Mac and Music News

Apple today announced it has begun shipping Logic Express 7, the latest release of
its music composition and production software that delivers audio and MIDI tools.
Logic Express 7 is available now through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $299. Registered users of Logic Express 6 can upgrade to Logic Express 7 for $99.

You know that ApulSoft in converting open source Windows plug-ins to Audio Units and VST for OS X. Today ApulSoft announces that the donationware C3 Multi Band Compressor by Slim Slow Slider was ported to OS X.

Slim Slow Slider C3 OS X is available as a free download.

MacJams.com has announced the opening of its new "Loop Store," an online site where musicians can browse, listen to, and immediately download over 40,000 loops and sound clips in a huge variety of styles and instrumentation. Loops may be purchased with credits costing as little as 40 cents each, and loops are available in a variety of formats for nearly any audio program for the Macintosh platform. To celebrate the grand opening of its Loop Store, MacJams is giving away 10 free 10-credit accounts and 10 free PowerFX Apple Loops Disc Jams CDs. Loops and audio clips for the Loop Store are professionally recorded and produced by PowerFX, which provides audio content to Apple, Sony Pictures, Propellerhead, and others.

Unitonic announced the release of Aurora, a new plug-in synth for Pro Tools|HD Accel systems. Aurora features sound synthesis with eight Tone Partials, each with built-in modulation and stereo panning, independent, multi-step envelopes for every parameter, and dynamic polyphony that permits voicing of 16 to 128 or more notes.

Aurora costs $699 but Unitonic will be offering Aurora at an introductory price of $499 via its online store.

Cycling '74 announced the release of Incidental Gesture, the third volume in the Cycles series of audio source libraries. Produced and edited by Ron MacLeod, Incidental Gesture features active sonic textures and melodic meanderings that provide movement, emotion and narrative expression to musical compositions or media projects. Each piece is composed to integrate easily into existing pieces yet intricate enough to stand on their own as incidental beds. These long (30 sec. to 3 min.) files were designed for direct use in Digital Audio Workstations yet are seamlessly looped end to end for extended play as well.

Incidental Gesture is now available directly from Cycling '74 for US$99.00.

Apple has updated Quicktime to version 6.5.2. This new release of Apple's digital media software includes a security update and bug fixes. In addition this release includes enhancements in the Apple Lossless Encoder and AAC codecs, as well as improved support for iTunes and other QuickTime-based applications.

Quicktime 6.5.2 is available in our Softwares section.

Trilium Lane Labs announces two new plugins available on November : TL Aggro, a vintage modeled analog FET compression and TL AutoPan, an analog style stereo and surround panning.

These two plugins will be available for Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools HD on Mac OS X.

On October 13, MacMusic announced new features of Pro Tools 6.7 and now Digidesign announces upgrade fees :

- registered owners of Pro Tools|HD and HD Accel systems running Pro Tools TDM 6.4 or higher are eligible to receive Pro Tools TDM 6.7 update for free via web download on November 1st. Pro Tools TDM 6.7 Updater CDs will be available in November. Owners running Pro Tools software versions older than Pro Tools TDM 6.4 can purchase the Pro Tools TDM 6.7 upgrade for $175. Remember that PT TDM 6.7 is not compatible with Pro Tools|24 MIX systems.

- Pro Tools LE 6.7 is a free update for Pro Tools LE system owners who purchased PT systems on or after September 25 (available by update Request Form).Other owners can purchase the Pro Tools LE 6.7 upgrade for $75. Please note that PT 6.7 LE will not be available for download (CD only) and is not compatible with DIGI 001.

Apple introduced the iPod U2 Special Edition as part of a partnership between Apple, U2 and Universal Music Group. The new U2 iPod holds up to 5,000 songs and features a gorgeous black enclosure with a red Click Wheel and custom engraving of U2 band member signatures. the U2 iPod costs $349.

You can also watch the iPod U2 special event at the California Theatre in San Jose, CA, with Steve Jobs, Bono, and The Edge.

Cycling '74 announced the release of Soundflowerbed, a monitoring application for its popular free Soundflower audio routing utility for Mac OS X.Soundflower is a free system extension for Mac OS X 10.2 and 10.3 that allows users to route audio between Core Audio applications. Soundflowerbed resides in the OS X menu bar allowing the user to tap into Soundflower channels and route them to an audio output device. 

Soundflowerbed is available from Cycling '74 web site.

Cycling '74 and Octiv Inc announced Octirama, a Surround Dynamics Processor for Digidesign ProTools Systems. Octirama is the first full-featured, multi-band dynamics processor for 5.1 Surround Mastering for the Digidesign TDM environment. Octirama incorporates sophisticated four- and five-band processing for each of five channels plus sophisticated bass management for precise control of peaks and loudness.

Octirama will be available from Cycling '74 in fourth quarter 2004.

Apple launched a European Union version of its iTunes Music Store, giving music fans in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain the same innovative features and breakthrough price of euro 0.99 per song that have made iTunes the number one online music service in the world. The EU iTunes Music Store features over 700,000 songs from all four major music companies and more than 100 independent record labels.

Apple also updated its audio player iTunes to v4.7 wich features best syncs with iPod and iPhoto.

Spectrasonics today has announced the release of Stylus RMX Realtime Groove Module. Stylus RMX is a groove-based virtual instrument plug-in. Stylus RMX is the first product to offer the combined power of Groove Control with Spectrasonics Advanced Groove Engine (S.A.G.E. ) technology giving users dramatic new control over groove production and performance.

Stylus RMX (Audio Unit, RTAS, and VST) is priced $299/249 Euros. More info on the MacMusic softwares section.

The new red company from Ted Fletcher is releasing a new box....a blue one ;o): The M16 is a transformer console including 16 preamps with mic/line inputs, phantom power, phase reverse , high pass, mute/solo, pan and of course direct output.

Price should be around 4041$

Edirol releases UA-25 USB Audio and MIDI interface, a bus-powered, aluminum-cased, 2 channel USB audio interface with two phantom powered XLR mic preamps and a built in Analog limiter, for those sessions when you only get one take. Also, Edirol claims to be "#1 when it comes to stable drivers for our Audio Interfaces". One novel feature of the UA-25 is the ability to send sound from its inputs back though to its outputs in the digital domain, allowing recording of audio from one application into another.

ps clouvel : UA-25 USB is now shipping and costs $295.