Algonaut has announced the release of a massive update to its Atlas software designed to turn samples into music.

The Atlas 2 drum machine and sample manager brings new features such as a fast and powerful Drum Sequencer, Sample Variation/Humanization engine, and a new Content Browser that makes managing and recombining drum kits and sequencers easy. On top of this there are hundreds of smaller improvements to every aspect of the original Atlas.

In particular the Drum Sequencer has been built from the start to be fast but flexible. The idea was to take the workflow-speed of traditional step-sequencers (like the much-loved FL-Studio one), but give it the extra flexibility of piano-roll editors when you need it. Get that idea down fast while it's fresh. then tweak in all the little flourishes that make a beat really come alive.

A perfectly emulated and enhanced FET compressor. Fast, characterful and versatile, it is the ultimate control for modern mixes

A compressor that eats transients for breakfast, the 1178 is a rare and expensive legend of the recording studio, cleaner and more versatile than its older brother, the 1176. The 1178 has been used by great producers including Chris Lord-Alge (My Chemical Romance), Bob Clearmountain (Rolling Stones, Christina Aguilera), Yvan Bing (Phil Collins) and Nigel Godrich (Radiohead).

There are several reasons to use a variable-bias tube compressor. One is the exceptional compression transparency that this kind of compressor can achieve, even when pushed into extreme gain reduction. Another – and perhaps the most common – is their ability to add cohesion or "glue” to buses, whole mixes and masters.

Unfortunately, the original hardware is expensive and difficult to integrate with "in-the-box” workflows. Software emulations exist but most owners of the hardware agree that they cannot be compared to the original unit, as there's always "something” missing.

Even though the American folk music revival may have peaked in the late 1960s, pioneering artists like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Judy Collins and Peter, Paul and Mary blazed a trail for a whole ecosystem of singer-songwriters who have carried their legacy and songwriting tradition into the modern day.

This EZkeys MIDI pack hones in on the formative era but at the same time has a foot in the present, offering a fill-circle range of material inspired by some seven decades of folk music history. In this collection, you'll find material for anything from the melancholic to the upbeat, just waiting for you to add words, melodies and your own twist to. Get ready for some basic but immortal chord progressions as well as all the smart twists, turns and traits you'd expect from an EZkeys MIDI pack labelled folk

Kilohearts Toolbox ULTIMATE includes all the snapin hosts to take full advantage of the snapins you now own. Experience the flexibility of endless combinations between the effects and the host plugins! The v2 update is focused mainly on modulation in our hosts with a bunch of new modulators available, along with other functionality and workflow updates which will open up new worlds of creativity.

One particularly fabulous aspect of this update is that Snap Heap and Multipass now have the same modular modulation system as Phase Plant, which allows you to combine and connect as many modulators as you need.

A great song doesn't always need the big production bells and whistles. It just needs the right words, a great melody and that whoever performs it truly believes in it. In the end, it comes down to expression.

The Acoustic Songwriter EZkeys MIDI pack was inspired by the facet of the Americana, indie, folk and pop scene where acoustic instruments are predominantly favored. It's an homage to the likes of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Marc Cohn, Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, Nora Jones, Tori Amos, John Legend, Fiona Apple, Billy Joel, Regina Spector and the rest of the world's amazing collective of singer-songwriters that have perfected the art of scaling down but still managed to make music that sounds larger than life.

Goth, the offshoot of post-punk that paved the way for not only fashion, literature and film but also an entire sub-culture, truly defined an era. Spearheaded by the likes of The Cult, Type O Negative, The Sisters of Mercy and many more, goth and its aesthetics went from underground to mainstream and threw a cloak of horror-esque romanticism over the '80s and '90s. Since, it of course splintered off into numerous subsets and made its way into all kinds of styles during the decades to follow. Still to this day, goth is very much alive and thriving.

DORICO — THE NEXT-GENERATION MUSIC NOTATION SOFTWARE

Dorico helps you to write music notation, automatically producing printed results of exceptional quality — and plays it back with breathtaking realism. It is easy enough for anyone to learn, yet has hundreds of advanced notations, features, options and sounds to satisfy even the most demanding professionals.

Compose

Composing, arranging — or just writing and printing out music — is made much quicker and more efficient with Dorico. Thanks to its intelligent design, it automatically adjusts the notation as you write. With nearly 1,500 sounds included, arrangements can be played back with exceptional realism and, with no workarounds needed for advanced notation, Dorico produces excellent results much more quickly than has been possible before.

With Neutron 4 you can mix smarter and faster while staying in your flow. Eight powerful plug-ins combine powers through AI assistive technology to create your modern and intelligent mixing experience.

What's New in Neutron 4?

Assistant View

Neutron's beloved Mix Assistant is now modernized into the new Assistant View, your intelligent control center that produces fast, personalized results.

With Neutron 4 you can mix smarter and faster while staying in your flow. Eight powerful plug-ins combine powers through AI assistive technology to create your modern and intelligent mixing experience.

MIX IN THE MOMENT

Mix smarter and faster with iZotope's Neutron 4, your complete suite for crafting a professional mix. Sculpt sounds seamlessly while staying in your flow.