HOPEWELL JUNCTION – JANUARY 2009: Metric Halo is pleased to announce the immediate release of the next version of MIO Console – the software for Mobile I/O. This release is available as a software/firmware/driver update that enhances the capabilities of all new and existing Mobile I/O hardware. The update is available free of charge to all Mobile I/O users.
NEW RIAA DECODE FILTER FOR ALL 2D EXPANDED AND +DSP UNITS Version 5.1 of MIO Console adds RIAA decoding to all of the integrated EQ plugins available on Mobile I/O. With the new RIAA decoding filter, users can connect a turntable RIAA output directly to a high-gain, low-noise input of a Mobile I/O and apply precision RIAA decoding to the signal to recover the original material. This yields a marked improvement in decoding accuracy over the approximate analog filters employed in standard phono preamps. For vinyl lovers, this is a great new option that is now included with every Mobile I/O. The RIAA Decode Filter is included as a free update with v.5.1 of MIO Console.
According to Ronald Anthony, “The new RIAA curves make my existing investment even more useful, instead of spending a lot of money on a phono preamp with limited use, or getting something cheap and inferior, now old, collectible records can be transferred into the digital realm with great quality and minimal amount of fuss.”
Andrew Levine of Blumlein Records adds, “I have had a few high-quality rips from LP lurking in my archive; Rare stuff that hasn’t been released on CD. I have now restored the music with the MIO EQ’s filter for RIAA-decoding. That, coupled with the new TransientController helped me make the music come alive. Thanks yet again!
NEW TRANSIENTCONTROLLER PLUGIN TransientController is a brand new signal processing plugin for Mobile I/O +DSP. Available in mono, multi-mono and stereo configurations, the new TransientController provides zero-latency independent modification of the transient and sustain characteristics of the signal being processed.
This new process is excellent for contouring and controlling the transient properties of everything from individual tracks to full mixes. The TransientController can be used to make drum-tracks pop, enhance or decrease the initial transients of guitar tracks, increase the average level of full mixes without dulling the transients in the material, and much, much more.
The ability to process full mixes makes the TransientController a natural choice in mastering. According to John McCaig, mastering engineer, “The new TransientController saved my life on several mastering projects where I needed to reign-in some really pokey acoustic guitars.”
Jack Hale, Producer and Engineer, adds, “The new TransientController plugin is a great bonus that does much more than its name implies. I have several well-known transient control/modulator type plugs and find the MIO TransientController easier to use and more flexible for the majority of tracks requiring transient control processing, leaving less of an ‘imprint’ on the processed sound, even at more extreme settings.”
The TransientController sports a “Progressive Disclosure”-style UI with three different levels of complexity, ranging from a simple UI with three basic controls to a more complex UI with detailed process metering and advanced processing controls.
Zero-latency processing allows the TransientController to be used in live situations to enhance individual channels or entire submixes, without introducing any processing delay. This functionality will be very handy for FOH and monitor engineers.
According to veteran FOH engineer John Kerns: “I’ve been using the TransientController inserted over parallel drum and loop subgroups on the profile console that I’ve been using with really, really good results. I simply insert a stereo patch via AES in and out and there you have it. Instant life and punch! I find that the TransientController works far better than anything available at this point for my console/surface of choice. Since I have my MH units at the gig for (SpectraFoo) measurements and playback anyway, it’s actually not even another piece of hardware for me to carry around. Fantastic!”
Mastering Engineer Michael Romanowski adds, “The TransientController is an invaluable tool for me for shaping mixes. Whether it is softening the attack on an upright bass or bringing out the articulation of a horn part, the controls are very intuitive and flexible. It excels at giving snap to a lost snare, giving a little bite to an electric guitar or smoothing out an acoustic guitar track. But an even bigger use for me is on stereo program material. When used on a string section, I can pull out the bowing a bit to help add impact or soften and help create a bigger sounding section. With drum overheads, it is an excellent tool for taming sharp cymbals. The Transient Controller works wonders on DI’d keyboards. It can really help to get rid of some of the unrealistic attack that some sounds have, and add attack to those that don’t have enough. The controls are very simple and easy to use. And with the more Advanced Envelope Controls, one can really fine-tune the performance. I use the TransientController on almost every project as a creative and enhancing tool.”
NEW PRIMITIVE PLUGIN BLOCKS MIO Console v.5.1 with the +DSP license also now includes two new primitive plugin processing blocks for use in graph macros: the EnvelopeDetector block and the MIONCOTransform block. The EnvelopeDetector transforms an audio signal into an audio rate control voltage proportional to the amplitude envelope of the input audio signal. The output control voltage can be used as side-chain input signal, the source of an envelope control signal, or to control the frequency of a Numerically Controlled Oscillator. The second new block is tailored for the last application of the EnvelopeDetector. The MIONCOTransform converts a linear control voltage signal to the proper control value to input into a MIONumericallyControlledOscillator to sweep between specified minimum and maximum frequencies. These two new building blocks allow the construction of interesting audio controlled synth elements in the zero-latency +DSP environment.
MIO user Brad Hawkins comments, “It’s just so great to keep getting better and better processing with the MIO. The TransientController is letting me do things with dynamics I’ve never thought possible, and so dead easy to use. Amazing. And now, when I want to get right in there and really do something different, I have a whole new world opened up with the control I can get from the EnvelopeDetector and the CV -> NCO. Right away I banged up a MIO Vocoder, and a very analogue-oriented colleague thought it was analogue – and it didn’t cost me a thing! Of course you can use these as you wish to devise many other things, but the MIO synthesizer ‘world’ just opened up. The FM on the NCO sounds amazing!”
HOW TO GET THE NEW PLUGINS The new plugins are part of v.5.1 of the +DSP package for Mobile I/O. They are included for free in the v.5.1 MIO Console update for +DSP license holders. For owners of 2d Expanded units, the new plugins can be added to their systems, along with more than one hundred other plugins and macros by adding a +DSP license to their system. New +DSP licenses may be purchased from Metric Halo for $699 per license.
NEW FEATURES AND BUG FIXES The new release of the software includes many new features and bug fixes, including a workaround for a FireWire kernel panic, comprehensive Control Surface Support for EuCon and Mackie Control protocols, a fix for intermittent playback issues with the Record Panel, and a new German localization for the software.
AVAILABLE TODAY The updated software is available today as free download from Metric Halo’s website at: http://www.mhlabs.com. All new units will be shipped with the updated software, but if a unit in dealer stock has the older software, it is easy to update the unit in the field with the downloaded software.
METRIC HALO Based New York’s Hudson Valley, Metric Halo provides the world with high-resolution metering, analysis, recording and processing solutions with award-winning software and hardware.
