Let’s get straight to it: Ozone has already established itself as a do-everything mastering tool. It’s a suite of interconnected modules handling frequency and dynamics, designed to work together in an integrated interface. It does so much, in fact, that it’s hard for an upgrade to do more, but Ozone 5 promises new sound and visual feedback that could further entrench this popular tool.

And that could explain how Ozone 5 stole the Audio Engineering Society trade show in New York. AES is a flurry of knobs, dials, and faders, but some of the major buzz we heard was just this single upgrade to the software. (CDM’s Marsha Vdovin was out on the floor, and the word “Ozone” kept cropping up.)

Ozone is eminently visual software, so a lot of what’s new you can glean just by looking through the screenshots. But there are sound improvements, as well, both in the standard Ozone and the spendier “Advanced” edition.

What’s new:

• Updated modules. iZotope says they’ve “refined” their DSP algorithms. (Let’s see, carry the one…) The idea is, existing modules should sound better. There’s a detailed list on the iZotope site – aside from more subtle changes, you’ll find very specific adjustments to how parameters are controlled and how they impact the sound. To give one example, there’s a …
• New Limiter. The latest version of iZotope’s “psychoacoustics-based” limiter in the Advanced edition has a new stereo link control for handling left and right separately or together, and new intelligent transient handling algorithms, among other improvements.
• Enhanced EQ. Analog-matching EQ models analog shelf modes and frequency response, matching is easier than before, as with other modules, you can use left/right separately, and now zoom and display stereo info in your spectrum. There’s also new variable-phase functionality.
• New Reverb. Yes, sometimes you use reverb when mastering. (A little light reverb can do wonders.) A new modeled reverb algorithm adds new models and spaces and gives you unique early reflection control, as well as “cross-mix” for stereo imaging.
• New UI, workflow. I’ll let you just see what this looks like, but suffice to say parameters and labels are better-organized to be friendlier to advanced and beginning users alike. Past versions of Ozone were sometimes pretty-but-counterintuitive; this looks a bit clearer. Of course, you might not notice while dazzled by the…
• Slick visual feedback. In the standard version, metering has been enhanced. In the Advanced version, you get slick 2D and 3D plots of your sound spectrum for the Meter Bridge and Meter Taps modules. They look awesome, yes, but I also think these kind of “alien world mountainscape” views can help you better visualize what’s happening in a sound, so there is a practical use, too.

And, of course, all of this means you can easily wow clients when mastering by showing them visualizations that look like Geordi LaForge is studying abnormal quasar activity from the deck of the Enterprise. Just try to avoid opening up a cosmic string-related time wrinkle while mastering.

(And yes, when you’re all alone and no one is looking over your shoulder, you can do something useful with it.)

Pricing: US$249 (€195); US$999 (€799) Advanced.

Why is Advanced so expensive? Well, each module is also an independent plug-in you can use in your host. With that in mind, this starts to look like a better deal – some terrific reverb, EQ, and dynamics you can use anywhere. You also get the Meter Bridge and Meter Tap for analysis, fancier 2D and 3D spectrographs, and more advanced loudness meters. On the other hand, the basic version will also work with your host and gives you the sound-processing functionality minus all those more sophisticated meters you might need.

This month, there’s also steeply discounted intro pricing: US$599 for Advanced, US$199 for the standard edition. Expires December 1.

Ozone 5 was announced last month, but is now shipping. An OpenGL 2-capable video card is required for the 3D visualizations, but nearly all machines now provide that (including most integrated chipsets, too).

Ozone 5 Product Page @iZotope

For a look at what this tool can do, here’s our friend and experienced mastering and mix engineer Danny Wyatt, talking about how he works with limiting. The new UI and meters are actually a lot clearer than what you see in the video, and offer some nice, new functionality. I can tell you, Danny is a fully-converted Ozone lover, having worked with him in the studio as he mastered my own album. He’s got a big toolset of other stuff, but Ozone is very often what the real work comes down to, and — I think I can say this, Danny — he’ll be happy to evangelize the tool if you talk to him.

This isn’t a review, mind – in fact, my only significant reservation is that Ozone is so slick, it could distract from the reality that good mastering probably doesn’t need it. A great mastering engineer can do wonders with a fairly simple tool and their ear – no wild visualizations required. (“Great mastering engineer,” also known as, “not me.”) But that same person may well appreciate the level of precision iZotope, working with algorithms they’ve developed entirely in-house, can provide.

