in this episode of the home studio show I'm looking at the FL Studio 20.6 update
I'm also looking at the behringer podcaststudio 2 USB and I'll also be
looking at tone 2 Icarus 2 synth plus free plugins and so much more I'm Zane
and welcome to the home studio show on simple green tech this is a weekly show
that does audio tech news and reviews to help you find new tools for your home
studio and I also make sure to check out a couple of free plugins in every
episode and every episode is also available as a podcast you can head over
to thehomestudioshow.com and download it as an audio podcast now
before we get into the news this week I just want to give a quick shout out to
xxx paps Dean c2000 tripping over Chur and cocina throw they answered last
week's question correctly which was Smashing Pumpkins
1979 stick around for the trivia question in this episode and see if you
have this week's answer now let's get into the news first up FL Studio has
been updated to FL Studio 20.6 the key FL Studio 20.6 features include a new
distortion and amp simulator pedal style plugin called distructor this new
feature puts the most popular distortion and filter effects into a single multi
effects guitar pedal inspired plug-in and another new update is the improved
audio time warping available in the new time editor this is a time manipulation
editor slice warp time correct edit vocals instrumentals and other
recordings all within new time if you own control voltage hardware then you'll
like the new fruity voltage controller that allows you to control up to eight
pieces of cv compatible synths and devices FL studio 20.6 has also added
soundcloud exporting so you can easily upload your latest tracks to SoundCloud
from within FL Studio there have been many other updates tweaks
and fixes check the link in the description for more information
on the FL studio' 20.6 update next in news Behringer has released the podcast
studio 2 USB with this little bundle you get the xenyx 302 USB mixer the
ultravoice XM8500 microphone which is an excellent budget price dynamic mic
you also get the HPM 1000 headphones and they've also included a handy
desktop mic stand XLR cable and a USB cable plus you can download a ton of
software from behringer site this is actually a decent little bundle of
hardware if you want to start a podcast this is everything that you'll need to
start out and of course you can use all of this gear for music recording as well
tone 2 have released a beast of a synthesizer workstation called Icarus 2
Icarus 2 offers 54 different synthesis methods the audio engine is
able to create all classic synthesizer sounds and it can produce a vast range
of new modern sounds the innovative 3d wavetable synthesis allows you to create
new sounds with dynamic expressions and acoustic movement plus there are many
other unique synthesis methods available the audio engine offers many powerful
features like a drum sequencer a built-in vocoder resynthesis a glitch
sequencer an advanced wavetable editor an extremely mighty oscillator section
and many more features all of this and they still made Icarus to a very easy
synth to use Icarus 2 ships with a collection of 1600 production-ready
sounds created by professional designers and you have a smart patch browser that
allows you to find the right sound quickly for more information on tone 2
Icarus 2 check the link in the description Sender spike have released
another new free plugin this one is the signal noise SN03-G taperecorder
free this is a tape sound emulation plugin designed with a completely new
paradigm it's not based on tape speed or type
instead it takes the key components of analog tape recorders and allows you to
create a custom tape machine that operates in the range of 7.5 to 30 IPs
again this is a free plugin and at the moment it's only available to Windows
users be sure to check the link in the description if you're interested in more
information and if you're enjoying this episode of the home studio show so far
please give it a thumbs up it really does help out the channel and I
appreciate it quite a bit now let's move on to the plugins worth checking out and
first up this week we have soundToys Decapitator with Decapitator you get 5
analog saturation models to choose from allowing you to add character to every
kind of track and instrument in your mixes you can shape the saturated sound
with the modeled tone control and the mix control allows you to blend in some
dry signal for parallel processing without the need for routing and sub
mixes this plug-in is great for adding some interest to your tracks by adding
some analog character
the next plugin worth checking out is from air music technology and this one
is XPand2! - Xpand2! is a multi temporal workstation offering 4 active
sound slots or parts per patch taking advantage of the four parts together to
build one amazing patch is where Xpand2! really shines the voice mode for each
part can be set to polyphonic or monophonic polyphonic parts can have up
to 64 voices and monophonic parts offer first last highest or lowest priority
making it easy to designate a bass lead or solo instrument if you like to start
out with presets expand to comes with over 2500 total presets and parts in a
number of different categories let's give some of those preset to listen
right now
you can often find Xpand2! on sale at plugin boutique for fairly cheap I put
the link in the description below so you can check it out now before we move on
to the free plugins of the week it's time for our trivia question now name
the song and the original artist or band from these lyrics girl comes home and
checks her phone she fools herself that she's not alone and if you think you
know the answer be sure to put it in the comments below and you can get a shout
out in the next episode of the home studio show now let's move on to the
free plugins of the week and first up we have RITmix this is probably the best
free drum machine plugin available you get 16 MPC style pads you can load your
sounds into the pads and edit each one to suit your needs you also get a 16
step sequencer built right in to ritmix allowing you to generate rhythms quickly
by either clicking or recording your performance on the MPC pads let's have a
look at Ritmix now the next free plug-in of the week is reflekt audio
playtime - playtime is a free VST plugin created by Daniel of reflekt audio
playtime consists of ten separate toy instruments including a desktop drum kit
with a few Tom's & a hi-hat a toy keyboard a toy banjo
and more each instrument was sampled from real toys so it will give you a
unique and interesting toy like sound let's test it out right now click here
for the home studio show playlist or click down here to see what YouTube
thinks you should watch next if you liked this episode of the home studio
show please give it a thumbs up also subscribe to the channel if you'd like
to see more videos from me for the home studio show and simple green tech I'm
Zane and we'll talk soon