify does not offer support for the format.
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Surround mixing on headphones just got serious with OLLO Audio’s S5X€539, olloaudio.com
OLLO Audio is an independent developer of pro audio-focused headphones based in Slovenia. Its latest release is the S5X, a set of analogue, wired headphones boasting clever design and additional software to help you accurately judge surround mixes while listening in stereo.

READ MORE: Universal Audio’s SC-1 and Hemisphere eight-mics-in-one are tempting additions to any studio’s mic collection

To be clear, while surround headphones do exist, the S5X are not the same. Rather they are “tuned for accurate object positioning in virtualised 3D audio”, according to OLLO. But what does that mean in practice, and can they be used for regular stereo mixing?
Before we get to that, a word on the build. The headphones are beautifully constructed in a combination of wood, metal and plastic. They’re an open-backed design with detachable plugs that terminate in a 3.5mm jack, and a 6.3mm adapter is supplied too.
The ear pads are soft, comfortable and replaceable, should they eventually start to wear out. The headband is, of course, adjustable and the phones feel light when worn, comfortable for the invariably long periods of mixing for which they’ll be employed.
OLLO S5X headphones on desk
You can just plug in and go but OLLO’s whole thing here is the idea of calibration. The headphones are designed to be as flat and neutral as possible to give the most accurate picture of a surround mix when downmixed into binaural (stereo) format. The thinking is that most surround content for games, movies and other applications is in reality experienced on stereo headphones rather than elaborate home cinema systems and as such it’s vital to mix it accordingly.
OLLO takes the idea of calibration very seriously indeed. To demonstrate just how seriously, part of your purchase is the company’s USC (unit specific calibration) plugin which you can download after registering. Then you send them the serial number of your headphones and based on their records of the build and analysis of your specific pair, they generate a calibration file which is emailed back to you. You then load this into the USC plugin, which you insert across the master bus in your DAW, and it calibrates the output for your personal pair of cans. The plugin itself is simple, with on/off and gain controls as well as the ability to hold up to eight configurations, should you own more than one pair.
The company is at pains to point out that this isn’t some kind of enhancement, which some other ‘personalisation’ systems use to magically make everything sound punchier. Nor is it they say for audiophiles expecting a similar result. Instead, it’s a very subtle 0.5 – 1dB change in tolerance where required. Since the headphones are already tuned to be as flat as possible, it’s making very minor tweaks based on the physics of your specific pair. It also works with the Waves NX plugin (for virtual room emulation for headphones), though our experience of trying to get Waves’ own software to authorise properly was frustrating to put it mildly.
So what’s happening here is that when working with a surround project the output from your DAW is being downmixed to binaural format for monitoring in stereo, and passed through the USC plugin to best calibrate it for your headphones. This does of course mean turning the plugin off before doing any actual exporting, or it would be included in the bounces. Most modern DAWs provide at least a few options here, like Logic’s Dolby Atmos with its multiple binaural monitoring modes.
OLLO S5X headphones USC plugin
If any of this sounds like a foreign language, it’s likely that this particular model of headphone is not aimed at your workflow. OLLO points towards its S4X model (€449) as a more conventional mixing tool, with a more mid-focused tuning. The S5X is tuned to have less bass and more high-end presence, which the developers say based on extensive testing offers the most accurate results for object positioning in 3D space.
As such, you would lean towards the S4X for more conventional stereo mixing duties. The S5X however is quite remarkable when fed downmixed surround content. Unless you’re a seasoned pro, it still feels a bit like magic being able to move sounds around in three dimensions and have this translated live to a stereo pair of headphones. But they are indeed extremely accurate, their flat response coping very well with the complexities of working in three dimensions.
When listening to regular stereo mixes they are too upper-mid-heavy and lacking bass but this is precisely because they are tuned for a different use. A good test – and a way to gauge their surround performance on a ready-made source – is to play back an album that has been properly mixed for Dolby Atmos, for example, and where the work has already been done.
We try the 2017 mix of R.E.M’s Automatic For The People since we’re intimately familiar with the original and the results are amazing. The talent lies with the people who mixed it of course, but the S5X does an incredible job of revealing all the detail, much of which isn’t even apparent in the original stereo mixes. Whole melodies appear and there’s just an incredible sense of space that elevates the record to new heights.
OLLO S5X headphones on desk
That’s where you’d hope to end up when mixing your own projects for spatial or surround and, with these carefully-tuned dynamic headphones, you can be assured that the monitoring side of things is taken care of. The goal is accurate translation of what’s on the surround speakers into your binaural mix in real time and on that front they certainly deliver. The sound is incredibly detailed, and separation is spectacular.
You may or may not be the type of user who cares deeply about the fine-grained calibration that the USC plugin offers. Either is fine, honestly. And you can use these without it, though it’s part of the purchase price anyway. While most serious reference phones will do a good job of handling a downmixed surround signal for mixing purposes, the specialised flat tuning on offer here really makes a difference and will be invaluable if you’re doing this kind of work with any regularity. OLLO does offer a 30-day money back guarantee with a few caveats, although you’re not likely to need it.
Key features

