Each day our team on the show floor at NAMM 2019 are on the lookout for products that catch their eye and in this Best Of NAMM 2019 roundup James Ivey, Audrey Martinovich and Eli Krantzberg share their top 3 from day 2.

Lauten Audio LS-208 And LS-308 Microphones

The Lauten Audio LS-208 is a professional front-address large diaphragm condenser voice and instrument microphone aimed at the broadcast, sound reinforcement, podcasting, and studio recording sectors. The LS-208 can handle 120dB of dynamic range and 135dB of SPL without the need for attenuation. The off-axis rejection makes the LS-208 perfect for focusing on the sound source while reducing bleed in lively environments. The LS-208 comes with a spider shock mount great for broadcast, a hard mount for tight spots, a foam windscreen to protect from plosives, and a rugged road case housing all these accessories.

The Lauten Audio LS-308 is a large-diaphragm condenser with an extreme level of noise rejection. Designed for recording instruments and voice in situations where separation is difficult to obtain, the LS-308 solves the problem of achieving isolation in the most challenging of recording environments. With 270 degrees of side and rear off-axis rejection, ambient noise from other nearby sources is reduced by up to 25dB. This level of rejection is unusual for a large-diaphragm condenser, and is a result of Lauten Audio’s design, which utilises a dual, large-diaphragm, pressure-gradient transducer element. Combined with the microphone’s specially designed circuitry, the LS-308 is designed to handle multi-person, close-proximity vocal dialogue in noisy broadcast environments, rejecting sound from crowd noise and other instruments in live, studio or sound reinforcement environments.

iZotope RX 7 De-Bleed Module

The De-bleed module actually came out with the iZotope RX 6 release. With the De-bleed module you can remove bleed and spill from headphones that mics can pick up. As long as you have an audio file of the source of the spill then with the De-bleed module, you can get rid of that annoying spill from the click track for example.

Bleed happens when you have a microphone picking up audio that you don’t intend for it to pick up. This presents colouration and separation challenges that result in less control over your mix. Of course, the classic problem is click track bleed. Even the faintest click track or speaker bleed can ruin your recording.

If you want to see the De-bleed module in action then check out the free tutorial from ‘Mr RX It’ otherwise known as Mike Thornton.

Revoice Pro From Synchro Arts

Revoice Pro 4 from Synchro Arts, brought over 70 new features and improvements over the previous version including the Vibrato Warp function, which intelligently identifies the singer’s vibrato characteristics and retains them, even when time stretching or compressing their voice.

Audio Performance Transfer has been further refined, and users can choose between APT Music and Dialog modes depending on the task at hand, for even better results when aligning the pitch, time or level of one track to another.

There have been graphic and workflow improvements, such as user-definable key commands, and Revoice Pro 4 is now ARA 2 compatible, which means significantly improved integration with ARA 2-ready DAWs. Finally, Revoice Pro 4 users now have the choice to use iLok Cloud based licensing for authorization, removing the need for a physical iLok key.

Chandler Limited TG Microphone

The Chandler Limited EMI Abbey Road Studios ‘TG Microphone’ is a solid-state large diaphragm condenser microphone with a unique on-board EMI ‘Tape Equalizer’ section combined with its ‘Dual Tone System’, dedicated PSU and other features create an extremely flexible microphone capable of rivaling scenarios where the FET47, C414 and U47 traditionally have found favor.

The Tape Equalizer is adapted from the NAB/IEC tape equalizer facility found on vintage EMI TG12410 transfer consoles or mastering consoles, and applied with great effect in the TG Microphone. The ‘Dual Tone System’ modifies the input stage of the TG Microphone and extends the versatility of the microphone to accommodate a greater array of sources. System ‘A’ is what you’d expect, TG mid forward, while the alternate ‘B’ voicing is more pristine, takes extreme SPLs and is at home wherever a FET47 would be the choice. The TG Microphone makes use of multiple TG amplifier circuits, however, unlike the heralded REDD Microphone, does not feature an internal preamp.

Royer Labs dB In-line Signal Booster

Royer Labs, have announced the dBooster In-Line Signal Booster for ribbon & dynamic microphones. As a phantom powered microphone signal booster and impedance buffer, the new Royer Labs dBooster increases the level of passive low-output ribbon and moving coil dynamic microphones without distortion or coloration and provides two levels of clean gain boost: either 12dB or 20dB, selectable by a front panel switch.

The heart of the dBooster design is a sophisticated, uniquely configured input stage consisting of multiple paralleled PNP semiconductors to keep noise low. These devices run in pure Class A mode for minimal distortion. The Class A input circuitry presents a high source impedance to the microphone to minimize loading (damping), reducing coloration and distortion while improving headroom. By utilizing the unit’s 12/20dB gain switch, optimum balance between gain and headroom can be achieved for a variety of applications.

The Royer Labs dBooster In-Line Signal Booster is expected to carry a street price of $179. The unit will ship mid-February 2019.

