Flux have released a new freebie plug-in called Stereo Tools for RTAS, AU and VST (Windows and OS X). Stereo Tool offers controls and visual feedback for the stereo stage.

From the Flux press release

Stereo Tool features ultra precise controls of input gain and individual pan for left and right channels. A phase inverter is available for each channel. A global stereo pan and a stereo width setting are also implemented to complete the management of the stereo signal.

Stereo Tool also offers an accurate visual feedback reflecting the signal content. A vector scope display, Peak meters for both inputs and outputs, and a phase correlation meter permanently monitor the signal.

As all Flux:: plug-ins it features 64 bit floating point processing, up to 8 FS (384 KHz).

Flux

Acon Acoustica (previous post) have been updated to 4.1. Among the new features that I can think of that’s specifically of interest for podcasters we find a multi-band compressor (only in Acoustica Premium), enhanced de-crackle feature (also only in Premium), and batch processing wizard for processing multiple files at once.

Check out Acon’s website for details.

Speaking of updates, M-Audio have updated their Session software to 1.6.3. Go to M-Audio for details.

If they’re made for broadcast they should work well for podcast right?
More →

I’ve reported about the M-Audio MicroTrack in the past. M-Audio have now posted a couple of users stories from established sound editors, journalists and editors. Keep in mind that it’s M-Audio that makes this product so it’s very biased, but nevertheless, might be a interesting read.

MicroTrack user stories at M-Audio

Here’s a link to a big mic shootout at Transom. There are a lot of out-of-this-world-priced microphones there, but there are decently priced as well up for tests. Perhaps this can help you in your next microphone purchase?

Via: Control Rool - Mixin’ it with Dr J

BIAS have released a stripped-down version of their audio editing and mastering software Peak, called Peak LE 6. With this version they’ve obviously set their sight on podcasters. How else could we explain the new feature list (from their website):
More →

Sonnox (previously Sony Oxford) have now released their new audio plug-in Oxford SuprEsser. It’s not cheap (162 GBP for AU/VST/RTAS) but Sonnox is known for top quality plug-ins. The SuprEsser is a dynamic EQ, and as the name suggests is intended for de-essing purposes, but according to Sonnox it supposedly works on a lot of other things as well. Among the examples are removal of low-end plosives and thumps that can occur when your too close to the microphone. Sounds like a winner, right? Expect a review in the coming weeks.

Sonnox