Audified
ToneSpot Drum Pro a Plugin Improving Drum and Percussion
Audified turns tone-spotting attention to improving drum and percussion production with dedicated processing plug-in
ToneSpot Drum Pro is the third entry into its growing family of one-shot channel
strip-style processing plug-ins par excellence that is as easy on the eye as they are easy to use, this time aimed at improving the tone of any acoustic or electronic drums and percussion as another aptly-named Swiss Army knife-style solution, so speedy arrivals at appropriate, professional-sounding results are always assured.
Hunting Perfect-Sounding Percussion
Hunting down perfect-sounding percussion to propel a particular track in the right musical direction can prove particularly frustrating for aspiring artists, engineers, and producers in a technology-driven production world increasingly beset by creativity-stifling choice. Copying or being inspired by a distinctive drum tone that anchors a respected recording can clearly be an attractive proposition, yet — more often than not — even that is easier said than done. Drum kits can be notoriously difficult to record well, whether falling into the top-tier territory or otherwise, even if the recordist is fortunate enough to have access to a classy collection of outboard processing and microphones with which to capture them. Investing in high-quality drum triggers and amazing-sounding samples, of course, can prove to be an alternative for those taking the tricky performance route, but it is still perfectly possible to drastically change the resultant sound. Similarly, it is also perfectly possible to drastically change the sound of drum machines, regardless of how well they have been programmed.
Whatever way those aspiring artists, engineers, and producers choose to create their percussion tracks, it is more than likely that they will be working with DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) which — while convenient — can confront them with a dizzying array of plug-ins purporting to do this and that. This can consequently lead to tweaking repeatedly when that dream drum tone resolutely refuses to sit well when mixed with the rest of the musical arrangement, adding to the frustration. Fortunately for all, Audified’s ToneSpot Drum Pro one-shot channel strip-style processing plug-in is aimed at improving the tone of any acoustic or electronic drums and percussion as another aptly-named Swiss Army knife-style solution, so speedy arrivals at appropriate, professional-sounding results are always assured.
ToneSpot Plugin Family
Anyone already familiar with Audified’s acclaimed ToneSpot Bass Pro and ToneSpot Acoustic Pro plug-ins with which ToneSpot Drum Pro shares its concept and operational arrangement — albeit as a time-saving means of effective entry to tips and tricks for best drum processing practice via settings based on analysis of thousands of renowned recordings — should immediately feel at home. However, the straightforward signal flow is equally suited to quickly getting newcomers to where they want to take their sound, starting with the Channel button; their users can select whether they want both sides of the signal to be processed, or only the left (L) or right (R) sides. The Input knob allows the input signal strength to be set accordingly; alternatively, pressing the AGC (Automatic Gain Control) button sets the signal strength automatically, based on the calibration settings. Simply select Drum Type — Kick, Snare, Toms, OH (overheads), Room, and Bus — and ToneSpot Drum Pro’s processing prowess is already heading in the right direction from the outset. Onwards towards the desired result, the Character section allows users to change the tone of their drums via three Type — Natural, Modern, and Vintage — settings; there they can also add additional, self-explanatory — Bright, Scoop, or Lo-Fi — Character features, or any combination of all of those settings. The SBG (Sub Bass Generator) section lets users adjust the Cut-Off frequency and also the Intensity of the generator itself to give the tone what it needs. That tone also benefits from the Gate section, attenuating any audio signals that register below its Threshold setting.
User Interface
Several self-explanatory sections do exactly what is said on the tin — or, better said, the GUI (Graphical User Interface) itself: add Saturation to the tone to give it some grit and fullness; Shaping the tone comes quickly and easily, thanks to the eight-band, musically labelled (Low-cut, Weight, Thump, Body, Wood, Steel, Sparkle, High-cut) EQ settings to perfectly match anyone’s drum tone-shaping needs with better flexibility; the Punch section says it all — add some slamming punch to the tone, while, for better flexibility, there is also a compression release switch; sometimes it is necessary to go really deep with some surgical EQ — all is there for the taking in the Surgery section; anyone needing to have their tone more dynamically controlled but not completely dead need not look any further than the Smash section; then the Effects section is where the fun really starts, so why not add some (Room, Plate, or Hall) Reverb? The aptly-named Finalizer section is where ToneSpot Drum Pro users can turn to add some finishing touches to their dream drum tone — fatness, tightness, and smoothness are all but a touch of a dedicated (Fat, Tight, Smooth) button away in this mastering-friendly final destination!
