PSP Audioware recently updated their venerable and affordable compressor plug-in – oldTimer. It is now called oldTimerME – or mastering edition…I believe.

What once as one plug-in is now two. The cool thing is PSP made the update free to all registered users, which I’m one. They also dropped the price a little to $79 as an introductory offer until May 31, 2011.

I really applaud companies like PSP Audioware that offer free updates like this, because they really don’t have to – many other plug-in makers don’t.

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Apogee Electronics just announced Duet 2 – the successor to their very popular Duet audio interface.

The original Duet has almost become a staple with Macbook owners that want mobility with their recording rig.

Not only is it popular with those that want to record on the run, but it’s also popular with the budget minded home recording crowd.

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It’s hard being a do-it-yourself recording artist. Actually, it’s really hard, especially if you’re on a tight budget.

There are a lot of different things you have to be good at, and it takes a lot time, practice and talent.

If you’re a songwriter/artist, like I am, who just wants to write music and record it, you might start realizing how hard it is to make your home recordings sound good.

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In basic terms, an audio interface makes it possible for you to get sound into and out of your computer.

That’s it – that’s the sole purpose of an audio interface. It is your bridge between the analog and digital world.

An audio interface allows you to hook up microphones and other direct level devices such as guitars, keyboards and what not to your computer.

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A couple posts back I wrote that Waves Audio announced V8 ( aka Version 8 ) of their audio plug-in software. Well, it appears that Waves V8′s are ready to go.

I didn’t think they would release them so soon. I was thinking it might not be until February, but this is a nice surprise.

I’m happy to learn that Waves V-Series plug-ins have been added to the Gold bundle, and quite a few other bundles as well.

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Waves Audio recently announced Waves V8 (Version of their audio Plug-ins. I don’t normally mention every little new thing, but I really dig Waves plugs.

Not only are the version 8 plug-ins coming, but Waves also announced reduced prices, 40% reduction, on all their plug-in bundles and upgrades not that long ago.

That got me fairly excited. I like Waves products, but they were always too expensive for me. With the price reduction, I’m looking at adding a few more of their plugs to my DAW.

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Focusrite recently announced the VRM Box at winter NAMM 2011. VRM stands for Virtual Reference Monitoring and this little box allows you to mix on headphones no matter where you are.

It’s been a time long honored tradition that you DO NOT MIX ON HEADPHONES! Well, I suppose rules are meant to broken, aren’t they?

Alright, engineers still mix on headphones, but usually just to check things out after mixing on reference monitors in a proper acoustically treated room.

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For most home recording studio’s a computer is going to be the heart of it. There’s no better way to get a small home studio started than with a personal computer.

Oh sure, there are other options, but the computer has made it insanely easy and affordable to make music just about anywhere you want to.

If you haven’t done so, check out my post about Why I Recommend a Computer DAW.

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Cakewalk has a new version of their popular DAW software coming out soon. Sonar X1 looks like it will ship December 8th at varying price points.

There are three different versions – Sonar X1 Essentials ($99), Sonar X1 Studio ($199), and Sonar X1 Producer ($399). You can check them out here.

They also have an upgrade path for existing Sonar users.

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Before you can start recording, you need something to record with. No brainer, right? Yeah, it is a no brainer, but there are a few different options with a lot of different recording products vying for your attention.

I would think that it all could be confusing for someone just getting started with home recording. Actually, I know it is.

I’ve been doing this stuff for awhile and may have forgotten what it’s like to be starting out, but I get reminded when I have friends ask for help setting up a home studio.

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