Commentary

Well, it won’t make your coffee for you or put lemon in your tea, but the Neutron Advanced can give you advice about how to mix your tracks. IZotope’s latest plug-in is made up of an EQ, two multi-band compressors, a multi-band exciter, an improved transient shaper module and last a limiter. It’s pretty powerful and is relatively easy to use.

Key Takeaways:

• iZotope’s latest plug-in has an AI Track Assistant that helps you make refined mix decisions
• Studio assistants aren’t just useful for making coffee and comping hours of vocal takes
• The Exciter Module is solid enough and has the ability to blend between four decent algorithms on an X/Y pad

“Spectral Shaping essentially splits the spectrum into 32 bands, then applies material-dependent attack and release characteristics to each band to transparently compress and smooth out the signal.”

http://www.musictech.net/2016/10/izotope-neutron-advanced-review/

For a mix to turn out well, it’s important to make good use of your compressors. Something most people don’t know about compressors is that they are simply just automated volume faders. Think about that. Some other important components to this series are subtractive EQ, additive EQ, level matching and Mix buss EQ.

Key Takeaways:

• Compression is not only one of the most confusing effects in your audio tool kit
• it’s also the one that can do the most damage to your mix when used incorrectly.
• Today I want to begin a new 7 part series about how to mix with compression to pair up with my 7 part EQ series.

“Compression is not only one of the most confusing effects in your audio tool kit, it’s also the one that can do the most damage to your mix when used incorrectly.”

http://therecordingrevolution.com/compression-automated-volume-fader/

Having two microphones can allow a musician to take advantage of a hidden array of tones. It can also produce a wicked stereo effect. The best part is learning the correct placement of the two mics is easier than it sounds. Experimentation is key when finding sweet spots and an overall good mic placement.

Key Takeaways:

• Learning the correct placement of two microphones on a guitar amplifier is easier than you think
• To begin, you might be asking yourself why are two mics better than one on a guitar amp
• Firstly, when you place two microphones in front of the guitar cabinet, try using a modified stereo micing technique called X/Y

“You can achieve an overall richer tonal range by using two microphones on a guitar amplifier.”

http://darkhorseinstitute.com/place-two-microphones-on-a-guitar-amp/

The passage promotes and encourages MusicTech magazine readers to participate in an exciting survey. The 2016 Musictech gear of the year vote is currently taking place. The goal is to find out what Musictech products satisfied voters the most this year. Five voters will receive prizes when the results are revealed in December. Some of the key categories include controllers, monitors, software effects, microphones, and hardware instruments. Instructions for submitting the survey appear at the end.

Key Takeaways:

• Five lucky Gear of the Year voters will receive a Music Tech subscription and all Gear of the Year voters will receive a special bonus of exclusive loops and samples once the polling has completed.
• It’s time once again to ask you, our readership, what the best music technology released during the course of 2016 .
• Whether it’s hardware that’s improved your setup, software that’s added to your sonic arsenal, DAWs that you’ve used or apps that have streamlined your mobile music making workflow.

“Whether it’s hardware that’s improved your setup, software that’s added to your sonic arsenal, DAWs that you’ve used or apps that have streamlined your mobile music making workflow – we want to know.”

http://www.musictech.net/2016/10/musictech-gear-of-the-year-2016/

Music producers are always looking for new tools to work with every year. Now is the time to really explore the freeware developed by plug-in developers. If vst plugins are your weapon of choice, then this collection is the bible of freeware 2017. This list of freeware is not just ranging from synthesizers to drum sounds. New plug in-tools range from guitars to digital effects. 2017 Will be a very exciting year to test out new weapons of choice and better yet, these are free to producers. Take your time to review this list for 50 free plug-ins for 2016. If you love testing new sounds on synthesizers or are looking for ways to make new patches, then this list will lead you to new synth worlds.

Key Takeaways:

• So successful was 2015’s Freeware 50 that we’ve decided to do it again for 2016
• The freeware scene has been around since the birth of software
• There are a huge number of developers – from big names like Native Instruments right down to one-person companies

“It’s time for our annual MusicTech freeware roundup! We’ve gathered the best free software titles in a variety of music-production categories and presented them here.”

http://www.musictech.net/2016/10/freeware-2017/