I’ve been waiting for the near-ubiquitous ExpressCard slot on laptops to see some audio goodness, so one of the more welcome announcements of NAMM is that there’s now finally an ExpressCard-enabled version of the Universal Audio platform. The UAD is a DSP platform for computers, with an emphasis on high-quality, boutique mastering and effects plug-ins, including some recent, familiar emulations of classic Roland and Moog gear. UA’s stuff really does sound great, and host support has been improving (look for the key words “latency compensation” in your host of choice). So it’s about time that laptop users get in on some of the fun the desktop users have had.

The surprise is, the UAD-2 SOLO doesn’t cost that much – $500 includes the card plus the “1176SE Compressor/Limiter, Pultec EQP-1A Equalizer, RealVerb Pro Room Modeler, and CS-1 Channel Strip.” That’s a premium over native plug-ins, but then you have access to other UA plugs later on. In other news, Antares and Manley Labs signed onto UA’s platform, so more stuff is coming.

And by the way, while the forums rip into the choice of DAW, this stuff will work everywhere – even, via RTAS, Pro Tools.

Universal’s stuff isn’t for everyone, but I’m pleased that laptop users are getting something more out of a slot on their machine. (You’ll find ExpressCard on most PCs and the MacBook Pro, as well.) I hope this is the first of more hardware to come.

http://www.uaudio.com/

Mastering – spoiled for choice? This means in mastering choices, you’ve got the UAD, IK’s T-RackS 3 announced at the end of last year, and iZotope’s Ozone 4 announced at NAMM. I’ll be talking to some folks in New York who know something about mastering (i.e., are not me). (One of them is a big Cubase fan, so I expect he’ll also be all over Cubase 5 – and he makes records that make real money, whereas I make records that go nicely with experimental modern dance.)

Each of these products goes a different direction, but the honest truth is almost any DAW will start you out with a pretty great selection of effects tools, and for a small chunk of change, you can add on with something like the UAD, T-RackS, and iZotope. None of this changes your actual skill level or the quality of your ears, but it does help keep your wallet from being the major barrier.

Ever feel music creation apps are too similar? Imagine an alternative universe in which music making software evolved along different lines. In this universe, the “tracker” isn’t some arcane novelty, but the detailed, bottom-up music editing approach that becomes the basis of music construction tools for any genre. Now imagine a breakthrough software release in that alternate universe.

Maybe it’s the Large Hadron Collider, but the release of Renoise 2 means that this is actually our universe: we have a cheap, community driven, unique app that runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. And it’s getting a big update Thursday – almost in time for my birthday (Tuesday).

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you picked the right moment to tune in. Renoise always had potential as a unique tool for music making, and with the shipment of Renoise 2, some very key pieces are falling into place. I’ve just gotten an exclusive look at what’s coming in the final release. Dac Chartrand has shared some details that weren’t previously public.

You heard it here first:

• Renoise 2.0 FINAL launches January 15, 2009, “8 years in the making, 4 months of beta testing.”
• Launch details on January 15 will be at http://www.renoise.com/launch/
• It’ll work with netbooks. Dac tells us: “Renoise can now be resized to fit on small Netbook screens. Here’s an interesting thread where a user reviews Renoise on his new MSI Wind U100:” http://www.renoise.com/board/index.php?showtopic=19175"
• Additional tweaks and bug fixes made it in, including Universal Audio UAD2 DSP support and latency compensation.
• Renoise 2 will support fraction BPMs, like 127.56.
• It’ll have new demo songs. “Two of the songs were selected from submissions by the Renoise community in a competition called "Beta Battle, Round 1 & Round 2". The developers chose their favorites and have included them in the final release of Renoise 2.0. More info here:” http://www.renoise.com/indepth/category/competitions/
• New native DSP effects: RingMod, Scream Filter

Read on for more details, plus tips on making this work with the tools you already use…

Renoise 2.0 New Features

Here’s the rest of what’s new in Renoise:

