The Beastie Boys could probably lay claim to a few very prestigious titles. They are one of the longest surviving acts in Hip Hop, one of the best selling, one of the most respected, and one of the most experimental. During the last 3 decades they have gone from Hardcore Punk to Rap and just about everywhere else in the genre catalog, spawning hit after hit in the process.
Meet the next-generation Pro Tools Mbox family, the highest quality, most flexible personal recording systems ever. Designed by the same engineering team behind our top-of-the-line Pro Tools|HD systems, the Mbox interface features advanced recording technology for exceptional quality. A premium analog signal path and high-performance converters deliver pristine 24-bit, 96kHz sound. Stringent testing standards ensure rock-solid performance in the most demanding environments. And of course, Mbox is designed for ultra-tight integration with the included Pro Tools LE® software, which is based on the same platform trusted by professional musicians, engineers, and producers around the world.
Recently I came across this video on Youtube. It is from Jason Donnelly (a.k.a. DJ Puzzle) who worked at Sonic Foundry in the early days. Sonic Foundry are the developers of the Acid Pro DAW software. Eventually, around 2000, the company was sold to Sony. Jason tells us his story how he worked there in the early days, untill he had to leave because of the market crash winter of 2000. This story appeals to me because Acid Pro (2.0) was the first real DAW software that I used, after playing around with some simple looptrackers and stuff. Allthough over the years I have switched to Steinberg’s Cubase I still have it installed on my computer. I seem unable to get rid of it. And I even use it from time to time as I still think when you work with samples and loops this software is one of the best.
bx_shredspread is a stereo processor to be used on any stereo guitar subgroup or stereo guitar channels. bx_shredspread’ s main purpose is to make sure your stereo (“doubled”) guitar signals sound “wide and phatt” – as easy and fast as possible. bx_shredspread is a tool to control panning, stereo width and the “tone” of your stereo guitar tracks / groups. It automatically avoids typical phase problems that can occur when using M/S technology via some sophisticated algorithms for stereo width, EQ and pan. Although mainly created for guitars bx_shredspread may also be used on keyboard groups, organs, choirs, etc.
The Ohm Studio is evolving faster every day. In the past there were the brainstorms, then the different features specifications, then coding hundreds of independent modules, and now the guys at Ohm Force are finally putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. They’re in the process of implementing them one by one on the ever-evolving Ohm Studio’s graphic user interface. Not that they want to put you to sleep with this kind of techie blah blah, it is just their way of telling you thatthey are very excited about the iminent arrival of the Ohm Studio’s Beta Version, later this year!
The UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins platform offers the world’s most authentic analog hardware emulations and award-winning audio plug-ins for Mac and PC. Powered by the UAD-2 SOLO, DUO and QUAD DSP Accelerator Cards – and the Express Card-based UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop – UAD Powered Plug-Ins deliver rich, analog sound quality that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with native Mac or PC-based systems.
Allthough Livid Instruments still hasn’t announced the new Code controller,we all know it is coming. Livid themselves are already giving away sneak peeks for a while now. So below is a quick demo they did with a prototype showing how it can be used as an encoder grid, and button grid controller (each encoder is also a button). Code is a really, really, really fun controller to play. This a a prototype model so there are some imperfections, but you get the idea. Livid is really excited to see the release and usage of Code, and it will happen some time this month. Dealers will be receiving them starting next week, ask your local dealer for availability.
CodaNova is known for their midicontrollers VMX Studio 1 and 2 and the VMX VJ. On their website they have now announced the VMX Active8 controller. A Multi Touch, Tactile, but above all, a Beer Proof controller. They have posted a teaser video which explains some questions but then again, a video that raises a lot of questions as well. Well just take a look!
In this brief chat he lets rip about all things 2000, including the brand new DJM-2000 and the CDJ-2000s. Hear how he now organises his music and utilises the incredible functionality and connectivity of the DJM-2000. He explains how he can connect up to four CDJs into the DJM-2000 so that no additional hub is needed and also plug his laptop straight in via USB to use Ableton, not forgetting the touch screen to control midi functions. How the DJ landscape is changing as he explains how his whole DJ set just fits on his key chain. He only carries two 2GB SD cards! James was originally involved this time last year with the seminal Dawn of a New Species campaign that launched the CDJ-2000s, which you can watch here on DJsounds.
Jointly designed by Ableton and Novation, Launchpad places Ableton Live at your fingertips. Whether you’re a DJ, performing musician or studio producer, Launchpad gives you all you need to truly ‘play’ Live. Launchpad is ultra-portable. It is USB bus powered (no need for power sockets), and weights in at just 717gms (one third the weight of a macbook!). With a multi-colour 64-button grid and dedicated scene launch buttons, Launchpad is purpose built for triggering and manipulating clips in Live, it also offers a totally new way of controlling Ableton Live’s mixer.
The world of DAWs doesn’t need another channel strip. What it needs is a better way of working with the essential tools you need for all of your tracks and busses. Alloy provides the key dynamics and sound shaping effects you’ll use again and again, in a self-contained and completely configurable interface.
After the recent update of Reason 5.5. and Record 1.5. the guys and girls from Propellerheads didn’t take it easy. No! They decided to start a new project. They decided to build the World’s biggest drum machine. The video below is partly a ‘behind the scenes’ video and demonstration video. Details on release date are still to be announced!
VJ Fader is a visual designer who expresses music through interactive video performance art. As a leading force in the advancing VJ movement, he continues to design original content, develop custom software using Processing and Max/Msp/Jitter, and build touch screen interface (faderTouch) to sculpt immersive audio visual environments.In this video VJ Fader demonstrates a dynamic DJ setup using Traktor Pro, faderTouch (portable touchscreen) and TriggerFinger (MIDI Controller). In the mix, John Tejada, Deadmau5 and Plastikman.
The Denon DN-SC2000 is an affordable, professionally spec’d and constructed MIDI controller for Native Instruments TRAKTOR Pro, providing a serious portable control solution for laptop DJs. A dual layer system, the DN-SC2000 provides simultaneous switchable control of both TRAKTOR decks, with visual deck colour change. Connecting to Mac or Windows PC via a single USB2.0 interface (from which the unit is also powered), advanced features include MIDI mapable capability, auto loop function, a wide range of EFX, rugged pitch slider, pitch lock, automatic beat sync, durable rubber button controls and more. The Denon DN-SC2000 is an affordable DJ midi controller designed for Traktor Pro users. Dual system switching allows full control of both Traktor decks and effects with a solid steel casing. It’s fully midi mappable so other DVS users can create templates.