Waves Audio Offers FREE Silk Vocal On Black Friday!
Waves Audio released Silk Vocal, a vocal processing plugin that is FREE on Black Friday! Before you get Silk Vocal for free, check out our Black Friday deals page and enter our epic Black Friday Giveaway. Silk Vocal is aimed at simplifying and enhancing vocal mixing. The latest release from Waves Audio uses 2,000 analysis [...]
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Teenage Engineering’s EP-133 K.O. II sampler The latest evolution of Teenage Engineering's pocket operator sample features a reworked sequencer, new punch-in effects and enhanced sampling capabilities,

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🔥 Black Friday GIVEAWAY: 24 Winners, Over $2,000 in Music Production Prizes!
Bedroom Producers Blog launches the Black Friday Giveaway with over $2,000 in music production prizes for 24 winners. A massive thank you to Modeaudio, GPU Audio, Cableguys, Wrongtools, BABY Audio, Deputi Sounds, Goodhertz, Native Instruments, Yum Audio, Techivation, and Flame Sound for generously sponsoring our giveaway. And also, THANK YOU, dear readers, for making Bedroom [...]
View post: 🔥 Black Friday GIVEAWAY: 24 Winners, Over $2,000 in Music Production Prizes!

Florian Mrugalla Manta Inspired by this video by Dan Worrall: https://youtu.be/4hGBYs10ZAU TLDW: Dan Worrall uses parallel bandpass filters to fatten up drums. Since that involves quite... Read More

10 of the best Black Friday deals on pluginsThe wonderful world of plugins is where you can expand and customise your music-making setup with some truly powerful instruments, effects and processors. Whether you’re looking for rare vintage synthesizers, weird and wonderful mix processors or whole bundles of stuff, there’s something for you in our Black Friday roundup of the best plugin deals.

READ MORE: Black Friday deals 2023: Best early deals for music producers, DJs, beatmakers and musicians

Software often benefits from the steepest discounts around sale time, so there are some incredible bargains to be had. In some cases up to 90% is being cut from the prices for a very limited time – so check them out today!
10 of the best Black Friday deals on plugins, at a glance:

Save £195 on Soundtoys 5.4 Complete Collection
Get £10 off Scaler 2
Save a massive £262 on Arturia’s V-Collection 9
Save £79 on U-he’s Diva
Save 90% on Xpand!2
Get £36 off Fabfilter Pro-Q3
Save £484 on the iZotope Creative Mix Bundle
Save £186 on the Korg Collection
Get £127 off Melodyne Assistant
Save £239 on the SSL & Harrison Consoles Vocalstrip & Vocal Flow Bundle

Save £195 on Soundtoys 5.4 Complete Collection

Soundtoys are well known for making creative, great-sounding and sometimes just plain bonkers audio processors for your DAW. The 5.4 Complete Collection is their whole product line in a single bundle and it’s available at an incredible discount for Black Friday. Among many others you’ll get Decapitator, Primal Tap, FilterFreak and Effect Rack, all perfect for mashing, mangling and shaping your sounds. This is a great addition to any software setup.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get £10 off Scaler 2

Scaler 2 is a powerful music theory workstation that gives you access to a world of new ideas, expressions and melodies. By using audio and MIDI detection it’s able to tell what scale you are playing in and choose chords that can help to match and complement your music. You get over 200 chord sets from established artists like Carl Cox, over 600 more chord sets, 500 phrases and 45 internal instruments from renowned producers.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save a massive £262 on Arturia’s V-Collection 9

Arturia’s V-Collection consists of a whopping 33 instruments covering everything from rare vintage analogue synths through to grand pianos and the company’s own Analog Lab. Featuring every instrument both as a standalone app and a plugin, it truly covers everything you could ever need with a staggering 14,000 presets and beautifully designed instruments that sound great.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save £79 on U-he’s Diva

Diva is a monster of a virtual synth that offers a unique and powerful analogue sound while being kind to your computer’s CPU. With more than 1200 presets it has a multitude of oscillators, filters and envelopes to help you sculpt your sound and create something truly unique. Better still, it’s compatible with Native Instruments’ new Komplete KontrolNKS2 standard for in-depth performance.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save 90% on Xpand!2

That’s right – an incredible 90% off this multitimbral workstation that supports everything from wavetable to FM synthesis and sample playback. With over 2500 presets covering every kind of sound you can imagine, you can use up to four stereo instruments per part, 64 voices per part and you get two digital effects processors with 50 editable effect types. Running inside your DAW as a plugin, this instrument covers all your sound design needs.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get £36 off Fabfilter Pro-Q3

