Subscribe to this calendar & never miss an industry event againMusic publicity firm Shore Fire shares an annual Calendar of Key Entertainment and Sports Events. "The Best Calendar" gathers information on events from music, entertainment, sports, literature, and culture.....
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Monetizing your music: A guide for indie artistsDiscover the secret to financial success as an independent musician with these proven strategies. Unlock multiple revenue streams and boost your earnings by diving into our comprehensive guide for indie. Continue reading
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99Sounds Release FREE Cinematic Textures Sound Library
99Sounds released Cinematic Textures, a free cinematic sound library crafted by Dronny Darko. Cinematic Textures contains 40 royalty-free cinematic sound effects, drones, and soundscapes. The sounds are provided in 24-bit WAV format and are compatible with all major digital audio workstations. The included sounds are ideal for ambient music, but they will also be useful [...]
View post: 99Sounds Release FREE Cinematic Textures Sound Library

Celebrating 25 Years of AMERICANAFEST: A Milestone in Americana MusicCelebrate 25 years of AMERICANAFEST, the premier event that unites Americana music’s finest artists and passionate fans. Explore the festival’s rich history and its influential role in shaping the genre.. Continue reading
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Droplets: Physics-based sequencer plug-in Droplets is an innovative sequencer application/plug-in equipped with a built-in synth engine that boasts a rather unusual interface. 

Is Antelope Audio’s ZEN Quadro the best audio interface under $600?Paid partnership with Antelope Audio
Whether you’re a producer or musician, a podcaster or streamer, or just someone who revels in high-quality sound, your choice of audio interface is vital to the success of your projects. However, in such a busy and crowded marketplace, it can be hard to know where to start and the questions can seem endless: Does an interface have enough inputs and outputs for my needs? Will the preamps complement and support my mics and instruments? What difference do the converters make? Should I get the red one or the black one?!
Faced with such myriad choices, options and variables, many of us simply set a budget and then buy whatever feels right in that budget. After all, you get what you pay for… right? Well, not always — sometimes you get a lot more.
Take, for example, ZEN Quadro Synergy Core, the latest interface from pro-audio experts Antelope Audio. Built into a smart, compact and rugged casing, the ZEN Quadro is laden with high-end features normally found only on expensive pro-studio grade hardware — in fact, some of its capabilities outstrip even these high-cost options! Yet despite this, the ZEN Quadro is just $599/€599.

