Mac and Music News

Cycling74 announced a future Max/MSP update : "Next month we will be releasing the Max and Max/MSP 4.5 upgrades. The list of improvements is extensive, so here are a few to whet your appetite. Integration of the Java and Javascript languages into the Max environment. A complete multi-leveled preset management system for multi-layered patches. MSP objects implementing the award-winning OctiMax compression and limiting technology. Several new objects providing spectral display, alteration and pitch-shifting. ReWire support as both Client and Host (including MIDI I/O).

Paid Upgrade: This is a paid upgrade and will be available as a download or on CD. The introductory retail price is $149 for the Max/MSP upgrade, or $100 if you only own Max (no MSP). After September 30th the Max/MSP upgrade will be $179, and the Max upgrade $119. Free Upgrade: People who purchased Max/MSP or Max after April 1, 2004 will be eligible for a free upgrade."

Celemony Software announced that Melodyne 2.5 will be available at the end of June. Melodyne 2.5 will support RTAS format and will feature the "Melody Manager", an easy-to-use audio file manager to create and organize audio files from hard disk or CD. Melodyne 2.5 will support Digidesign RTAS plugin format (in Melodyne Studio version only) and will improve VST and AudioUnit compatibility.

Melodyne 2.5 will be available as a free update for 2.0 version registered users.

Camel Audio have announced the release of version 1.3 of their synthesizer Cameleon 5000. Cameleon 5000 is an additive synthesizer with morphing and resynthesis abilities. Version 1.3 adds a host of new features including the ability to convert bitmaps to noise. Sounds may also be exported as bitmaps, so that they may be edited in a graphics program and then reimported. Cameleon also adds support for microtuning, and has had significant CPU optimization allowing it to be run at lower latencies. It now responds to MIDI bank and program changes. The update also offers a number of sound quality improvements including improved reverb and chorus effects. Other improvements include voice mute buttons, longer LFO cycles, multi-sampling of bitmaps and support for Mac OS 9.

Cameleon 5000 is supp ...

Gmedia Music posted a 1.0.1 release of ImpOscar, the virtual recreation of legendary Oscar synthesiser, released in 1984 and which became a favourite instrument of Ultravox, S-express, Jean Michel Jarre and Underworld. This VSTi plugin version adds new features such as polyphony, improved UserWave editing, enhanced filter modes, synchronised LFO and increased LFO waveforms, delay and chorus effects.

More info on MacMusic software section.

Fresh from Precisionsounds comes Dusty Electric MKII. Formatted for HALion and Kontakt the 24 bit samples are taken from a well tuned 1980 Rhodes Stage Piano Mark II (Seventy Three). Weighing in at a respectable 235MB, each of the 520 Mono Wav files has been looped to maintain realism while not being too resource hungry. For a true representation of the original instrument you get up to 5 velocity layers and 3 velocity release layers.

Prices start a $63 USD for a downloadable version.

Steinberg released Cubase System|2, an integrated music production system, featuring M 2, a 2-channel USB Audio and 16-channel MIDI interface, and Steinberg's sequencer Cubase SE with 5 virtual instruments (The Grand SE, D'Cota SE, Virtual Guitarist EE SE, Groove Agent SE, HALion SE).

Cubase System|2 for Mac OS X is expected end of june for 419 euros.

MPCsounds.com announces the debut of "Orchestral Percussion", a new sound library for the Akai MPC1000/2000/XL/3000/LE/4000 drum machines.

Full "Orchestral Percussion" instruments list: Drums (concert snare and piccolo snare, concert bass drum, concert toms, tympani), Cymbals (crash cymbal, piatti cymbals, splash cymbal, ride cymbal, tam-tam gong, and automobile brake drum), Tuned percussion (glockenspiel, marimba, xylophone, and orchestral chimes), and Orchestral percussion (claves, woodblock, castanets, jam block, tambourine, agogo bells,
sleigh bells, slapstick, bell tree, vibraslap, temple blocks, cowbell, cabasa, and shakers).

The "Orchestral Percussion" library is available on MPC CD-ROM, Zip disk, Floppy, or as Downloadable sets. Prices start at $29.95.

A new demo to test Storm 3 (soft producer from Grenoble / France). A lite one and an heavier one ((111Mo). The difference comes from the amount of samples and functionalities available. In this new version : ergonomy improvements, piano roll edition, import and export midi files, better mixing functionalities and GM synthesizer included (to read midifile).

Unchanged price (and special price for teachers)
Storm is threatenin'...

Apple just posted a press release to announce that its iTunes Music Store is now available online in United-Kingdom, Germany and France. The ITMS features more than 700.000 songs for euro 0.99€ or 0.79 pounds per song and 9,99€ or 7,79 £ per album.

Features and capabilities in the iTunes Music Store are the same as its U.S. counterpart, with identical Digital Rights Management (DRM) capabilities.

Native Instrument release an Update pour Kontakt 1.5.3 :
With Akai format support improvement, fader reset with easy double click, new possibility to keep the name of EXS Files when you import them, Streaming performance improvements, and some bugs fixed...