We want your feedback, as always. Ozone users – what do you think?

Users of rival products – what’s your all-in-one mastering tool of choice, and why?

Integrated Melodyne pitch correction in PreSonus’ Studio One is made more interesting by the technology behind it. Celemony this week describes a new technology they call ARA, or “Audio Random Access.” The notion is this: rather than just receiving or generating audio signal, the plug-in gets access to audio data. That means you can actually write a plug-in that rewrites the audio content in a recorded DAW track, as Melodyne does in Studio One.

As developer Celemony describes it, “ARA opens an additional channel of communication through which the DAW and plug-in can exchange information about the audio file, tempo, pitch, rhythm and much more, which allows them to work together considerably more closely.”

It’s the ability to exchange audio data information that seems the most compelling. Previously, audio processing plug-ins simply took buffers of audio signal from the DAW. You could “look ahead” further into that signal by increasing the buffer (and thus latency with it), but generally speaking, you’re doing the processing in something that approximates real-time. ARA in the example of Melodyne gives you access to an entire recorded track without having to transfer the audio file to and from the plug-in.

Celemony says this is “an extension of the existing plug-in interfaces,” not a new plug-in format. (If it were the latter, I’d have to point to this xkcd cartoon.) I’m still obligated to express some skepticism about how widely this will be adopted, or if it can be considered a “standard” extension, though they do promise additional vendors soon. (Implementation would seem to be by necessity on a host by host basis – and then once you have the host, a plug-in creator might add support.) It’s a proprietary technology, but then, so are the plug-in formats currently in wide use (AU controlled by Apple for Mac OS, VST by Steinberg, and RTAS by Digidesign, unless we see more of LV2). For now, though, we’ll have to see if the idea itself can extend what a plug-in can do. Check out the videos for more.

celemony.com/ara (no documentation for developers, but there is an email address to use if you’re interested)

I took a look at Omnisphere 1.5, the synth so big it’ll make your head hurt, for Keyboard in a story out now (and readable now). As I begin the story:

Seeing its six DVDs of sound content, you might be tempted to duct-tape a key down and let Omnisphere finish your film scoring gig. While the director would probably love the results, you’d be missing out on the real fun.

In other words, what I discovered in that review was that Omnisphere, particularly with additions in the new 1.5 update, is a powerful creative sound design tool, not just a preset machine. The highlights:

• Granular section, pictured, made nicer with the ability to combine with glide and intelligent parameter control design
• Harmonia, which allows you to control each harmonic component of a sound independently using individual oscillator and synth controls
Waveshaper, which can not only add bit-crush-style effects, but work its magic on each element, polyphonically
• Individual independent arpeggiator, plus MIDI file drag-and-drop
• An Orb for exploring sonic capabilities – we’ve seen these sort of X/Y controllers before, but here you can even dynamically assign parameters in realtime, and add features like inertia and gesture recording
• iPad control via a really wonderful controller app

Being able to navigate multiple sonic parameters in real-time with touch, and combining sound-bending, far-reaching sonic tools like Harmonia and the granular features means you can really take sounds far from their original source – and sync them to tempo, if you like, with those MIDI and arp features. I need to pick up the whole tool again after the review and see what new sounds I can make; if there are any other users who wish to share, I’d love to hear what you’re making, as the possibility is really deep.

And yes, they now have done a dubstep bass tutorial, so everybody playing at home should take a shot.

Read the full, detailed review at Keyboard Magazine:

Spectrasonics Omnisphere 1.5 [Review by me for Keyboard]

How does it all work? Here are some relevant videos:

From the wonderful world of plug-ins, we’ve got some good news for soft synth lovers.

I covered the forthcoming Z3TA+ 2 release from Cakewalk last week, and a number of readers pointed to the brilliant work of Urs Heckmann. As it happens, Urs has a number of updates releasing this week, adding 64-bit support, compatibility fixes, and new tutorial videos. Check out the mapping generator and “tap map” LFOs for one terrific example in ACE (the modular Any Cable Everywhere).

