Plugin Boutique is offering 50% off a range of top-of-the-line Output virtual instruments for a limited timeThis week marked 808 Day – a celebration of one of the most important sounds in hip-hop, DnB and beyond. And Plugin Boutique marked the occasion by offering killer savings on loads of 808-style plugins (which are still active, by the way).
And ever the generous plugin purveyors, Plugin Boutique is also offering tonnes more deals during August, like 50% off a range of Output plugins until 16 August.

READ MORE: Physical Audio offers “next-generation collision modelling” with its new Preparation 2 modelling synth plugin

On offer are a range of Kontakt instruments by Output, like Analog Strings, for example. This virtual instrument enables producers to craft and use “insanely unique and cutting-edge” string sounds, with samples taken from a 60-piece string orchestra and 22-piece orchestra at the BMC Hall in Budapest, Hungary. And if you’re after strings that sound a little more synthetic, Analog Strings also comes loaded with recreations of a handful of vintage synths known for their string sounds. Until 16 August, Analog Strings is only $99, down from $199.
Also on offer is Exhale, also for $99 down from $199. Exhale is a fully comprehensive vocal sampler, with 500 unique presets, three modes, and 10GB of raw material (that’s a hell of a lot of vocal samples to work with.
Created by top producers recording real singers and a choir, 25 sound designers tweaking samples and sounds for six months to create the perfect sounds, which were crafted with vintage and analogue tape machines, vocoders and more, in terms of a vocal sampler, you won’t go far wrong with Exhale.
Also included in the sale is REV X-Loops, a comprehensive loops engine for only $49, Analog Brass & Winds, which like Analog Strings, is a brass and woodwind sampler filled with hundred and hundreds of meticulously crafted and captured sounds ($99), and SUBSTANCE, a bass engine rivalled by few, priced for a limited time at $99 down from $199.
There’s loads more plugins up for grabs in the Output Manufacturer Focus Sale, so head to Plugin Boutique now to browse for yourself.
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Spotify and Epic Games call Apple’s revised DMA compliance plan “confusing”, “illegal” and “unacceptable”Spotify has condemned Apple’s revised DMA (Digital Markets Act) compliance plan, branding it as “confusing” and suggesting it is “illegal”.
Apple proposed a new policy on 8 August, in which the tech company added two new commission-like fees for developers on purchases completed by users of iOS apps via link outs to external websites.

READ MORE: Sony Music CEO wants free streaming users to start paying – would it ever work, though?

As reported by TechCrunch, the European Union’s Digital Markets Act rules have forced Apple to give iOS developers more freedom over how they can distribute and promote their content on its mobile platform since March. Apple has already been put under investigation by the European Commission for suspected noncompliance with the DMA.
As explained by the publication, developers who had released apps on the App Store couldn’t formerly advertise different prices or alternative distribution channels in their apps. Though Apple now allows developers to include a link to their site, the European Commission believed Apple was imposing too many restrictions, resulting in a third non-compliance investigation into its contractual terms for EU developers.
Under Apple’s new proposed policy, it adds two key new fees – an “Initial Acquisition Fee” and a “Store Services Fee.” The Initial Acquisition Fee is explained as “a commission of sorts for connecting users with the app through the App Store that applies during the first 12 months” by TechCrunch. The Store Services Fee is said to help fund Apple’s App Store operations.
However, Apple is now giving developers more flexibility around how they can communicate external offers to their users and the types of offers they can promote through iOS apps. Developers will also be able to inform users about offers available anywhere, not just their own websites.
In a statement shared to MusicTech from Spotify, the streaming platform says of Apple’s plans, “We are currently assessing Apple’s deliberately confusing proposal. At first glance, by demanding as much as a 25% fee for basic communication with users, Apple once again blatantly disregards the fundamental requirements of the Digital Markets Act.
“The European Commission has made it clear that imposing recurring fees on basic elements like pricing and linking is unacceptable. We call on the Commission to expedite its investigation, implement daily fines and enforce the DMA.”
Fortnite owner Epic Games has joined Spotify in condemning Apple’s revised DMA compliance plan, with its CEO Tim Sweeney saying: “Apple continues its malicious compliance by imposing an illegal new 15% junk fee on users migrating to competing stores.”