FabFilter is well known for its excellent and innovative plugins and the Pro-Q3 is one of its finest. A 24-band EQ with multiple modes including dynamic, it has full support for surround sound, zero latency performance and a gorgeous design with ultra-large display. Other advanced features include EQ matching for quickly detecting the shape of another sound, piano roll to quantize EQ frequencies and intelligent solo mode. It could be the only EQ you ever need.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save £484 on the iZotope Creative Mix Bundle

Another amazing saving here, on iZotope’s industry-leading bundle of sound shaping and editing plugins. You get Vocalsynth 2 with its powerful voice synthesis and tweaking tools, Stutter Edit 2 for slicing and dicing samples, and Neutron Elements for intelligently assisting you with mixing your tracks. At this price it’s a deal that’s hard to ignore.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save £186 on the Korg Collection

This amazing bundle of software recreations of some of Korg’s most iconic classic synths and workstations – plus some more recent ones – can be yours at a significant discount. There’s almost too many to list but highlights include the MicroKorg, Prophecy, ARP Odyssey, MS20 and many more. You’ll have no end of fun tweaking knobs, patching cables and cooking up new sounds with this all-encompassing collection.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get £127 off Melodyne Assistant

Melodyne 5 Assistant is a complete toolkit for pitch, timing, vibrato, phrasing, formants and dynamics. Basically it has everything you need for professional vocal editing in one package. With the ability to take vocals and separate them out into individual components, you can move words round, change the pitch of any part of any sound and much more. With Melodyne you can take any vocal and transform it into whatever performance you want.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save £239 on the SSL & Harrison Consoles Vocalstrip & Vocal Flow Bundle

This bundle – available at an amazing discount for Black Friday – gives you total control over the processing of your vocal tracks. Vocalstrip 2 combines four powerful tools like de-esser, EQ, compander and de-ploser, while AVA Vocal Flow is an all-in one tool for mixing vocal tracks with 7 routable signal processing elements. Grab them while you can, and definitively power up your vocal productions.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Not seeing what you’re looking for? These are just a few selections. You can check out loads more Black Friday offers at your own pace from the following retailers:

Thomann
zZounds
Plugin Boutique
Amazon

For more Black Friday content, head to MusicTech.
The post 10 of the best Black Friday deals on plugins appeared first on MusicTech.

Q&A with Jenny LewisPhotos by Bobbi Rich

Headlining coast-to-coast shows with her Joy’All Ball, joining the Beck and Phoenix Summer Odyssey tour, and in performances from Madison Square Garden to The Hollywood Bowl as a member of The Postal Service on their historic 20th anniversary tour with Death Cab for Cutie: With the release of her fifth solo record, Joy’All, Jenny Lewis is undeniably high-profile.  

From a show business family, Lewis successfully survived her extensive childhood acting career to first emerge musically with Rilo Kiley, a band whose pensive songs became touchstones for a coming-of-age generation in the new millennium. Her solo debut Rabbit Fur Coat (with The Watson Twins) cast her as a sympathetic chanteuse cloaked in vintage fashion, imbued with quirky, approachable cool. 

As the title might indicate, the Blue Note/Capitol release, Joy’All, helmed by Nashville producer Dave Cobb, is charmingly upbeat, in contrast to the paradoxical asides, existential truths, and new chapters of hard-won wisdom that are revealed within. 

Music Connection: Greetings, Jenny. It certainly seems as if there is a huge upswing in your media visibility at this moment.

Jenny Lewis: I think it’s just all happening at once. I’ve been in The Postal Service for 20 plus years. I’ve been doing my own music since 2006, and then I’ve been in a bunch of side projects. So, I’m always doing a couple of things at once, but the culmination of this 20-year anniversary tour with my album release so close by is definitely a lot. I hope people aren’t going to get sick of me—because I’m sick of myself! 

MC: When do you sleep?

JL: I sleep on a tour bus in the fetal position, with earplugs, a sleeping mask, and a night guard. It’s very cute. 

MC: You are featured on a new segment of the television show, Austin City Limits. It is so interesting how the songs from the latest record translate in a live context. “Love Feel,” for example, is a barnburner. 

JL: Austin City Limits is so cool, because you get to do your full show, 70 minutes, or whatever you’re playing on the road, and then you get to pick the songs for the edited segment. But they make you pick the songs as soon as you walk off of the stage. So, you’ve just done this incredible thing with multiple cameras and a live audience, and then they say, “Okay—pick the songs now.” So, in keeping with the album cycle, obviously the new ones are the most exciting, but that was my third performance on ACL, so I had to remember what I had played in 2014, and with Rilo Kiley. So, it’s kind of a stressful situation.

MC: You write by yourself, correct?

