Mac and Music News

Independent consultancy and publisher SYPHA, has announced an all-new edition of The DAW Buyers Guide that can be accessed, free of charge, at http://SYPHAonline.com.

The guide has undergone a complete update. Each of the more than 280 product entries has been renewed, and the search facilities have been improved.

Sonic Studio LLC announced the availability of their first major software revision since taking over the Sonic Studio workstation products from Sonic Solutions. Sonic Studio HD version 1.9 is the culmination of over a year of development effort to fundamentally stabilize the workstation while boosting performance and adding long awaited functionality.

Among the dozens of enhancements and additions to HD 1.9 are an entirely new mixing desk, revamped FFT tool, 16 channel I/O support on a single board system, and a dramatically improved and optimized DSP allocation system for desk events processing. This version also resolves numerous longstanding issues with stability, synchronization, and CD imaging and is available to all Sonic Studio HD owners at no charge (Hey Digidesign...).

Drums on Demand Vol. 1 is now available in REX2 format, making the song-based drum loop CD even more functional in for Mac Users in Cubase, Reason, Logic, Digital Performer and other audio programs that support REX2 files.

Created from studio recordings of contemporary songs, Drums On Demand includes nearly 900 royalty free loops and segments : 41 Song Sets, with each set including as many as 30 verse, chorus, fill, bridge, break, intro, ending and other loops. Loops and segments range from one to five bars in length. Simply find the master verse or chorus loop that fits your song and use the other loops and segments in the Song Set to quickly build a drum track that feels like a live session drummer playing a real song -- because that's exactly what it is. Plus, you can mix and match m ...

Bias has announced his new audio restoration plug-in for professionals at AES in NY.
Rather than splitting the restoration process into separate plug-ins, SoundSoap Pro uses a unique, integrated interface that allows the user to access any tool quickly and easily from within a single plug-in window. Tool navigation tabs are labeled (left to right) "Hum & Rumble," "Click & Crackle," "Broadband," and "Noise Gate" - reflecting the suggested order in which the operations should be performed, to obtain the best possible results. The tabs even provide convenient parameter feedback, allowing the user to monitor the primary tool settings globally, regardless of which tool is currently selected.

SoundSoap Pro's tool area features a unique, global, real-time spectrogram - providing constant visu ...

In the second half of October 2003 the Native Instruments sampler KONTAKT will receive an extensive update to version 1.5.

KONTAKT 1.5 brings many new and improved features, including a Beat Machine for slicing and syncing loops, the excellent Time Machine II, VST automation and much more. In addition KONTAKT 1.5 provides Mac OS X compatibility and new interfaces, namely Audio Units and RTAS.

The Mini-MP 2-channel Analog Mic-pre, is Apogee's latest addition to their Mini-Series.

Featured in the Mini-MP are two, low distortion, ultra-fast, high-gain pre-amps that offer a full 70 dB of gain. Input/output options on the Mini-MP are strong and flexible. The phantom powered microphone inputs are capable of handling level of up to +18dB and the auto select High-Z inputs are a great feature for instruments and consumer level equipment are ideal for giving direct guitars, basses and keyboards that warm analog sound.

On the output side Mini-MP uses Apogee's newly developed electronically balanced line drivers, which simulate true transformer behavior and allow for perfect symmetry when used in balanced mode and no increased distortion when used unbalanced.

Other useful Mini-MP ...

Apogee Electronics Corporation (booth 456) unveils it's new, X-Series Expansion Cards for the ROSETTA 800 8-ch AD/DA Converter.

The X-HD and X-Digi-mix option cards allows for direct connectivity between Pro Tools HD or Mix systems and the Rosetta 800 8-channel AD/DA converter, providing superior quality conversion to Pro-Tools TDM users without the need for an additional interface.

The X-FireWire card enables a direct connection between Apogee's Rosetta 800 and any FireWire equipped computer. Based on new S800 standards, the X-FireWire Card uses an expansion slot in the Rosetta 800, and in all future, X-Series based systems to give users of Logic, Nuendo and other popular software the option of Apogee conversion. The two ports on the Apogee X-FireWire Card facilitate the daisy-chaining of additional devices to give users great expansion options for their DAW's.

At AES, Yamaha Commercial Audio announced Version II (V2) software along with five available add-on effects packages for the DM2000 and 02R96 digital mixing consoles.

