ProAudio Review - July 2008 - (Page 10)

STUDIO | REVIEW by Steve Murphy | NATURAL SCALE ENHANCEMENT Nuendo 4 includes a wealth of enhancements that span the gamut from expanded editing tools to a spanking-new, first-class automation system. Composers will be pleased with a new global Transpose track that significantly speeds up the process of roughing-in, rescaling or repurposing cues. Transpose affects all events and parts; Steinberg Nuendo 4 Digital Audio Workstation It’s post-time for Steinberg’s workstation workhorse In the eight years since its introduction, Steinberg Nuendo has matured into a fullfeatured, high-end studio and post-production workstation system – one that is increasingly recognized by post and studio engineers as an attractive alternative to the reigning Digidesign Pro Tools. A major push towards the post-production market started in earnest with Nuendo 3, so it is no surprise that it is in this area of Nuendo 4 ($1,799) that the most competitive and impressive strides are made. Ladies and gentlemen, start your audio engines | HUSTLE AND FLOW Nuendo 4’s default layout and workflow are quite intuitive, allowing new users to get up and running with a minimal learning curve. The program generally follows the traditional DAW layout with a timeline-based Project editor and associated channel-strip mixer. These are augmented by a number of fixed, floating and pop-up tool sets and dialogs. Digging a little deeper rewards users with a tremendous amount of custom control over Nuendo’s look and operations, thanks to its expansive Preference, Key Command/Macro and external Sync/Control dialogs. Nuendo uses a 32-bit floating-point audio engine, has delay compensation throughout (including external hardware), supports up to 192 kHz/32-bit recording (plus import, editing, and mixing up to 384 kHz.). The cross-platform DAW supports all 32-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista, and Mac Universal Binary. A 64-bit “preview” version is available for Vista 64, and a Mac Leopard counterpart is in the works. For a complete rundown of general features and specifications, please refer to Steinberg’s website (www.steinberg.net); also check out. PAR’s previous Nuendo reviews, which are available at www.proaudioreview.com. APPLICATIONS: Studio, post-production, location, live FEATURES: New in N4: comprehensive automation; extensive media management; 38 new VST3 plug-ins; expanded routing options; track presets; quick controls; unified instrument tracks; dedicated post editing tools; 32-bit Vista PC and Universal Binary Mac compatibility; expanded Euphonix EuCon integration. PRICE: $1,799 CONTACT: Steinberg | · www.steinberg.net though it is easy to exclude elements, and changes can be limited, bypassed or compared. An Arranger track also helps to quickly build up longer composition frameworks – sections of the timeline can be quickly defined and then reordered, repeated, chained, queued and/or triggered in various ways. Arrangements can later be “flattened” to the timeline for traditional editing, overdubs, transpositions, etc. All users will enjoy the 38 new and generally multichannel-aware VST3 plug-ins. While the previous fare provided utilitarian coverage, I have found the VST3 plugs to be on par with – and occasionally superior to – the best third-party plug-ins. My fav new processing perk is the terrifically improved 4-band parametric channel equalizer that replaces the previous rudimentary model. The EQ – built into every mixer channel – now includes a variety of high- and lowpass, shelf and parametric filter choices, filter-inverse switch, and an excellent GUI. Post and design editors will appreciate the 20 dedicated editing commands and tool modifiers that N4 brings to the desk, NUENDO continues on page 12 ® 10 | ProAudio Review | July 2008 www.proaudioreview.com http://www.steinberg.net http://www.steinberg.net http://www.proaudioreview.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - July 2008

ProAudio Review - July 2008 Contents Publisher's Page: Inside Broadcast Production Studio News and New Products Steinberg Nuendo 4 Digital Audio Workstation Developments & Trends: Digital Audio Workstation I/O JZ Microphones Black Hole BH-1 Apple Logic Studio Behind The Scenes: JBL Professional – A 60-Year Legacy Broadcast News and New Products WLOY: Real World Facilities For An On-Campus Radio Station Post News and New Products Hot Gear InfoComm 08 Chandler Limited TG1 Abbey Road/EMI Series Limiter/Compressor Live News and New Products Cerwin-Vega! Professional Active Series CVA-28 and CVA-118 Speakers QSC Audio Model GX5 Power Amplifier From The Road: A Week In The Life — Gear Essentials Contracting News and New Products Taming The Driving Factor — Drums UpSampler: sE Instrument Reflection Filter Buyer’s Guide: Live Sound Amplifiers Single Slice: Roger Powell “Fallout Shelter”

ProAudio Review - July 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.