Tech Reviews: New products (February 2022)
Kate Rounding
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Kate Rounding reveals what's new this month in music technology
Courtesy Filisia
Cosmo Switch
Price: £135
The Cosmo Switch is an accessible device that works with any Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) software and is a great option for inclusive music activities. The Cosmo is made of durable material and is a round (5cm radius, 3.5 cm height) touch-sensitive button that connects by Bluetooth with any DAW. Up to six buttons can be connected and each has customisable features such as brightness, colour and touch sensitivity. The Cosmo comes with a free app for iPad and has a range of music activities, including the facility to improvise over music available on Spotify – the app ensures you are playing in the correct key. It can be used to record, loop and trigger samples in any music software. Discounts for multiple purchases and a subscription model are available.
DearVR Mix
Price: £75 + VAT
DearVR Mix is a new stereo mixing plugin from immersive tech specialists Dear Reality that turns your headphones into a range of virtual studio environments. DearVR Mix aims to replicate listening on a set of studio monitors and the new spatial headphone compensation feature adapts the characteristics of most pro headphones to replicate a ‘perfect acoustic environment’. Mixing on headphones may not be best practice, but it's often the only option, and utilising this plugin could help to improve the mix quality and prevent ‘tired’ ears. The DearVR Mix plugin provides a visualisation of your mix room, showing the chosen speaker set up and a control panel with a choice of rooms. Mix Room A and B are ‘reference-grade’ and there are six other simulated environments. A free trial is available.
www.dear-reality.com/products/dearvr-mix
ODD Ball (Revisited)
Price: £95
The ODD Ball is a lot of fun and SEND practitioners will appreciate its potential for accessible music making. It is a great way for children to participate in group activities, develop rhythmic skills, or hear their voices play back as the ball is bounced. This can encourage vocalisations and working with rhythm can support language development, helping to develop the stresses and rhythms of speech. The ball is paired with your phone and comes with a dedicated free app that contains hundreds of sounds. Each bounce, tap, or roll of the ball triggers a sound and the intensity of the bounce alters the volume, inflection, or pitch. The looping facility enables you to overdub and layer sounds, which is great for rhythm work. Educational discounts are available by contacting nathan@oddballing.com.
Magic Dice
Price: Free
This is a fun, free software plugin from Baby Audio – roll the ‘dice’ for a random effect on your vocal or instrument. Magic Dice generates random FX textures each time you click. It is very simple to use and there are some contemporary and fun sounds generated. The randomness is a creative way of experimenting and enhancing a dry sound or transforming audio into something completely unexpected. There are other free plugins available from Baby Audio, all based on their pro products, including a one button chorus plugin and a delay and echo generator. This is available for Mac and PC.
Image: ©Adobe Stock/ Prince of Love