Anyone with an appreciation of what is involved in modern-day drum processing will assuredly appreciate what it is that ToneSpot Drum Pro speedily does so well. Why? Well, these days it can take a lot of processing to get drums sounding just right — all the more so since they are clearly crucial to so many music genres. In an age of rising track counts as more CPU (Central Processing Unit) power becomes available to DAWs, drums frequently find themselves fighting against busy arrangements, where several layers of instruments can clash with one another. Also, recordings can sometimes sound too thin, harsh, or sterile. So a tone that can clearly cut through the mix is the order of the day. That tone needs to be both harmonically rich and fat-sounding, yet retain clarity and tightness. That said, sometimes those heavily processed drums still need to sound natural.
Needless to say, products tailored to post-processing of any acoustic or electronic drums and percussion have hitherto been few and far between, rather remaining reliant on studio-savvy engineers’ established workflow, which can involve some seriously convoluted heavy lifting — brilliantly blending drum samples with extensive equalisation, filtering, compression, saturation, or even some multi-band processing — in pursuit of achieving awesome-sounding tones that today’s listeners are accustomed to hearing… until today’s timely arrival of ToneSpot Drum Pro, that is! Indeed, artists, engineers, and producers no longer need waste so much time and energy using a ton of CPU power-draining plug-ins when hunting down perfect-sounding percussion to propel a particular track in the right musical direction when ToneSpot Drum Pro has what it takes to get them to their final destination… directly.
ToneSpot Drum Pro is available to purchase for a time-limited introductory promo price of $49.00 USD until July 11, 2019 — rising thereafter to $99.00 USD — from Audified’s online shop here
Amp
Linda RockStack – “Balance on the edge – the key to a great guitar tone”
3-Channel Guitar Software Amplifier & Cabinet Including Chorus & Delay Effects
Audified announces taking Linda Audio under its wing with Linda RockStack guitar amp and cabinet collaborative plug-in. Audified is proud to take experienced mastering/mixing engineer, musician, and programmer Martin Linda’s namesake Linda Audio under its wing with Linda RockStack — realizing a long-held dream of creating a virtual guitar amp sim suited to a wide range of rock and metal sub-genres as a chorus and delay effects-equipped three-channel amplifier and cabinet plug-in by working with the cutting-edge Czech software applications, software effects, and hardware processors developer’s design team to turn his vision into reality.
RockStack is a three-channel amplifier plug-in software with an independently switchable effects section and a continuously blendable cabinet impulse section. Equipped with extensive tone-shaping options such as Pre and Post gain EQ and additional Tight, Fat, Body contours, the tonal possibilities of this amp are virtually endless. On top of that, the effects section consists of independently engageable Multi-stage chorus and Delay processing.
As a longtime user of various amp sims and cab impulses, experienced mastering/mixing engineer, musician, and programmer Martin Linda started making inroads into programming his dream machine as a guitar amp plug-in perfectly suited to working with a wide range of rock and metal sub-genres many moons ago, but it was only by closely collaborating with software applications, software effects, and hardware processors developer Audified that he was finally able to realise that dream as a plug-in par excellence.
Enter Linda RockStack — not to be confused with retired American singer Linda Ronstadt, who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, and Latin! Linda RockStack is a three-channel amplifier plug-in with an independently-switchable — MOD (multi-stage chorus) and DELAY — effects section and a continuously-blend-able cabinet IMPULSE section. It is also equipped with extensive tone-shaping options, such as PRE and POST (LO, MID, and HI) gain EQ alongside additional TIGHT, FAT, and BODY contours, so its tonal possibilities are almost endless. Engaging that multi-stage chorus and delay effects processing independently all adds up to a unique- sounding and unbelievably-versatile virtual amp that provides its user with control over a vast tonal palette with mind-blowing flexibility — fresh from the excellent ear and musical mind of Linda Audio’s Martin Linda, complete with mix-ready guitar tones.
