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Vintage vs. Virtual Microphone Shootout

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to own a vintage AKG C12? What about the recently re-issued Neumann U67? Are you curious to explore the modern forefront of microphone technology?

Here at Westlake Pro, the answer to all three questions has been an emphatic YES, so we decided to hold a side-by-side mic shootout with three of our favorite microphones, and we wanted to invite YOU to join in!

We’ve recently had Townsend Labs join us in-store to show us their revolutionary Sphere L22 Modeling Microphone System. We had such a blast testing it back-to-back with some classic mics that we wanted to extend the opportunity to our fellow gear-heads. The mics on offer are a true-vintage AKG C12 in pristine condition along with the 2018 reissue of Neumann’s U67 which we’d like to invite you to compare to the models found in the Townsend Sphere L22.

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2018 – Thanks for Another Great Year!

2019 is here, and before we get caught up in the new year, we’d like to reflect on the numerous highlights throughout 2018. We got to meet countless new people, host numerous successful events, and even open a new location! 2018 was an incredibly busy year for us, and we want to thank everyone that helped make it special! Read on to check out some of the highlights.

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Universal Audio | Classic Consoles, Accelerated

For a limited time, you can get the sound of 4 Classic Consoles from API, Neve, SSL, and Universal Audio FREE when you purchase any new UAD-2 DSP Accelerator!

UAD-2 Satellite DSP Accelerators are your key to bringing the sound and power of the recording industry’s most beloved pieces of history right to your DAW. Loaded with up to 8 SHARC DSP chips, they provide enough power to run multiple instances of UAD-2’s award-winning plug-ins across a complex mix session, without taxing your CPU.

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Special Financing Offers from Westlake Pro!

Up to 12 Months Deferred-Interest Financing on Your Favorite Gear!

If you’re in audio, you know that there are countless tools needed to make great sounding records. From microphones, preamps, interfaces, headphones, monitors, EQs, compressors, controllers, cables, building a studio can certainly put a strain on the budget. Add on the latest in recording and post-production software, and getting the tools you need becomes a daunting task.

That’s why we’ve launched a new special financing program so you can get the gear you need when you need it. With up to 12 months deferred-interest financing, building out your studio is easier than ever!

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Happy Holidays from Westlake Pro!

As the year comes to a close, we at Westlake Pro like to celebrate with a huge Holiday Sale to help our customers get stocked up for the new year. The line started early as people eagerly awaited their chance to score on some of the best deals of the season. Once the clock struck 10, our two huge gear tents were swarmed with people grabbing everything from new microphones, interfaces, FX processors, monitors, synthesizers, noise makers, and more!

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Antelope Audio Holiday Studio Special

Antelope Audio: 15 Years of Audio Integrity

For the past 15 years, Antelope Audio has been at the forefront of high quality digital audio. Antelope was first acclaimed for their ultra-precise Isochrone series of Atomic Clocks, which were quickly adopted in studios worldwide. From there, Antelope dove into the world of audio interfaces, from the ultra-flexible Orion Studio to the supremely powerful Goliath HD.

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Feeling Lucky? Win Over $15k In Giveaways At The Holiday Sales Event 2018!

Holiday Sales Event – Hot Giveaways from Top Brands!

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5 Questions with Composer / Sound Designer Anthony Baldino

Whether you know it or not, if you’ve been to the movies lately, you’ve heard the work of Composer/Sound Designer Anthony Baldino. He’s responsible for composing the action-packed music featured in the trailers for many of today’s biggest blockbusters including Interstellar, Star Wars: Rogue One, Zero Dark Thirty, Avengers: Infinity War, Prometheus, and Ex-Machina. Obviously, a soundtrack must match or enhance the feel and emotion of the film. The music for the trailer has to do all of that in about two minutes while building excitement and weaving between quick cuts, sound FX, and snippets of dialogue common to modern trailers. It’s a unique format and workflow that Baldino has mastered.

