Cherry Audio’s Lowdown bass synth plugin would not bore us, as it has gone to the Moog Taurus
Moog Taurus was a ‘70s pedal bass synth beloved by prog rock outfits such as Genesis and Rush, that you could play with your feet. Now Cherry Audio has used it as the inspiration for Lowdown, a new dual-oscillator synth plugin that is designed to produce similarly booming tones.
Classic Moog pedal synth gets the VST treatment
Lowdown is based on analysis and modelling of the Taurus’s circuits and features an animated foot pedal ‘keyboard’ – you can choose from 14 different styles. In addition, you get more than 40 presets, plus unlimited space to store your own. Additionally, there’s full MIDI and DAW automation support, as well.
The Lowdown Bass Synthesizer is available now for the introductory price of $25 (regular price $39). It runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX and standalone formats, and you can download a 30-day demo on the Cherry Audio website.
AJH Synth has introduced it’s MiniMod Multi Burst Envelopes, a Eurorack module that generates variable length bursts of repeating envelopes that can change over time, with CV control of all functions.
The BURSTS control selects a “Burst Sequence” of between 1 and 40 individual envelopes. The envelope shape of a burst is chosen with the rotary switch, or it can be varied using an external CV, so that it is even possible to chose a different envelope shape for each individual burst in a sequence.
The width of the envelope – the attack and decay time, is varied with the P-WIDTH control and this can also be CV controlled as a sequence is progressing, so it is possible to vary the envelope speed of each individual envelope burst while a Burst Sequence is running.
The repeat time of individual bursts in a Burst Sequence is set with the LFO Rate control. The LFO rate can be varied with an external CV as a sequence is progressing, so the gap between envelopes can speed up or slow down over time. An external clock can also time the bursts in a burst sequence instead of, or in addition to the internal LFO. Bursts can also be manually incremented with the CLK push button.
Whereas, the SLOPE control allows Bursts to start quietly and build in level to maximum, or they can start at full level and then reduce in level as the Burst Sequence progresses. In the centre position all Bursts are of equal level.
Looks like the best podcast mixer on the market just got better.
Rode is going all-in with the hyperbole for the launch of the RodeCaster Pro II audio production studio, calling it “its most revolutionary audio innovation to date” and claiming that it “offers a plethora of groundbreaking features that have never been seen before in a single console”. Wowzer.
RodeCaster Pro II is the follow-up to the original RodeCaster Pro, a podcasting console that was released in 2018 and possibly the best podcast mixer on the market. On the front-end it features four Neutrik combo inputs for connecting mics and other gear, which each benefitting from one of the new Revolution preamps. These promise an input noise rating of -131.5dBV and 76dB of gain, resulting in a sound that delivers clarity and transparency.
In addition, the Aphex audio processors have been overhauled. These are based on component-level analysis of analogue hardware and designed “to capture the magic of a professional studio”. There’s a quad-core audio engine – Rode claims that this provides more processing power than any other content creation console on the market – along with built-in effects.
You can navigate the RodeCaster Pro II using a combination of the full-colour touchscreen and a rotary encoder, and the presets and VoxLab processing editor are on-hand to ensure that even beginners should be able to make decent recordings.
Additionally, there are flexible configuration options as well – any of the nine channels can be assigned to six physical faders and three virtual faders – and the eight Smart pads can trigger both sounds and effects. They can also be used to send MIDI commands and activate automated mixer actions such as fade-ins and fade-outs, and with eight banks, you effectively have access to 64 pads at a time.
Complete setups on the RodeCaster Pro II can be saved as ‘Shows’ for easy recall, while further connectivity options include dual USB-C, WiFi, Ethernet and Bluetooth.
The RodeCaster Pro II will be available in June priced at $699 and is available for pre-order now.