JL: I do. I have, in my career, also written with my boyfriends, who I have happened to be in bands with. My co-writing has been pretty much limited to within these relationships. I never have done co-writes with any other writers in Nashville, or artists.  For me, the most important thing has been finding my autonomy as an artist in the world, and honing in on my true voice. On this record, I really wanted it to be conversational. And going into the studio with Dave Cobb, talking about what we were going to make, I made it very clear to him that I wanted the vocals and the stories to be very present, as if we are having a conversation throughout the record. 

MC: Joy’All is so mellifluous, so when lyrics come in that are edgier, deeper, and darker, it’s an interesting contrast. There is a lot of air in the sound of the record, enhancing the vocal clarity. 

JL: It’s very sparse. We cut it live on the floor at RCA Studio A in Nashville. It is just incredible to be in that building, and we cut it to tape. Dave is a big fan of miking the drums Beatles’ style, and it was a very small band. After we cut it live, Dave wanted me to play all of the keys, and all of the other additional parts. So, he would hum something, and I would play it on the piano, or the Mellotron, which we used quite a bit. 

I think he wanted to keep it true to the demos that I had cut at home in Nashville on my iPhone, because I don’t have a computer, so I do everything in Garage Band. And then when we mixed the record I thought, “This is a Nashville record, I’d love to have some pedal steel, and some extra bits, frequency-wise.” So, we had Greg Leisz play pedal steel on a handful of songs, and then added Jon Brion, who shares a space with Greg Koller who mixed the record. I got to be in the studio with Jon as he was listening to the songs and finding those moments, like on “Apples & Oranges,” it’s a B-bender guitar.

MC: “Apples & Oranges” reminds us of Tommy James and the Shondells. 

JL: Oh wow, you picked up on that! We had a “Crimson and Clover” tremolo on pretty much the entire track. Initially, we went overboard, but it’s in there. So you are feeling that tremolo, but it’s more in the mix now. I’m a big Nuggets (historic ‘60s garage bands) fan. I love all that. I would love to make a record one day that is as rough sounding as some of those recordings. 

MC:  You are certainly candid in sharing what seem to be autobiographical elements in your songs. 

JL: I am creating a story. There is a twist in Rilo Kiley’s “Does He Love You.” That’s not a true story, but there are elements within the story that ring true. That song was inspired by “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes. I wanted to write something with a twist in the last verse. Real life is interesting. I have had such an interesting 47 years on the planet: growing up in a musical family in Hollywood, in the Valley, a ton of family stuff went on, so it’s always been right there for me to channel and write about. I’m just trying to get it down on the page, because it keeps happening. It’s wild stuff!

MC: Having grown up in a show business family, one of the lessons you probably learned early was it is not all glamor and glitz. 

JL: In my family we were working class musicians, three generations of vaudeville performers, dancers, musicians; Las Vegas and Alaska lounge performers. My dad was in prison for a couple of years. He taught guitar to some of the guys up there. Music is the through-line in good times, prosperous times, and in tragic times. It’s always the music that has kept us together, and luckily I am a songwriter—the first songwriter in my family. So, I’ve been able to carve out a little spot for myself, because I am creating the material. But I come from covers, because my whole family would do them. And they were so good. But they didn’t write for some reason. That’s what differentiates me from the rest of my crew. 

MC: The process of writing the songs for Joy’All came from an online songwriting workshop. Tell us about it. 

JL: Part of the record was written during a songwriting workshop that Beck put together in 2021 during the pandemic, while we were still at home. I had about half of the songs for the record already written. The workshop included a very eclectic and awesome group of people.  Adam Green (Moldy Peaches), Sean Lennon, and Devendra Banhart who was there in the beginning. We would have prompts: write a song with 1-4-5 changes; write a song of all clichés—which is “Love Feel.”  The prompts would come, and we would write and record and send the song to the group a day at a time. It’s not something that I had ever done before. I write from this magical channeling zone. You don’t know where it comes from, and then a year later you are like, “Oh, that’s what that song is about.” Writing with prompts, you will never run out of things to write about. 

MC: Songwriters will talk about sometimes channeling lyrics and melodies that seem pre-existent. 

JL: There are different ways to it. Some people sit down every day to write. I imagine Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service) is very regimented with his schedule in writing. I’m writing every day, but it’s a little more freeform; not sitting down, but I’m out in the world where something will occur to me, and I’ll grab my voice notes, and go back home and figure it out on piano or guitar.  

MC: Do these fragments then become the centers of songs?