Tuned by an experienced producer’s ear rather than simply taking an already existing design and recreating it in the software domain, Linda RockStack provides its users with the tools to create their own mix-ready rock and metal sounds rather than simply copying what has gone before. Better said by Martin Linda himself: “There is no need to simulate a brand when you can create your dream guitar tone instead!”
No need, indeed, which is why Linda RockStack duly delivers three distinctly different voicings — CLEAN, ROCK, and METAL, each with their own colouration and gain structure, and can be tailored to taste by providing the controls needed to create that dream guitar tone that users might hitherto have only heard in their heads. Having said that, then, the difference between EQ shaping before and after a gain stage is huge — hence Linda RockStack providing PRE EQ controls to push the gain stage in particular frequency ranges and POST EQ controls to finalise the sound, making it more mix ready. The TIGHT control makes both the low end and the gain structure more focused as it is increased, increasing the FAT control results in a fuller lower midrange response, while turning up the BODY control makes the amp push more aggressively in the higher midrange. Meanwhile, the three-stage multi-switch dynamically accentuates higher frequencies with both active positions being sensitive to the input signal level — BRIGHT 1 being more focused on the higher midrange, while BRIGHT II emphasises even higher frequencies with a little bass boosting to boot.
Beyond that, though, the chorus can be positioned PRE or POST the gain stages, and has two switchable modes — TYPE 1 and 2. The DELAY is positioned after the gain stages, and capable of delivering anything from clean and precise digital delay to the degraded and clipped repeats that typified yesteryear’s analogue delays.
Down below those effective effects, Linda RockStack flexibly features two CABINET impulses — A and B. Better still, users can blend between them, though the cabinet section can also be switched off — just in case users wish to pair Linda RockStack with their own choice of impulses. Indeed, it is worth noting that the plug-in’s amp and effects sections can also be separately switched on and off, offering users freedom of choice when it comes to their usage at any given time.
The noise GATE can be switched to ON or OFF positions, the former proving particularly useful when pushing the ROCK and METAL voicings into higher saturation, while the latter works well when playing with the CLEAN voicing or lower gain sounds to maximise dynamics and retain attack information.
By balancing on the edge, Linda RockStack is the key to a great guitar tone. That dream guitar tone so sought after by Martin Linda for so long is surely there for the taking — only others could clearly tap into their own dream guitar tone in a matter of minutes, thanks to Linda RockStack!
Pricing and Availability
Linda RockStack is available to purchase for an introductory price of $29.00 USD — rising thereafter to its regular price of $49.00 USD.
Audified
Audified New Self-explanatory Tonespot Voice Pro
Audified Readily Rounds Out One-shot Channel Processing Plug-in Series With Self-explanatory Tonespot Voice Pro
Audified has been busy throughout the year applying its innovative ToneSpot one-shot channel processing plug-in concept to quickly creating the perfect bass guitar tone (with the January 2019 release of ToneSpot Bass Pro), perfect-sounding stringed acoustic instruments (with the April 2019 release of ToneSpot Acoustic Pro), perfect-sounding percussion (with the June 2019 release of ToneSpot Drum Pro), and achieving amazing-sounding electric guitar tones (with the September 2019 release of ToneSpot Electric Pro), software applications, software effects, and hardware processors developer Audified is proud to readily round out the ToneSpot series with the self-explanatory ToneSpot Voice Pro — providing all the tools to mix any kind of vocal track to sit in the mix wonderfully with only one plug-in.
Achieving an amazing-sounding vocal is crucial to today’s anticipated and accepted music production standards — so much so, in fact, that it is arguably the production pivot on which the balance of any successful song surely rests. Indeed, it is often the key to success in almost every style of music. After all, the lead vocal track is usually the main guide for the listener throughout the song. Though there are many different approaches and aesthetics of vocal production from which to choose, they share some similarities.
Musically, many steps of getting the right vocal mix are based on the same acoustic principles. Put it this way: whether mixing old school swing or the latest pop sensation, some equalization and compression, plus some kind of ambiance, are likely to be the order of the day. Depending on the genre, this could conceivably range from a subtle touch through to heavy-duty sound processing. An applicable approach might well be carefully chosen, yet achieving the desired result is not necessarily a straightforward or speedy process. Professional mix engineers can spend years honing their creative craft. Which is perhaps the way it should be. But there is another way. This is exactly where Audified’s self-explanatory ToneSpot Voice Pro clearly comes into its own.
