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Solid State Logic’s UF1 promises to “set a new standard for single fader DAW controllers” In fact, it can control up to three DAWs simultaneously.

The idea that you can take “comprehensive” charge of your DAW using a single fader controller might seem illogical, but that is the claim that the company is making on behalf of their UF1.

This new controller might be the UF8’s (much) smaller sibling, but it’s still said to pack in the features. As well as the 100mm motorised fader you also get dual high-resolution displays, soft-feel rubber keys and a weighted jog wheel, all wrapped up in a metal chassis.

You can also control your DAW’s pan settings, sends and plugins, and customise the 46 soft keys to suit your workflow. Plus, the UF1 integrates tightly with the new SSL Meter plugin and existing 360° software.

The device can actually control up to three DAWs simultaneously, and comes with profiles for Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, Studio One, Ableton Live, LUNA, and Pyramix. Your projects can be navigated with both the jog wheel and dedicated transport controls, and you can also access your DAW’s automation modes.

The displays can show track names, parameters and the time display, or feedback from the SSL Meter plugin. A copy of this comes in the box; it can display Peak & RMS levels, K-System, stereo balance, phase correlation bar, Lissajous phase scope, 31-band RTA, VU and PPM metering.

As well as being suitable for use on its own, the UF1 can also function alongside the aforementioned UF8 and the UC1 plugin controller.

The UF1 is available now priced at $699/£600/€599. Find out more on the Solid State Logic website.

Waves teased Cosmos a sample management tool comes with 2,500 free royalty-free one-shots and loops.

Waves Cosmos is a free sample management tool that organises all your loops and one-shots and then lets you search for the sound you are looking for.

Cosmos is designed to bring order to your sample collection, putting all the loops and one-shots on your hard drive into one easy-to-search place. Waves says that its Neural Networks technology can analyse, auto-tag and sort your samples, leaving you with a single unified database where you can easily find everything you have.

You can ‘see’ your samples in three different views: Waveform, List and Cosmos. All of your one-shots and loops can be filtered and searched by instrument, BPM, key and sonic characteristics, and WAV, AIFF, OGG and FLAC files are supported.

Once the analysis has been done, the theory is that (for example) you can then find a distorted kick drum simply by typing the words ‘distorted’ and ‘kick’ into the search bar, regardless of how your sounds are named. Files can be previewed within Cosmos, and then dragged and dropped into your sampler or DAW.

Cosmos runs as a standalone app and also integrates with Waves’ CR8 creative sampler plugin. You can download it now from the Waves website.

Acustica Audio has launched Fire, a new range of one-knob filter plugins. The Fire Filters is designed to deliver the company’s processing prowess in an easy-to-use package.

The two filters are high-pass and low-pass variants, with each offering 13 analogue-style variants. The single knob controls the cutoff frequency, and each filter can operate in one of four modes. You can choose from four filter slope options, as well.

The Fire Filters work on PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats and cost $39 for the pair. Find out more on the Acustica Audio website.