Most recently, Baldino got to use his huge collection of vintage, modern, and modular synths and effects while working with composer Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther) and longtime friend and fellow sound designer Chris Lane (Ghostbusters) for the out of this world soundscapes, alien whispers, and rhythmic textures for the record-breaking Venom movie, which debuted last month.

We got to chat with him a bit to discuss his workflow, studio setup, and experience shopping with Westlake Pro.

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Spooky Sounds from Vintage Synths

Since the late 70’s, the synth world has seen an explosion of new technology, from the advent of digital synths like the Yamaha DX7, to the dominance of Digital Recording, and Software Synthesis. Despite this, the past decade has proven that musicians, producers, and sound designers have never lost their love of the classic, warm, and warbly sounds of vintage synthesizers. These early synths embody the sound of futuristic nostalgia, which has easily made them a go-to choice for Sci-Fi and Horror films for decades. From Stranger Things to Blade Runner, Suspiria, Mandy, and the latest addition to the Halloween franchise, the classic synths of the 70’s and 80’s have been the go-to tools used for eerie textures, melancholy memories, and a foreboding sense of dread.

While the sound of these instruments command a dedicated cult following, the hardware itself poses some serious issues for the modern workflow. For starters, let’s look at cost and availability: a Yamaha CS-80 in playable condition will cost you almost $20,000, if you can even find one. If you do, make sure you bring a friend to help lift the ~220lb behemoth, and leave room in your budget for regular repairs and maintenance.

Thankfully, modern software modeling has managed to bring these same sounds to your mix without the need to eat up your budget or studio space! The Arturia V Collection 6 is a comprehensive library of the most beloved keyboards and synthesizers in the history of recorded music. Classic Analog Synthesizers like the Minimoog, ARP2600, Jupiter 8, Prophet 5, CS-80 are modeled to sonic perfection, while the early wave of digital synths like the Fairlight CMI, Synclavier, and DX7 bring their unmistakable charm to the mix. Add on a host of Electric and Acoustic Pianos, Organs, and the Solina String Machine, and you’ve got an arsenal of keyboard-based inspiration that spans generations.

To put the V Collection 6 through its paces, I embraced the Halloween spirit and recreated some of the horror pioneer John Carpenter’s classic soundtracks, utilizing only the Arturia V Collection 6 to recreate the bone-chilling themes of Halloween and The Fog.

Check them out below, then read on to gain insight to which tools were used where:

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Get $500 Towards Any Apollo X!

Upgrade your studio today with a special trade-up program from Universal Audio and Westlake Pro! For a limited time, trade in your current interface to get $500 towards the any member of the new Apollo X Family!

Regardless of what interface you currently use, take this opportunity to upgrade to the latest in the award winning line of Apollo interfaces.

The sleek, Thunderbolt 3 design of the Apollo X fuses elite, class-leading conversion with the new HEXA Core processors which offer 50% more DSP than previous Apollos. This allows recording of even more tracks through UAD’s award-winning plugins with near-zero latency, while the improved connectivity and Surround Sound capabilities will be great fit in any workflow.

What’s more, Universal Audio has introduced a new member to the Apollo family – the Apollo x6, which seamlessly bridges the gap between the desktop Arrow and Twin interfaces and the rack mount Apollo models.

Check out the new Apollo X series below and take advantage of this huge savings opportunity while you can!

Contact your Westlake Pro Sales Consultant TODAY to trade in ANY interface for $500 towards a new Apollo X rack mount interface!

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Demo a FULLY LOADED UAD-2 Satellite in YOUR STUDIO Today!

Experience 50+ Years of Sonic Innovation

True Classics

For the better part of the last 50 years, Universal Audio has pioneered some of the most important advances in recording technology, producing the first modern recording console along with two of the most popular compressors of all time – the LA-2A and 1176. Through that time, these classic devices have become embedded into the very sound of almost every genre imaginable. From the unmistakable spank of an 1176 on a snare drum to the smooth warmth and leveling of an LA-2A on a lead vocal, these two compressors have been used by just about every top artist and producer since their introduction to the market.