• Automatic plug-in delay compensation for everything – effects and instruments
• Latency compensation and fixing when recording
• Improved audio performance, lower-latencies on multiple CPUs on Mac and Linux
• Channel and polyphonic aftertouch
• Note quantize options, real-time quantize on record, nudge, and keyboard shortcuts

Plug-in improvements, including one big one:

• Mac AU support, removing the big obstacle for Mac users
• Multi-output VSTi/AU (that’s good news for Kore users, among others)
• Send notes to VST/AU effects (instead of just instruments
• Plug-in management improvements, including info, custom sorts, sort by manufacturer, hide, move, rename (and that was listed under “minor features”)

A lot of the best features are related to timing improvements. You will need to update old songs, but for new songs, there’s a lot of power. And this really gets into the significance of Renoise as a tracker, something I hope we’ll cover this year:

• Custom track delays for audio and MIDI to offset an entire track
• You can now set time via “Lines Per Beat” – how many lines in the pattern make up a musical beat. (That’ll make sense to tracker users and not to anyone else, but until we whip up a demo, just trust me that that’s a good thing.)
• There’s a delay column for fine-tuning specific grooves at up to 4096 parts per quarter (PPQ).
• You can set pitch and volume glides, independent of the “tick” of the sampler.
• In the future, Renoise will support “zoomable patterns,” piano roll for those who want it, greater timing accuracy, and other new improvements.

There are also tons of other improvements, performance tweaks, shortcuts, and other little features:

New in 2.0: Complete Feature List

Integration and Tips

Of course, the hype that usually accompanies software launches at NAMM and elsewhere usually has to do with convincing you the tool is the One True Tool you need, replacing everything else. That’s nonsense, of course. Just as in the pre-computer days, what made a studio productive was the right combination of gear and easy ways of connecting it, software lovers find combining software to be what makes them happiest and most expressive.

Dac passed along a few ideas for integrating Renoise. These immediately make me think of other possibilities, but here are a few gems to get you started:

Guide To Connecting Reason To Renoise: http://www.renoise.com/board/index.php?showtopic=15683

A workaround for sending SYSEX to your synth: http://www.renoise.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11777

GarageBand in conjunction with Renoise: http://www.renoise.com/board/index.php?showtopic=12590

Convert Renoise files to MIDI files using PHP: http://xrns-php.sourceforge.net/xrns2midi.html

How to use Windows VST on Linux: http://www.renoise.com/board/index.php?showtopic=15347

If you can’t wait until next week, there’s a release candidate available for download in demo mode right now:

See also:

Renoise + FM8 Drum Kit, Free Download: FM Meets Tracker [our own kore.noisepages.com]

Renoise 2.0 Public Beta Amps Up Popular Tracker for Windows, Mac, Linux

Wallace clued us in back in summer 207 that this would be big

And for pure, absurd fun:

Renoise Tracker Made Into Animation

Universal Audio’s UAD-1, a sound processing platform built on DSP hardware add-ons for your computer, has gotten a much-anticipated sequel this week. The UAD-1 was always a favorite choice for sound production, delivering tasty analog-emulating sound tools on a PCI card platform. The UAD-2, on PCI-express cards, offer up to “ten times” the processing power of the original — supposedly even the single-processor model delivers a greater-than-twofold performance gain. The DSP hardware is just the platform, though, and Universal’s main push here is its plug-in developers. Sure, these days your CPU is a plenty-powerful sonic number cruncher, so I think it’d be a stretch to say anyone needs DSP cards. But what the platform can mean is plug-in goodies not available anywhere else, with a no-nonsense approach to sound that may not be as practical in native plug-ins. (And with support from software like Ableton Live, Apple Logic, and Cakewalk SONAR, you can then drop these into your host of choice.)

Here’s a look from around the Web at what people are saying about the UAD-2.

Oliver Chesler at Wire to the Ear notes what could be a real “killer app” / highlight of the UAD-2: a Moog multimode filter.