In the European Union where the new DMA law opens up app store competition, Apple continues its malicious compliance by imposing an illegal new 15% junk fee on users migrating to competing stores and monitor commerce on these competing stores.https://t.co/YUYwsnrh32 pic.twitter.com/xAWGkOWPrH
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 8, 2024

It is not yet clear if the European Commission will accept Apple’s proposal. MusicTech has reached out to Apple for comment.
The post Spotify and Epic Games call Apple’s revised DMA compliance plan “confusing”, “illegal” and “unacceptable” appeared first on MusicTech.

Physical Audio offers “next-generation collision modelling” with its new Preparation 2 modelling synth pluginLondon-based plugin developer Physical Audio has launched a new and updated version of its Preparation physical modelling synthesizer.
You might recall when, in 2022, the brand launched Preparation, a “next-generation collision modelling” plugin which simulates the interactions of strings and bars colliding with objects.

READ MORE: At REX Studio, music production is personal

Now, Preparation 2 is described as a “ground-up rewrite” based on the company’s latest physical modelling techniques. New features include a dynamic fret object, new controllable properties for rattle and fret, an effects suite, and dual LFOs.
Preparation 2 consists of two physically modelled strings or bars which collide with a rattle and a dynamic fret. The user can excite the strings using a Pluck, Bow or external audio using a sidechain input.
Users can set the string and bar properties, with controls for Sustain, Tone, Inharmonicity, Gain, Pan, and Non-Linearity/Tuning.
Credit: Physical Audio
There’s also “deep” customisation options with the fret and rattle, too, with controls for Position, Gap, Mass, Stiffness and Edge.
Preparation 2’s effects suite includes an EQ, compressor, tremolo, phaser, VCF, wah, distortion, drive, fuzz, delay and reverb. Meanwhile, two LFOs can modulate rattle/fret properties and/or effects controls.
There’s also Keyboard and Velocity modulation for string and rattle properties, a detailed pluck designer to set range and low/high sensitivity, MIDI integrations and MPE functionality, Attack, Boost and Release controls and, if you want to get stuck straight in, 160+ available presets.
Check out what Preparation 2 is capable of below:

Preparation 2 is available now in VST3, AU and AAX formats for both Mac and PC, at an introductory price of £48/$59. Learn more at Physical Audio.
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Setting Up A Home Studio In our latest SOS Podcast, Paul White and Hugh Robjohns discuss the basics of a good home studio setup.

Physical Audio introduce Preparation 2 Preparation 2 is a ground-up rebuild of Physical Audio's innovative soft synth that introduces new controllable properties, built-in effects, dual LFOs and more.

The 8 levels of 808s (free sounds and MIDI files included)
We explore the 8 levels of 808s, spanning everything from basic sustains and glides to uncharted realms of 808 enlightenment.

As HYBE raises $80m for its gaming business, could it try to emulate Sony Corp’s cross-media strategy?New 'HYBE 2.0' global strategy could look to borrow elements of Sony's longstanding multi-divisional structure
Source

Industry execs discussed crypto policy with White House officials: ReportRepresentatives from Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple and Circle reportedly attended a video call with US policymakers to discuss their approach to crypto regulation.

Blink-182 Touring Engineers Tap DPA Microphones for World TourInitially billed as a “reunion tour,” Blink-182’s World Tour 2023/2024 marks the band’s 30th anniversary and first tour with original singer and guitarist, Tom DeLonge, since 2014. Given the significance of the tour, Front of House Sound Engineer Charles Izzo and Monitor Engineer Ray Jeffrey knew there would be high expectations for quality audio during performances from both the band and its audiences around the globe. Pulling from their past experiences with the brand, the duo set their sights on a variety of DPA Microphones vocal and instrument mics. 

To ensure the band delivers unbeatable sound on stage throughout the North American and European legs of the World Tour, together Izzo and Jeffrey selected DPA’s d:facto 4018VL Vocal Microphones for Singer/Guitarist Tom DeLonge and Bass Guitarist Mark Hoppus. They also deploy DPA mics across Travis Barker’s entire drum kit, which features the 4055 Kick Drum mic, 2011 Twin Cardioid mics for snare and hi-hats, 4015 Wide Cardioids for underheads and 4099 Instrument Microphones on all other instruments, including toms and the cowbell.

