Jake Weston

Attention content creators and musicians as there is a new sheriff in town and its name is IK Multi Media. This line consists of 4 iRig devices which offers a variety of tools such as being extremely lightweight and providing crystal clear sound quality. This line gives the creator many options for not only recording but the ease of using your smart phones, tablets and cameras on all four devices. Basically this line is considered a mobile audio interface.

Key Takeaways:

• IRig has announced a variety of new mic and recording devices aimed at content creators.
• One of the new devices is designed for portability on set, outdoor use and general sturdiness.
• There is a new mobile-friendly mic, designed to improve and strengthen the audio connection from mobile phones.

“The iRig Mic Cast 2, iRig Mic Cast HD iRig Mic Video and iRig Stream have been announced by IK Multimedia, as part of its IK’s Creator Series.”

Read more: https://www.musictech.net/news/ik-multimedia-irig/

What types of headphones do you need for your home studio? Closed back headphones completely seal your ears from outside sounds but the sound quality of what you are doing is not great. It can be good to use for drum solos or guitar solos. Open back headphones don’t isolate the sounds at all. You can hear other environmental sounds around you. They do produce very good sound quality though. They are good in a controlled environment. Semi open back headphones have a great balance between isolation and sound quality. They are a good all-around headphone. In-ear headphones are not recommended. They are great for sound isolation but they can be irritating to your ear. Bluetooth headphones aren’t recommended either. They are not accurate for home studio use. They add latency and there is a delay in hearing the music.

Key Takeaways:

• Closed-back headphones create adequate isolation, but the sound quality is not as spot on as with other types.
• Open-back headphones don’t tend to isolate wrll, but the sound quality is generally very accurate.
• Bluetooth and noise cancelling sets tend to compromise the sound far too much to make useful home studio additions.

“In-ear headphones – good isolation, sound is not accurate unless custom fit for your ears. Generally not recommended”

Read more: https://reaperblog.net/2019/09/home-studio-headphones/

Dialogue Match is a new plug-in created by the audio company iZotope, and this new plug-in is able to automatically process dialogue so that dialogue audio clips sound consistent when put together. Usually, such a task can take hours, but this program can purportedly do the same task in seconds. This plug-in is made up of three parts (an EQ Module, Ambience Module, and Reverb Module) that work cohesively to process and make dialogue sound seamless.

Key Takeaways:

• iZotope can perform a Dialogue Match in a few seconds, a process that once took hours.
• The Dialogue Match components work together to create a coherent reference profile.
• Dialogue Match is poised to become a major tool in the audio industry.

“Audio technology firm iZotope recently announced the debut of its brand new Dialogue Match plug-in, the first tool to automatically learn and match the sonic character of dialogue recordings.”

Read more: https://www.musictech.net/news/izotopes-dialogue-match/

The Cubase Pro 10 wins overall for the best DAW of 2019. It’s no secret that this kind of software has been around for decades and this one has certainly aged well. Every now and then more stuff gets added to it to keep it up to date and functioning well. Reason studios is also worth mentioning. it hasn’t stood the test of time quite as well as Cubase has but it is also useful.

Key Takeaways:

• This new software contains lots of new goodies that fans will enjoy.
• There are a lot of new software options that came out in the last year.
• The reviewers have chosen the best option for those looking to upgrade their software.

“You can now partake in the Reason Rack that others have been banging on about for years and run it within your own DAW environment.”

Read more: https://www.musictech.net/features/awards/best-daw-2019/

Reverb has announced its annual list of the most popular drum machines, brands, and synths. The list covers sales in the used and new categories. The Teenage Engineering’s OP-1, which has been around nearly ten years now, sold the most units in the synth category, Meanwhile, among sales in new synths, Korg Minilogue XD came out on top with three of the brands other synths also popping up in the top 15. Meanwhile, Roland took the crown as the best selling Brand

Key Takeaways:

• The top 15 best synths and drum sets included both used and new categories.
• The top selling synth, Teenage Engineering’s OP-1, is now a decade old, but still performing extremely well.
• Although the Korg brand did not have a first place finish, six of their synths ranked in the top fifteen.

“As music magazines create lists of the best albums, best songs and best gear of the year, Reverb has published its own end-of-year list.”

Read more: https://www.musictech.net/news/reverb-best-synths-2019/