JL: For the most part, a feeling or an idea, or I will be jamming in my music room. I have this drum machine that J.J. Cale used on his records, so I might hit that, and I’ll have my guitar or bass, pick a key, and then something will come out of that. I will typically carve it into existence over a period of time. But sometimes songs arrive fully formed like “Just One of the Guys,” from The Voyager. That one just arrived, and I don’t know how it happened. Then the homework comes. I am always editing up until I record the song. And I’ll record it on my phone and work on the lyrics as I’m overdubbing drums, bass, and keys. I will do everything, and the lyrics come out of the production, as I’m figuring it out. Once I am going in the studio I will continue to edit the lyrics until the day of— moment of, occasionally.

MC: We think of the meaning of words versus the sound of words. We like the use of the word “ruminate,” in the line from “A Puppy and a Truck” that says “…Time to ruminate/What the fuck was that?”

JL: (Laughs) If there is a word for the pandemic, it would probably be “ruminate.” I spent March to October 2020 at my house in California, until I took a flight to Nashville that fall. I took it very seriously, and in some ways it was very good for me. I was totally alone. I had nothing on the books for the first time since I was a kid. When you are a performer, there is always this underlying anxiety. If you have a show coming up, it’s just part of the gig.  So, all of that went away. For the first time in my life, I felt totally free. Obviously, I was scared, and experiencing everything everybody else was, but I felt off the hook.

MC: For some, it was a good excuse to grow a beard. I bet you didn’t.

JL: I didn’t grow a beard, but I grew two marijuana plants that were, like, six feet tall. I grew them legally! They were beautiful. I did it totally on my own. Grew, trimmed, cured, jarred…it was absolutely incredible. 

MC: And you acquired a dog, Bobby Rhubarb, immortalized in your song “A Puppy and a Truck.”

JL: I was never able to have a dog before. I’ve been on the road for 26 years, out there playing music, so my real life has definitely taken a back seat.  Having a couple of years at home and being able to take care of an animal like that has changed me in such an amazing way. And I’ve become a bit of a stage mom, as is the family tradition. So Bobby Rhubarb has an Instagram account, and when we go out in the world some people say, “Oh look! It’s Bobby Rhubarb!”

MC: The song “A Puppy and a Truck” is so likeable. 

JL:  Thank you. I was very dear friends with Jimmy Buffett and his family. I was so lucky to be able to spend time with them, and learn how to be off the road. Jimmy had two dogs, they were with him everywhere, and there was this joy for life. And if you are hanging out with the Buffetts, you are getting in the water, even if you don’t want to. I’m not a beachy or boaty person, but they were like, “Get in the water Lewis,” and the dogs were there. Jimmy inspired “A Puppy and a Truck”. We miss him so much. 

MC: You reference the late Nashville artist from the early ‘60s, Skeeter Davis, as an influence on Joy’All. She is an artist who is sometimes underestimated. 

JL: We know her songs, but we don’t know it’s her singing them. What a great songwriter. I made the record and I was doing the album cover photo shoot at my house in Nashville with my friend Momma Hotdog—Bobbi Rich—and we went into this vintage store to look for something for me to wear. On the wall of this place called Black Shag Vintage was a green and white striped suit. We pulled it down, and it said it had belonged to Skeeter Davis. The reference for the album cover was a classic Skeeter Davis photo, and I’m wearing her costume on the cover of Joy’All. There are these signs from the universe that you’re on the right path. If you pay attention, they are there. 

MC: You toured with Harry Styles—what an interesting pairing. 

JL: It was the first show out of the pandemic that I did in the fall of 2021. I was terrified. I was vaccinated, but I am asthmatic. There were a lot of emotions. Harry picked me to open the tour—it wasn’t a business thing. It was everyone’s first shows back. The crowds were so loving, and so open, and beautiful, and sparkly with feather boas—a beautiful way to come back to playing music and a massive undertaking. I had never done a tour this big, but it felt intimate because we were in our bubbles. There was no press, no one backstage, and we didn’t eat in restaurants. So it was like the biggest indie tour that ever existed. It felt DIY, although it was massive. 

MC: A question based on your lyrics from the title song, “Joy’All.” Do we all get a little bit wiser every day?

JL: I think we do. That’s the paradox of being a human being—we are getting wiser but our bodies are deteriorating. You come into the world so innocent, but the older you get, you learn a little more. Hopefully, you learn to be more compassionate—especially to be more compassionate with yourself, which is so important.  

MC: Your astrological sign is Capricorn. Do you like to plan?

JL: I’m a Capricorn, so I’m climbing the mountain steadily, slowly but surely. As a kid, I used to make these handmade calendars. I couldn’t wait until the end of the school year. I am a planner by nature, but I’ve been doing a meditation practice since the first of the year, so I am trying to be more in the moment. With my schedule, I am forced to plan about three days in advance. I’m trying to enjoy the day, the moment, and the hour. 

