Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 3, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
At Musikmesse 2009, MAGIX presented version 11 of its Samplitude DAW and Sequoia broadcast-production system and previewed Vandal, a virtual guitar and bass amplifier based on a new concept.
Vandal was designed specifically for guitarists and bassists in its operation, sound quality, and performance. The ten-megabyte plug-in was included with Samplitude 11 and Sequoia 11. Both applications also added an essentialFX suite for standard studio tasks, an improved production workflow, an upward compressor, and a new EQ.
The €499 standard version of Samplitude 11 imposed no limits on plug-in count or VSTi slots and included integrated DSP, mastering, and authoring tools. More details about Sequoia 11 were planned for AES. Customers who purchased full versions of Samplitude 10 or Sequoia after February 1, 2009, qualified for a free upgrade. Both version 11 products were expected in early summer 2009.
Vandal: Rebuilding the Tube Amplifier Virtually
MAGIX Senior PR Manager Ulrich Hepp described Vandal as a project created by guitarists and bassists within the Samplitude and Sequoia team. Its signal flow followed a physical setup: stomp boxes fed a switchable amplifier, speaker cabinets, selectable microphone sets, and an optional effects rack.
Rather than using only static impulse responses, Vandal modeled each tube, amplifier stage, and even the loudspeaker coil. Four-times oversampling was used for distortion effects, and the system responded to the different tonal characteristics of guitar models. Hepp said critical test listeners found its response close enough to a real tube amplifier to make it suitable for headphone practice at home. Further information was available at http://vandalamps.wordpress.com/about/
Samplitude 11: One Louder, One Better
Samplitude 11 retained the hybrid audio engine, analytical DSP effects, and object-oriented editing while improving MIDI workflow, audio quantization, groove extraction, manager design, and docking.
The newly developed essentialFX suite provided consistent, resource-efficient tools for common studio work. Other additions included artifact-free time stretching, an upward compressor, and an EQ with a choice of minimum-phase or linear-phase algorithms. MAGIX promoted the release with the slogan “one louder, one better.”