EastWest Pop Brass Library

Hollywood Pop Brass from EastWest features a 4 or 5 piece ensemble that includes 2 trumpets, trombone, tenor, alto, and baritone saxes. It includes incredible sounding multi-sampled ensemble sections recorded in the famous Studio 1 at EastWest Studios - "the best brass recording room in the world” according to Michael Jackson engineer Bruce Swedien. It also includes dozens of stylized phrases in multiple keys recorded in Studio 2, a favorite of many Latin artists going all the way back to Tijuana Brass by Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66. These phrases will simply blow you away with how easily they slide right into your track, and cover many genres from pure pop to rock, funk, soul, and many distinctive rhythms and melodies from the Latin world.

East West say that “Hollywood Pop Brass was created for one simple reason: There's just nothing else out there on the market that instantaneously gives you that fiery, punchy pop brass sound that made songs like “Uptown Funk” such mega hits.”

Arturia Audiofuse Studio and 8 Pre

The Arturia AudioFuse 8Pre can operate in two ways. First, you can use it as an audio interface with 8 channels of pristine, high-end analog DiscretePRO inputs, 8 channels of ADAT input, discrete line outputs, insert points, monitor and headphone control, and USB-C connectivity. 16 ins, 20 outs, with no sacrifice in quality anywhere in the signal path.

If you already own an ADAT-enabled audio interface, you can use AudioFuse 8Pre as an 8 channel expander to add more input channels to your setup. The superb quality of the in-built preamps provide the transparency and zero-noise gain you need, giving you the confidence to use your best mics - even ribbon mics with low output - without worrying about noise or weak signals. You can even use its ADAT input to send cue mixes to the headphones or monitor outputs from your interface, so your talent can hear exactly what they need to.

The AudioFuse 8Pre is set for release in Spring 2019 - Price TBC

The Arturia AudioFuse Studio interface is an 18-in, 20-out audio interface that also sports a Bluetooth receiver enabling you can pair it with your phone and stream music to your studio speakers, or track directly from the incoming stream. It lets you easily check your mix on multiple monitor systems with instant speaker A/B switching, so you can save time and effort of cross-checking your mixes on different systems.

AudioFuse Studio also features a dedicated re-amping output, so you can record your guitar and bass directly into your DAW, and then tweak later with precisely matched guitar-level output.

Trident 80B EQ and CB 9066 EQ Plug-ins From Silo Sound Labs

The Trident 80B EQ Plug-in has a sweepable Low Mid (100 Hz to 1,500 Hz) and High Mid (1 kHz to 15 kHz) frequency ranges with 15 dB of boost and cut, at the very same bandwidths (or ‘Q factors’) tuned by Trident engineers back in the early 1980s. Low shelving filter corner frequency can be set to 60 Hz or 120 Hz, and the high shelving corner frequency is settable to 8 kHz or 12 kHz. A 50 Hz high-pass filter, also faithfully modeled against the original, can be engaged or disengaged as required. Price $59.99 and due to be released in February 2019.

Silo SoundLabs has taken a pristine-condition CB9066 and modeled it in software plug-in form, using their patent pending SiloDNA analysis technology along with audio-tuning love and care that a product of this caliber deserves. Meticulously tested and restored in 2018 to its original condition by Trident engineers, the CB9066 hardware used by Silo as their reference model sounds as good today as it did the day it rolled off the production line.

There are 3 frequency ranges (60 Hz to 700 Hz, 600 Hz to 7 kHz, and 3.5 kHz to 14 kHz) with adjustable bandwidths and a 16 dB boost or cut, along with high pass (100 Hz to 400 Hz) and low pass (4 kHz to 15 kHz) filters with adjustable slopes of up to 22 dB. Consider using the CB9066 EQ plug-in to add vibrancy and color to every track. Price $149.99 and due to be released in February 2019.

Eventide - Instant Phaser Mk II Pedal

Eventide have just released their Instant Phaser Mk II plug-in. Originally released in 1972, the Eventide Instant Phaser arguably began the studio effects revolution by successfully simulating tape flanging, an effect that’s been at the core of legendary albums for the last five decades. Modeled on the original hardware unit, the Instant Phaser Mk II plug-in accomplishes the same legendary sound with all the analog personality, smooth modulations, and inherent musicality. The capabilities have been expanded, and now you can even take your phaser on an excursion from the 70s far into the future with the delightfully characteristic “Age” knob. Outfitted with a complete host of control options, the Instant Phaser Mk II is out of the rack and into your plugin arsenal. Check our Eli’s tutorial video Exploring the Musical Depths of the Envelope Side Chain Function in Eventide’s Instant Phaser Mk ll

Also an NAMM 2019 Eventide are showing their new Rose Delay Pedal. The Rose project began several years ago and was apparently rooted in the desire to invent a new line of unique effects by carefully grafting digital delay into an analog platform. Eventide trusted that this research would yield a genesis of products that sound and behave differently than modern DSP-based effects. Rose is the culmination of this vanguard research.

Eventide describe their Rose “as rare and vibrant, unleashing a palette of sounds and textures unattainable by solely digital means”.  It has six tactile knobs, a delay multiplier button, phase invert/reverse playback button and a shape button offering five different modulation sources. Rose also features five presets, MIDI control and a fully assignable aux switch/expression pedal input.