In a post back in November I said.... I saw a picture recently in all the Pro Tools v9 frenzy of a setup with what looked like some very compact control surface in front of a screen with an Apple keyboard, all of which didn’t take up too much work surface real estate so I did some digging around and found that it was Euphonix MC Control ethernet connect control surface that now works with Pro Tools. Well having done some more research I bought one and have set it up on my desktop... However although I have a similar configuration to the top picture I am not sure it is the best one. This set off a set of questions..... Which hand to use to operate the touch screen? Should I angle up the MC Control so I can see the touch screen better? Should I move the MC Control off to one side? Left or right? - I am right handed. I am also aware that my mouse is closer to the desktop edge and so I am suffering potential RSI problems more easily. It is currently set up centrally on my desktop and the photograph is slightly misleading as there isn't as much space in front of the keyboard as the picture suggests. I would really value any comments or suggestions of how to get the best out of my MC Control. Thanks.

Source-Connect Pro 3.5.1 for Mac OSX Source-Connect Pro 3.5.1 features improved support and stability. Recommended for all Pro Tools HD systems. Windows release is expected mid-2011, contact us to register your interest for early access. See support note below for Upgrade pricing, or get a 15 day free trial directly from the website. Source-Connect Standard 3.5 for Mac OSX Source-Connect Standard 3.5 Standalone is the new, easy way to make your crystal clear, digital connections over the internet. No need to run any audio host, you have full access to the same great features directly from your desktop. Source-Connect Standard 3.5 is now available for Mac OSX. Only requires an iLok - works with all audio hardware. See support note below for Upgrade pricing, or get a 15 day free trial directly from the website. Source-Zip Pro coming soon! Source-Zip Pro will soon be available. Additional features include iLok licensing, industry-strength encryption with password protection and a file browser to select and unzip specific files. Source-Zip Pro will be available for only $105. Contact us to register your interest in trying out the beta. Source-Live: Listen on your iPhone We'll be releasing a custom, dedicated Source-Live Listener app for the iPhone early this year. Until then, you can listen to Source-Live streams with 3rd Party applications such as StreamItAll and Tuner2. Contact us for details on how to use them in the meantime, and let us know your interest in trying out the early Source-Live Listener beta when available. New! Live weekly support webinars Starting Thursday the 20th of January, we're offering free one-hour live tutorials. Any one is welcome to join, even if you're not using Source Elements software. Sign up at the link below and check our Facebook and Twitter pages to be notified of new events.

Flux:: just want to make sure you don't miss their time-limited Winter Holiday Special offering amazing prices on most of our products (from -30% to -40%, at least). The last day you may benefit from this offer is Monday, 31st January. Simply follow the links below to benefit from their limited offer. Flux:: Online Store (Direct download purchase) Flux:: Distributors (To find your local dealer) Get the latest installer version of your Flux:: Plug-ins If you want to download the latest version of the installer for your plug-ins, please just go to the download page and login with your ilok account id, or your Flux:: dongle serial number using the text field to the left side on the download page. Flux:: Download Page

We're excited to announce the release of the new Waves Version 8. V8 adds the horsepower of the vintage-modeled V-Series to selected Waves bundles, and brings a fresh new look to several classic plugins: L1, C1, S1, Q10, DeEsser, TrueVerb, and AudioTrack have all received makeovers. In addition, more Waves plugins than ever are now available individually. And for WavesLive Yamaha users, V8 gives MultiRack SoundGrid flexible direct-to-DAW recording and side-chaining capabilities. And to fuel your creativity like never before, in an era when hit singles and Grammy® award-winning recordings are being created anywhere and everywhere, we've introduced attractive new prices across the board. With many new technical features including an improved preset management system, enhanced ICON and Automap support, and mouse-wheel control, there's never been a better time to rev up your rig. Attractive new prices across the board V-Series added to selected bundles New interfaces for classic plugins Plugins now available individually V8 is available at no additional charge to all plugins and bundles covered by Waves Update Plan. V8 includes a host of new technical features and bug fixes. In addition, more Waves plugins than ever are now available individually. V-Series added to selected bundles: Horizon Diamond Platinum Gold Grand Masters Collection Broadcast & Production Sound Design Suite Live Bundle New interfaces for classic plugins: L1 Ultramaximizer C1 Compressor S1 Stereo Imager Q10 Equalizer DeEsser TrueVerb AudioTrack Improved Toolbar and Presets Management: 32 levels of Undo/Redo Preset previous/next navigation buttons Factory preset navigation via host preset menus in VST3 and Audio Units Waves Artists presets integrated into plugin preset menus Preset ‘Load’ menu – multi-level support for preset indication bullet Integrated support for Novation Automap application (V3.8 or higher) and Novation controllers. (Waves supports “unwrapped” mode only.) Enhanced support for ICON control LED indicators for all EQ & Dynamics plugins Pro Tools AudioSuite improvements: Added support for ‘overwrite files’ Improved control responsiveness during preview Smoother response of meters and other status indicators during preview Mouse wheel support for plugin controls Mouse cursor displays a spinning Waves icon during plugin scan (Windows only) Most plugins now available individually New lower prices across the Waves product line Bug Fixes: Dorrough Meters graphic refresh rate no longer drops when multiple instances are opened Various keyboard event-stealing issues were eliminated Single click text entry in Pro Tools now registers correctly in Undo/Redo All controls now update sound upon mouse down event instead of mouse up MultiRack SG for Yamaha New Features: Record MultiRack-processed tracks direct-to-DAW in the same computer Advanced side-chaining capabilities Important Notes V6, V7, and V8 can all run concurrently on the same computer. However, V8 and Waves versions V4 and V5 cannot. All previous versions of products that you update will be removed from your iLok and replaced by V8. After updating to V8, you will not be able to use these versions again. V8 is not supported on Mac G5 and below. To ensure your system is compatible with Waves V8, check our Tech Specs page V8 is available at no additional charge to all Waves products covered by Waves Update Plan.