“When Charlie and I got the call for this, we had to start at the very beginning, and it was on us to figure out what microphone solutions would be best,” says Jeffrey. “From my experience with DPA’s reliability when I was on tour with Lorde, mixed with Charlie’s experience with the mics while working with the band Passion Pit, we decided it would be the perfect choice for Blink-182. We initially brought in a few DPA mics and, once we realized Tom and Mark were extremely pleased, we went from there. Now, 95-percent of the mics we have are DPA.” 

DPA MicrophonesThe post Blink-182 Touring Engineers Tap DPA Microphones for World Tour first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Rabbit’s r1 refines chats and timers, but its app-using ‘action model’ is still MIAA new "beta rabbit" mode adds some conversational AI chops to the Rabbit r1, particularly in more complex or multi-step instructions.
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Internet Appliance to Portable TerminalFew processors have found themselves in so many different devices as the venerable Z80. While it isn’t powerful by modern standards, you can still use devices like this Cidco MailStation as a terminal.
The MailStation was originally designed as an email machine for people who weren’t onboard with this whole computer fad, keeping things simple with just an adjustable monchrome LCD, a keyboard, and a few basic applications. [Joshua Stein] developed a terminal application, msTERM, for the MailStation thanks to work previously done on decoding this device and the wealth of documentation for Z80 assembly.
While [Stein] designed his program to access BBSes, we wonder if it might be a good way to do some distraction-free writing. If that wasn’t enough, he also designed the WiFiStation dongle which lets you communicate over a network without all that tedious mucking about with parallel ports.
If you’d like something designed specifically for writing, how about an AlphaSmart? Wanting to build your own Z80-based project? Why not start with an Altoids-sized Z80 SBC, but don’t wait forever since Z80 production finally ended in June.

Emily Dashiell, Jeff Gunkel, Carlos Monnaco promoted to SVP roles at Capitol Christian Music GroupThe three veterans of Capitol CMG see a bright future for Christian and Gospel music
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IK Multimedia Giving Away FREE Orange OR120 Amp Sim to AmpliTube 5 CS Users
IK Multimedia is giving away free copies of its Orange OR120 amp and matching cab sim to AmpliTube 5 CS users during August.  The company has been giving away a new amp each month for the second half of 2024 for users of its free AmpliTube 5 CS guitar rig software platform.  For August, IK [...]
View post: IK Multimedia Giving Away FREE Orange OR120 Amp Sim to AmpliTube 5 CS Users

Adapter Salad: Making Your Own Server Cables Because HP Won’t Sell Them To YouThe world is tough and uncaring sometimes, especially if you’re at home tinkering with HP Enterprise equipment. If you’re in the same boat as [Neel Chauhan], you might have found that HPE is less than interested in interacting with small individual customers. Thus, when a cable was needed, [Neel] was out of luck. The simple solution was to assemble a substitute one instead!
[Neel] had a HPE ProLiant ML110 Gen11 server, which was to be used as network-attached storage (NAS). Unfortunately, it was bought as an open box, and lacked an appropriate serial-attached SCSI (SAS) cable. Sadly, HPE support was of no assistance in sourcing one.
SlimSAS LP x8 to dual MiniSAS x4 cables aren’t easy to find from anyone else, it turns out. Thus, [Neel] turned to Amazon for help sourcing a combination of parts to make this work. A SlimSAS LP 8X to 2x MiniSAS SFF-8643 cable was used, along with a pair of Mini SAS SFF-8087 to SAS HD SFF-8643 female adapters. From there, SFF-8087 cables could be used to hook up to the actual SAS devices required. The total cost? $102.15.
The stack of cables and adapters looks a bit silly, but it works—and it got [Neel]’s NAS up and running. It’s frustrating when you have to go to such lengths, but it’s not the first time we’ve seen hackers have to recreate obscure cables or connectors from scratch! What’s the craziest adapter salad you’ve ever made?