Flagship converters
The most important factor that determines an audio interface’s sound quality is the analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analogue converters. Antelope Audio has some prestige in this field, with much of its reputation built on its impressive converter and clocking technology.
This expertise is present in ZEN Quadro, which comes loaded with the exact same converters as found in Antelope’s high-end Galaxy interfaces. These have been paired with the company’s proprietary 64-bit AFC (Acoustically Focused Clocking) digital clock technology, ensuring hyper-accurate wordclock timing and ultra-low jitter.
Sonically, this translates to tremendous audio detail and clarity, accurate and spacious aural imaging, and an astonishing 130dB of dynamic range when operating at 192kHz/24-bit. This easily outperforms all other interfaces in its class (not to mention many in higher classes!).
Console-grade preamps and generous I/O
To maximise the power of the superb converters, Antelope Audio looked to the preamp designs of high-end mixing consoles of the 80s and 90s. The resulting 6-transistor design recreates those classic consoles’ clarity, colour and character while delivering up to 75dB of near-noise-free gain.
Antelope Audio ZEN Quadro. Image: MusicTech
ZEN Quadro boasts four console-grade preamps, one for each analogue input channel. All can be switched to line mode for connecting to synths and other line-level sources, whilst the first two – conveniently located on the front of the unit – can also switch to a Hi-Z mode for use with electric guitars, basses and the like.
In addition to these four analogue inputs, ZEN Quadro can handle an additional eight channels of digital input via its optical ADAT port, plus a further pair of digital channels served via a coaxial S/PDIF input.
Output provision is similarly generous: Alongside the main left/right monitor output jacks there’s a stereo coaxial S/PDIF digital output and pair of secondary line outputs, useful for feeding signals to external effects or for providing different monitor mixes to different performers. There’s also a pair of headphone outputs, each of which carries its own mix and is powered by its own independent headphone amp.
All of this adds up to an impressive 14 input channels and 10 output channels, more than enough for everything but the largest, most complex sessions. Moreover, all analogue ins and outs can be switched to DC-Coupled mode, allowing them to send and receive CV signals from analogue and modular synths.
Synergy Core
Some high-end interfaces feature onboard DSP to add audio effects and processors directly within the hardware. This takes some of the effect processing strain away from the host computer and allows effects to be applied to input signals without introducing any significant latency. This is useful for input conditioning with EQs, compressors and the like, and to ensure performers can hear properly how their performance will sound, which is crucial for vocalists.
What’s particularly exciting about ZEN Quadro is Antelope Audio’s Synergy Core’s processing power. ZEN Quadro’s unique combination of FPGA and DSP chips allows effects chains to be added to any of the interface’s analogue and digital input channels, as well as to the main DAW playback busses – ideal for monitor-calibration EQ and mastering processors.
Antelope Audio ZEN Quadro. Image: Antelope Audio
The interface comes pre-loaded with 37 effect processors covering all important bases – preamp emulations, EQs, dynamics processors and such – with more than 50 additional processors available. Many Synergy Core effects are modelled on classic boutique hardware too, injecting tons of class and character into your recordings.
Guitarists are particularly well served by Synergy Core, with a large collection of classic guitar amps to choose from, along with a stack of cabinet emulations that are so detailed they even allow the type and position of the (virtual) mics to be adjusted.
Synergy Core is made even more compelling by the interface’s ability to run fully standalone. Impressively, you can recall up to five custom-made presets, with many of your routing, parameters, and mixer channel settings accessible directly via the unit’s high-res colour display. This is perfect for live performances, allowing ZEN Quadro to act as the mixer for an entire band, or for it to take the place of large, bulky and expensive guitar rigs.
Multiple Hosts
As a USB Class Compliant device, ZEN Quadro will work with any host computer, operating system or device that supports the standard. If you’re on Windows, you’ll need an additional ASIO driver, which can be installed separately.
Antelope Audio Zen Quadro
The interface has rather a special trick up its sleeve here too: it sports a second USB-C port that can be connected to a second, simultaneous host, which allows audio signals to be routed between those hosts.
This unique feature is a big deal for podcasters and streamers, massively simplifying tasks such as routing audio from phone-in guests into the main program stream, or playing in music and sound effects. It is also ideal for musicians who use synths or effects running from a tablet as part of a performance.
Overall, then, it is clear that ZEN Quadro is punching far above its weight. No interface of comparable price can match ZEN Quadro’s impressive feature set and stunning audio fidelity, and no interface with comparable features can match ZEN Quadro’s amazing asking price.
So, perhaps all of those confusing audio interface buying questions can be boiled down to just one: “Where can I get a ZEN Quadro?!”
Learn more at Antelope Audio.
The post Is Antelope Audio’s ZEN Quadro the best audio interface under $600? appeared first on MusicTech.

Harrison Audio’s 32Classic Channel Strip plugin brings the iconic console sound to your DAWHarrison Audio has launched the 32Classic Channel Strip, a new plugin based on the legendary Harrison ‘32 Series’ console used by artists the likes of Michael Jackson, John Coltrane, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and many more.

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

Capturing Harrison’s classic console sound, the 32Classic Channel Strip features a new ‘Drive’ control for dialling in warm, harmonic saturation based on the transformer-coupled mic preamp in the 32Classic console.
The plugin boasts a 4-band parametric EQ section and full dynamics processing; Users can switch between Shelf and Bell mode on the high and low bands, while using the overlapping mid-bands to carve their sound. High-pass and low-pass filters are also included, which range from 25Hz to 3.15kHz, and 160Hz to 20kHz respectively, for a wide range of control from extreme to beautifully subtle.
In addition, the 32Classic’s fully featured compressor provides all the control you would expect in a premium standalone unit, offering three modes of compression and a sidechain filter with a sweepable frequency and a ‘listen’ function.
The three modes are as follows: ‘Comp’, which provides highly versatile, traditional VCA-style compression; ‘Level’, which offers a smooth gain reduction for subtly taming dynamics; and ‘Limit’, a fast-acting, aggressive style of compression for adding punch and energy to your tracks. There’s also an ‘Emphasis’ dial for those who want more vintage character.
Like on the original console, the 32Classic plugin’s Gate/Expander is designed to be highly intuitive. The gain-reduction metering offers instant visual feedback, allowing you to take full control of your sounds. The routing section, meanwhile, easily rearranges the processing order of the Gate/Expander, Compressor, and EQ for complete versatility.
The 32Classic is available in several formats including VST2, VST3, AAX, and AU as part of the SSL Complete and Complete Access subscriptions from $14.99/month, or perpetual purchase via the Harrison eStore.