Vintage Sounds for a Modern Age

Despite the countless advances in recording technology since the days of tape, producers, artists, engineers, and listeners have still been drawn to the thick, rich tones achieved by the gear legends of yesteryear. When James and Bill Putnam Jr. (the sons of Bill Putnam Sr. – Universal Audio’s original founder) re-established Universal Audio in 1999, they set out to not only faithfully reproduce the classic recording tools their father had created while developing new gear that would bring the rich sounds of vintage analog equipment to the digital age.

UAD-2: Analog Tone Meets Digital Workflow

Fast-Forward to 2018 and Universal Audio have managed to refresh the market with exacting replicas of the LA-2A, 1176 and 610 preamp (along with a wide range of modern hybrids) while bringing the same care to bring those beloved sounds to the world of digital recording with UAD–2, their unique plug-in platform. With 95 plug-ins and counting, the award-winning UAD-2 series has become the standard plug-ins of choice for the top producers and engineers around the globe. Featuring exclusive, licensed and endorsed software versions of the most coveted gear in history, Universal Audio has managed to bring the sound, feel and workflow of a world-class studio to your favorite DAW.

Satellite of Love

Universal Audio’s Satellite DSP Accelerators are your key to bringing all the sound and power of the recording industry’s most beloved pieces of recording history right to your DAW. Each UAD-2 Satellite is loaded with up to 8 SHARC DSP chips, providing enough power to run multiple instances of UAD-2’s award-winning plug-ins across a complex mix session without taxing your CPU. Today, it’s not uncommon to open sessions with 100+ tracks, each with multiple takes, intricate automation passes, and virtual instruments, all of which will put a strain on a well-spec’d computer while crashing older or less-endowed systems. The UAD-2 platform removes these session-killing limitations while providing the rich, three-dimensional tones heard on countless Grammy-winning records. Mix one session with a Universal Audio Satellite and your ears will love you, your clients will praise you and your computer will thank you!

Flawless Integration Into Any Studio

While Universal Audio’s class-leading Apollo series of audio interfaces offer all the perks of the UAD-2 platform along with elite-class A/D/A conversion and record-breaking specs for THD and dynamic range, many studios are already wired up to other interfaces. This is where the UAD-2 Satellite comes in. Offered in every popular format including Thunderbolt, USB, Firewire and even as PCIe Cards (which offers the same performance as Thunderbolt Satellites for studios still running older Mac “cheese graters”), Universal Audio’s Satellite series brings all the power of the UAD-2 platform to your existing studio setup. Once you finish a mix with UAD’s collection of plug-ins, you’ll find that it’s hard to go back to anything else. Knowing this, Universal Audio have future-proofed the Satellite system, allowing you to daisy-chain additional Satellite’s or Apollo interfaces should you find yourself in need of even more power, preamps or world-class audio conversion.

Continue reading Demo a FULLY LOADED UAD-2 Satellite in YOUR STUDIO Today!

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Thank You Nashville!

Nashville certainly knows how to welcome new neighbors, and we had a blast getting to know Berry Hill’s Pro Audio community! From up and coming musicians to GRAMMY winning producers, we had a packed house and tons of fun at our Grand Opening celebration. It was great to see the Nashville community get hands-on with the latest gear in our state-of-the-art demo studio, and we were thrilled to have many of our top vendors there to show off the newest features of their flagship products.

With over $50,000+ in gear giveaways including two full Studio Makeover prizes, the excitement was palpable and the winners ecstatic. Thankfully, with plenty of swag from each brand and 40+ chances to win gear, there was enough for everyone to take home a souvenir!

CONGRATS to all of our GIVEAWAY WINNERS! Check out the new-gear smiles below:

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