New features in the ACE modular and More Feedback Machine delay/multi-effect:

ACE (Any Cable Everywhere) Version 1.1
(modular synth plugin)

* native 64-bit support for Mac AU and VST Win
* extra factory presets by Howard Scarr
* improved installers take Win7 permissions issues into account
* improved compatibility of RTAS (Mac) version, supports “3-finger salute” automation
* adds Cocoa view to AU version
* several minor bugs and niggles fixed
* new tutorial videos: http://www.youtube.com/uheplugins

MFM (More Feedback Machine) Version 2.1
(complex delay and multi-effect)

* native 64-bit support for Mac AU and VST Win
* extra factory presets by Tasmodia
* new PDF manual, with hyperlinks
* improved installers take Win7 permissions issues into account
* improved compatibility of RTAS (Mac) version, supports “3-finger salute” automation
* improved synchronization
* adds Cocoa view to AU version
* several minor bugs and niggles fixed

Below, an image gallery gives you an idea of the capabilities of these instruments; pictures I think speak as clearly as words – at least when the interface is nicely designed.

Also, while it’s not new, this video of Urs’ Zebra2 gives a good overview of what makes that special.

And in Aalto News…

In another soft synth update, Aalto from Madrona Labs, which we’ve covered here previously, gets a bunch of fixes:

improved performance!
optimized patch loading
fixed Logic dropouts, improved Logic CPU spikes
fixed Live 7 UI hangs
fixed Sonar crash, tested in Sonar X1
fixed Maschine scan crash
fixed multislider parameter behavior
added debug diagnostics
smaller executable

Previously:
For Lovers of Aalto, Semi-Modular Soft Synth, a Place to Share Patches

And an interview: Madrona’s Randy Jones on Aalto Soft Synth, Designing a New Instrument, Small Makers

Notably, in fact, both ACE and Aalto draw inspiration from modular synths, but each take a unique approach to applying that hardware patching model to software. Note the schematic-style approach of Aalto, versus the more literal dangling virtual cords in ACE.

CDM is no match for the site KVR Audio when it comes to plug-in releases and updates, but I think it’s only appropriate to talk about updates to software we’ve been following – some selective news on plug-ins. If you’ve found an update that’s particularly useful to how you work, let us know!

In a sea of software and hardware, a handful of releases every year stand out. On the software side, one of the most promising is Rob Papen’s Punch. It reflects a number of trends in soft synth design – given a choice between sampling and synthesis, it choose both; 64-bit support comes standard; pattern sequencing is built in. But it’s worth examining for two reasons: one, independent soft synth designer Rob Papen has done some of the best work in recent years, and two, it appears to offer a rich set of practical features in equal measure.

The video above is quite extensive – one watch-through will likely tell you whether or not this is for you. But here are the basic features:

• The Drums, The Drums… 2 bass + 2 open hat + 2 closed hat + 3 tom + 2 clap + 3 user.
• Each drum can choose one of several synthesis models or samples.
• Presets, Custom Samples. Load one of any number of presets and preset samples, or load your own sample content into the drum machine.
• Lots of Per-Drum Control. Per-drum distortion, individual output busing, choke groups. These route together into a prerequisite Mixer.
• Modulation. 2 envelopes, 2 LFOs, 8 modulation slots, for one of four effects units.
• Sequencer. 16-step internal patterns, each with four tracks. Sounds useful enough, though for more complex rhythms, of course, you’ll want to turn to your host or another MIDI source.
• “Easy” Controls. Each drum has what are in effect Macro controls, all MIDI-latchable, and various MIDI assignment options, as illustrated in the video. When you go from programming to performance mode, in other words – even as you work – you can quickly add hands-on control.

Mac + Windows, 32-bit + 64-bit, VST, AU (Mac), RTAS

http://www.timespace.com/punch
http://www.robpapen.com/punch.html

Punch is not without competition. Native Instruments’ Maschine is becoming a full-fledged host and sampling workstation. Propellerhead’s built-in Kong drum machine offers a very similar brew of sampling and synthesis, multiple models, hands-on control, and routing and mixing – indeed, part of the appeal to me of Punch is that it does more of what Kong does in a plug-in form. Arturia’s Spark melds sampling, synthesis, and physical modeling, loaded up with vintage samples and models as well as newer ones. FXpansions’s GEIST is sample-based, but also worth a look. Audio Damage’s Tattoo focuses on synthesis and sequencing, at the opposite pole. Both Spark and Maschine also have their own dedicated hardware controller. That’s just a start among recent entries – I’m sure I’m forgetting half a dozen others. (Round-up candidates?)

But Punch is now shipping, and it looks like a balanced, logical approach to this. It’s also one of the more inexpensive options here – EUR149 / GBP125 / US$179.

