Latest News & Articles
Steinberg announces virtual bassist
Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH is excited to announce a new addition to its highly successful “virtual player” range of virtual musicians: Virtual Bassist.
Steinberg to offer Renovator support in WaveLab 5
Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH today announced an upcoming update to its WaveLab audio editing and mastering application that will offer instant integration of the Algorithmix® reNOVAtor™ mastering, sound repair and audio forensic plug-in.
Universal Audio announces new TDM Quad Pak
Universal Audio, a manufacturer of high-quality vintage audio hardware and DSP software plug-ins for digital audio workstations, today announced the TDM Quad Pak, a collection of Universal Audio’s premium compressor and equalizer plug-ins for Digidesign(r) TDM Pro Tools(tm) systems. The TDM QuadPak includes: the 1176LN/SE, LA-2A, Pultec EQP-1A and Cambridge EQ. The QuadPak is available for both Win XP and Mac OSX platforms and a fully-functional 14-day demo is available at www.uaudio.com.
” The sonics of our TDM plug-ins really speak for themselves. Now we are focusing on streamlining the whole demo/installation process and making them more easily available” said Mike Barnes, UA’s Director of Marketing. “The UA TDM auditioning and buying experience will not only be much simpler but we are also changing our pricing structure which in both cases will make for even happier customers. The TDM QuadPak bundle of 4 plugs will now be our only TDM store retail package available through our worldwide dealer channel for $995 MSRP. The individual plugs will be available via my.uaudio.com at the attractive price point of $249 each.”
Arturia announces BRASS
Arturia and Ircam (Institute for Music/Acoustic Research and Coordination) announce the release of BRASS. This software recreation of three wind instruments – a trumpet, a saxophone and a trumbone is based on physical models. All the characteristics of the real instruments have been analysed and modelled through mathematical algorithms.
Terratec presents the Phase X 24 FW
TerraTec Producer is poised to unveil at the Frankfurt Musikmesse PHASE X24 FW, the professional version of PHASE 24 FW. Featuring a range of connection options and sophisticated FireWire™ technology housed in a stand-alone aluminum chassis, this device is built to convince. Sporting two analog inputs (line, hi-Z or mic in with 48V phantom power), four outputs, digital I/O, MIDI I/O, insert jacks and gain knobs, PHASE X24 FW is the all-round studio interface for discerning users.
TAPCO previews Link.USB and Link.MIDI I/O boxes
TAPCO is previewing, the addition of two affordable I/O Boxes to their ever-growing family of professional audio products in Europe. The Link.MIDI and Link.USB combine exceptional performance with a distinctive and attractive industrial design to offer musicians a swanky alternative for home-based music production.
“These two products were previewed at the NAMM show in January and we were absolutely thrilled at how well they were received,” commented TAPCO Product Manager Ray Tantzen. “In addition to sounding great and offering a great combination of features and value, The Link.USB and Link.MIDI have a truly distinctive design that allows them to stand out from other similarly-equipped tabletop boxes available today.”
Mackie annouces there first DJ mixer: the d.2
Mackie is using this year’s Musikmesse/Pro Light and Sound Convention in Frankfurt to offer an exclusive preview of its very first DJ Mixer, the Mackie d.2.
TAPCO presents new Mixers
TAPCO introduced today a new family of low cost, entry-level mixers designed for the audio novice or music hobbyist. The new TAPCO Mix Series includes the Mix.50, Mix.60, Mix.100, Mix.120 compact mixers, and two compact effects mixers, the Mix.220fx and Mix.260fx. All models feature a unique rugged metal chassis that allows for portability and a long lifespan and an intuitive layout that provides easy access to all controls.
About the Mix.50, Mix.60, Mix.100, Mix.120
The Mix.50 is a five-channel mixer, featuring one mic/line input and two stereo line inputs, a two-band EQ, tape inputs and outputs, and a four-segment LED meter. The Mix.60 is a six-channel mixer that includes two mic/line inputs and two stereo line inputs, a three band EQ on every channel, 48v Phantom power and a four-segment LED meter. The Mix.100 is a 10-channel mixer that features two mic/line inputs, four stereo line inputs, one aux send, three band EQ on every channel and 48v Phantom power. Finally, the Mix.120 is a 12-channel mixer that features four mic/line inputs with four stereo line inputs, control room outputs, one aux send, a three band EQ on every channel and 48v Phantom power.
The Mix.50 has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of 59 Euros, the Mix.60 is priced at 79 Euros, the Mix.100 is 89 Euros, and the Mix.120 is priced at 119 Euros.
About the Mix.220fx and Mix.260fx
The Mix.220fx is an eight-channel mixer that is equipped with four mic/line inputs and two stereo line inputs, a three band EQ on every channel, 60mm faders, and a built-in effects package featuring 256 presets, a bypass and bypass footswitch, and a built-in power supply.
The larger Mix.260fx is a 12-channel mixer that features four mic/line inputs with inserts, four stereo line inputs, a three band EQ on every channel, 60 mm faders, a built-in 20-bit effects package featuring 256 presets.
The Mix.220fx has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of 259 Euros and the Mix.260fx is priced at 299 Euros. All Mix Series units will be available late Q2, 2005.
