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IK Multimedia Announces T-RackS 5
September 14, 2017 – IK Multimedia is proud to announce T-RackS 5, a cutting-edge mixing and mastering system for Mac® and PC, will be available in October 2017 and is now open for pre-order. T-RackS 5 is the most powerful mix and master modular system ever, offering maximum versatility with 4 all-new processors for a total of 38 high-quality modules on a flexible 16 processor series/parallel chain, an unrivalled audio engine, a complete broadcast-ready professional metering section, a new completely redesigned, resizable interface as well as an album assembly section with multi-format export.
IK Multimedia created T-RackS in 1999, and has been leading the way, evolving and expanding the collection while setting an industry standard and crafting some of the world’s best sounding plug-ins for professional applications. It’s no coincidence that thousands of top-charting records have been made using T-RackS. Now T-RackS 5 has been re-mastered to be more powerful than ever before providing everything necessary to take raw mixes to a perfect finished product ready for digital delivery or CD printing.
A growing collection
In T-RackS 5 there are now 38 incredible modules to choose from to build the perfect studio setup including 4 all-new additions to the collection:
The Master Match module is a new type of plug-in that automatically matches the sound of a mix with up to 3 other reference tracks using highly sophisticated algorithms. Thanks to this new powerful module, it’s easy to create great sounding masters without the need for any previous audio engineering experience or specialized skills.
Based on an iconic American coveted piece of hardware, the new Dyna-Mu vari-mu compressor/limiter is praised for its subtle but instantly recognizable sonic fingerprint. Thanks to its transformers and all-tube modelled heart, it can impart an audible magic which glues all the parts of a mix together.
The new EQual digital equalizer is a 10-band, ultra-clear, high-end parametric equalizer with an extremely transparent sound, a full-screen resizable interface for ultra-precise editing and a vast array of filter shapes that replicate the typical curves of legendary British and American analog EQ’s. This “hybrid monster” offers the best of both worlds: digital precision with ultra-detailed editing and on-demand analog character.
Conceived as an “all-in-one” solution, the new ONE mastering processor has been designed for easy, streamlined and straightforward audio finalization. It includes an EQ, compressor, analog harmonic exciter, low-end enhancer and limiter that will let anyone achieve professional quality results in a snap.
Work with flexibility
T-RackS 5 offers the freedom and flexibility to optimize the mixing and mastering setup with 3 working environments:
– The standalone suite makes T-RackS 5 a complete, self-contained, one-stop mixing and mastering workstation that allows users to load a set of audio tracks and perform several operations.
– The plug-in suite provides nearly all the standalone mode features within the environment of a DAW as the most powerful channel strip or mastering chain available today as a plug-in.
– All T-RackS processors (including metering) can also be used as single plug-ins in any compatible DAW for multi-track mixing and stereo mastering duties.
New streamlined, resizable interface
The all-new graphic user interface is designed to control everything from a single window, smoother and faster than ever. Plus, it’s fully resizable, meaning it can utilize up to the full size of a display. The new flexible chain view allows the modules to be dropped into the 16-processor series/parallel signal chain at will directly from the sidebar carousel showing all T-RackS available modules.
Audiophile-grade audio engine
More sonically powerful than ever, T-RackS 5 now supports audio up to 192kHz / 32 bit floating point, with mastering for high-definition music platforms and distribution without ever leaving its single interface, including 4 dithering options to choose from. The internal resampling engine delivers nothing less than best-in-class performance including DDM (Digital Delivery Mastering) on the output from the final limiting stage, offering an additional layer of protection against inter-sample peaks and overshoots.
Broadcast-ready metering
T-RackS 5 includes a comprehensive suite of metering tools that provide immediate and complete visual information about the audio material content. The new precision loudness LUFS meter is compliant with all leading professional reference standards for music delivery or broadcasting. Peak, RMS and Dynamic Range meters provide useful information about the dynamic response of mixes. The spectrogram, real-time analyser, phase and correlation meters also help to spot frequency imbalances and phase problems. M/S meters included gather information about the relations between the mono and the stereo content. Additionally, T-RackS 5’s new metering section can be launched as a separate floating window.
