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June 2016

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REVIEW www.postmagazine.com 45 POST JUNE 2016 umit Audio is a Massachusetts- based company that has boldly decided to enter the already-crowded digital audio workstation market with a brand new offering that differentiates itself from the others in a variety of ways. Many of the established systems have legacy code bases that date back 25 years or more, battling each other for users' attention and market share by constantly adding new features to "keep up with the Joneses," whether users want them or not. This often adds to the learn- ing curve, many times leaving in ages-old bugs that users beg to be fixed to no avail. It can be argued that to become a functional, client-supervised operator of any of these systems will require a mini- mum of a year's learning and experience, while to master any of these systems could take many more years. BREAKING BARRIERS Lumit seeks to break the barrier to entry into the world of audio recording and editing by offering a platform that is built from the ground up to take advantage of today's multi-touch screens for Windows desktops, laptops and tablets (Mac and mobile OS versions are in development). It is the first DAW to make this claim, and this makes it as fast as any mobile app to navigate. Which leads to the main point in Lumit's design: It's all about the workflow. The user interface is streamlined and not cluttered with function icons for everything you could ever possibly want to do. The tools you need are there when you want them and gone when you don't. There aren't endless pop up windows, rather just a few main re-sizable areas to the screen that change content based on the tasks needing to be performed. Having the touch ability that enables "drawing" automation curves for parame- ters in realtime is much slicker than using a mouse. And mixing like this feels natural as well. If you still require a hardware interface, all functions are MIDI mappable to the controller of your choice. And if you don't have a touch screen and are using a mouse, you will still find the layout and workflow to be incredibly fast — dare I say the fastest I've experienced to get from a blank slate to a finished piece. Feature-wise, Lumit provides everything you need to compose, record, mix and master audio and MIDI tracks. The included effects cover the basic needs of dynamics, EQ, reverb, delay, etc. Of note is the added option to use LFOs in the delay module, which adds interesting sweeps when combined with the BPM sync feature. This type of audio mangling is something that is usually found in third-party plug-ins, but not in a DAW's built-in effect suite. The ef- fects are very musical and have a high-end analog feel to them. Third-party effects are supported through the VST interface. If you're hoping to make complete songs out of the box, currently Lumit does not include any virtual instruments or drum machines, but I've been told these are both in development to be included in future versions. So plan on spending a bit more for soft synths, etc. Lumit does come with a large library of loops for use in your com- positions, which lend themselves towards the EDM style of music. If you're doing locked-to-picture audio post production, Lumit does not currently have any video sync/playback capabil- ities. This is not an oversight, rather by design, according to the Lumit team. The company is not trying to be all things to all industries. It is focused on enabling the creation of music in an easy, fast and fun way. This still serves the film, television and game markets for those composing music for them, but you won't be mixing blockbuster soundtracks with multiple stems, dialogue and sound effects in Lumit at this time. To prove the easy, fast and fun part, singer Jon Anderson, from the rock band Yes, and I used beta versions of software and wrote a song with Lumit. The com- pany says it will take a day to learn the software. We not only learned it, but wrote and recorded our parts in a day each, which turned out great and was performed at Winter NAMM 2016. Lumit really lived up to the hype. IN CONCLUSION For new software, it's very robust and stable. Of course there are features to be desired, but out of the gate it's a strong offering with a modern interface and multi-touch workflow that will suit the needs of many composers and engineers, at all skill levels. Note: Post readers can save 50 percent on Lumit through July 20th by using the promo code: 50%off LUMIT AUDIO'S LUMIT BREAKING THE BARRIER INTO AUDIO RECORDING & EDITING VITAL STATS MANUFACTURER: Lumit Audio PRODUCT: Lumit PRICE: $149.99 WEBSITE: www.lumit-audio.com • Streamlined user interface • Includes everything to compose, record, mix and master audio and MIDI tracks • Robust and stable L BY SEAN MCKEE VISIONARY ARTS & SCIENTIFIC TECHNOLOGIES LOS ANGELES WWW.VAST3DSTUDIOS.COM

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