New Gear Alert: Universal Audio’s LUNA v1.0.8, ShimmerVerb from Eventide, Damage 2 by Heavyocity & More.

Universal Audio releases LUNA v1.0.8.

Tuned closely in to user feedback, Universal Audio implements a new set of highly-requested features into LUNA v1.0.8

LUNA is constantly evolving to meet the needs of music producers. Thanks to user feedback, LUNA currently boasts features and improvements from over 2,000 user requests.

LUNA v1.0.8 features the following new improvements: The “My UA Plug‑Ins Folder”, showing only owned and active demo UAD plug‑ins; Timeline Auto‑Scrolling, to enable automatic scrolling in timeline view during playback and recording; Renaming of Exported Files, to quickly modify exported file names for easier management and storage; Drag & Drop MIDI for moving MIDI files from plug‑in windows or Finder directly onto instruments tracks; Reverse Audio functionality; Trackpad Zoom; and much more.

Click here for the complete list of updates; download LUNA v1.0.8 here.

Eventide releases the ShimmerVerb plugin.

Eventide furthers the growing H9 Plugin Series with ShimmerVerb.

ShimmerVerb combines a lustrous reverb with parallel pitch shifters to add ethereal layers, making any signal “shimmer.” Producers and engineers have previously achieved this effect by using Eventide pitch-shifting hardware such as the H910, H949, H3000, or other rack-mount units in combination with a reverb.

ShimmerVerb uniquely features parallel pitch-shifters on the reverb tail that deliver perfect fourth, fifth and octave shifts within a full range of four octaves of pitch shifting (from two octaves down to two octaves up), and MicroPitch tuning is available around perfect intervals. Pitched signals can be delayed up to one second or synched to a DAW’s tempo. The Feedback parameter determines how much delayed signal is fed back into the input of the reverb.

Now, this iconic sound has been refined and extended with a modern, unified interface that is great for adding dreamy ambiance to guitars, keys, synths, samples, and vocals. Features have been added such as the ability to infinitely feedback the signal, resulting in cascading reverbs that smear into oblivion. Feedback can be further fine-tuned by specifying which frequencies are fed back through the low/mid/high cross-over network.

ShimmerVerb for Mac and PC supports VST, AAX, and AU plugin protocols for compatibility with every DAW. It is available at an introductory price of $39 through September 8, 2020 (reg. $99). The iOS version of ShimmerVerb, which works as a standalone app, AudioUnit v3 plugin, or Inter-App Audio effect, is priced at $14.99, with a special intro price of $9.99 through September 10, 2020.

Heavyocity introduces Damage 2.

Bringing epic cinematic percussion straight to Kontakt, Heavyocity unleashes Damage 2.

Damage 2 is here to redesign the world of epic cinematic percussion, combining a massive collection of ensembles recorded at Skywalker Sound with aggressively “damaged” hybrid elements, and over 860 gut-punching loops. Featuring three discrete engines with unique and inspiring workflows (Ensemble Designer, Kit Designer, and Loop Designer), Damage 2 is all the things that made the original Damage great, but bigger, badder, and better.

Brimming with over 40,000 samples, Damage 2 delivers nearly 60 GB of pure percussive inspiration. The Heavyocity team brought in truckloads of drums and percussive elements for these sessions; an arsenal of 24” to 72” gran casas, 24” to 60” Taikos, huge bass drums, giant snare ensembles, toms, ethnic drums, and a myriad of found sound elements. They even rolled a dumpster onto the world-class scoring stage at Skywalker Sound.

As a “powered-by-Kontakt” instrument, Damage 2 offers all playback and sound-shaping functionality through the full version of Kontakt 6.2.2 or the free Kontakt 6 Player. Heavyocity is offering Damage 2 for $299 (reg. $399). In addition, Damage 1 owners will get an additional $100 off with serial. Offers end August 27, 2020.

Steinberg launches SpectraLayers 7.

Built on newly developed AI, Steinberg furthers their popular SpectraLayers to version 7.

SpectraLayers offers a novel approach to precise audio editing by visualizing audio in the spectral domain (in 2D and 3D) and providing an array of powerful tools to manipulate its spectral data in many different ways.

New in Version 7 is the implementation of Artificial Intelligence that allows for the introduction of exciting new features, including automatic pattern detection, clip repair, unmixing tracks to stems, as well as unmixing stems to component parts. Other new automated processes include click repair, hum removal, and precision spectral de-essing. These features are rounded out by an array of useful enhancements, such as the improved ARA 2 integration with Cubase and Nuendo, VST 3 plugin support, and much more.

SpectraLayers Pro 7 is priced at $299.99; SpectraLayers Elements 7 is priced at $79.99. Various downloadable updates and upgrades are exclusively available through the Steinberg Online Shop.

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