Here’s a pretty new plug-in for the new Universal Audio UAD-2! It seems to have all the right stuff too: self-oscillation, drive control, stereo tonal shifting, good modulation options and yay a wet/dry knob.

The Moog Multimode Filter for UAD-2 [wire to the ear]

Not to argue with the “classic design” or the genius of Bob Moog, but I do have to observe that the Fabfilter Product Line Oliver recommends, native plug-ins rather than Universal Audio, have more innovative interfaces that were actually designed for software. Don’t get me wrong — I might still have a great time with the Moog emulation — but this illustrates that CPU-based plug-ins remain competitive, and I’m not sure that emulating analog interfaces always makes sense on a computer. Then again, if you don’t have a rack mount Voyager lying around, I can’t argue with the appeal of a UAD-2 plug-in.

For more on why the sound aspect is so appealing, check out UA’s “realism” explanation (propaganda, yes, but worth a look).

TRASH_AUDIO have been eagerly watching this one for some time:

UA is promoting the fact that up to Four of the UAD-2 cards can run in one system, but just ONE Quad card will allow you to have 128 Neve 88RS channel strips open, which essentially gives you a 128 channel Neve console right in your DAW. I am upgrading my UAD-1 the second I find a place to buy the UAD-2.

Universal Audio: UAD-2, Out Now! [TRASH_AUDIO]

Key of Grey notes that UA’s digital hardware (UAD-1/UAD-2) reflects some really fine-quality analog gear:

Universal Audio makes some of the best hardware out there. I’m especially a fan of their 610 and 6176. The warmth of the analog sound makes a big difference when most of your stuff has that digital edge.

… The UAD-2 continues this tradition. Depending on how many tracks you want it to handle, you can pay for increasingly powerful add-on cards, even up to supporting 128 tracks of Neve console. Unfortunately, I don’t have a desktop to put these in but they present fantastic value for those who can’t afford tonnes of analog gear.

Univeral Audio UAD-2 : A much needed upgrade to the UAD-1 [Key of Grey]

But Can You Lift It?

Incidentally, those wondering about portability, a couple of options:

1. Get an SFF PC. I’m kind of curious to try putting a UAD into one of the two PCI slots available on my Shuttle, thus creating a “luggable” system with these sounds.

2. Get an Xpander/Xtenda. UA does make a product specifically for ExpressCard-equipped laptops like the MacBook Pro, so mobile is definitely an option (as it is with the rival TC|Electronics PowerCore). At the moment, I can only find the desktop/laptop bridge Xtenda product on the UA site. Updated: as confirmed in comments, it seems a laptop-compatible UAD-2 project is in the works as a successor to the UAD-1 Xpander product; we’ll keep you posted.

UAD-2 and Compatibility

I’m curious to find more about whether the UAD-2 introduces any new compatibility issues with either plug-ins or hosts. A number of host developers only recently got all the issues with the UAD-1 ironed out. My uneducated guess would be that these should “just work” with the UAD-2, but I honestly don’t know, so it’s on the top of my list to go research. Host developers, feel free to chime in, off the record if you must.

So, readers, who’s getting a UAD-2? Budgets are tight for a lot of us at the moment, but then, the UAD compares favorably with a lot of the pricier Pro Tools plug-ins, for instance. US$500 gets you a ticket to ride, with generous plug-in vouchers as you upgrade so you can build your own bundle. (If you’re feeling poor, stay tuned for some Recession Special coverage coming your way soon … but UAD lovers, I’m sure, will sell their car before they miss a chance for a new UAD.)

Universal Audio Site with all the specs and whatnot

Electronic Kits

Some readers lamented that the Zendrum MIDI controller was a compact unit with pads rather than arrayed like a traditional drum kit. True, that’s part of the point — supreme portability — but if you like your MIDI triggers in a conventional configuration and still want something expressive and unique, you should have a look at the NS2 electronic drum kits from RET. Zendrummer John Emrich must also love the NS2, because he does the demo performance of the NS2, as well — with even more convincing, realistic effect. (Disclaimer, since this evidently upset people last time: using a sampled acoustic kit as the drum sound for the trigger says a lot about the controller, because it reveals how sensitive and consistent the controller is, much as our ears can easily hear how good a MIDI keyboard is by listening to a sampled grand. These are the sounds we know well. Some of you just don’t like drum kits, so you guys I can’t really help.)

