Urs had a busy month! – They’ve updated literally everything during the past weeks. After launching the new website and customer support system, they’ve had a very intense round of beta-testing, packaging and publishing. Their major plugins are rock solid on the latest operating systems and DAW upgrades, including MacOS X 10.7 “Lion“, and of course Windows 7 64-bit.
Native Instruments recently launched a time-limited special offer for its acclaimed TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 DJ controller. Throughout the months of August and September, all owners of a newly registered KONTROL X1 will receive a free upgrade from the included TRAKTOR LE software to the full-featured TRAKTOR PRO 2 version, gaining access to four decks, sample decks and loop recorder, comprehensive loop and cue functions, a selection of over 30 effects and a host of additional performance features.
From September 1st, a new free update for MASCHINE will be available. The 1.7 version builds on plug-in support offered by 1.6, allowing the finding and loading of individual presets from within the MASCHINE hardware browser-without ever having to touch your keyboard or mouse. This cements the tight integration between MASCHINE and KOMPLETE 8, utilizing Native Instrument’s new NIS sound format.
The ‘Rome Calling’ pro-audio seminar in early June was a great success! The Eternal City created a perfect frame for the event, and the keynote speakers willingly shared all of their expertise on recording, mixing, mastering and broadcasting with the participants.
For their 2011 Summer tour season, dubstep supergroup Magnetic Man turned to Focusrite and Novation to supply software controllers and audio interfaces for their three laptop systems. They chose Novation’s flagship Zero SL MkII USB/MIDI controllers and Focusrite’s recently announced Saffire Pro 14 audio interfaces.
Native Instruments announced two new products that expand its recently established range of GUITAR RIG-based studio effects. The new SOLID MIX SERIES emulates the distinctive EQ and dynamics sections of one of the most revered mixing consoles of all time, while TRANSIENT MASTER recreates a popular hardware processor that provides highly efficient transient processing. All products can used be used with the free GUITAR RIG PLAYER software, or expand the arsenal of the upcoming new GUITAR RIG 5.
Native Instruments announced STUDIO DRUMMER, a new instrument for the efficient creation of studio-quality acoustic drum tracks. By combining premium sampled drum kits and a comprehensive studio-grade mixing environment with a wide assortment of professional grooves, the KONTAKT-based instrument provides a highly versatile and easy-to-use “virtual drummer” that gives authentic and fast results for pop, rock, metal, jazz and related music styles.
Steinberg announced last week that most Steinberg products run flawlessly under Apple’s latest operating system, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. The majority of Steinberg products are Lion compatible; however, further development is required to ensure overall compatibility through the entire product range. While the testing phase was completed prior to the release of Lion, Steinberg will release patches and driver updates for current products with remaining issues.
Native Instruments today announced GUITAR RIG 5 PRO, the next generation of its versatile effects studio. The new version expands the comprehensive feature set of the software with additional amplifiers and effects, advanced speaker emulation, and various new creative features that make GUITAR RIG even more powerful both for studio production and live performance.
Native Instruments today also announced KONTAKT 5, the next generation of its leading software sampler. The new version offers profoundly enhanced sound shaping through a host of new high-quality filters and studio-grade effect algorithms, superior time-stretching, vintage sampling modes, and more. Further accommodating its role as the central sample library platform on the market, KONTAKT 5 also introduces two major new features for advanced instrument design.
Cakewalk, the world’s leading developer of powerful and easy to use products for music creation and recording, today announces Music Creator 6, the newest version of its #1 selling music-making software that makes creating and sharing music fast, easy, and fun.
Native Instruments today announced new versions of its studio-standard software bundle. While KOMPLETE 8 has been further expanded to include 27 individual products at an unchanged price, the new KOMPLETE 8 ULTIMATE for the first time combines the full arsenal of Native Instruments’ KOMPLETE Instruments and Effects range at the same substantial discount, with 50 individual products conveniently provided on a dedicated external hard drive.
Steinberg today released its maintenance update version 5.5 for Nuendo, with many workflow features highlighted in Steinberg’s Cubase 6 advanced music production system. An optional 5.5 update to the Nuendo Expansion Pack (NEK) including VST Expression 2 and several VST instruments has also been released. For registered users of Nuendo 5 and NEK 5, these updates are available free of charge from the Steinberg website.
Pioneer is taking its DDJ-S1 ITCH controller to the next level, upgrading the bundled software to Serato ITCH 2.0. By combining the latest version of Serato ITCH software with Pioneer operability and controllerism, the DDJ-S1 unleashes the potential in every DJ.
Serato are proud to announce the release of ITCH 2.0, a flagship version for the popular DJ software. Packed full of new creative features, 2.0 signals a new era for controller based software.