Learn more at Harrison Audio.
The post Harrison Audio’s 32Classic Channel Strip plugin brings the iconic console sound to your DAW appeared first on MusicTech.

Warm Audio’s WA-19 microphone unveils a forgotten treasure that truly sparkles£209 / $199 / €219, warmaudio.com
It seems like every piece of classic studio gear is available in some form or another these days. The clue’s often in the numbers — an ‘87’ here, a ‘73’ there — not to mention the virtual emulations of historic recording facilities, vintage hardware and iconic acoustic spaces.

READ MORE: Warm Audio’s WA-44 expertly revives a vocal microphone design from the 1930s

When we heard about Warm Audio’s WA-19 dynamic microphone, we figured it would be a recreation of the legendary AKG D19c. While it’s surprising there hasn’t previously been a copy of this classic all-purpose dynamic mic from the 1960s, it’s no surprise that vintage specialist Warm Audio should be the brand to create it.
Long before the Shure SM57 earned its reputation as the go-to choice of cardioid dynamic mic for studio and live applications, the D19c could be found in the hands of everyone from maverick producer Joe Meek to the engineers at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios, as well as in live and broadcast sessions. Most famously, the mic was used extensively on The Beatles’ recording sessions, notably on Ringo Starr’s drums, though as their engineer Ken Scott once recalled, “We used the D19 on everything… it was used on piano quite a bit.”
Available in nickel or black, the former (designated WA19N) more accurately evokes the look of the historic mic, while our review sample (a WA-19B in black) looks more modern. The mic is slim enough to be easily placed when close to individual drums for example, yet with its strong metal construction it feels reassuringly robust, weighing in at 200 grams.
The WA-19 on a stand
The fixed cardioid response is more focused than many other mics with the same pattern due to excellent off-axis rejection, particularly in the lower frequencies. This is useful when recording loud bands in small spaces, reducing boomy bleed from bass cabs. It also makes the WA-19 a brilliant choice for under-snare placement to minimise spill from the kick drum.
Low frequencies can be further tamed with the variable acoustic high-pass filter ring, which cuts up to 10 dB at 50 Hz without any discernible phase shift, while ventilated slots along the body behind the capsule lessen the bass tip-up of the proximity effect, facilitating the accurate capture of sources at close range.
Loud volumes are no problem either, with a quoted maximum level of 145 decibels, so heavy rock guitarists and screaming metal vocalists are well catered-for.
As you may rightly assume, the WA-19 is an incredibly versatile microphone, one which can be used for the same jobs as the ubiquitous SM57. However, at roughly twice the price of the ‘57 does it justify the price tag?
The WA-19 with its stand clip and padded pouch
The answer is a resounding “yes”. The WA19 has a sound characteristic unlike most other dynamic mics. With a superlative high frequency response, it expresses many of the characteristics of a small diaphragm condenser, such is the clarity and treble detail on offer.
For drums, the WA-19’s inherently snappy and sizzling response is superb, losing nothing of the zing from cymbals when used as an overhead (where you might otherwise select a condenser) and accentuating the crack of a close-mic snare drum without the need for much EQ sweetening. Toms are particularly well served as the mic is less prone to low-end ringing and boom than simpler mics without a high-pass-filter or the tuned-in proximity reduction.
While its sublime high-end is flattering to most sources, the WA-19 doesn’t quite reach the stratospheric heights of a condenser when ultra-bright extension is desired. Rather, its voicing favours applications where presence and brilliance is required to cut through busy mixes. This is made clear when used to record electric guitar. It can be used quite successfully positioned right up against the speaker grille sure enough, however judicious placing at a little distance away from the speaker yields superb results, capturing the full, direct tone of the guitar and amp without excessive room ambience. Experimenting with the variable high-pass filter pays dividends here, removing any low-mid muddiness to spotlight vivid musical communication and clarity.
Such is the level of articulation the WA-19 expresses, it effectively reproduces all the filigree detail and delicacy of acoustic instruments and voices. It even serves well enough as a vocal mic if options are limited.
The WA-19 on a snare
Many potential users will, of course, be attracted to the mic because of its documented use on Beatles recordings. After all, Waves’ Abbey Road plugins recreate pretty much all the outboard effects and acoustic spaces of EMI’s studios in the 1960s and beyond.
With all that to hand, it’s an obvious move to try to capture some of that magic by recreating the simple yet effective two-mic set up used to record Ringo’s drum kit. Using an AKG D12 (the direct descendent of the D20 used on those sessions) on bass drum with the WA-19 placed above the kit at head height, a pretty convincing splashy 60s drum sound is achieved when squashed through a Fairchild 660 compressor plugin.
Warm Audio’s WA-19 is a cracking, versatile dynamic microphone with a sophisticated sound that sets it apart from the competition. While its vintage vibe and cool retro looks will appeal to classic gear nerds and 60s freaks, this is a brilliantly capable, meticulous recreation that is ideally suited to modern pop and rock recording.
In the studio or on stage, the WA19 is a class act, delivering pristine audio in a multitude of situations. Try it on drums and electric guitar — you won’t be disappointed.

