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Native Instruments releases Ozone 11, Nectar 4 and Guitar Rig 7, and brings them together in Music Production Suite 6

Native Instruments today announced Music Production Suite 6, a collection that includes more than 30 plugins across NI, iZotope, and Brainworx product lines, including new versions of Ozone, Nectar, and Guitar Rig.

Ozone 11 Advanced mastering package now comes with a Clarity Module to “maximise spectral power”, and its new Stem Focus feature promises to salvage problematic mixes by working its magic on isolated stems within them.

Nectar 4 Advanced vocal processing bundle gets an Auto-Level module that can be used as an alternative to a compressor, a Voices module for layering and creating “harmonic motion”, and an AI-powered Backer module that delivers virtual backing vocals.

Guitar Rig Pro 7, a guitar effects toolbox includes 100 new rack presets, four new lo-fi components, and new amps and pedals powered by machine learning.

Music Production Suite 6 also contains Neutron 4, RX 10 Standard, Neoverb, Tonal Balance Control 2, Insight 2, VocalSynth 2, Audiolens, two Exponential Audio reverbs, the Brainworx Creative Mixing Set, and several Native Instruments effects.

What NI say about it:

“Music Production Suite 6 leverages AI-powered processing to provide a customized starting point for every step of the creative journey, from balancing levels and effects to the final mastering polish. For example, quickly analyze and tone-match the sound of your favorite vocalist using Nectar 4’s Vocal Assistant. Or capture the sound of your favorite track with Ozone 11’s Mastering Assistant and receive suggested settings for width, dynamics, loudness, and more.

Inter-plugin communication streamlines workflows throughout the mixing process, allowing iZotope plugins to listen to each other to detect masking between tracks and vocals, suggest level balance settings, mix tracks visually, reference audio from any source, and much more.”

Features:

• Ozone 11 Advanced offers powerful new enhancements to provide a comprehensive mastering toolkit for artists and audio professionals alike.
• Nectar 4 makes it easier than ever to achieve professional-quality vocals with a suite of plugins that provide complete control over vocal sound.
• Guitar Rig 7 Pro is a creative effects playground packed with sought-after guitar
• and bass amps, studio effects, and pedals.
• Additional plugins include:
  • Neutron 4: A complete suite for crafting professional mixes
  • RX 10 Standard: The industry standard in audio repair
  • Neoverb: The smartest reverb plugin for music producers
  • Tonal Balance Control 2: A powerful meter for balancing a mix
  • Insight 2 An intelligent metering suite for mixing, mastering, and post production
  • VocalSynth 2 Innovative effects for creative vocals
  • Audiolens: Easy track referencing from any music streaming platform
  • Exponential Audio Immersive Reverbs: Symphony 3D and Stratus 3D
  • Brainworx Creative Mixing Set: Bx_delay 2500, Bx_boom!, Bx_subsynth, Bx cleansweep pro, Bx_refinement, Bx_saturator V2
  • Native Instruments effects: Raum, Crushpack, Modpack, Supercharger GT, Replika XT, Solid Mix Series, Transient Master, Driver

Music Production Suite 6 and the new flagship applications are available now, with intro pricing through October 11, 2023:

• Music Production Suite 6: $449 introductory, regular $599
• Ozone 11 Advanced: $299 introductory, regular $399
• Ozone 11 Standard: $149 introductory, regular $199
• Ozone 11 Elements: $39 introductory, regular $49
• Nectar 4 Advanced: $224 introductory, regular $299
• Nectar 4 Standard: $149 introductory, regular $199
• Nectar 4 Elements: $39 introductory, regular $49
• Guitar Rig 7 Pro: $199

You can find out more on the iZotope and Native Instruments websites.

Yamaha has announced 2 new finger drumming pads in the shape of the FGDP-50 and FGDP-30.

Both FGDP finger drum pad designed to capitalise on the increasing popularity of tabletop beat performing, each model features a core setup of 18 pads, with the FGDP-50 also offering a further eight RGB-lighted pads, a display, flash drive support for playback/recording and note repeat.

The layout is to be conducive to three-finger drumming, with the thumb triggering the kick, the index finger firing the snare and the middle finger powering the hi-hat. The pads are velocity-sensitive, and pushing down on one mutes the sound (useful for creating cymbal choke effects, for example).

As regards to sounds, Yamaha has reconfigured the ones from its DTX modules for the new pads. These are said to have been optimised for playing with fingers rather than sticks, with special focus put on how they respond to different velocities.

The sound libraries are well-stocked: there are 1,500 voices and 48 preset kits inside the FGDP-50, and 1,212 voices and 39 preset kits in the FGDP-30.

Both FGDP pads can operate completely standalone thanks to their built-in 2.5w speakers and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Besides, you can also use them as MIDI controllers via the USB port, which also outputs audio and enables playback from another device so that you can jam along.

Yamaha FGDP-50 and FGDP-30 priced at MSRP: $387.60 and $258.40 respectively. Find out more on the Yamaha website.

Conductive Labs co-founder Darryl McGee let us know that – after a 2 year absence, due to the chip shortage – the NDLR is back and “better than ever” – and making its official debut at Knobcon 2023, being held September 8-10, 2023 at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, Chicago.

The NDLR (‘noodler’) is an ‘ultra-arpegiator’, designed for people that want to play or perform with a lot of synths. The NDLR fits between your sequencer or keyboard and your synths and sound modules. It translates what you play into up to four parts – a drone note, bass line, pad notes, and a motif sequence – and can control up to eight synths at once.

Here’s McGee introducing the NDLR five years ago at Knobcon 2017:

The NDLR v2 features a soft power button, is now powder coated with a beautiful red base, and has been redesigned internally for a more readily available (and faster) microcontroller.

Otherwise, the new model has the same feature set as the original, which had gained many additional features since its introduction, plus a couple of new features to coincide with this launch.

Here’s Loopop‘s in-depth demo of the original NDLR:

The NDLR v2 is available to pre-order for $379. It will also be available at retailers later this month.