Album assembly
Now it’s possible to assemble a full-length production directly within the T-RackS 5 interface and create an album sequence with suitable track metadata including pauses, fades, track ID’s, ISRC codes, CD-Text and more, then export single high quality master audio files or the whole project in various formats such as WAV, AIF and standard DDP image for replication or Wav Cue files.
Pricing and availability
T-RackS 5 is expected to ship in October 2017, and will be available in both free and paid versions.
T-RackS CS – Custom Shop version available free of charge
T-RackS 5 – includes 9 modules for $/€ 149.99*
T-RackS 5 Deluxe – includes 22 modules for $/€ 299.99
T-RackS 5 MAX – includes 38 modules for $/€ 499.99
T-RackS 5 MAX crossgrade for $/€ 299.99 (with any registered IK product $/€ 99.99 and up)
T-RackS 5 can be pre-ordered now at special introductory pricing of only $/€99.99 for T-RackS 5, $/€199.99 for T-RackS 5 Deluxe, $/€329.99 for T-RackS 5 MAX and $/€ 199.99 for T-RackS 5 MAX crossgrade (with any registered IK product $/€99.99 and up).
* All prices excluding taxes
For more information, please visit:
www.t-racks.com/five
For video demos of T-Racks 5, please visit:
www.t-racks.com/five/video
Bass Videos
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes…
It is always great to meet a super busy bassist who simply exudes a love for music and his instrument. Erick “Jesus” Coomes fits this description exactly. Hailing from Southern California, “Jesus” co-founded and plays bass for Lettuce and has found his groove playing with numerous other musicians.
Join us as we hear of his musical journey, how he gets his sound, his ongoing projects, and his plans for the future.
Photo, Bob Forte
Featured Videos
Visit Online
www.lettucefunk.com
IG @jesuscsuperstar
FB@jesuscoomes
FB @lettucefunk
Bass Videos
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
“These stories from the front are with real-life, day-to-day musicians who deal with work life and gigging and how they make it work out. Each month, topics may include… the kind of gigs you get, the money, dealing with less-than-ideal rooms, as well as the gear you need to get the job done… and the list goes on from there.” – Steve the Bass Guy and Shawn Cav
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This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
Click to follow Bass Musician on Instagram @bassmusicianmag
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Bass CDs
New Album: Jake Leckie, Planter of Seeds
Bassist Jake Leckie and The Guide Trio Unveil New Album Planter of Seeds,
to be released on June 7, 2024
Planter of Seeds is bassist/composer Jake Leckie’s third release as a bandleader and explores what beauty can come tomorrow from the seeds we plant today.
What are we putting in the ground? What are we building? What is the village we want to bring our children up in? At the core of the ensemble is The Guide Trio, his working band with guitarist Nadav Peled and drummer Beth Goodfellow, who played on Leckie’s second album, The Guide, a rootsy funky acoustic analog folk-jazz recording released on Ropeadope records in 2022. For Planter of Seeds, the ensemble is augmented by Cathlene Pineda (piano), Randal Fisher (tenor saxophone), and Darius Christian (trombone), who infuse freedom and soul into the already tightly established ensemble.
Eight original compositions were pristinely recorded live off the floor of Studio 3 at East West Studios in Hollywood CA, and mastered by A.T. Michael MacDonald. The cover art is by internationally acclaimed visual artist Wayne White. Whereas his previous work has been compared to Charles Mingus, and Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet with Charlie Haden, Leckie’s new collection sits comfortably between the funky odd time signatures of the Dave Holland Quintet and the modern folk-jazz of the Brian Blade Fellowship Band with a respectful nod towards the late 1950s classic recordings of Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis.
The title track, “Planter of Seeds,” is dedicated to a close family friend, who was originally from Trinidad, and whenever she visited family or friends at their homes, without anyone knowing, she would plant seeds she kept in her pocket in their gardens, so the next season beautiful flowers would pop up. It was a small altruistic anonymous act of kindness that brought just a little more beauty into the world. The rhythm is a tribute to Ahmad Jamal, who we also lost around the same time, and whose theme song Poinciana is about a tree from the Caribbean.