Key features

Dynamic, cardioid design
Variable 50 Hz acoustic high-pass filter
XLR connector
Frequency response: 30 Hz – 18 kHz
Max SPL: 145 dB
Impedance: 200 Ohms
Weight: 200 g
Colour: nickel or black
Comes with stand clip and padded pouch

The post Warm Audio’s WA-19 microphone unveils a forgotten treasure that truly sparkles appeared first on MusicTech.

Flow Mastering Suite from Softube Flow Mastering Suite comes equipped with signal chains created by professional engineers and offers an all-in-one solution for adding the finishing touches to a track. 

Classical Highlights for May 2024The releases that most impressed our reviewers this month cover the gamut of genres, highlighted by an all-star cast on a live recording from the debut run of the opera The Hours, based on the novel and film of the same name, composed by Kevin Puts (pictured). So much good music, so many good performances.

How to make Afrobeat music: Iss 814’s step-by-step walkthrough
Expert producer and veteran sample pack creator Iss 814 demonstrates how to make an Afrobeat track from scratch.

It's Here! Product Profile with Arturia AstrolabArturia just announced the release of AstroLab, their first-ever Stage Keyboard.  MC recently had the opportunity to talk with Pierre Pfister, project manager for Arturia, to get his insights about the AstroLab project.

Music Connection: Tell me about yourself. What do you do for Arturia? 

Pierre Pfister: I am a product manager. The role of the product manager at Arturia is to develop the idea of a product that we are going to start working on by interviewing users, making sure we identify features of a potential product that is solving people’s needs or people’s problems. Next, we figure out how we can address this problem and then we start to develop the concept for the product ultimately following through on the development from beginning to end, as well as come up with the marketing plan to promote it once the product has been launched. I have been working at Arturia for a while now, mostly on software products, but I have also worked on all the keylab products, our range of MIDI controllers. Right now, I am working mostly on Astrolab, which is a true milestone product for Arturia.

MC: I know this is Arturia’s 25th anniversary. Do you have any thoughts about that? 

PP: I am quite amazed by the progress and how far Arturia as a company has come because when I arrived 10 years ago at Arturia, we were a team of maybe 20 or 25 people. Back then, nobody knew about Arturia like they do now. Every time I was talking with some musicians, most of them did not know who the company was. Now, every time I meet people, and I tell them I am from Arturia, everybody knows about Arturia, which feels great.

These days, when we go into the field trying to meet users, we feel like everyone is using our products. Our AnalogLab and the V Collection are definitely some of the most frequently used pieces of software in the industry. In general, everybody that is making music nowadays uses at least some of our products. 

MC: What exactly is AstroLab? 