R.E.T. Percussion [Audio demo by John plays as soon as you open the page, with accompanying digital slide show]

I know nothing about the NS2, but from what I can tell — and from John’s endorsement — it merits consideration. Thanks to Bryan Tewell for the tip!

Updated: I couldn’t find this on the page but sure enough, there’s a full demo video by John from summer NAMM.

Latest from Universal Audio

The DCS (Desktop Console System) already caught our eye with beautiful design and an interesting philosophy: give computer audio users a high-end mic pre and DI in a compact form factor, perfect for project studios. The demo video from UA offers up more details, but it also teases us with something at the end:

DCS Remote Pre Demo [Universal Audio; video links]

“S” from tychomusic writes:

“If you go watch the demo video for the DCS preamp, at the end there’s mention of the forthcoming Monitor Master and the screen print artwork is shown briefly. This seems like a cool piece, since the only real options in that department are the big knob (pretty bad) and the central station (quite good, but probably not as good as a UA piece) Anyways, I can’t find any real images of it anywhere on the web, this seems to be the only thing out there right now.

Monitor master — sounds good to me, and definitely in line with the ideas behind the DCS pre.

Correction: I incorrectly stated that Euphonix themselves collaborated with UA; instead it is Euphonix co-founders and veterans of the company Scott and Rob Silfvast. I apologize for the error. In a way, this is even better; they represent some of the individual design vision behind Euphonix. See Scott Silfvast’s ideas at the end.

This weekend is the high-end AES audio show in San Francisco, meaning we get to ogle beautiful gear with serious-looking VU meters and drool-worthy audio quality. Universal’s new modular “desktop console system” is at the top of the list on both counts, and it’s actually geared at the project-sized computer music studio.

Universal Audio has an intensely loyal following for its DSP plug-ins and vintage-style preamps and hardware gear. (Quite a few CDM readers are big fans of their UAD-1 platform, a PCI DSP card that supports some terrific-sounding plug-ins.) But they’re likely to get a lot more attention for this move: they’re teaming up with Scott & Rob Silfvast, two of the original founders and ex-executives of Euphonix, who are best known for their high-end Pro Tools controllers and large consoles, the kind of things you usually only see in big studios.

The collaboration here is intended to bring console features to project studios: instead of big studios and big budgets, think small spaces and more modest wallets. The Desktop Console System (DCS) is a modular, “micro-console” product line. Got one machine running SONAR and just want a high-quality mic pre? This could be for you.

Whether or not this particular product is of interest to you personally, I think it’s telling that this product is getting unveiled at AES. Conventional wisdom is that, with the downfall of big studios, high-end audio gear sales should be suffering and the Audio Engineering Society shows, geared at high-end users, should be shrinking. Instead, the opposite is happening: AES is packed, and there are new opportunities for boutique audio makers like UA. The shift to more project studios and computer-based recording with less outboard gear could actually mean an opportunity for high-end audio gear makers, if audio dollars become less centralized (more individual users instead of fewer big studios).

The first products in the line are a remote preamp (dual pre and cue mixer), ideal for improving the signal chain from a small studio space, and a monitor master (speaker cue and cue controller).

Here’s how UA describes the features of the new products:

Key Features Of DCS Remote Preamp (Dual Pre & Cue Mixer):

1. Dual Mono Or Stereo transimpedance Mic Pre/DI
2. Mid-Side (MS) Recording with decoded monitoring
3. Headphone amp with 3x Cue mix, Reverb & EQ
4. Digitally controlled analog signal path via DCS-Link�
5. Remote up to 300′ from base station via CAT-5 cable

Key Features Of DCS Monitor Master (Speaker & Cue Controller):

1. Mixing/monitoring/recording premium-quality “console master section”
2. 100% digitally controlled analog signal path via DCS-Link� interconnect
3. Five stereo inputs (three analog, two digital) and five stereo outputs
4. Features such as mono sum, dim, mute plus L/R solo, phase and swap
5. Flexible talkback & Reference grade 24 bit 192 kHz DAC

These two modules are due at the beginning of 2007; pricing TBA. More modules will follow.

