iZotope’s RX 8 is here and ready to “solve the unsolvable in audio”
Restoration software can now fix up your guitar recordings and sort out wow and flutter
The hi-tech make do and menders at iZotope have announced RX 8, the latest version of their audio repair and enhancement software. Designed for anyone who needs to clean up any kind of audio, this contains a slew of new restoration tools.
There are three versions of the software - Elements ($99 introductory/$129 regular), Standard ($299/$399) and Advanced ($999/$1,199) - and your feature set will depend on which of these you go for.
Here’s iZotope’s list of what’s new and improved across all of them:
- NEW - Spectral Recovery (Advanced Only) - Restores frequencies above 4 kHz, turning bandwidth-limited audio into clear, articulate recordings.
- NEW - Wow & Flutter (Advanced Only) - Corrects pitch variations and fluctuations associated with tape, vinyl and optical transfers. Use Wow to fix longer, sustained pitch drift, and Flutter to correct pitch variances that occur at faster rates.
- NEW - Loudness Control (Advanced and Standard) - Instantly load preset loudness targets and conform production audio to broadcast requirements in seconds, and monitor levels using the built-in numeric and history plot readouts for integrated, short-term, and momentary loudness.
- NEW - Guitar De-noise (Advanced and Standard) - Allows refining to guitar recordings for maximum clarity in seconds. Manage sounds that can unintentionally be emphasized by the effect of compression or limiting, like electrical amp noise and interference, distracting fret or string squeaks, and harsh pick attacks.
- NEW - 32 Audio Tab Limit (All Versions) - RX 8 doubles the previous 16-tab limit, now allowing users to view and edit up to 32 files within RX Audio Editor.
- NEW - Horizontal Scrolling (All Versions) - Horizontal scrolling is now built into the intuitive Spectrogram Display. Use the scroll gesture on a trackpad or mouse to scroll through your audio across the X-axis for lightning fast edits.
- IMPROVED - Music Rebalance (Advanced and Standard) - Users can easily re-animate a mix, make room for scene dialogue in post, remove or isolate vocals for a remix, or even create and export new stems for further processing and mixing.
- IMPROVED - Batch Processor (Advanced and Standard) - Process many files at a time, view pertinent metadata in your audio, then apply a full series of processors with Module Chain.
- IMPROVED - De-Hum (All Versions) - Now features independent frequency reduction bands, and a redesigned, intuitive interface.
“Since we first released our flagship RX product, additional years of research and innovation in machine learning have allowed us to continue to provide the industry with timely solutions to audio repair issues that were previously impossible,” says iZotope Principal Product Manager Mike Rozett.
“Our latest edition of RX continues this tradition with new features such as Spectral Recovery, Guitar De-noise and Wow & Flutter, all designed to help people solve the unsolvable in audio.”
As well as releasing RX 8, iZotope has also announced the RX Post Production Suite 5, which includes RX 8 Advanced, Dialogue Match, Neutron 3 Advanced, Nectar 3 (with Melodyne 5 essential), Insight 2, RX Loudness Control, Relay, Symphony 3D and Stratus 3D by Exponential Audio, and Tonal Balance Control 2, plus a one year all-access pass to Groove 3, a video training tool. This is currently available for $1,499 and will have a regular price of $1,999.
Find out more on the iZotope website.
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I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.