HOW DOES FREE SOUND TO YOU?

BY GEORGE PETERSEN
Now there’s no excuse to not begin creating great recordings, compositions and audio on your computer. PreSonus is now shipping Studio One Free, a new entry-level version of its popular digital audio workstation software for Mac and Windows. Intended for beginners who don’t yet need the advanced features in Studio One Artist, Producer, and Professional, Studio One Free provides all of the recording and editing features needed for basic music production—and best of all, it’s FREE!

To get Studio One Free, simply download the Studio One installer from the
Studio One website (CLICK HERE) install it, then choose to run it as Free when the activation dialog comes up. Once you’ve downloaded the application, you can use it immediately; no Internet connection or user account is required, no product key is involved, and Studio One Free will not time out.

LOADED WITH PRO FEATURES!
This new version of Studio One has some of the features originally found in Studio One Artist, including the single-window work environment, the content browser with Search, powerful drag-and-drop functions, Control Link MIDI mapping, sidechain routing, automatic delay compensation, real-time audio timestretching and resampling, unlimited audio and Instrument (MIDI) tracks(!), unlimited effects channels, and unlimited channel inserts and sends. Use native key commands or choose key-command sets from Pro Tools, Cubase, or Logic-or use the included editor to create your own key commands.

Studio One Free offers some of the new Studio One 2.0 features, notably multitrack MIDI editing, single and multitrack comping, and Track Transform (advanced track freezing). And of course, it includes the same state-of-the-art, 32-bit sound engine found in Studio One Artist and Producer.

Eight Native Effects plug-ins come with Studio One Free—Beat Delay, Channel Strip (which includes dynamics processing and EQ), Chorus, Flanger, MixVerb (a mono/stereo reverb), Red Light Distortion, Tuner, and Phaser—plus the Presence virtual instrument with more than 100 presets. Studio One Free doesn’t support ReWire and third-party (VST, AU, etc.) effects plug-ins and virtual instruments, but includes plenty of tools to do most basic production work.

THE CATCH…
Actually the only catch here is that PreSonus wants to you use Studio One Free and love it so much that you want to upgrade to one their more advanced versions of Studio One. In fact it’s really quite easy to upgrade to from Free to one of the advanced versions. Download the free demo of Studio One Professional, test it thoroughly, and at any time-even after the demo times out-convert it into Studio One Free with a single click. Ready to buy Studio One Artist, Producer, or Professional? Convert Studio One Free into a paid version at any time, without having to reinstall.

Yet no matter which path you choose, Studio One Free is an awesome deal—at any price—especially free! But snag this soon, before those crazy guys at PreSonus come to their senses and discontinue this amazing offering!

Studio One Free is available now from the PreSonus Studio One website (CLICK HERE)
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Interested in creating great audio for video/film?
Check out George Petersen’s current and archived articles from HDVideoPro/CineSoundPro magazine.
Wanna read more? CLICK HERE FOR MORE BLOG POSTINGS!

A WHOLE LOTTA SHAKING GOIN’ ON!

BY GEORGE PETERSEN
Keeping with its longstanding tradition of faux product launches on the first day of Q2 every year on April 1st, leading wireless mic manufacturer (www.lectrosonics.com) debuts a new accessory for its acclaimed SM Series dual-battery transmitters: the SM-SHAQUE (“SM Shake”). Installed in SMDB or SMQV transmitters as a battery eliminator, the new accessory incorporates a small generator that’s operated simply by shaking the unit and/or the person wearing the hidden miniature bodypack.

The SM-SHAQUE’s tiny generator uses a finely wound wire coil and a powerful unobtainium “rare earth” magnet in to take advantage of Faraday’s principle of generating electric current by passing a moving magnet through a coil. The rarity and supply challenges of these magnet materials have already pushed back the originally planned delivery from October 1, 2011 to April 1, 2012.

The principal application for this accessory is sports broadcasting, as more and more, players are being required to wear wireless transmitters in order to capture play-by-play audio. Theater users are also likely to benefit from this new technology. However, any wireless microphone users that jump around excessively can benefit from use of the SM-SHAQUE.

OPTIONS, OPTIONS
Available accessories for the system include the Vibro-Belt massager option ($139.99), which allows localized shaking of any body part where the wireless bodypack may be hidden. In fact, a spirited 10-minute shake session between sets can quickly charge the system for immediate re-use. Another popular addition is a floor jolt system that encourages less-energetic performers to move around more via the use of timed electrostatic releases that roughly approximate the effect of touching one’s tongue to a hard-wired mic when playing through an ungrounded guitar amplifier, and standing in a tub of ionized salt water, sugar-free Peach Gatorade, pickle brine or similar electrolyte solution.

The SM-SHAQUE only works with dual-battery Lectrosonics SM series transmitters, as the batteries are in parallel and the SHAQUE unit charges the single NiMh battery in the remaining compartment directly. Non-Lectrosonics units with dual-AA batteries in series will not work with this accessory, although beta tests underway so far have shown some success using competing bodypack units powered by either a 12 VDC Sears Die-Hard marine yacht battery or a simple 100-amp/440 VAC line feed.

RF transmission power settings of 250 mW are not recommended when using the SM-SHAQUE unless there is a whole lot of shaking going on.

According to Lectrosonics’ president, Larry Fisher, “Battery life has always been a concern when it comes to wireless mic transmitters. This is especially true in sports and theater where the transmitters must be buried within costumes or padding or simply duct-taped to some inaccessible body part or appendage. And for some reason, certain athletes and actors are unreasonably touchy about constant groping under their clothing for battery changes by audio personnel. The SM-SHAQUE solves all of that.”

The Lectrosonics SM-SHAQUE will be available on April 1 of some unspecified year. MSRP is $229. Void where prohibited by law. And a happy April 1st to all…
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Interested in creating great audio for video/film?
Check out George Petersen’s current and archived articles from HDVideoPro/CineSoundPro magazine.
Wanna read more? CLICK HERE FOR MORE BLOG POSTINGS!