If you just want some more analog hardware / VU meter pr0n, head to this link:

Universal Audio analog gear photos

Normally the quotes you see in press releases are pretty meaningless, but Scott Silfvast succinctly describes what the idea of these units is:

” By collaborating with UA, we have combined heritage, sonic excellence and our joint industry experience to design a modular series of desktop studio products. The DCS products uniquely take the best features and working methods of large-format consoles and allow these to be easily integrated into today’s more compact DAW-based studios.” said Scott Silfvast, Product Consultant and co-Founder of Euphonix. “Each DCS unit provides a unique solution for the DAW-based studio that helps to interface the analog part of the studio – humans, mics, instruments, headphones, speakers etc with the computer.”

Now, some readers here have been skeptical of the performance improvements of PCIe (though, compatibility-wise, many computers make it a necessity). But Universal says the new cards deliver a quantifiable improvement over PCI and PCI-X. Joe Bryan, VP of technology, says PCIe provides lower system overhead, more reliable low-latency operation, and more tracks (up to 254 per card). That’s consistent with what we’ve heard from other vendors like Digidesign. (Of course, the advantage of Universal is, unlike the Pro Tools platform, you can add Universal’s plug-ins to any Mac or Windows DAW you like.)

Bryan also mentions the ExpressCard bus included on recent PC laptops and Apple’s MacBook Pro, which I hope means Universal is considering a mobile-ready product.

The Universal cards themselves are impressive as always. They start at just US$500 for the DSP card, plus $100 off your choice of plug-ins (Express), or $1000 for the card and $750 off plug-ins (Expert). Existing users can crossgrade from the PCI UAD-1 at a discount, and you can mix-and-match PCI and PCIe versions of the card if you want. As for the geeky parts behind the scenes: think a single, unpartitioned vector processor for more complex DSP processing (other cards use multiple DSP chips), and high-res, floating point processing with high-speed memory. The market for these products certainly isn’t huge, but every Universal user I’ve met was really in love with the platform. If you’re one of those people, like Gareth Jones, for instance, do say hi and let us know how your UAD-1 is treating you.

UAD-1e and PCIe Demo Videos
Express Pak, Expert Pak UAD-1e’s
Via Digital Music Mag

Contrary to popular belief, Digidesign ain’t the only game in town when it comes to hardware DSP for effects and instruments. Universal Audio writes us to say that today they’ve updated their UAD-1 DSP system; version 3.9 adds support for Mac OS X Tiger. Users of Logic Pro 7.1 and the upcoming Live 5 will enjoy better support for the UAD-1 on their end, too, thanks to new latency compensation in each of those packages.

There’s a goodie in the new release, too: an emulation of the Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble stompbox, for creating analog-style, wide-stereo effects. The CE-1 was developed by UA in partnership with Roland, the first of three promised stompboxes. For those of you who sing the Song of Roland, I’m sure you’ll crave this. (The update includes a 14-day demo; you’ll have to shell out the US$99 for chorusing after that. If you’re buying a UAD-1 new, there’s a free compressor promotion through the end of June.)

By the way, two things I like about the UAD-1. First, it’s got just one, big vector chip for DSP, saving some of the typical bottlenecks on DSP cards. Second, their slogan is “Analog Ears, Digital Minds,” which seems in keeping with the spirit of CDM. Or . . . wait . . . are we more “Analog Minds, Digital Ears.” Or . . . “Analog Ears, No Mind.” Well, something like that. So, any UAD-1 aficionados out there? Give us a buzz.