Allen & Heath announced new DJ mixer and controller the Xone 3D
The Allen & Heath Xone 3D is a DJ mixer and a full options controller for your software.
But not only for DJ software. This mixers has all the MIDI functions inside of a normal softsynth controller. Its in development stage right now, n the Messe they showed a demo model.
The Xone 3D will cost you around 1500 euros. More info soon on our site.
M-Audio iControl: control for Garageband
M-Audio gear transforms GarageBand into a complete, easy-to-use studio. Throw down professional loops. Play great sounding instruments from a real keyboard. Record vocals, guitar or anything else with a pro mic and audio interface. And hear it all the way it was meant to sound with high-quality audio monitors.
M-Audio makes a variety tools that help you get the most from your GarageBand experience, including USB MIDI keyboard controllers, audio interfaces, microphones, audio monitors, and loop libraries. The latest addition in this product line is iControl.
iControl delivers total tactile control over GarageBand. Dedicated transport buttons and jog wheel put record and playback functions at your fingertips. Its eight rotary encoders are easily assigned to track functions like volume and pan, or to parameters for effects such as GarageBand’s EQ or any other AU plug-in. iControl also provides dedicated mute, solo and record-enable buttons for each track, plus a master volume fader. iControl is USB bus-powered, class-compliant, and automatically recognized by GarageBand, making setup a breeze. iControl puts you in complete creative flow with your GarageBand experience.
Clavia have announced the Nord Stage (Final Update)
Clavia held a pressconference today at the MusikMesse where they announced the Nord Stage. The Nord Stage is based on the Electro and Lead 3. It’s synth engine is based on the Lead 3 engine, but from what we understood it will get new sounds.
As soon as we get the pictures from the Messe and more details we will let you know.
Edirol announces new Visual Synth?
If this would have been presented one week ago, we would have laughed on the concept of the CG-8 Visual Synthesizer. But it isn’t an April Fools hoax. This ‘thing’ is for real!
Edirol have announced a unique and innovative product. According to Edirol:
Introducing a new way to interact with visual performance
Just as synthesis in music prompted new waves of musical creativity so the CG-8 is set to do the same for the visual artist. A sampling synthesizer takes audio in or regenerates it from a wave generator and then modulates it with filters and amplifiers before outputting the sound. In a similar fashion the CG-8 can take in still images, create motion pictures from these and then modulate them with Modifiers and Fade Controller. It’s easiness to grasp, and user-friendliness allow artists to concentrate on making stunning visual displays without getting caught up in complicated operations. Starting with picture files (JPEG’s) as the prime source, stamps (PNG) used for overlays and built in Computer Graphics, all stored on the internal hard drive, the CG-8 can add any of more than 200 Photo effects and then from more than 60 Overlay effects before finally passing the output to the image modifiers which let you add further motion along X/Y/Z axes and control background color/hue shifting. This final modulation can control rate, depth and waveform just like the LFO in an audio synth.
M-audio goes ProTools
Pro Tools M-Powered is an exciting new version of Digidesign®’s award-winning Pro Tools software created specifically to work with select M-Audio hardware interfaces. This groundbreaking combination for Windows XP and Mac OS X lets you customize the compact mobile multi-channel studio of your dreams, while providing session compatibility with countless Pro Tools-equipped project and professional studios around the world.
As easy to use as it is powerful, Pro Tools M-Powered software includes many of the same features that top studios rely on to produce Grammy®-winning albums and Academy Award®-winning film sound. Together, M-Audio hardware and Pro Tools M-Powered software deliver the seamless workflow of moving sessions between home, studio, stage and road.
Edirol announces new USB audio interface
EDIROL, the first company in the world to release a USB 2.0 audio interface with the introduction of UA-1000 – is now proud to announce their latest USB 2.0 product – the UA-101. Building on technology development achieved through a series of successful USB Audio products, the UA-101 represents Edirol’s very latest compact audio solution for PC, providing 10-in / 10-out, 24-bit/96kHz full duplex audio with MIDI I/O in a compact half rack unit. Powerful, low-latency drivers with WDM and ASIO 2.0 support complete the package.
The Edirol UA-101 allows simultaneous recording of 10 channels of audio at 24-bit, 96kHz, or up to 6 channels of audio at 24-bit/192kHz. Two high quality mic pre-amps allow you to record directly into the UA-101 through the XLR/TRS combo jacks. One XLR/TRS combo jack is equipped with a Hi-Z input to easily connect a guitar or bass without the need of a direct box. To ensure that your input signals stay within acceptable levels there is an analogue limiter letting you get the maximum from the inputs yet still record without clipping. A further 6 TRS jacks provide balanced inputs that are switchable between +4 or -10 dBu, allowing matched input from any line level source. Finally there are optical S/PDIF in and out ports for your digitally-equipped audio devices.
Edirol announces two new Keyboard Controllers
EDIROL today announced the release of two new USB MIDI keyboard controllers, the PC-50 (49-note) and PC-80 (61-note) to address the need of simple yet efficient operation for music students and home studio musicians. Both the PC-50 and PC-80 models use the same high quality keyboard mechanism that makes the Edirol PCR-M series of USB keyboards such a pleasure to play. With low mechanical noise, 12 selectable velocity curves and excellent build-quality, the playability of the two new USB keyboards is their distinguishing feature.