Of course, having already refined its innovative ToneSpot one-shot channel processing plug-in concept to suit specific instrument tracks with several product releases that have been well received throughout the year, it should come as little surprise to learn that ToneSpot Voice Pro is suited to mixing any kind of vocal track — from fanciful-sounding singing through to throaty screaming, and anything in between! Backing vocals, vocal layers, and harmonies will blend with the greatest of ease. Equally at home when being used to mix the spoken word, ToneSpot Voice Pro puts users in control of achieving an amazing-sounding vocal with minimum fuss.
Fortunately for anyone putting it to the test, ToneSpot Voice Pro provides ten powerful ‘modules’ alongside all-important Input and Output sections. Those ten ‘modules’ represent the usual vocal mix workflow with the audio signal being fed through them in series from left to right, as follows: Character (determines the basic flavor of the sound and affects many of the subsequent sections); Distortion (replicates real valve distortion circuitry based on a vintage guitar amp, perfect for executing extreme vocal techniques); Saturation (is an advanced model of a real valve saturation circuit that brings about an agreeable higher harmonics punch); DeEssAir (removes unwanted vocal sibilance while bringing back some ‘air’ at the same time); Shaping (shapes the tone with an eight-band musically-labelled EQ); Punch (is quite a strong compressor with slower attack time and a medium compression ratio); Surgery (is an extreme surgical peak EQ with two identical filters and up to -50 dB attenuation); Smash (is a peak-eating leveling compressor with faster attack time and a gentle compression ratio); Effects (comprises Delay and Reverb, the two most important time-based effects for handling any vocal processing task); and Finalizer (is the mastering section of the ToneSpot Voice Pro processing chain; sometimes a voice just needs that final touch — some sweetness or fatness, for example). Each can be separately switched on or off, as needed, and an AGC (Automatic Gain Control) is included in both the Input and Output sections, setting the plug-in’s signal level to 0 dB VU.
Ultimately, then, ToneSpot Voice Pro rounds out Audified’s acclaimed ToneSpot series, following in the footsteps of several specific plug-in predecessors to provide the tools to allow anyone to realize their musical ideas. After all, great musical ideas need great sound in this day and age, where the quality of sound and sound aesthetics can often determine the success of the music. A great mix can help a great song to become better — better able to compete in today’s radically changing music industry, in other words.
With Audified’s ToneSpot Voice Pro-augmented ToneSpot series, anyone can quickly produce well rounded, better-sounding music mixes from now on. On the face of it, spotting the perfect-sounding tone has never been more achievable than today, applying Audified’s innovative ToneSpot one-shot channel processing plug-in concept to bass guitars, stringed acoustic instruments, percussion, electric guitars, and vocals!
Demo Download
ToneSpot Voice Pro can be directly downloaded as an AAX, AU, VST2, VST3, 32- and 64-bit native plug-in for macOS (10.9 and above) and Windows (7, 8, and 10) — alongside a demo version — from Audified here: https://services.audified.com/download (Note that all Audified’s ToneSpot series plug-ins are serial number-protected, so no iLok is required.)
Availability and Pricing
ToneSpot Voice Pro is available to purchase for a time-limited introductory promo price of $49.00 USD until December 23, 2019 — rising thereafter to $99.00 USD
ToneSpot Voice Express — featuring the same processing power as its bigger brother, but with a reduced control count — will be available to purchase from December 20, 2019 for a time-limited introductory promo price of $19.00 USD until January 10, 2020 — rising thereafter to $49.00 USD — from Audified’s online shop here.
Audified
Audiofier Winter Sales
Audiofier offers a 40% discount on selected products till 7th January 2020.
Participating products
- Aerkord
- Abstrung
- Vesper
- Randomisers Bundle
- Veevum Trilogy
- AetherArp
- Sequi2r EX
- Sequi2r Synth
Audiofier is a developer based in the UK. They specialize in sounds for Native Instruments Kontakt. Audiofier is a company founded by Roby Meola, who is at present actively working as a composer and sound designer for Films and Tv Commercials.
Special Pricing
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