“Big Sur Jade” was written on a trip Leckie took with his wife to Big Sur, CA, and is a celebration of his family and community. This swinging 5/4 blues opens with an unaccompanied bass solo, and gives an opportunity for each of the musicians to share their improvisational voices. “Clear Skies” is a cathartic up-tempo release of collective creative energies in fiery improvisational freedom. “The Aquatic Uncle” features Randal Fisher’s saxophone and is named after an Italo Calvino short story which contemplates if one can embrace the new ways while being in tune with tradition. In ancient times, before a rudder, the Starboard side of the ship was where it was steered from with a steering oar. In this meditative quartet performance, the bass is like the steering oar of the ensemble: it can control the direction of the music, and when things begin to unravel or become unhinged, a simple pedal note keeps everything grounded.
The two trio tunes on the album are proof that the establishment of his consistent working band The Guide Trio has been a fruitful collaboration. “Santa Teresa”, a bouncy samba-blues in ? time, embodies the winding streets and stairways of the bohemian neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro it is named for. The swampy drum feel on “String Song” pays homage to Levon Helm of The Band, a group where you can’t always tell who wrote the song or who the bandleader is, proving that the sum is greater than the individual parts. Early jazz reflected egalitarianism in collective improvisation, and this group dynamic is an expression of that kind of inclusivity and democracy.
“The Daughters of the Moon” rounds out the album, putting book ends on the naturalist themes. This composition is named after magical surrealist Italo Calvino’s short story about consumerism, in which a mythical modern society that values only buying shiny new things throws away the moon like it is a piece of garbage and the daughters of the moon save it and resurrect it. It’s an eco-feminist take on how women are going to save the world. Pineda’s piano outro is a hauntingly beautiful lunar voyage, blinding us with love. Leckie dedicates this song to his daughter: “My hope is that my daughter becomes a daughter of the moon, helping to make the world a more beautiful and verdant place to live.”
Bass CDs
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
In a thrilling solo debut, bassist Nate Sabat combines instrumental virtuosity with a songwriter’s heart on Bass Fiddler…
The upright bass and the human voice. Two essential musical instruments, one with roots in 15th century Europe, the other as old as humanity itself.
On Bass Fiddler (Adhyâropa Records ÂR00057), the debut album from Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and bass virtuoso Nate Sabat, the scope is narrowed down a bit. Drawing from the rich and thriving tradition of American folk music, Sabat delivers expertly crafted original songs and choice covers with the upright bass as his lone tool for accompaniment.
The concept was born a decade ago when Sabat began studying with the legendary old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky at Berklee College of Music. “One of Bruce’s specialties is singing and playing fiddle at the same time. The second I heard it I was hooked,” recalls Sabat. “I thought, how can I do this on the bass?” From there, he was off to the races, arranging original and traditional material with Molsky as his guide. “Fast forward to 2020, and I — like so many other musicians — was thinking of how to best spend my time. I sat down with the goal of writing some new songs and arranging some new covers, and an entire record came out.” When the time came to make the album, it was evident that Molsky would be the ideal producer. Sabat asked him if he’d be interested, and luckily he was. “What an inspiration to work with an artist like Nate,” says Molsky. “Right at the beginning, he came to this project with a strong, personal and unique vision. Plus he had the guts to try for a complete and compelling cycle of music with nothing but a bass and a voice. You’ll hear right away that it’s engaging, sometimes serious, sometimes fun, and beautifully thought out from top to bottom.”
While this record is, at its core, a folk music album, Sabat uses the term broadly. Some tracks lean more rock (‘In the Shade’), some more pop (‘White Marble’, ‘Rabid Thoughts’), some more jazz (‘Fade Away’), but the setting ties them all together. “There’s something inherently folksy about a musician singing songs with their instrument, no matter the influences behind the compositions themselves,” Sabat notes. To be sure, there are plenty of folk songs (‘Louise’ ‘Sometimes’, ‘Eli’) and fiddling (‘Year of the Ox’) to be had here — the folk music fan won’t go hungry. There’s a healthy dose of bluegrass too (‘Orphan Annie’, ‘Lonesome Night’), clean and simple, the way Mr. Bill Monroe intended.
All in all, this album shines a light on an instrument that often goes overlooked in the folk music world, enveloping the listener in its myriad sounds, textures, and colors. “There’s nothing I love more than playing the upright bass,” exclaims Sabat. “My hope is that listeners take the time to sit with this album front to back — I want them to take in the full scope of the work. I have a feeling they’ll hear something they haven’t heard before.”
Available online at natesabat.bandcamp.com/album/walking-away