Big Performance, Small Package
Quested
V3110 Monitors
Offering twice the amp power of the VS3208, Quested’s (www.quested.com) new V3110 ($9,000/pair) monitor is powered by a 700-watt, Class-D amplifier for the 10-inch woofer and 150W per driver of Class-A/B amplification for the 3-inch mid and 1.13-inch HF. The V3110 offers independent EQ/trim for the HF, mid and LF, allowing for setup in a variety of environments and positions, and its 24dB/octave crossover slopes promise greater drive unit efficiency. Other features include a rotatable MF/HF section for horizontal or vertical placement, combo XLR/TRS inputs and 120dB max SPL.
Hardware Doppelganger
elysia
mpressor Dynamics Plug-In
brainworx (brainworx-music.de) and elysia (www.elysia.com) have collaborated on the mpressor ($440) software dynamics processor plug-in, which closely emulates elysia’s mpressor hardware unit. The software offers all of the hardware unit’s functions, including its unique Auto-Fast feature, promising perfect attack, Anti-Log for non-logarithmic release curves and Negative Ratios for compression effects. The mpressor plug-in is available in RTAS, VST, Audio Units and TDM formats, and a free 14-day trial version is available for download.
Beefy Mid/Near-Fields
Guzauski/Swist
Monitors
From the minds of Grammy Award-winning engineer Mick Guzauski and designer Larry Swist (www.guzauski-swist.com), the Guzauski/Swist near-fields ($12,000; available for purchase directly from the manufacturer) feature a 12-inch, low-resonance, long-excursion driver in a sealed cabinet; a 3-inch Dome ATC midrange; and a 1-inch Morel soft-dome tweeter (the same used by Dynaudio). The system is powered by 1,500 watts of Class-D amplification included in a separate rack. The acoustically decoupled midrange/tweeter enclosure is hung from the woofer cabinet and isolated down to 6 Hz using a military-grade isolation system. Users can align the system either vertically or horizontally.
Hearing the Almighty
Little Labs
VOG
The new VOG (Voice of God, $420) processor from Little Labs (www.littlelabs.com) comes in a 500 Series module format and lets users add a proximity effect without the source being close to the mic. VOG features a sweeping sharp peak resonance from 20 to 300 Hz while everything below the peak is rolled off at a steep -24dB/octave. This gives the ability to focus on the low end while eliminating mush and unnecessary woofer excursion.
Little, Yellow, Different
Avant Electronics
Active MixCubes
Newly redesigned from the ground up, the Active MixCubes ($459/pair, $259 each) from Avant (www.avantelectronics.com) incorporate a Class-A/B amplifier rated at 60W RMS. Other features include a rear-mounted, detented gain knob; a pin-1 audio ground lift; illuminated on/off switch; combo TRS/XLR input jack; and an aluminum heat sink. A pair weighs 14 pounds, 4 ounces, and comes with a five-year limited warranty to the original owner.
Seeing Red
Focusrite
Scarlett Plug-In Suite
The latest software release from Focusrite (www.focus rite.com), the Scarlett ($99) plug-in suite harkens back to the company’s Red Range hardware. This collection of compression, gating, EQ and reverb plug-ins offers a library of presets and classic Focusrite features, controls and GUIs, including detailed porthole-style VU meters. The plug-in’s EQ uses the same 6-band EQ approach as Focusrite’s Red 2 and ISA EQs, while its compressor can operate in stereo and dual-mono and features a sidechain input. Scarlett is dual-platform (Mac/PC) and works under VST, Audio Units and RTAS (Pro Tools) hosts.
Big Bam Boom
Sonic Reality
EpiK DrumS Ken Scott Series
EpiK DrumS (www.epikdrums.com, $749), the latest virtual instrument drum kit plug-in from Sonic Reality, features five of the world’s best drummers recorded by legendary producer/engineer Ken Scott. For this VI, Scott re-created the drum sounds he recorded with David Bowie, Supertramp, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Dixie Dregs, Missing Persons, Elton John and The Beatles using the same gear, instruments and original drummers — Billy Cobham, Terry Bozzio, Woody Woodmansey, Bob Siebenberg and Rod Morgenstein. The collection offers more than 80 GB of 24-bit samples, including 2,000 grooves featuring discrete user control over the mixes, or mixes by Ken Scott himself.
Organizational Issues?
AlterMedia
Studio Suite 9 Studio Management Software
The latest incarnation of AlterMedia’s Studio Suite (www.studiosuite.net) offers a range of new modules for organizing contacts, rates/scheduling, maintenance/inventory and more. Other features include iPhone access, a new “quick-find” feature, e-mail management, dynamic categorization and increased reporting options with easier data export to Excel. The software comes in three versions priced from $499 to $1,799, and requires FileMaker Pro 9 to operate.