For all the lusting after hardware drum machines, it’s tough to beat software options for flexibility, range and quality of sound, speed of editing, and cost. 2011 seems an especially good year. I think CDM will have to do a drum machine roundup soon. Tips welcome.

I’ve been following Maschine since prototype stages. The idea was at once obvious and welcome: build a software workstation, tightly integrated with pad hardware control, that fuses hardware sampler working methods with the on-screen flexibility of software. It’s software that focuses on working with sounds and patterns, outside the DAW-style metaphors.

Of course, there’s one thing you might quickly miss about your DAW – certain software instruments or effects that are available as plug-ins. That makes 1.6 the version a lot of people have been waiting for. With plug-in hosting capabilities, it could now be your all-in-one production and performance workstation – without losing the focus that first made it appealing.

Maschine comes of age in other ways, too, from 64-bit Mac support to better control of pads and drag-and-drop function. It really seems like version 2 – and like the revision that makes an already-growing choice ready for primetime.

Accordingly, while it is a marketing video, it’s fantastic to see what Underworld are doing with Maschine live.

Naturally, you’d make the obvious comparison to Ableton Live, but it’s nice to see Live face an alternative. In fact, I think Live might even benefit from having an alternative with which to contrast. Most of the comparisons have turned to DJ tools live, or conventional DAWs – minus the live performance features – for production, or hardware. Maschine is different than Live – a pad-based sampler at heart rather than Live’s combination of sample-playing tracks and arrangement view. But it’s also finally a tool that has the flexibility of Live (for things like integrating plug-ins), while at the same time encouraging live, physical play and kinetic control, whether in a studio or onstage. (And, of course, there’s nothing stopping you from using these two tools side by side.)

I’m enthusiastic about new drum machines introduced earlier this year, hardware and software alike. But it’d be tough to compare any of them to Maschine, particularly with this update. This isn’t a full review, but you can expect one (or perhaps more than one, from different perspectives) soon.

New in 1.6:
VST and AU plug-in support. Bring in instruments and effects, and – in a feature first seen in NI software in their Kore product – automatically map parameters to Maschine’s knobs.

Bundled instruments and effects. 1000+ sounds cover factory contact selected from Kontakt, ranging from Vienna Symphonic Library sounds to synths, guitar amps, and Abbey Road drums. Of course, those of you who have been chomping at the bit just to use your existing plug-in library won’t care too much about this, but it increases the appeal for those starting out.

More effects slots. There are CPU cycles on your machine not yet being used by crazy Reaktor patches or your library of plug-ins. Problem solved. The architecture of slots in general has been expanded for easier assignment to modules.

Pad-Link. One pad in a group can now trigger one or more additional pads. This opens up more sophisticated drum programming possibilities, or live performance grouping for triggering more complex arrangements of samples.

Clip and sample renaming. Yeah. ‘Bout time.

Swing individual sounds. Ideal for constructing the exact groove you want – and, indeed, often far more useful than global swing.

Drag-and-drop anything.Drag and drop single or multiple files from your Windows or Mac file manager, and move audio around more easily in Maschine. (I recall the latter was what I found a bit frustrating early on – the ability to freely move audio from place to place can radically change the feel of working with a tool that focuses on sound.)

Multichannel audio output 16 output channels out should be ideal for those working with hardware mixing. I’m just waiting to hear a Maschine artist do a set in surround.

64-bit Mac and Windows support. 64-bit computing offers both expanded memory (useful for large samples) and marginal but measurable improvements in performance. (It has really nothing in particular to do with 64-bit audio, which I know sometimes confuses people unfamiliar with the term. 64-bit is a reference to the resolution of a number; in this case, it means the ability to take advantage of the native capabilities and memory addressing of newer computer architectures like the Core 2 Duo.)

Snap to grid.

Import REX 2. REX is the still-surprisingly-popular sample storage format developed by Propellerhead for their ReCycle product.

Speaking of Propellerhead, what isn’t in Maschine, as far as I know: ReWire support. ReWire doesn’t support 64-bit computing, and as far as I know, no plans are in the works. I think it’s time for a new solution, anyway – and maybe time to do some JACK tutorials here as a possible replacement.

I always feel a little dirty adding promo videos from the manufacturers, but let’s give Ski Beatz a few words, too. I’ll say this: a lot of the time, when you talk to artists – no vendors around listening – you get similar testimonials about products people love. That’s a good thing; it means people get enjoyment out of this stuff into which developers invest so much time.

