New Gear Alert: Universal Audio Mics, Sampling with Waves’ CR8 & COSMOS, ROLI’s Updated Seaboard, AudioShake Indie & More

Universal Audio is stepping up to the mic – with its first-ever microphone line.

UA Mics are here: The Universal Audio microphone line

UA covers several bases with its mics, which range from affordable to high end. They should appeal to studio pros, artists, podcasters, and other content producers.

Out now is the more affordable Standard Series, starting with the SD-1 Dynamic mic for vocal and broadcast/podcast applications ($299). The SP-1 Pencil Condenser ($399) stereo pair, for instruments and live performances, will be out this summer.

The 2021 technology acquisition of Townsend Labs brings us the Sphere L22 Modeling Microphone ($1499), aligned with its UAD plugin counterpart. It models 34 classic microphones, including AKG, Neumann, Sony, Telefunken, and more, encompassing ribbon, condenser, and dynamic mics.

Three highly anticipated UA Bock mics will launch this fall. They are premium tube and FET-based models designed by the highly respected vintage mic expert David Bock, whose Bock Audio brand was acquired by UA in 2020. They include the UA Bock 187 Large-Diaphragm FET Condenser ($1,249), UA Bock 167 Large-Diaphragm Tube Condenser ($2,999), and UA Bock 251 Large-Diaphragm Tube Condenser ($5,999).

Waves unleashes the CR8 Creative Sampler and COSMOS AI-powered sample finder.

Your sampling workflow just got much easier, thanks to Waves’ CR8 and COSMOS.

The Waves CR8 Creative Sampler takes all of the most powerful creative sample manipulation options and puts them in one easy workflow, so you can get creative fast. With CR8 you can turn any sound into an inspiring playable instrument in seconds.

CR8 also includes the built-in Waves COSMOS, an AI-powered sample finder that sorts all the one-shots and loops on your computer and auto-tags them by instrument, key, BPM and other musical characteristics. With COSMOS, you can find any sample in your collection quickly and easily. With CR8 and COSMOS working together, you can browse and audition all your samples right from within the CR8 sampler, while the track is playing, in the context of your session, without leaving your creative workflow to search for sounds.

CR8 comes with over 800 sampler presets, plus over 2,500 free one-shots and loops (included with COSMOS).

Check out an introductory video to the CR8 here.

The Waves CR8 is currently on sale for a whopping 71% off, priced at $9.99 (reg. $34.99).

ROLI teases new Seaboard, slated for March release.

ROLI’s original Seaboard made a big splash—let’s see what the forthcoming updated model has to offer.

ROLI has shared a short video on their website and socials which includes some enticing images, and indicates that a re-imagined and re-engineered Seaboard will be revealed in March.

Check out the teaser video here.

An instrument that made big waves upon its initial release has now been rebuilt and refined from the ground up for infinite musical expression. Sign up to be the first to experience the next generation of Seaboard here.

AudioShake announces AudioShake Indie, a platform to help creators open their recordings to new revenue streams.

AudioShake aims to open up artist revenue streams with this new and exciting stem-generating technology.

AudioShake Indie is a fast, affordable way for indie artists and producers to create stems and instrumentals for their songs so that they can open up their recordings to new monetization opportunities and uses.

AudioShake Indie puts its proprietary AI separation technology directly in the hands of indie artists and producers, letting them separate their recordings into “stems” (e.g. the vocal stem or drum stem). Today, musicians lose out on many opportunities for their music because of missing or lost stems. This happens across the spectrum in the music industry—from damaged or lost master tracks, to recording sessions that can no longer be accessed because the software is out of date.

Check out an introductory video to AudioShake Indie here.

For pricing and further information on AudioShake Indie, click here.

Impact Soundworks debuts the Bass Sculptor plugin.

Boasting four FX modules, zero latency, and linear phase capabilities, meet Impact Soundworks’ Bass Sculptor.

Bass Sculptor is a versatile bass processing audio plugin featuring four distinct FX modules in a single lightweight UI. It offers surgical EQ & filtering, imaging, compression, and subharmonic synthesis with custom DSP created by programmer Jatin Chowdhury of ChowdhuryDSP.

With both zero latency and mastering-grade linear phase modes, Bass Sculptor is suitable for live use, mixing, and mastering alike. Its uses range from expanding and filling out weak kick drum and bass guitar parts, to cleaning up low-frequency phase issues, smoothing out wild EDM synths, carefully sculpting full mixes, and more.

Bass Sculptor is available now, priced at $59; it is available in VST3, AU, and AAX formats, with no dongle required.

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