At REX Studio, music production is personal“I never really thought I’d be a producer. I mean, I was always in bands and around studios…but I wanted to be a hairdresser. I cut hair for a year or two in my 20s as a junior and was about to qualify, then my flat got robbed.”
Macks Faulkron is sitting in the throne of REX Studio, relaxed but animated, surrounded by synths, guitar pedals, vintage studio gear, and the pink velvet walls of the main studio room. It’s in this chair that, for over 15 years, the Grammy-nominated producer has recorded, mixed and written for artists such as Caroline Polachek, Sky Ferreira, A.G Cook, Years and Years, BADBADNOTGOOD, and Picture Parlour.
Speaking with a propah Bri’ish accent, flashing regular cheeky grins, and occasionally twisting his (truly fantastic) moustache, Macks is taking us through the whirlwind of REX Studio’s founding in 2009.
REX Studio. Image: Phil Sharp
“In my flat was my solo record that I was making around being in these bands. So that got robbed — it was before I had hard drives with backups, so it was just on a laptop,” he says. “I’d been working on it for a couple of years. I had all the songs, I had a manager, I’d just played Field Day [festival in London], and I was still in another band. So I had to quit my job.”
Wait, why did he have to quit his job?
“There was loads going on but I just quit. I left London, I left my flat, and I moved into a house in Bournemouth that was vacant for a few months. And I just went back to making this record from scratch.”
Macks quickly found himself leaning into the production side of music-making more than ever. In this small room, he’d write and produce new material, exploring new techniques on a budget and still armed with his first-ever tape machine, a Tascam 388 eight-track mixer. When he felt it was time to return to London, he looked on Gumtree and found a cheap room in the basement of a building in Highbury. Now known as the Silver Room at REX, it was the cosy studio that Macks brought musicians and friends to, and where he’d learn that he could make a career out of producing for other people.
REX Studio’s Tascam 388. Image: Phil Sharp
REX’s location is prime — a two-minute walk from Highbury and Islington tube station, surrounded by a few pubs and coffee shops (“Classic!”, laughs Macks as I rock up with a coffee from Pret). In the quietest moments during our interview, you can even feel the slight, distant rumble of the Victoria tube line.
“Sound of the underground over here,” Macks chuckles.
“I just thought, ‘fuck it, I’m young, I’ll do it. Here’s a space in Highbury — I’m basically from Highbury, what are the chances of that?’” he continues of moving into REX. “Fast forward 15 years, there’s no other studios around here.”
He still remembers his earliest sessions in the studio — a track he wrote called Laser Lips that he professes was “fucking good” — and the help he had from the studio landlord, who was also a mix engineer. In the Silver Room, Macks made most of his tracks with a TubeTech preamp, a Fender Deville amp, a guitar, and a vocal mic. REX has grown into a fully-fledged commercial studio, now with the Pink Room boasting a drum booth, high-end outboard, Sequential and Moog synthesizers, a guitar collection, three pairs of studio monitors — but still space for his trusty Tascam.
Macks has learned a lot about music production in his 15 years at REX. Sure — lessons in production techniques, gear, arranging and all the technical stuff. But, perhaps most crucially, he’s learned about the importance of people and personality when working with artists on their music.
REX Studio’s synth rack. Image: Phil Sharp
“Every artist is different, but the end goal is always the same — to understand the vision and help realise the sound. End of the day, it’s the artist’s music, and my role is just to facilitate that,” he says. “Not having the ego to be like, ‘No, this idea has to be exactly like this.’ Because if I put my ego in and want a song, especially if I’m writing with an artist, it will never get cut. It’s not my record — I’m working with people.”
People often talk about the bond they have with their hairdressers and barbers. Does Macks see a connection between the intimacy of a haircut and a recording session?
“When I’d get to my hairdresser shift at 10 am, [my client] would sit down and…It’s just chattin’. Work troubles, boyfriend troubles, a leak in the flat or whatever. It could get deeper but, yeah, there was always an element of therapy. And it’s the same in music,” Macks says.