Available in January 2004 and compatible for both Macintosh OS X and Windows 2000/XP platforms, V2 represents a significant upgrade for each product's preconfigured internal software and Studio Manager Software with the addition of almost 50 new features, the capability to run the new add-on effects, expanded DAW control, and features designed specifically for the broadcast and sound reinforcement markets.

TC Electronic has announced 3 new significant plug-ins for PowerCore at the AES convention in New York:

Voltronics will be a part of the free 1.8 software update coming later this year. It is a guitar amp simulator plug-in, that includes three tube stages and a speaker simulator for truly convincing amp modeling.

Dynamic EQ is a new EQ tool that offers up to four definable bands, which can work in static or dynamic mode, or even a combination of both. Each of the bands can be configured as a parametric EQ or hi/low shelving filter.

Filtroid: With its dual filters and extensive modulation capabilities, Filtroid brings the sound of analog filter banks to the PowerCore Platform.

And not really a new product, but a good new for mac users, the TC Website is now fully compatible with Safari.

Now solely disbributed by MacMusic, The Wild Bits released Ask The DJ version 1.4. This new version includes a new track browser, works with Unicode (Japanese script support) and includes a French version.

Ask The DJ is a $29 shareware which analyses beats to perform truly seamless transitions between tracks. Like a real DJ, it matches beats and adapts tempos whenever needed so the music always flows, even when cross-fading between tracks with different bpms. Ask The DJ also cuts unrhythmical intros and outros, and levels volume. Better yet, all this is done automatically. You just need to click Play and dance. You can also export Ask The DJ's mix art to audio files, suitable for burning audio CDs. AskTheDJ produces perfect transitions, even when mixing tracks with different tempos.

Filter is a multi-format plug-in that gives you everything you need to harmonically sculpt your tracks with surgical precision or animate them with a limitless variety of tempo-synced timbral variations.

Filter starts with four true stereo multimode filters that provide all the warmth and smoothness you'd expect from a meticulous model of classic analog filters. Add four individual delay lines, flexible routing options, powerful modulation capabilities, full MIDI control, two programmable rhythm generators and the ability to lock every time-based parameter to Filter's master tempo or external MIDI clock, and you have a tool that will allow you to create tracks (or entire mixes) that pulse with life and character.

Filter will be available around mid October for Mac RTAS (OS 9 and OS X), Mac VST (OS 9 and OS X), and MAS (OS 9 and OS X).

• Pultec Bundle : The Pultec EQH-2 and Pultec MEQ-5 join Bomb Factory's Pultec EQP-1A in the new Pultec Bundle ($599/$399 MSRP). Existing owners of the Pultec EQP-1A may download the two new Pultecs at no charge.

• Fairchild Bundle : Bomb Factory's sweat-and-blood re-creation of the legendary Fairchild TM 670 joins Bomb Factory's Fairchild TM 660 replica in the new Fairchild TM Bundle ($599/$399 MSRP). Existing owners of the Fairchild 660 may download the Fairchild 670 at no charge.

• Slightly Rude Compressor : The Slightly Rude Compressor TM ($399/$249 MSRP) is Bomb Factory's first custom compressor design. Used conservatively, it sounds beautiful on vocals, drums, guitars and piano. Pushed hard, it's unique and aggressive. The stereo version is s ...

A new upgrade of pro Tools is available in the support-download section of the Digidesign web site.

Here are fixes included with Pro Tools LE 6.1.2 for Mac OS X :
- Potential crash on ProTools launch when another application uses Digidesign hardware and CoreAudio for sound output.
- CoreAudio Driver installation deactivates Digi001 MIDI input

Applied Acoustics Systems has released Audio Units versions of the Tassman 3 Sound Synthesis Studio and Lounge Lizard EP-2 Electric Piano.

The Tassman is a modular instrument and sound design environment based on physical modeling. Lounge Lizard EP-2 is a recreation of the classic electric piano sound.

The Audio Units version of Tassman 3 and Lounge Lizard EP-2 will be available as a free upgrade to all registered users from the Applied Acoustics Systems' website.

A 6.2 update (only for Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel Power Mac G5 Systems) is available on the support/download section of the Digidesign web site.

The Pro Tools TDM 6.2 r2 provides support for Digidesign Pro Tools|HD cards on Apple Power Mac G5 computers.

This update should only be used by: Pro Tools|HD users who are running Pro Tools TDM 6.1 or Pro Tools TDM 6.2 and who are upgrading to an Apple Power Mac G5 (1.6GHz or 1.8GHz models) running Mac OS X 10.2.7.