New software from iZotope, a new sound bank from Native Instruments, a sophisticated looper pedal from Electro-Harmonix, a look at DJ Spoko’s South African studio, studio tips from sonic adventurer DJ Sprinkles, and more to catch up on in the latest edition of This Week in Music Tech.

A visit to DJ Spoko’s home studio:

Earlier this week, we posted our interview with Bacardi-house pioneer DJ Spoko after paying a visit to Atteridgeville, the South African township where the veteran producer has long been putting together his brand of sharp, percussive tracks in a small studio behind his house. The full interview and picture set—which is unquestionably one of the series’ best so far—can be found here.

iZotope introduces a new vocal processor, Native Instruments’ leftfield Maschine pack, and a new generation of looping pedal from Electro Harmonix:

Plug-in developer iZotope has released a new vocal processing plug-in, Nectar Elements, which aims to give users ready-made signal paths based on their desired style of vocal sound. While the company’s intention—and the overview video above—is clearly aimed towards more traditional vocal work, we think the XLR8R faithful would no doubt be able to find a few ways to use the software for more creative means. A free trial of Nectar can be found here.

Earlier this week, Native Instruments introduced the Helios Expansion Pack for Maschine, which offers an array of what the company has deemed “leftfield” sounds and rhythms. More info and previews of the sounds offered in the pack can be found here.

Pedal builders Electro-Harmonix released a new powerful looping pedal earlier in the week, the 45000 Multi-Track Looping Recorder. The new unit not only allows for sophisticated live looping, but also allows users to pre-load files, MIDI sync, and all other sorts of useful functions that have been missing from looper pedals for too long. A video of comedian/performer Reggie Watts explaining how the 45000 works and showing off some of its features is above and full details can be found here.

A new development in musical APP connectivity:

Digital audio company Crudebyte has developed Jack, a new iOS app aimed at connecting all audio and MIDI ins and outs between users various musical applications with a simple, open-ended tool. Although details are still emerging, Jack seems likely to provide some relief from the headache of connecting apps at the moment, and it’s free. The full details can be read here. Those interested in gaining further insight should also check out Create Digital Music’s piece on the app, here.

Studio tips from DJ Sprinkles:

Over on RBMA, house experimentalist Terre Thaemlitz (a.k.a. DJ Sprinkles) offered up a quick list of studio tips, including using record clamps while sampling from vinyl and utilizing keyboard expression pedals for more dynamic performances. Read the producer’s full list of tips here.