Also, Ski Beatz’ hat and I would like to remind you that tomorrow afternoon is Yankees opening day here in NYC.

Maschine @ NI

Images courtesy Native Instruments.

Hey, by the way, will anyone help with my campaign to pronounce Maschine with the German pronunciation (since it has a German spelling, rather than Machine)? Maybe, um, at least German people?

Swedish developer Magnus Lidström is something of a virtuoso of music software, having worked with Propellerhead (Malström, etc.) and releasing his own unique µTonic (MicroTonic) and Synplant instruments. It’s been a bit since we’ve gotten new work from him – little matter, as I find his instruments tend to stand the test of time – but that changes now. MicroTonic, a well-loved drum machine cum drum synth, gets a major update this week, a 2011 New Year’s present to the producer community. (It is indeed a gift if you own a previous version; upgrades are free.) And one more thing – Sonic Charge is also releasing a terrific “real-time pitch-excited linear prediction codec effect” that does wonderful things with audio.

MicroTonic was already a lovely combination of percussion synthesizer and pattern-editing drum machine. New in µTonic 3.0:

• A morph slider which interpolates between eight drum patches – all MIDI-controlled and automation-ready, for crazy performance and production options
• A matrix editor for accessing all eight drum channels’ patterns at once
• MIDI pattern drag and drop, for Ableton Live users (and all major hosts)
• Choke groups, MIDI pitch wheel and program change support, new pattern modes, undo/redo
• Prettier improved skin and UI improvements

And there’s much more, as well. See the full changelog:
Changes in µTonic v3.0

Just as compelling as MicroTonic, though, is a new US$29 effect called Bitspeak. Sonic Charge describes Bitspeak thusly: “It will make you sound like a robot. Robots are cool. Bitspeek is cool.”

But that doesn’t quite do it justice. Bitspeak is vocoder-like in that it works on the same fundamental principle. But it’s closest to the compression algorithm used in mobile phones – it’s a “real-time pitch-excited linear prediction codec effect.” Pitch, volume, and formant data drive an oscillator, noise, and filter. The resulting timbres can sound like conventional ring mods and vocoders, or something quite different – and I’m really intrigued to try this on different sources. As presented here, you really have a gamut of possible effects.

And yes, it sounds like a Speak ‘n Spell turned into an effect. Listen to those sound samples for more.

The two Sonic Charge plugins are available for Windows VST and Mac VST and AU. MicroTonic even supports Mac OS 10.4 and (G5) PowerPC, so it’s an ideal choice for an older machine. (Bitspeak requires 10.5 and Intel on the Mac side, but also supports XP on Windows, so still works on an older PC.)

Full info:
http://www.soniccharge.com/bitspeek
http://www.soniccharge.com/microtonic

The modular MIDI step sequencer for Mac, Numerology 3, gets a big update today, adding humanization, generative patterns, and an enhanced UI and functionality. That makes this a more powerful laboratory than ever for creating new musical patterns. There’s also now a budget “Standard” edition and more advanced “Pro” version, AU support for use as a plug-in with some impressive scheduling accuracy and low-latency MIDI support, and lots of new modules.

The basic idea of Numerology is to turn your Mac into a set of modules for assembling musical patterns, and now you can either make Numerology a (very powerful) host, or a plug-in in your DAW of choice. New in version 3:

• “Generate” and “Evolve” features use generative algorithms for creating and transforming patterns. You can even use them in real-time for ongoing mutations to patterns.
• OSC (OpenSoundControl) support in Pro
• Pro-only features: Route multi-output AUs, monophonic audio, custom scale quantization, and advanced sequencer tools like CV to audio for use with outboard analog synths
• Enhanced filters, envelopes, and modulation in the synth and drum kit modules
• New audio effects: tempo-synced delays, multi-mode filtering
• Better preset storage, now with a centralized Stack Library and per-module preset storage
• Included library of modules to get you started, complete with full examples and templates
• New 222-page manual

Five12′s James Coker is I think one of the more creative independent music developers out there; I really love what he’s doing with this tool. At a time when there aren’t a whole lot of new ideas about how to work in music production, Numerology is a really unique take, and worth considering for that reason.

Numerology AU already works in Ableton, Logic, and MOTU DP, with more hosts coming soon. That makes this now a must-have addition to any Mac music setup, period – it’s looking insanely powerful.

