As the year is coming to a close, Electronics Tonestar 8106 is named as the best Eurorack/Modular for the year 2017. Tonestar 8106 is a full synth voice based on a Roland filter, specifically the Jupiter-8/Juno-60 and 106. The Tonestar 8106 shares many similarities with the Tonestar 2600. It’s the same size and layout, with a few little tweaks.
Unlike some stripped-down modules of this kind, the Tonestars are very generous when it comes to envelopes. There are two: one a fully fledged ADSR strip and the ARP design, allowing for a certain flexibility of routing.
Read more about this here: http://www.musictech.net/2017/12/gear-of-the-year-2017-the-best-eurorackmodular/
Audio Recording
Wide Blue Sound's Orbit & Eclipse
Orbit and Eclipse are Kontakt Player libraries which blend or morph between a range of source samples. Created by Wide Blue Sound, Orbit offers a more subtle approach than Eclipse’s darker and more aggressive blend.
Both libraries work with Kontakt Player which is a free version of Native Instruments Kontakt capable of hosting sample libraries. Wide Blue Sound have given the two eye-catching interfaces; Orbit a blue-green space scene GUI, complete with moon-cycle buttons and nebula backgrounds. Eclipse is very similar in appearance and layout, but is styled red-orange and has a stronger appearance.
Read more about this here: https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2017/12/05/wide-blue-sound-orbit-eclipse-review/
Plugins from Airwindows Worth a Listen
Since August 2016, Airwindos has been funded entirely by donations via Patreon. One of the very few plugin makers that strives to serve the customers, without trying to squeeze every penny out of them. There are no meters on the plugins so you definitely would need to use your ears to make decisions on adjustments.
One of their plugins ,ADClip7, is an incredibly transparent loudness maximizer with three output modes to choose from. Console4 emulation plugin package for your DAW without tone shaping which provides more internal space. Busscolors4 closely emulates consoles. PurestDrive is a virtually transparent clipper.
Read more about these plugins here: https://reaperblog.net/2017/11/4_airwindows_plugins/
Best External Microphones for Your Smartphones
Having a great camera probably is included in the top three of what consumers look for in a smartphone. From 4K video capture, to ridiculous slow-motion, there’s no denying the swarm of features that our smartphone cameras can tap into. Video recording can be a drag if you have a great camera but your audio is not as good.
One of the best external mic in the market is the Purple Panda Lavalier Lapel Microphone Kit. It connects via the headphone jack on your smartphone, requiring very little setup to get running. This is the cheapest, arguably most effective way of improving your audio quality.
Check out the complete list here: https://www.phonearena.com/news/5-Best-External-Microphones-for-Smartphones_id100259
Transform Your Audio With Silence From Gatekeeper
Tagged as the “the most versatile volume tool ever created” and “the ultimate in-your-face gating effect”, Gatekeeper, a third collaborative plugin from Polyverse Music and Infected Mushroom claims to be capable of sequenced volume patterns, MIDI gates, stutter effects and planned dynamics.
The plugin aims to bring a different but simplest way to give impact to your audio through silence. It has fast and precise volume modulation, fun envelope drawing tools, panning tools, hundreds of presets to choose from, tempo mapped looping, smoothing algorithm to eliminate clicks and popset and a whole lot more.
Read more about this here: http://www.musictech.net/2017/11/gatekeeper-plugin/