Mac and Music News

Here comes the latest and greatest of Mackie's Products! ;-)
Coming later at the end of this year, it is a fully integrated computer based recording system, a little bit like the M-Box but with Mackie's personal touch.
All that you need to know about it is under the following address.

The Sample Extractor is a unique and powerful feature that will save you many hours of audio editing. While some professional sample CDs come in WAV or AIFF format the bulk are in Audio CD format, with each track containing multiple samples. In order to use the individual samples from Audio CD traditionally one would have to import the track and then open it in an audio editor application and manually find each sample section, cut it out and make a new file. AudioFinder's Sample Extractor automates the sample cutting and editing process so that sounds with multiple samples can be sliced into individual files almost instantly.

In the support section of the Digidesign website you will find the new Pro Tools update 6.1.1 and the corresponding Core Audio driver update 6.1.1 both for Mac or Windows platforms

PowerFX, the sample content providers for Soundtrack/FCP4 has just released ProScore; two specially produced DVDs for use with Apples Soundtrack software. Each disc contains over 2200 pre-formatted Apple Loops that are organized into folders by category & genre. The material can be indexed & searched direct from the DVDs via Soundtracks Media Manager window which saves users valuable hard disk space. The titles are as follows: DV Composer's Toolkit is a complete musical composition library with everything from urban & cinematic themes to Asian & Indian flavors. It features Soundtrack arrangements, ambiance textures, and hundreds of assorted instrument loops. This collection was created for scoring, audio vignettes, sound logos and general music composition. Massive FX is designed to create ...

Things are getting faster than it seems: Steve Jobs announce during his Keynote that the BlueTooth mouse and Keyboards will be available in 15 days and three days later it's already on sale !
- Wireless Blue Tooth mouse 69$
- Wireless Blue Tooth keyboard also for 69$

If everything goes that fast would "Panther" be ready by the end of the month ?

Presonus releases the Eureka a recording channel (Pre, comp, EQ, VUmeter, optional digital out) in a 1 U rack. It's even good looking ;)

For the happy few who are or can be in Paris tomorrow, there will be the 6th anniversary of MacMusic. Warning! 200 people at the max! Not a lot of (free) tickets left!
Music is NOT optional ;)

See you there!

Happy Birthday MacMusic… Happy Birthday (etc.)

According to AFP from 17/09, Steve Jobs has announced the iTunes music service online store being available for Windows users before the end of 2003. Europe would follow next spring. Something to keep an eye on.
Apart form that, Steve Jobs has apparently given up on buying Universal Music.

An update on both Clavia and Elektron, the respectively red and silver synth makers:

The Nord Modular G2 is in Alpha testing, a few are running Europe at least to get their knobs twiddled. Still no news from the expected (by us) but not announced (by Clavia, not on the road map right now) Mac Editor. The thing is as red as ever.

Elektron has solded (with discount) in less than 24 hours the first 100 Monomachines for betatesters. The first samples are online for the happy few (all members of the Elektron friend mailing list -see Elektron site for that- have had the link) show the actual ...

Ask The DJ will next week reach version 1.4 (29$). It is an intuitive DJ software with BPM detection, smart list sorting (on bpm, rhythm and volume) and only 3 buttons and two sliders for control. It even allow you to export the result in one or multiple files in CD quality. More on it in our soft tracker

New features in 1.4 are:
- Search engine in Unicode so that even our Japanese friends for example can find their favorite tunes.
- An explorer window to manage the tracks an other way, also helping iPod users to move their files from their little white friend.
- Availability of a French version (including manual and help) along the English one.

Now our members searching a soft for DJing will have _no_ excuses.
And you know, if you hide the main window in the dock, the dancer will start moving in rhythm in the file part of the dock

Sampletank come back in its 2.0 version, and IK Multimedia has added a few but important features:
- STRETCH, an engine that pitch shift, stretch, works on timbre and harmonics. this way, as the resampling engine used before is still there you can plays the samples with very different timbres as both methods are treating harmonics in STRETCH much more elegantly.
Add to this it permit a realistic glide with portamento that is natural.
- a loop function using the STRECH engine that in one click synchronize, pitch shift, strech etc. the loops loaded in Sampletank and you can play them without even thinking about the math crunching behind. Ear the STRETCH!

We just updated our Apple Expo photos gallery (gallery 6). We also published photos of our stand, the biggest Music stand... ;-)

Native Instrument announces an Upgrade for REAKTOR SESSION downloadable on the NI site : with a more efficient CPU use, some display bogs fixed, AKAI samples Import available (with Mac OS 9 but not yet with Mac OSX), and an easy way to use the SD2 files in the map editor....

A new beta Vsti version is on the verge to be tested with ARTURIA : An emulation of the CS80 Yamaha. It looks pretty and seems to have a great sound (possible comparison with the Moog Modular).

I'd like to introduce myself to everyone here on MacMusic.org as the new English Editor-in-Chief. Since its founding as the first major site to be devoted to Mac musicians, MacMusic has grown to be the largest and most comprehensive resource on the web for music, and, just as importantly, the only completely bilingual site. We think it can get even better, and what better time to expand the site than a time when the Mac is reaching a new era for digital music, as Apple finally embraces us as one of its core markets. You may have read the site I started in June, musiconmac.com. I'm happy now to take some of the plans forged on that site to this one, and welcome my readers from musiconmac here. Over the coming months, I'll be posting more news, more reviews, more interviews, and more tutoria ...

I would like to welcome Peter Kirn, founder of the young but already great MusicOnMac.com website. We decided to combines our forces to dramatically boost the english side of MacMusic.

Peter, will be in charge of the english news (which layout should improve soon) as well as Articles, Review, interview and so on.. As a NYC resident, his english should be far better than mine ;) and far better than our translators team.

We expect Peter to continue the wonderfull job that he started with MOM, now at MacMusic with a larger audience, structure and a team to help him. He will shortly tell you more...

Welcome Peter! :)

Update can be downloaded at the Steinberg Website. Original Installer CD is required to install the 17 MB file. The Update also includes a new bank with 64 sounds ! (Platform: Mac OS 9 and OS X)