Intro pricing is available through January 9; upgrades from US$34 and full releases for $119-184. (The Pro version doesn’t cost much more, so that may be a no-brainer for most Numerology fans.)

http://five12.com/

Here’s an early Christmas present for Mac and Windows synth lovers: Native Instruments is giving away a simplified version of its Prism instrument for Reaktor as a free (as in beer), self-contained synth. You’ll get access to Prism’s lovely “modal bank” synthesis method, which creates some unusual, shimmering timbres. (In fact, having a simpler version may be the best way to get a taste of what Prism’s deep sound engine can do.) You also get 70 sound, including what NI describes as “seasonal” bells and chimes – perfect for any last-minute holiday music projects – plus bass, more bells, keys, mallets, leads, pads, plucked sounds, and abstract, ambient “soundscapes.”

There’s also access to enough sound parameters that you can create some unique variations of the sounds, including built-in cabinet simulation, filter, flanger, echo and reverb effects, and modal bank and exciter parameters. So this is hardly a “rompler” or simple preset player; you can actually get a lot of different sounds out of it.

Mikro Prism, Free Reaktor Synthesizer [Native Instruments]

If you’re not a Reaktor owner, this instrument runs in Reaktor Player, which lacks its own preset storage but runs inside supported Mac and Windows plug-in hosts.

Thanks to Dave Ryan for the tip!

For years, anyone with doubts that soft synths had become commodity needed only to look to Crystal. Not only is this proprietary synth completely free-as-in-beer for Windows and Mac, but it could easily be your only synth if you so desired. Crystal is a semi-modular instrument with the usual trimmings – subtractive and FM synthesis, modulation, multi-stage, graphical envelopes, tempo sync, chorus, flanger, comb filter, delay, and even a band splitter for adding effects per frequency band. If the bread-and-butter stuff doesn’t satisfy, Crystal also has Granular and Wave Density parameters for wavetable synthesis that can be used for granular-style effects and more out-there sounds.

Now, Crystal pairs the absurd value of its free desktop instrument with a mobile version that starts at 99 cents.

While it’s not quite the round-trip workflow of bleep!BOX, mentioned earlier today, Crystal’s new mobile edition for iPhone and iPad could be ideal for people who can never find enough time (cough) to do all the sound design they want. Once the currently-unreleased (and premium-priced) XT plug-in is available, you’ll be able to share patches between desktop and modular versions. You’ll also be able to use MIDI input via the iPad’s Camera Connection Kit, using a compatible USB MIDI class-compliant device. And if you’re stuck for ideas, the mobile version also uses the “Breed” feature. That means that you can do some idle sound design while on the go, so that knob-tweaking doesn’t have to distract you when you’re back at your desk and ready to actually finish a production.

Now, we have quite a few readers who aren’t terribly interested in mobile versions of software – and with good reason. While Crystal on an iPhone or iPad is portable, you lose a lot. Some of that involves sacrifices in Crystal itself. Some editing, import, and patch browsing is missing. The limited real estate of the iPhone screen knocks out editing, which is largely copied from the desktop version – meaning, as well, this isn’t necessarily designed from the ground up for mobile use. And, oh yeah, you lose polyphony. Other restrictions have to do with the iPad itself: finding compatible MIDI hardware is trickier, and the single dock connector – for now – means that you can pick one option from MIDI, external audio, and power, but not all three, depending on your hardware. (Want MIDI? Load up the battery. Want audio? Stick to the headphone jack. Update/correction: Glad to hear from substrain that hardware with class support for audio and MIDI in one device should work, and that there’s hope from third-party, non-Apple adapters! More on that soon; have to experiment.) Then there’s the fact that just sequencing an instrument is easier on a computer. For half the price of an iPad, you could get a netbook with all these features and still have something light and compact. My guess is, then, that Crystal will be best for doing sonic exploration on the go, particularly with the iPad editing interface – and that makes the availability of the free plug-in version all the more critical. On mobile only, this has questionable utility. When you have a desktop, too, it could be a killer app.

The news isn’t just for mobile users, however. While some pricey synths and effects aren’t available in 64-bit versions, an update last week also delivered 64-bit compatibility for both Mac AU and Windows VST. That gives you full 64-bit compatibility on both operating systems; no bridge needed. Cost: entirely free.

Thanks to readers who reminded me of this, especially Flplsx of In & Out fest. Full details:

http://www.greenoak.com/crystal/
http://www.greenoak.com/crystal/indexDesktop.html [Desktop version]
Crystal on the iTunes App Store (eagerly anticipating that XT version!)