Mac and Music News

Sometime today, before 9 PM GMT, MacMusic's servers will be down for maintenance. Our hosting company estimates downtime for each servers to be no more than 20 minutes. So if you can't connect to MacMusic, please retry a few minutes later...

Native Instruments announced that the NI Komplete 2 bundle is now even more complete. Now every purchase of the bundle also includes the drum sampling sofware Battery 2 and the soft synth Absynth 3 at no extra cost.

Updates are not physically included in the NI Komplete 2 package, but will be delivered free of charge after the bundle has been authorized. NI Komplete 2 costs $1149 or 999 euros.

Digidesign has updated Pro Tools to version 6.7cs3 for both TDM and LE systems. This update fixes :

- It was not possible to trim MIDI notes across more than one track at a time, in Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools TDM.
- Using Auto Region Fade In/Out could cause a pop on region boundaries in Pro Tools TDM.

IK Multimedia announces that AmpliTube Live (now including AmpliTube LE) for MacOS X is now shipping. AmpliTube Live now includes the AmpliTube LE plug-in VST, Audio Units and RTAS formats, and features : 3 Amps, 3 EQs, 3 Cabinets, 4 classic effects (Wah, Reverb, Delay, and Overdrive), built-in Tuner, 128 presets (66 for LE version), MIDI foot controllable, and can play live or record on MacOS X.

AmpliTube Live costs $99.

Hartmann has released Neuron VS as VSTi for MacOS X. It comes with the same sound engine as the hardware Neuron keyboard. and, together with Nuke, the hardware controller box, Hartmann claims to have put a resynthesis system in the hands of the musician, that offers exactly the same sonic features as the hardware Neuron synth.

The Neuron VS costs US$999 or 706 euros.

Apple launched its iTunes Music Store in Canada, giving music fans in Canada the same innovative features and breakthrough price of $.99 CDN. The iTunes Music Store in Canada features over 700,000 songs. With the same personal use rights as in the US and Europe, the iTunes Music Store in Canada gives users the ability to play songs on up to five personal computers, burn a single song onto CDs an unlimited number of times, burn the same playlist up to seven times and listen to their music on an unlimited number of iPods.

Moog Music has announced a contest to give away the last Anniversary Edition Minimoog Voyager produced in 2004, the year of inventor Bob Moog's 50th anniversary in music. One lucky Moog fan will be selected on January 23rd at the 2005 NAMM show in Anaheim CA. The winner will have the opportunity to pick up their new Voyager at Moog's booth, number 6016 on the show floor, or have it shipped.

AudioEase updated again the AudioUnit version of Altiverb to version 4.2. because AudioUnit version 4.1.9 failed Logic 7's AU Validation. This is now fixed and the latency compensation scheme has been slightly modified to allow better CPU performance.

M-Audio announced Ozonic, a new FireWire audio interface and keyboard MIDI controler. The Ozonic includes audio and MIDI interfaces with a full-featured MIDI controller which features a 37-note, velocity-sensitive, synth-action keyboard with three zones and assignable aftertouch. It also includes a 4 x 4 analog audio interface working up to 24-bit/96kHz fidelity and includes XLR mic input with phantom power, 1/4" instrument input and stereo 1/4" TRS line ins. The Ozonic also feature two pairs of 1/4" outputs.

The Ozonic will ship in December 2004 and will cost $599.95.

Plogue have updated again Bidule to version 0.7001. This new update features : added speed parameter to Midi buffer, shown/not shown state is now remembered in the Palette, only clicking is needed to delete notes in the Step Sequencer and bugfixes.

Ultimate Sound Bank announces that demo versions of Charlie, Ultra Focus and X-treme FX are available in Audio Units, MAS, VST, RTAS plug-in formats. Plug-in demo versions include between 90 and 130 MB of sounds.

Each demo is valid for a 15 day period.

Jean Piché from the Montreal University annouces a new version of Cecilia, a graphic user interface for the sound synthesis and sound processing package Csound. This new version 2.5.2 features : all modules revised and streamlined to offer a consistent interface, and a myriad of module bugs fixed.

WayOutWare announced that the demo version of TimewARP 2600 is now available. TimeWarp is the software synth version of the ARP 2600. All of the original control features from the ARP 2600 are there, but this plugin version features : 8 voice polyphony, extensive patch manager, real-time performance, and more...

The full version costs $249,00.

Massenburg DesignWorks has updated High Resolution Parametric EQ to version 1.4. The Massenburg DesignWorks High Resolution Parametric EQ for Pro Tools|HD is the result of countless hours of design and critical listening by George Massenburg, the creator of the parametric EQ. This new release fixes a bug where support for control surfaces was lost when using Pro Tools 6.3 or lower.

More info and download in the MacMusic softwares section.

Propellerhead Software today announced version 3.0 of their software system Reason. This update focuses on live playing and this new version will take Reason from the studio realm to the stage. Reason 3 introduces a new module, the Combinator, which allows users to build elaborate chains of Reason devices-instruments, effects, pattern sequencer etc and save as a Combi patch. Additional new features include : Remote (instant out of the box integration with most major control surfaces), new soundbank, new browser, and MClass (a mastering suite comparable with any hard or software units).

Reason 3 is expected to ship early 2005. An upgrade discount will be available for Reason owners.