“First time you do a writing session, an artist comes in and you’re getting to know them for the first time. And they’re coming to write a song with you and give it all their heart. Psychologically, it’s quite a lot to take on for both sides. I remember from experience when recording as an artist how important my music and ideas were to me personally, but how vulnerable it felt to put things out there to the producers and collaborators in the room. I try to create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing what they want because that’s what I always wanted more than anything.”
REX Studio. Image: Phil Sharp
Macks puts this personable attitude into practice regularly, seeing it succeed most recently with UK indie act Picture Parlour. After watching them play at the London festival All Points East, Macks ended up in contact with their label and soon had the band in the room at REX Studio, where he says they “really connected, both personally and musically.”
The first track they recorded in those sessions was Face In the Picture, which became the lead track of Picture Parlour’s EP, released in June. Macks shares some of the in-the-moment techniques he executed when developing the demos, such as recording without the click track to encourage looser timing — “I personally wanted to feel the energy and the spirit of what I had witnessed on stage. I think we really accomplished that,” he says.
Macks is a producer that’s all about the ‘vibes’. He’s able to harness his rich technical knowledge in an instant and has a lust for studio gear, but his ability to elicit personality from a track or moment is what gives him an edge. He says, simply, that “style and character” are the two components that make an outstanding piece of art, whether it’s music or on canvas — his fine art degree taught him that, he reckons. You definitely feel a sense of style and character when walking into REX, whether through the soft lights, bold artwork, vintage gear, or just from Macks himself.
REX Studio. Image: Phil Sharp
Macks is adamant that he’s not an analogue, vintage purist but admits he prefers working hands-on with gear rather than sitting at a computer. Besides, his clients have come to enjoy the character his Tascam gives to their music.
He mimics a conversation with artists: “‘Can we run it through the tape machine?’ Sure can. ‘Can we record straight to tape?’ Definitely. That’s the vibe.”
Such an impact this old-school Tascam 388 has had on his recording sessions, that he’s set up a bespoke online service for it. Now, artists can get their tracks sent through the REX Studio tape machine and other coveted gear to instantly add that feel of vintage tape to a digital mix, with Macks’ ears across the track, for “considerably less than a hefty production fee,” he says.
Macks Faulkron and his Tascam 388. Image: Thomasin Waite
“We have indie artists such as Andy Shauf, Tame Impala and Mac DeMarco to thank for bringing this thing back into light, but I like to think I’m doing my bit too,” Macks continues.
Although Macks has spent the past 15 years curating his studio with considered gear picks, I wonder whether he’s pressured into certain purchases in an effort to align with so-called industry-standard studios. Does he need a Neumann U 87, for example?
“As a commercial studio, you do need to get the bits that people just want to have or expect and that’s fair. It’s a really good clean mic,” he says. “The irony is, when I did have a U 87, artists were like, ‘Oh, nah, I don’t want the U 87.’
“But the studio can be cheap — you don’t need to have all these expensive pieces of gear or anything; it can be something really crappy. I think Brian Eno’s favourite pedal is this Behringer guitar amp simulator —” Macks points to a blue Behringer pedal on the floor. “I didn’t know that when I got it, someone just told me and I was like, ‘Really?!’”
Macks adds that he’s not really got a shopping list of studio gear but, looking to the next 15 years of REX, he jokes that he’d love to be 99 per cent analogue by 2039.
REX Studio. Image: Phil Sharp
“I look back on the past 15 years and it’s been a blast,” he says, candidly. “Honestly, to be an indie studio in the current climate feels like a massive achievement on its own, and I’m always so thankful for the support of the labels and artists that choose to work with me in either capacity as an independent business. If I can continue to do that for the next 15, that would be a privilege.”
The REX Studio team and Macks have truly excelled at creating a relaxed, inspiring space for artists. The humble producer is also hungry for more challenges and opportunities, it seems, considering his desire to innovate with online services and communicate with engaged TikTok and Instagram audiences.
We doubt he’s ready to give thanks to the burglars who ransacked his old London flat, but it speaks volumes that Macks was able to transform such misfortune into REX Studio.
Learn more about REX Studio. 
The post At REX Studio, music production is personal appeared first on MusicTech.