Onstage, especially doing this tour with The Postal Service, we played three sold out shows at the Hollywood Bowl. And there were a couple of moments where I just had to say, “Take all this in right now. Take a breath and look out, because this is as wonderful as it gets. This may not happen again. Be present in the moment. Be grateful.” I looked out, and I wasn’t nervous at all. 18,000 people out there, and I felt so connected to L.A., so connected to 20 years of this record, and my other records. It’s important to be in the moment, and appreciate these beautiful times. 

JL: I think we do. That’s the paradox of being a human being—we are getting wiser but our bodies are deteriorating. You come into the world so innocent, but the older you get, you learn a little more. Hopefully, you learn to be more compassionate—especially to be more compassionate with yourself, which is so important.  

MC: Your astrological sign is Capricorn. Do you like to plan?

JL: I’m a Capricorn, so I’m climbing the mountain steadily, slowly but surely. As a kid, I used to make these handmade calendars. I couldn’t wait until the end of the school year. I am a planner by nature, but I’ve been doing a meditation practice since the first of the year, so I am trying to be more in the moment. With my schedule, I am forced to plan about three days in advance. I’m trying to enjoy the day, the moment, and the hour. 

Onstage, especially doing this tour with The Postal Service, we played three sold out shows at the Hollywood Bowl. And there were a couple of moments where I just had to say, “Take all this in right now. Take a breath and look out, because this is as wonderful as it gets. This may not happen again. Be present in the moment. Be grateful.” I looked out, and I wasn’t nervous at all. 18,000 people out there, and I felt so connected to L.A., so connected to 20 years of this record, and my other records. It’s important to be in the moment, and appreciate these beautiful times. 

Contact Jillian Condran, jillian@nastylittleman.com

Quick Facts

•The song “Psychos” from Joy’All became the first Jenny Lewis song to hit No. 1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. 

•The Jenny Lewis touring band is currently comprised entirely of female musicians. 

•As an actress, Lewis appeared in over a dozen teen movies, including Troop Beverly Hills. Cast in a multitude of episodic television guest spots, she also played Lucille Ball’s granddaughter in the short run of the Life With Lucy sitcom.

•Her 2014 full-length The Voyager was an emotional compendium influenced by Rilo Kiley’s demise, and the death of her father, Eddie Gordon. 

•Among Lewis’ past side projects was the duo Jenny & Johnny, with Johnathan Rice, with whom she shared a 12-year relationship. 

•Following her breakup with Rice, Lewis shared an apartment in New York with Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent. With friend Tennessee Thomas and Erika Foster, she performed as Nice As Fuck, and released a one-off collection in 2016.

•Also in 2016, Lewis flew to Haiti with Jackson Browne, to join a cast of global musicians in a benefit project called Let The Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit, Vol.1. In her song “Under The Supermoon,” Lewis finds solace from the world’s problems among her new Haitian friends. She performed the song with Browne and Malian vocalist Habib Coite’.

•A line in “Under The Supermoon” chronicles her reaction to the 2016 Presidential election with this couplet: “I’ve never had such a fright/I gasped on election night.” 

•Past Lewis recordings have enlisted illustrious players like Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner, and Benmont Tench from The Heartbreakers. 

•The video for “Puppy and a Truck” includes a character wearing a dog suit. As he removes the dog head in the concluding shot, the character is revealed to be Harry Styles.

I’m trying so hard not to gush over Teenage Engineering’s latest gadgetTeenage Engineering’s new $300 groovebox has no business being this cute. That’s the whole point. The EP–133 K.O.II (we’ll just call it Knock Out II) is a combination drum machine, synthesizer and sampler. It’s a supersized upgrade to Teenage Engineer’s pint-sized PO-33 K.O, which offers many of the same features for a fraction of the price. […]
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10 of the best Black Friday deals on headphonesWith more musicians than ever working from home studios, it’s never been more important to have a great pair of headphones to monitor and mix your music on. And of course, there’s the small matter of enjoying music and even making and taking phone calls on the move as well.

READ MORE: Black Friday deals 2023: Best early deals for music producers, DJs, beatmakers and musicians

We’ve gathered together the best Black Friday deals covering a range of headphones from traditional, wired studio models through to wireless options and even some that have both! Read on to find out how you can save money on a great pair of cans, whether you’re looking to power up your mixes or spend more time enjoying music on your daily commute.
Ten of the best Black Friday deals on headphones, at a glance:

Save 44% on the Mackie MC-450
Get 10% off the Numark HF175
Save $69.90 on the Focal Bathys
Get 45% off Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones
Save 10% on the Presonus HD9 Studio Headphones
Get a great deal on Shure SRH840A Professional Studio Headphones
Save $20 on Audio-Technica ATH-M40x
Get money off the AKG K-701
Save 20% on Pioneer DJ HDJ-CUE1 DJ
Save $45 on Focal Listen Pro