I first posted about this interesting plug-in back in May 2009 and then followed its progress in Oct 2009, November 2009 and lastly in December 2009, when I commented that Vedat, the person behind Wave Rider has not been put off by the similar plug-in released by Waves called Vocal Rider. Well he has finally done it and released v2 of this fader control plug-in and not only released it with new features but included a raft of videos to show how to get the best out of it. Watch a few videos to get up and running, and get the most out of Wave Rider. Videos will default to 720p for better resolution. Setup Watch this short video to see how this is done. Wave Rider utilizes a virtual MIDI controller for its operation. Therefore it needs this extra step in the Setup –> Peripherals section. Ride Mode Choose between Classic mode or Averaging mode to best suit the material at hand. Watch this video to see & hear the difference. Duck Mode Here’s a video demonstrating the Duck mode. As a gate This is how you can use Wave Rider as a gate. Drum aerator A creative way to liven up your drum sound. I call this method as “aerator”, adds room to drums when needed. You can substitute a reverb channel for the room track. Auto Mix Not for the faint of heart! This video demonstrates all the functions of Wave Rider in a fully unattended mix scenario. Witness the power of Wave Rider, and decide how much of it you’d want to utilize in your workflow. or Requires Mac OS X v 10.4, 10.5, 10.6 or above.

At last after 3 years Euphonix have now made their Artist Series of control surfaces like the MC Mix, MC Transport and the one I have just bought the MC Control. This is a video Avid have put up from the Winter NAMM 2011 about this. I have installed my MC Control and I am starting to use it but I would be interested to know how other folk arrange it on their desk and if you angle it up etc.  Do post your experiences please.

Avid have been posting a good number of videos of interviews with key players in the industry from NAMM 2011. Most are music based including Mischke, GRAMMY Nominated Songwriter, Producer, and Engineer but I include it as he is raving about the Avid Pro Tools HD Native system and how much you can throw at it and the low latency even with plug-ins on the input buss. Then they had a chat to Nathan Eames from Sonnox and he mentioned their Sonnox Restore suite Pro Tools plug-in was used to restore the audio in the recent Sound of Music re-release. Sonnox, also announced that have teamed up with Fraunhofer, the inventors of MP3, to create a plug-in that will allow you to audition encodes in real-time. This will allow mastering engineers to check the effects of a codec before committing the time to render it. Lets hope they do some more broadcast and post related videos for those of us you can't get to NAMM.

So don't miss our time-limited Winter Holiday Special offering amazing prices on most of our products (from -30% to -40%, at least). This offer ends in less than three weeks. Don't miss this, simply follow the links below to check out the deals Now! Flux:: Online Store (Direct download purchase) Flux:: Distributors (To find your local dealer) Get the latest installer version of your Flux:: Plug-ins If you want to download the latest version of the installer for your plug-ins, please just go to the download page and login with your ilok account id, or your Flux:: dongle serial number using the text field to the left side on the download page. Flux:: Download Page

This is what they say... With this major update to the Pro Tools platform, we have taken the time to go in and totally reshoot this cornerstone offering, Pro Tools 9 Explained. Each video has been shot in Pro Tools 9 and major new features such as ADC, New Session dialogs and I/O Configuration are all covered. From now until the end of January, download this title for 50% off the regular price. Fully compatible with Pro Tools 9 Native and Pro Tools 9 HD, Eli takes you from the very beginning, covering the important basics such as session creation, hardware and I/O setup, mix and edit window overviews, importing audio, all the way to recording and editing audio and MIDI, record modes, multi-track drum recording and editing, using effects, Elastic Audio, automation, bouncing your masterpiece and so much more. If you've stepped up to Pro Tools 9, learn it right the first time. This series will make you more knowledgeable than most other Pro Tools users and make using Pro Tools 9 fast and efficient. Get Pro Tools 9 Explained today. Product Hightlights 50 Tutorials / Almost 6 Hours Total Runtime For all beginner to intermediate Pro Tools 9 users Tutorials written by DAW expert Eli Krantzberg Simple to use video control interface for Mac & PC Viewing Options: Online, Download, Boxed Disc, iDevices On Sale for $24.99 Until Jan. 31st, That's 50% off!