PP: AstroLab is Arturia’s stage keyboard. It’s an innovative and quite groundbreaking stage keyboard because it doesn’t rely on samples, unlike most of the stage keyboards on the market, AstroLab uses all the emulations that we’ve worked on for the past 20 years, making it possible to have more than 30 instruments, this includes everything from pianos, to expertly sampled analog synthesizers all in a single keyboard. With AstroLab you have an amazing amount of power and a huge range of high quality of sounds to work with. 

MC: How is AstroLab different from your other keyboard controllers that Arturia has released in the past? 

PP: AstroLab is not a controller. The thing to keep in mind is that it is producing its own sounds, which is what makes it so powerful. You have all the sounds built into AstroLab, so you can go on stage without the need for a computer, which is something that is new for Arturia. That said, AstroLab also works great as a MIDI controller because it is designed to be fully integrated with AnalogLab whenever you are working on your computer. AstroLab is designed to be used in the studio as much as using it on stage.

MC: Can you tell me about the core set of sounds that is included with AstroLab? 

PP: AstroLab has more than 1,300 premium grade sounds built into the keyboard. The sounds range from bread and butter sounds to classic emulations of vintage synthesizers. AstroLab delivers all the classic keyboard sounds that you will need when you are playing live on stage. Pianos, e-pianos, organs and more are all there as well as more classic synth patches and a full range of iconic Pads. We also have a lot of tribute sounds built into AstroLab from famous artists and keyboard players. This is great for all those musicians out there that are going to play in tribute bands or even people that have listened to all the classic keyboard sounds and they want to access them for their own music. 

MC: I understand that AstroLab has full integration with AnalogLab and that AstroLab comes with 22 gigabytes of user onboard storage, to load your own sounds. 

PP: Correct, you have 22 gigabytes of user storage available in AstroLab. Most of the sounds we have are presets which in terms of memory are very small, just a couple of megabytes for each of the presets. This means you can have thousands of presets on the unit with room to spare.  Where you are going to have to be careful is when you start to use sample-based sounds which will take up a lot more memory. But for now, most of the synthesizers and pianos that we have are physical or circuit modeling. Also, we will be adding increasingly sample-based products soon after Astrolab is released. We have the augmented strings and augmented pianos, augmented woodwinds libraries planned to be integrated into Astrolab in future firmware updates. 

It is super easy to customize your own sounds on AstroLab and create layers and splits and things like that. On Astrolab, it is easy to quick edits and adjust typical when you are rehearsing or jamming with your friends.

MC: Can you tell me a little bit about AstroLabs’ DAW integration? For example, I use Pro Tools. Are you able to set it up as a MIDI controller? 

PP: Yes AstroLab is going to work for most applications as a MIDI keyboard. You can send MIDI control changes with the eight knobs on the front of the keyboard and you can assign those CCs to some of the typical DAW parameters if you want. AstroLab is designed to be integrated seamlessly with AnalogLab our flagship sample based software instrument. 

MC: Let us go back and talk about the user interface of AstroLab. I see that all the controls are streamlined for live performances, you can load like songs and set lists and things like that. Can you elaborate on that? 

PP: Setting performance playlists in AstroLab is super easy. Your playlists are going to be a list of songs and for each song, you can have up to ten presets that are directly accessible on the front of the keyboard. The preset buttons just above the keyboard that you can click to load any of the ten presets of each song. You can have as many songs as you want and for each song, you have 10 presets. So, it is quick to go from one song to another and in each song to use up to 10 presets very quickly, to switch between the 10 presets very quickly. 

MC: At launch, you are going to have a 61 version, key version of Astrolab. Are there 49 and 88 versions of Astrolab planned also? 

PP: We are working on the other versions. I do not have info I can really share about when they would come out.

You can find out more about AstroLab, AnalogLab and other Arturia productsat arturia.com.The post It's Here! Product Profile with Arturia Astrolab first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s catalog turned out to be worth more than a lot of people thought.In light of Blackstone's latest bid, MBW crunches the numbers on what HSF spent on assets... and what they're worth now
Source

An appeals court rules that VC Fearless Fund cannot issue grants to Black women, but the fight continuesThe court ruling said that Fearless Fund’s Strivers Grant likely violates the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which bans the use of race in contracts.
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Chainlink co-founder notes importance of oracle networks following NYSE glitchSergey Nazarov explained how Chainlink could remedy centralized points of failure inherent in centralized information processing systems.