Save 44% on the Mackie MC-450

Mackie’s versatile all-rounders are great for everything from casual listening through to monitoring and mixing your music. With interchangeable locking cables you have ultimate flexibility and the SPL rating of 101dB makes them perfect for when you need to crank up the volume.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get 10% off the Numark HF175

With a single-sided cable that’s perfect for DJs, these smart headphones have all the power and precision you could need thanks to high quality 40 mm Neodymium Magnet Drivers. They’re comfortable for those long sessions too, with durable synthetic leather ear pads and a leather and steel headband. Check out the surprisingly low price and you might be surprised.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save $69.90 on the Focal Bathys

Focal’s stunning noise-cancelling wireless headphones are available at a discount, boasting onboard control of Alexa and Google Assistant, multiple microphones for clear voice capture and a stellar battery life of over 30 hours between charges. As well as Bluetooth operation they also have a USB DAC mode that provides up to 24-bit, 192kHz listening for the ultimate fidelity.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get 45% off Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones

Be the envy of your friends by saving big on these slick and great-sounding cans that have advanced features thanks to Apple’s W1 chip built-in. Take calls, activate Siri and control your music with multi-functional on-body controls and listen for up to 40 hours, with a five minute quick charge giving you up to 3 hours playback when you’re in a rush.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save 10% on the Presonus HD9 Studio Headphones

Designed for use in the studio, the Presonis HD9 gibes you superior sound isolation so you can focus on your music instead of the outside world. With an impressive frequency response of 10Hz – 26kHz and accurate low-frequency response, they’re also lightweight and comfortable for those extended sessions. They’re amazing value for a pair of studio-centric cans, too.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get a great deal on Shure SRH840A Professional Studio Headphones

Shure are legends in the pro audio business and here’s your chance to save on a pair of headphones that are trusted by professionals. With tailored frequency response delivering rich bass, clear mid-range and sparkling highs they also feature a padded headband for an ergonomic fit providing comfort for long sessions. An impressive frequency response of 5Hz – 25KHz means you won’t miss any details when making music.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save $20 on Audio-Technica ATH-M40x

Audio Technica make all kinds of gear that audio pros rely on and here’s a chance to save on one of their most popular models. With a closed back design for better isolation they offer a flat frequency response that’s ideal for studio monitoring, a very high SPL tolerance for when you want to listen loud, and rotating earcups so you can monitor with one or both ears. Grab a pair today to take your productions to the next level!

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get money off the AKG K-701

AKG’s open-backed circumaural dynamic headphones use flat-wire technology to achieve sparkling highs and rich bass end, with a frequency range of 10Hz – 39kHz that means you will hear every detail of your music. Lightweight and stylish, they also come with a ¼ inch adapter so you can use them between all your playback devices.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save 20% on Pioneer DJ HDJ-CUE1 DJ

DJs rejoice – here’s 20% off some excellent headphones that have been designed to power your performances. Optional coloured earpads can be swapped out to match your own personal style, while adjustable ear cups allow monitoring with both ears or just one. There’s also a choice of wired or Bluetooth modes so they’re flexible enough to suit the task at hand, and they even fold down making them convenient to transport.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save $45 on Focal Listen Pro

Listen Pro circumaural closed-back headphones from specialist manufacturer Focal are the essential work tool for music production. Significantly more affordable than many of the company’s models, they have a closed back design but still offer a vibrant and accurate playback, with exclusive cone technology offering acoustic transparency and excellent dynamics.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Not seeing what you’re looking for? These are just a few selections. You can check out loads more Black Friday offers at your own pace from the following retailers:

Thomann
zZounds
Plugin Boutique
Amazon

For more Black Friday content, head to MusicTech.
The post 10 of the best Black Friday deals on headphones appeared first on MusicTech.

Sony Music’s artists aren’t involved in YouTube’s new voice-cloning AI experiment. Not unrelated: Google’s recent filing with the US Copyright Office.MBW Explains: On 'fair use', Sony Music, YouTube's AI experimentation and the US Copyright Office
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10 of the best black Friday deals on studio monitorsEvery musician and producer needs a great pair of studio monitors that they trust to deliver powerful and accurate sound. Whether you’re recording, mixing and mastering or even just listening back to music for pleasure, a reliable pair of monitors is an absolute must.