Here are the details and links for this update. Seems to fix some nasty little problems mainly on the Windows platform. Pro Tools 9.0.1 Update for Owners of Pro Tools 9.0 and Pro Tools HD 9.0 on Mac and Windows See the page below for download and installation instructions: Pro Tools 9.0.1 Update Pro Tools 9.0.1 Release Notes Issues Resolved in Pro Tools 9.0.1 On Windows, the Pro Tools 9.0 Update installer removed previously installed Pro Tools Creative Collection (PTCC) content files. (PTSW-134971) The Pro Tools 9.0.1 Update installer for Windows leaves any previously installed PTCC content untouched. If you already installed Pro Tools 9.0 with the updater, you will need to reinstall PTCC content. On Windows, with VocALign LE installed, Pro Tools 9.0 would crash on launch. (PTSW-134925) An updated version of VocALign LE (version 2.9.5) is now available for Windows: VocALign Project LE v2.9.5 (Windows) for DV Toolkit & original DV Toolkit 2 owners Note: VocALign LE (version 2.9.6) for Mac does not need to be updated, fixed in next item. VocALign plug-ins could not process audio in Pro Tools 9.0, and generated DAE error -7450 or displayed a warning dialog. (PTSW-133260) In Pro Tools 9.0.1, VocALign plug-ins (VocALign Pro, VocALign Project, VocALign LE) can process audio. On Mac OS X, EUCON-capable controllers using EUCON 2.5.6 did not record when in QuickPunch mode in Pro Tools 9.0. (PTSW-134916) In Pro Tools 9.0.1 for Mac OS X, QuickPunch works with EUCON-capable controllers. Pro Tools 9.0 was unable to update the firmware for any Avid/Digidesign Ethernet-based controllers, such as C|24, D Command, and D-Control, but not EUCON-based controllers. (PTSW-134903) In Pro Tools 9.0.1, firmware can be updated on Avid/Digidesign Ethernet controllers. The Pro Tools 9.0 installer replaced a previously installed Structure Full plug-in with Structure Free and deleted the Structure library. (PTSW-134827, 134887) The Pro Tools 9.0.1 installer leaves any previously installed Structure Full plug-in untouched and does not replace it with Structure Free. If you already installed Pro Tools 9.0, you will need to reinstall Structure Full to replace Structure Free. Pro Tools 8.0.4 and higher sessions would present an incorrect "Missing Files..." or "Some Regions had Invalid Bounds..." warning when you undo certain commands that remove audio files, save the session, and then open the session again. (PTSW-129321, PTSW-131342) In Pro Tools 9.0.1, saved sessions no longer retain references to removed files. (Note: This may not fix sessions created with versions lower than Pro Tools 9.0.1 that present similar warnings.) The cooling fan of the HD OMNI interface would produce excessive noise after a few minutes under certain conditions. (PTSW-130263) The DigiTest 9.0.1 firmware update for HD OMNI (v.2.10) includes a new cooling algorithm that improves some user's experience of fan noise without sacrificing cooling performance. To update HD OMNI firmware, run the DigiTest 9.0.1 application with HD OMNI connected to your system. When attempting to preview an audio file too large to be opened by Pro Tools (4 GB or larger) in the Pro Tools Workspace browser, the audio file was truncated. (PTSW-128581) In Pro Tools 9.0.1, audio files larger than 4 GB are not recognized by the Workspace browser (appearing as "Unknown" in the "Kind" column), so they cannot be inadvertently truncated.

Buy a plug-in one at a time Waves have announced they are offering single plug-ins for sale. Prices range from around $100 to $400 for Native plug-ins and $200 to $800 for single TDM plug-ins. They aren't offering all their plug-ins on their own but there are a good number to go at. Student discount They are also offering 50% discount on selected bundles to students of recognised institutions. To qualify for student pricing, you must provide the following: 1. Valid student ID from a recognized educational institution or a Waves-certified institution. (If in doubt, please consult orders@waves.com before completing the purchase.) 2. Additional official identification (i.e. driver’s license or passport). 3. A completed Waves student discount application form Fax or email all three of the above documents to +1-865-381-1416 or orders@waves.com. Students may purchase each Waves bundle once only. Student discounts cannot be combined with any other offers or promotions. Waves will return or cancel any duplicate purchase or orders which do not qualify. Waves reserves the right to decide if the student’s educational institution qualifies for the discount, and may refuse student discounts as may be required. Waves will pre-register the software in the student’s account; the student’s Waves account login name must be included in order to be processed.

Our Mike Thornton writes the Pro Tools Notes, Techniques and Workshop articles for Sound on Sound as well as reviewing many of the new Pro Tools related products. Note that you will need to be a subscriber to view the recent articles or you can choose to Click & Buy individual ones.   Tempo Tantrums - We explain how to create a tempo map in Pro Tools that will follow your musicians wherever they decide to go!