Reference class, open-back dynamic headphones with flat frequency response
Hand-picked, left/right matched transducers for better instrument separation
Dynamic Neodymium drivers
30 Ohms
Replaceable earpads with outer diameter of 95 mm
Detachable braided silicone cable with OFC core
Specially tuned for handling downmixed surround audio
USC calibration plugin (AU / VST3)
All components user-replaceable
Front-to-back air pressure equalisation
Works with Waves NX

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Taylor Swift is now “bigger than jazz” in 2023, streaming data revealsPop mega-star Taylor Swift would officially be “bigger than jazz” if her music was considered as its own genre, data reveals.
Swift’s popularity has risen exponentially in recent years, which has been captured by her iconic Eras tour. Throughout the global stint, which continues in 2024, Swift plays music from each album era of her successful music career so far.

READ MORE: “We couldn’t figure out what to do with it”: Meduza nearly scrapped hit track Piece Of Your Heart

According to new data from Luminate, as reported by Billboard, Swift had reached 15.92 million in album consumption units as of 16 November. Her industry market share at this point was 1.66 per cent – with just six weeks left in the year.
If Swift was her own genre, she’d rank at No. 9 based on the data provided to Billboard, which documents market shares of genres such as R&B/hip-hop, rock, pop and more. Her position falls between Christian/gospel’s 1.76 per cent market share and children’s music’s 1.12 percent. “In 2023, Taylor Swift is bigger than jazz,” the outlet says.
In October, it was reported that major labels were seemingly “overhauling contracts” for newly signed artists, with some restricting their musicians from re-recording their music no earlier than 10 years or more after leaving their label.
The new limits appeared to have been implemented following the success of Swift’s re-recorded albums, which she released as Taylor’s Version cuts. The Anti-Hero singer decided to remake her old music to regain full ownership of her catalogue.
Swift’s Midnights album became the first record to sell better on vinyl than on CD in 35 years back in 2022. She was also named as Apple Music’s Artist Of The Year for 2023, with the brand describing her as a “generation-defining artist.”
View all 2024 live dates for the Eras tour via the official Taylor Swift website.
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2024 Music Industry Predictions from Maykel Piron of Armada MusicMaykel Piron, co-founder and CEO of Armada Music, shares reflections on the last year and predictions for 2024. Between now and the end of the year, Hypebot will be publishing a. Continue reading
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Output Releases FREE AI-Powered Sample Pack Generator
Output released Pack Generator, a free AI-based sound generator that lets users create royalty-free sample packs using text prompts. It’s no secret that AI tools for music production aren’t as advanced as their counterparts for generating images, videos, and text. However, AI music generators and similar audio tools are catching up, and the latest one [...]
View post: Output Releases FREE AI-Powered Sample Pack Generator

Helicity Space raises $5M to unlock fusion propulsion – and fast travel in deep spaceHelicity Space has closed a $5 million seed funding to accelerate development of a technology that could finally unlock fast, efficient travel in deep space. That technology is fusion propulsion, which has long been the domain of science fiction. The startup says that they have discovered a way to use plasma jets for fusion reaction. […]
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🆕 Hey there! We are facing the PublMe platform updates for data storage, monetization, etc. and after this we'll be ready to restart the uploads to the community Music Store: https://explore.publme.com/ 🎶

‘Animate Anyone’ heralds the approach of full-motion deepfakesAs if still-image deepfakes aren’t bad enough, we may soon have to contend with generated videos of anyone who dares to put a photo of themselves online: with Animate Anyone, bad actors can puppeteer people better than ever. The new generative video technique was developed by researchers at Alibaba Group’s Institute for Intelligent Computing. It’s […]
© 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

AllMusic's Best of 2023Each year at AllMusic, our editors look back through the albums that made the biggest impact, broke new ground, and just all-out moved us. We begin with our overall best-of list, and will explore a different genre each weekday until the new year. These are our 100 favorite albums of 2023.