READ MORE: Black Friday deals 2023: Best early deals for music producers, DJs, beatmakers and musicians

We’ve gathered together some of the best Black Friday deals covering a range of budgets from compact models through to super-versatile speakers and even subwoofers! Take advantage of this opportunity to supercharge your studio setup with a pair of studio monitors that’s right for you.
10 of the best Black Friday deals on studio monitors, at a glance:

Get 25% off the Yamaha HS7 6.5″ Powered Studio Monitor
Save 10% on Genelec 8020D Active Studio Monitors
Save $100 on the JBL LSR310S Powered Studio Subwoofer
Get 25% off the Swissonic V7
Save $30 on the KRK Rokit 5 G4
Get 10% off the ADAM Audio T7V
Here’s $50 off Yamaha’s HS5 Active Monitors
Save $150 on IK Multimedia’s iLoud MTM
Get $30 off Presonus Eris E4.5
Save $50 on the JBL 306P MKII 6″ Powered Studio Monitor

Get 25% off the Yamaha HS7 6.5″ Powered Studio Monitor

Yamaha’s distinctive monitors are a mainstay of studios around the world and here’s a chance to save big on a pair for your own studio. With built-in bi-amplification, they use a 6.5 inch woofer and 1 inch tweeter to produce up to 95W of output. An advanced magnetic design produces a powerful and uniform magnetic field for exceptionally smooth, wide-range response and extended dynamic capability. You won’t regret adding a pair of these iconic studio monitors to your setup.

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Save 10% on Genelec 8020D Active Studio Monitors

Optimised to perform well in a variety of environments, the Genelec 8020D Compact 2-way Active Monitor provides exceptional sound reproduction despite its small design, making it ideal for smaller studios with limited space. With each cabinet containing two discrete amplifiers and an active crossover, they deliver 50W per amp and boast a frequency response of 56Hz – 20kHz. Whatever size your studio, the Genelecs will deliver superior sound.

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Save $100 on the JBL LSR310S Powered Studio Subwoofer

Who doesn’t like more bass? That’s what you’ll get with JBL’s powerful 200W subwoofer that can be added to any monitor setup. Using a 10 inch downward-firing driver, it has a special optional feature that emulates the bass frequencies found in clubs so you can accurately hear what your mixes will sound like on the dancefloor. Or, leave it off for a more studio-focused sound. With a maximum SPL of 113dB you’ll feel every inch of the bass as you mix and master your tracks.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get 25% off the Swissonic V7

Everyone loves a bargain when it comes to fitting out your studio with some great monitor speakers. Swissonic’s V7s have 70W of bi-amped power (50+20) across the 7 inch woofer and tweeter. With a stylish design, they have a frequency response of 39Hz – 25kHz letting you hear every detail of your music, and both jack and RCA inputs as well as a manual frequency correction option.

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Save $30 on the KRK Rokit 5 G4

KRK’s distinctive monitors are known for their amazing power and sonic accuracy. The Rokit G5 is one of the company’s more compact models, perfect for smaller studios or desktops. With a tweeter plus a 5 inch kevlar woofer it offers a built-in class D power amp and provides a wide, deep and dynamic listening “sweet-spot” with excellent imaging. What’s more, a clever onboard digital EQ system provides 25 different EQ setups and there’s a companion app for room correction. These speakers will do you proud!

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Get 10% off the ADAM Audio T7V

These studio monitors are designed to meet the demands of producers and engineers with small-to-mid-sized room spaces, and come complete with some of Adam’s most forward-thinking technology and features. There’s an impressive bottom end down to 39Hz and a volume output of up to 110dB as well as an integrated 50W amplifier and rear-firing bass reflex port. And all for a surprisingly accessible price!

VIEW DEAL HERE

Here’s $50 off Yamaha’s HS5 Active Monitors

Yamaha’s super-compact studio monitors still pack quite a punch, with a bi-amped total power of 70W per side powering a 5 inch woofer and a 1 inch tweeter. As well as level controls they also feature a high trim switch and room control switch, all housed within an MDF bass-reflex cabinet. With a small footprint they are ideal for tighter spaces but will still deliver accurate and impressive results.

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Save $150 on IK Multimedia’s iLoud MTM

These great-looking compact speakers from IK have won fans around the world for their incredible performance and portability. Boasting bi-amped Class D power of 50W per side, they use dual 3.5 inch drivers plus a tweeter to deliver a flat frequency response that’s perfect for mastering and mixing. Unusually they have a wider range of I/O than normal and can be daisy chained with extra speakers as well as having their own headphone port. There’s special self-calibration as well as DSP-controlled performance making these formidable speakers in any situation.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get $30 off Presonus Eris E4.5

Ideal for gaming and home video production, the Eris E4.5 delivers studio-quality sound but is also compact enough to fit in almost any space. It’s flexible too, with RCA and balanced inputs, an aux input for connecting smaller devices and an onboard headphone stage with its own amplifier. 25W per side class B amplification means solid power for whatever the task is at hand.

