iZotope is announcing the re-release of Vinyl, their free vinyl simulation plug-in. By emulating the characteristics of vintage records and record players, Vinyl is the ultimate lo-fi weapon for anyone looking to add the dirty, dusty feel of a different era to their sound. And to celebrate their 15th anniversary theCambridge, Massachusetts, company is making it available again for free!
They say Vinyl is back for the best and the worst. And if it’s true that we now have a new generation of turntables to make vinyl sound great, the reality is, what people associate with vinyl is exactly how bad it sounded in those plastic cheap turntables anyone could afford - with the needle cutting trough the dust and badly-scratched records, generating that familiar crackling sound and the occasional track slipping and skipping.
That’s the reason why “vinyl sounding” plugins became a fan favorite for lo-fi sound among music producers, often used at the start of many pop-songs, just to create some contrast with the clean digital sound we enjoy today. iZotope was one of many software companies offering those type of “lo-fi” processing tools and now they have decided to re-release it with a new Spin Down feature and AAX/VST3 support in their latest generation Vinyl plug-in.
The new version of Vinyl has also been updated to support modern operating systems and audio editing software: the plug-in is now 64-bit compatible on both Mac and PC and supported formats now include AAX and VST3. Vinyl also features a new Spin Down button that simulates slowly stopping playback of a record, with results that can range from a dramatic “record stop” to a subtler nuance on an individual instrument. All of Vinyl's classic features allow a user to simulate the dust, scratches, crackles, pops, and warping of a worn record as well as the mechanical noises of a turntable. In addition, the Warp features are now available for use in all supported plug-in formats.
Re-issued as part of the company's 15th birthday celebration, the re-release harkens back to iZotope’s very beginnings in a dorm room at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Back in 2001, Vinyl was iZotope's very first product-experimental audio processing software made by a small group of like-minded engineers and music lovers who wanted to bring more high-quality creative tools to the audio community. The novelty of a free digital effect that offered such flexibility over nostalgic, analog sounds made the plug-in an instant success. Before long, Vinyl’s touch could be heard on everything from songs to soundtracks to sound effects for film, television, and video games.
Following those successful early efforts, iZotope started to develop award-winning audio production tools for Music Production, with solutions for mixing, mastering, and creative effects, and Audio Post Production, with tools that enhance audio for film, broadcast, video, and new media. Alongside the development of studio software, iZotope incubates bleeding-edge audio technology for future release, and develops rich audio education to help enthusiasts and professionals alike improve their craft.
“When we look back on iZotope's history, we’re so grateful to the early fans of Vinyl who championed our efforts,” says Mark Ethier, iZotope’s CEO and co-founder. “It's their support that paved the way for Ozone, Trash, RX, and everything that we have created since. In this birthday year, we’re excited to bring Vinyl back as a thank you to our old friends, and to help us meet new friends, too.”
Anyone can download Vinyl for free from the iZotope website. Users using previous versions of Vinyl will receive their free update details via email and within their iZotope Account.
www.izotope.com/vinyl
