I’m not always jealous of the Pro Tools platform, but here’s a good reason to be: the Massenburg DesignWorks Hi-Res Parametric EQ, version 2.0 of which started shipping this week. George Massenburg needs no introduction: he’s credited as the creator of the parametric EQ, and makes his own superb (hardware, not software) audio gear as George Massenburg Labs. The EQ plug-in for Pro Tools let you bring some of that top-notch sound into the software realm. The upgrade has a slick, new interface with copying and pasting between bands and A/B snapshots, phase invert, 3- and 5-band versions, and better DSP performance so you can stack up more of these plugins. Most interesting to me is a feature called “IsoPeak” which lets you sweep through the frequency spectrum to find the frequency you want. But don’t listen to me: check out Digidesign’s site, where George himself shows off his creation:

Massenburg DesignWorks Hi-Res Parametric EQ 2.0 Now Available

“This is all going to be software,” said a Focusrite rep at an AES show in 2004, as he gestured at racks of Focusrite’s beloved racks of audio gear. (Needless to say, that was not on the record.) While not everything can be digital — you’ll still need to get sound into the digital realm, meaning analog/digital converters and preamps will never go away — it’s astounding what is possible with ever-advancing digital audio tech.

And so, we have the incredible Focusrite Liquid Mix: 32 channels of EQ, 32 compressors, all modeling classic and vintage sounds in one cute, compact FireWire case. This tiny bus-powered device does all the number-crunching so your computer CPU doesn’t have to, thanks to onboard DSP chips. Price TBD, but it sounds as though it’ll be well under US$1000.

Magnus of Smartelectronix
is apparently very excited by his new Mac Mini, because he says it's
inspired him to port his plugins to Mac OS X! To get you started, try
out NyquistEq, a gorgeous parametric EQ that can process treble right up to the Nyquist frequency — the highest frequency that can be represented in digital audio without aliasing. Check out his other plugins; Mac users should check out the donationware Ambience reverb, too, and PC users have plenty of other toys.

Free (donationware), Mac/Windows VST (no AU, sorry)

Geek alert: the technically-correct name for the Nyquist frequency is the Shannon-Nyquist frequency. Poor Shannon.

I expect that I'll write this and someone will say, "Why, no,
that's simply copied from Joe's Big EQ, an effect written 5 years ago."
but for my money, Digidesign's new EQ III looks stunningly like the
MasterWorks EQ in MOTU Digital Performer 4.5. (Read my review of DP in Keyboard)

Let's back up for a moment: Digidesign users, you've got a powerful new EQ you can download for free. Go get it, enjoy; it looks like a really nice giveaway.

I'm sure the fact that it uses exactly the same color scheme and even
has the grid and lighting effects and knob layout as MOTU's EQ is entirely coincidental. (Your studio lighting always creates glare on your screen at exactly that angle, right?)

(If you think I'm crazy, I'll hear you out.)

Finally — a boatload of free stuff arrives on a Friday so I
can alliterate my roundup. Simple pleasures. First, the Windows edition:

Free mono synth with lots of routing: Club CC4 has released their Ridiculously Red monophonic hybrid instrument, which has a Ridiculously Butt-ugly interface but "experimental semi-modular routing" and lots of routing and generators and stuff. (Samplepoolz
copies the specs, but you'll get the same basic idea.) Oh, and it's
supposed to be good not only at making basses and leads but drones and "pads with a sense of movement." I have no sense of movement, so that's a good thing. Next up:

Free Para EQ with pretty knobs: WWAYM
(pronounce: wuh wuh aaEEEEmm, I think) has launched a free VST
parametric EQ. The basics, but they got those polished-aluminum knobs
just right, instead of just copying MOTU.