New Gear Alert: PreSonus’ Quantum Interface, CLA MixDown Plugin by Waves, Next-Level Amp Attenuation from UA & More
PreSonus ships the Quantum Thunderbolt interface.
The Quantum Thunderbolt interface by PreSonus is capable of delivering truly massive I/O when stacked four units high—up to 96×96 channels.
PreSonus® is now shipping its top-of-the-line Quantum Thunderbolt™ 2 interface. A great choice for a wide variety of recording environments, the 26×32-channel Quantum is the company’s fastest and best-sounding audio/MIDI interface, taking advantage of the high-speed Thunderbolt 2 bus and a direct-to-DAW signal path to achieve extremely low latency. 24-bit, 192 kHz converters with 120 dB of dynamic range and PreSonus’ recallable XMAX microphone preamps combine to deliver superb audio quality. Stack up to 4 Quantum interfaces via Thunderbolt to create a system capable of offering up to 96×96 channels of I/O.
The Quantum features two combo mic/instrument/line inputs and six combo mic/line inputs, each with a digitally controlled XMAX preamp and +48V phantom power. You also get two ¼” TRS main outputs, the aforementioned eight ¼” TRS line outputs, and two independent headphone outs with dedicated volume controls. With ADAT Optical I/O and S/PDIF stereo digital I/O, you can have up to 18 additional digital inputs and outputs for a total of 26 in and 32 out. BNC word clock I/O ensures your Quantum and other digital audio devices operate in tight sync. Of course, you get MIDI I/O, too.
Designed to be the central hub for any recording studio, the Quantum offers two main and eight auxiliary balanced line-level outputs that are great for monitor mixing. An onboard talkback mic can be routed to any mix, and you can listen to any mix from either of two headphone amps. You also get Mute/Dim and Mono controls.
The Quantum interface is available immediately at a street price of $999.95.
Waves is now shipping the CLA MixDown plugin.
Inject some CLA-style magic onto your mix buss with Waves’ new collaboration with Chris Lord-Alge—an all-in-one tool offering EQ, compression and saturation under one hood.
CLA MixDown is the new mix buss plugin, developed by Waves in collaboration with GRAMMY®-winning mix engineer Chris Lord-Alge.
Lord-Alge comments, “I perfected my mix buss chains over many years and 20,000 mixes. I’ve taken my two favorite chains and put them under the hood of this simple-to-use, supercharged champion of a plugin. CLA MixDown features two flavors of my mix buss compression sound, plus console overdrive and a finishing EQ with perfect bass and treble curves.”
He adds, “You can use CLA MixDown on your master channel, or you can use it the CLA way—on a master aux. You can add it after you finish mixing to secure your mix with that finishing touch, but I recommend you insert it before you start mixing, and then mix ‘through’ the plugin, which will help you tailor your mix and get the best sound. Either way, it will dramatically enhance your overall mix and save you precious time toward getting that final mixing touch!”
The plugin features four faders for enhancing the color, dynamics and drive of your mix. The Bass fader controls the richness of the mix while the Treble fader increases or decreases high-frequency presence. The Glue fader offers two flavors of compression while the Drive fader adds analog console overdrive for increasing harmonic distortion.
Check out an introductory video to CLA MixDown here, and an overview of the plugin featuring Chris Lord-Alge here.
CLA MixDown is on sale now for $29 ($99 reg).
Universal Audio unveils the OX Amp Top Box.
Experience next-level attenuation (and then some!) with the new OX Amp Top Box by Universal Audio.
UA debuted the OX Amp Top Box at Summer NAMM 2017. This reactive load box allows guitarists to play and record their tube amp in its ideal sweet spots—from the edge-of-breakup to fully cranked—at any volume level, and with instant album-quality mic, room, and speaker cabinet emulations at the turn of a knob.
At its core, the OX Amp Top Box is a speaker attenuator and reactive load, but UA took it several steps further with their own “secret sauce”—namely Rig presets with mic and studio emulations, and Dynamic Speaker Modeling, which emulates speaker breakup and cone cry like no other box available.
The OX Amp Top Box is scheduled to ship in Q4 2017 with a US street price of $1,299.
Eventide announces the Euro DDL delay module for Eurorack.
Get creative with time-based effects using Eventide’s new Euro DDL unit for Eurorack.
A digital delay with an analog soul, the Euro DDL features a unique design that strictly limits the amount of digital circuitry to the bare minimum. From short delays for double tracking, to creating swept delays and tape echo class effects, the Euro DDL brings it all to your Eurorack rig.
The unit offers 10 seconds of pristine delay at a 192 kHz sample rate. Soft saturation clipping, low pass filter, feedback, insert loop, relay bypass, and +20 dB boost are all analog. Delay time can be varied smoothly either manually or by connecting an LFO to the remote input allowing short delays to be used for comb filter and flanging effects. Euro DDL is also capable of extremely long delays (up to 160 seconds at a 16 kHz sample rate) allowing long passages to be captured for looping.
Euro DDL is available in limited quantities starting in August 2017 with an MSRP of $473.
BAE Audio announces the rugged new ‘PDI’ DI box.
Like everything made by BAE, the new PDI imparts an instant analog vibe to any signal passing through.
BAE’s brand new, passive direct injection box (PDI) is now shipping. Like many of the company’s coveted preamps, this unique DI utilizes a brand new transformer design to lend any signal passed through it a pleasingly warm analog richness.
The PDI features Neutrik connectors, including a quarter-inch input and low-impedance XLR output on one side, with dual audio through outputs on the reverse side. This allows unique routing configurations, like sending a guitar signal both via the Lo-Z output to a console as well as via the dual Hi-Z through outputs to two separate amplifiers. A ground lift switch helps tame any ground loop issues on the fly.
The PDI’s new transformer design is a key component to its musical sonic signature. Warmth and clarity in the high end and ear-pleasing harmonics from the low end are some of the characteristics of the PDI’s transformer that help make this little box an indispensable piece of the studio puzzle.
Hand-assembled in California like all BAE Audio products, the PDI features a gold-plated PCB and 100% through-hole components for maximum signal integrity. Recessed switches and connectors combine with a rugged steel chassis to help it stand up to the beating of daily studio or stage use.
The PDI is shipping now and retails for $120.
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