Michael Cooper

3 weeks ago | mixonline.com | Michael Cooper

MIX VERDICT: SPL MACHINE HEADTHE TAKEAWAY: “Affordably priced, SPL Machine Head takes tape emulation to previously unattained heights.”COMPANY: SPL via Plugin Alliance • www.plugin-alliance.comPRICE: $125PROS:• Sounds amazing. • Practical implementation of bass control. • Simple, intuitive interface. • Affordable. CONS:• No Undo and Redo. Like many of you who are reading this, I’ve used numerous tape-emulation plugins over the past two decades.

1 month ago | mixonline.com | Michael Cooper

Since SPL introduced its groundbreaking, analog Transient Designer in 1998, plug-in emulations have essentially hewed to the pioneer’s seminal two-stage design, using gain controls to modify the attack (transients) and sustain (decay) envelope stages of an audio signal. Three-Body Technology’s new Trinity Shaper plug-in revamps the paradigm, adding an additional gain stage—acting between attack and sustain—to sculpt your track’s sound with even greater control.

2 months ago | mixonline.com | Michael Cooper

MIX VERDICT: EASTWEST ICONICTHE TAKEAWAY: “Music creators and composers for film and gaming are bound to find EW’s last-century throwback a very satisfying investment.”COMPANY: EastWest • www.soundsonline.comPRICE: $199, Iconic perpetual license; $199/year or $19.99/month, ComposerCloud+ subscription; Opus, free. PROS:• Sounds awesome. • Powerful, well-designed UI affords boundless programming. • Excellent documentation. CONS:• Steep learning curve if you’re unfamiliar with Opus. • No Undo, Redo.

Jan 31, 2025 | mixonline.com | Michael Cooper

MIX VERDICT: ZYNAPTIQ PITCHSHIFT PROTHE TAKEAWAY: “If you work in immersive formats or in sound design (even in mono/stereo), Pitchshift Pro includes the features you require. Engineers who produce music strictly in stereo will only need the tools in the less-expensive Pitchshift.”COMPANY: zynaptiq • www.zynaptiq.comPRICE: Pitchshift Pro: $279; Pitchshift: $169PROS:• Pitch and formant shifting for every application imaginable. • High-quality processing.

Sep 26, 2024 | mixonline.com | Michael Cooper

MIX VERDICT: BETTERMAKER BM60 PLUG-INTHE TAKEAWAY: “The BM60 rescues a classic reverb from the funeral pyres of the 21st century.”COMPANY: Bettermaker, distributed by Plugin Alliance • www.bettermaker.comPRICE: $99PROS:• Superior small-room reverbs. CONS:• The plug-in’s default pre-delays were a few milliseconds longer than those for the PCM60’s short rooms. New York, NY (September 26, 2024)—My classic Lexicon PCM60 Digital Reverberator’s LEDs are flashing like the timer on a ticking time bomb.