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Save $50 on the JBL 306P MKII 6″ Powered Studio Monitor

Producing a neutral sound across a wide frequency space makes these perfect for all your mixing and mastering applications. Active nearfield monitors, they have powerful class D amplifiers built in and are magnetically shielded for safe use around other equipment. A 6-inch woofer and 1 inch tweeter pump out plenty of power for mixing and mastering your tracks.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Not seeing what you’re looking for? These are just a few selections. You can check out loads more Black Friday offers at your own pace from the following retailers:

Thomann
zZounds
Plugin Boutique
Amazon

For more Black Friday content, head to MusicTech.
The post 10 of the best black Friday deals on studio monitors appeared first on MusicTech.

Music production programme launched for women, non-binary and trans music producers looking to grow their skillsA music production programme called Process has been launched by Create Define Release (CDR) to support women, non-binary, and transgender people in the music production field.
The programme will run for an entire month from February to March next year (2024), and will celebrate and develop the skills of those involved, providing them with workshops and masterclasses run by industry professionals.

READ MORE: Black Friday deals 2023: Best early deals for music producers, DJs, beatmakers and musicians

Applications for Process close on 17 December at 10pm, and it will be initially offered to London-based music makers only. CDR hopes that this mentoring will aid in tackling the gender imbalances found across the music production industry.
As part of Process, those involved can select their preferred “stream” depending on their experience. The “Create” stream will focus on enhancing production skills, “Define” will provide hands-on training on how to perform your music for those looking to move from bedroom to stage, and “Release” will offer support in developing identity and release plans, according to the CDR website.
Participants will be mentored by singer-songwriter Mel Uye Parker, DJ and culture creator Ruby Savage, and producer, vocalist and Ableton-certified trainer, Pops Roberts.

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Tony Nwachukwu, CDR Founder and Director says, “I’m really glad to be taking this important next step in CDR’s journey. It’s clear to everyone in the industry that the music production space is still far too male dominated and we’ve been thinking for some time about how we can best use our position to tackle that.
“Over lockdown, we undertook some amazing roundtable discussions with inspiring female practitioners in the CDR community and got their input on what would be most helpful. This project is the result of that process – a proactive, targeted attempt to push towards an equitable, diverse industry where everyone can develop to their full potential.”
Head to Create Define Release for more information.
The post Music production programme launched for women, non-binary and trans music producers looking to grow their skills appeared first on MusicTech.

ValhallaDSP launches Supermassive update with new Leo and Virgo modesValhallaDSP has released an update for its free delay/reverb plugin called Supermassive 3.0, which features two new modes by the names of Leo and Virgo.
The update is the company’s way of contributing to the usual Black Friday rush, rather than discounting its products as many other companies and retailers do. The first version of Supermassive was launched as a free download on Black Friday 2020 and it has been repeatedly expanded over the last few years.

READ MORE: Black Friday deals 2023: Best early deals for music producers, DJs, beatmakers and musicians

Now, the plugin has grown yet again with the addition of the Leo and Virgo modes. To start with, Leo is a new super-rich delay/reverb mode with a very slow attack that is joined by a long to very long decay.
These are controlled by both density and feedback, and a high echo density with balanced modulation. Leo also offers high and low EQ filters in the reverb network, meaning you can craft a wide range of reverb decays, including dark, shrill, bass heavy, whisper light, or just perfectly balanced.
Costello has said Leo is ideal for big synth sounds as well as realistic cathedral sounds and other longer reverbs.
By contrast, Virgo is the smallest and sparsest mode in Supermassive to date. It has a fast attack and mimics a stereo delay in both sound and behaviour, but everything changes when the Density control is turned up.
Doing so enables you to achieve a grainy delay that is enveloped with a reverb. Virgo can be used to create pointillistic echoes, springlike reverb sounds, and other sparse effects to create more space around your sounds, says ValhallaDSP, and hear the space between the echoes.
The new update also ships with numerous ready-to-use presets for both Leo and Virgo modes.
Valhalla Supermassive 3.0 is the second major update in as many days from the company, who also released an update for one of its revered reverb plugins yesterday.
ValhallaRoom 2.0 introduces two key additions: the Space knob, allowing for subtle feedback manipulation for pre-delay and early reflections, and a new Lo Cut control for toning down bass frequencies in the reverb output. These additions give you more flexibility, so you can create diverse timbres from realistic short decays and metallic resonances to lush modulated reverbs.
For more information, head to ValhallaDSP.
The post ValhallaDSP launches Supermassive update with new Leo and Virgo modes appeared first on MusicTech.

What Universal Music Group really thinks about generative AI and copyright law…MBW has digested UMG's revelatory 99-page submission to the US Copyright Office on generative AI. Here's what we've discovered.
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