With 2024 in full swing, many engineers will be looking out their window (hopefully) to see the joys of spring or autumn. Back inside, what new things landed at the blog to improve the view? Read on to find out as we round up our February favourites…

IK Multimedia ARC Studio Hardware

With so many talking about which monitor speakers are going to change their mixes and their lives, fewer talk about one of the single biggest factors that is going to make or break what they’re hearing: the room. OK, so some people can play with room layout and positioning to get the best out of their space. So many, however, have one place to set up their monitors, which quite often isn’t the best sounding place to replay sounds and/or to listen to them.

Speaker correction is nothing new, where corrective EQ or other tricks are used to ‘flip’ the speakers’ response to iron out bumps and troughs in what the engineer is hearing. IK Multimedia’s ARC Studio is a hardware system that sits in-between your outputs and your monitors. It also has some neat tricks like ‘guest’ sweet spot profiles to shift the optimum listening spot over to where the client is sat, and reference profiles to simulate different listening devices and playback systems. No-one enjoys actually having to check on laptop speakers, or walking out to the car to listen, and best of all, it can be used with any speakers. Plus, you don’t have to remember whether the correction is on or off!

Klevgrand OneShot

If there’s one thing that no studio creating music can survive without it’s inspiration. This magic ingredient is the difference between an indifferent production, and one that crackles with energy and zest that takes listeners with it. Musical inspiration is one thing, but often the very tools themselves of the artist’s trade can be the thing that takes creators on a new journey. We’ve all been in studios with that curious synth or percussion that invites experimentation to give things a fresh spin.

Hailing from Sweden, Klevgrand is known for its menagerie of musical and technical toys that set out to keep artists amused and inspired. OneShot is its latest creation billed as a percussive workstation specifically designed for single strike samples. With up to 15 different instrument slots with separate controls for volume, pan, pitch, FX inserts, FX sends, routing, chokes and more, OneShot enjoys a large collection of over 8000 meticulously recorded samples from many different locations and settings. Built-in effects and the ability to use your own samples supercharge OneShot’s ability to inspire.

Accentize dxRevive 1.1.0 Update

It has to be said that software does some pretty amazing things, especially with this February gem. OK, so we love our gear, but once you’ve bought that piece of analogue hardware to do a certain job, that is how it will do things until it breaks. Not so with software, and that’s the great thing about buying a single software device from people who want to make it better and better.

Accentize have been cultivating a reputation for tools that manage to be very simple to use, with tonnes of great sounding magic under the hood. DxRevive is a restoration and de-noising tool which is one of the best we’ve used. It initially ‘only’ landed with two modes, Studio and Retain, bringing Hi-Fi sheen or transparent fixes to the party, but February saw this remarkable tool get even better for free. The first two modes are now joined by new algorithms Studio 2 for both editions of dxRevive, plus Natural for dxRevive Pro. The Pro addition also sees the new algorithm selector window that makes it easier to choose the right tool for the job. Now you can see exactly what dxRevive is doing. Just don’t ask how it’s doing it! If you haven’t heard dxRevive, all we can say is try it.

Toontrack Session Organ EKX

From twenty-first century innovation, we now go back to the cutting edge of 1930’s additive synth technology. Ever wondered what would happen if a clockmaker took it upon themselves to build a church organ? No? Hammond’s compact tonewheel organ may be the most Steampunk synth ever built, but its sound chased after the sound of big pipe organs, soon joined by Leslie’s (unrelated) rotating baffle speaker system. Along with much of western pop music and beyond, the Hammond and Leslie formed an unholy trinity that has been stirring up recorded music ever since.

Some readers of the blog might be familiar with EZkeys 2, Toontrack’s virtual keys VI that does exactly what it says on the tin. Its ever-growing library of expanded sounds got a taste of keyboard royalty this month with the release of Session Organ EKX. There are no prizes for guessing what organ this could be, and yes this is Toontrack’s simple take on a classic Hammond B3 clonewheel. Between us on the blog we’ve heard, recorded, mixed, and even owned a few of these beasts so we have a basis for comparison. Does it sound like a real one? Yes. Do you need a crane to lift it? No. It’s true that the Hammond organ wanted to be a pipe organ but we just love the clockwork and valve tonewheel sound all the same.

Earthworks Audio DM6

For those who record real things, who doesn’t love a good mic? Has it all been done before? Who knows, but for now manufacturers are constantly edging up the standard of what can come out of the back of tried-and-trusted mic technology. Our final choice for February is a kick dwelling mic for live and studio that compliments a long-established line of well-regarded instrument and vocal mics.

Earthworks are known to some for creations including the QTC40 ultrawide bandwidth omni SDC and the astonishing shiny art-deco styling of their SR314 vocal mic. The condenser DM6 slots in alongside their drum-specific products including pencil and mini-gooseneck SDCs to supercharge drum sounds for studio and stage. Yes it has the tasty brushed metal casework, but this thing more importantly is engineered with all the things you actually want. Rear-facing connector? Check. Super-tight pickup? Check. Razor sharp transients? Absolutely. Retroheads might want to look elsewhere, but for anyone else who likes their drums to hit across the spectrum with transients that should carry a health warning, the DM6 will be a great place to start.

How About You?

What were the things in February 2024 that rocked your studio world? It could be one of our favourites here, or maybe there’s an entirely different hidden gem that’s got you in a spin? Let us know in the comments.