Mac and Music News

AudioEase has updated VST-MAS Wrapper to version 4.1.3. which fixes a problem with opening multiple VST plug-in interfaces in Digital Performer 4.1.2. VST Wrapper allows users to load VST effects and instruments in Digital Performer.

Sony Oxford has announced a new suite of plug-ins aimed at the audio restoration market. The Oxford Restoration Tools are a bundle of three plug- ins : The DeClick plug-in combines click and crackle removal, The DeBuzz plug-in has two modes to minimize signal damage, and the DeNoise plug-in can automatically track noise in auto mode.

Oxford Restoration Tools are available for Digidesign ProTools and costs £625.

Our friends of Native Instruments are pround to announce that a demo version of XPress Keyboards is available as a free download. XPress Keyboards is a new series of software instruments combining the sound of three famous vintage keyboards with maximum ease of use and affordability. It includes the B4 XPress vintage organ, the PRO-53 XPress virtual analog synthesizer and the FM7 XPress digital FM synthesizer.

Info and download on the Native Instruments web site.

Digidesign has announced a new update to version 6.7cs5 for both LE and TDM Pro Tools systems. This "weekly" update fixes bugs : volume and Pan Automation Are Sometimes Improperly Advanced When Using Surround Paths and Delay Compensation (TDM version), occasional System Freeze While Using Pro Tools and random Characters When Using Chinese Simplified OS with Pro Tools 6.7r2.

MOTU has updated Digital Performer to version 4.51 . Quite a few changes: Dynamic CPU Management, Multi Bounce, performance enhancements, Enhanced Digidesign DirectMIDI support, Better previewing of effects plug-in region operations, Plug-in preset enhancements, Bypass automation for AUs and more.

WireTap Pro is the new version of WireTape by Ambrosia Softwares. It allows you to record any audio, saving it to a file for later listening or processing. Streaming Internet audio, sound snippets of a DVD movie, voice notations/narration, audio from a game, digitized audio from a line-in.

Wire Tape is now available only as a "Pro" version and costs $19,00.

VirSyn has announced an update to version 1.5 for Canto. This release is a major upgrade incorporating a completely revised vocal synthesis engine. The new engine makes it now much easier to produce intelligible vocal lines.  This was achieved with an improved filter model and a new kind of rule based phoneme sequencer which adapts the phoneme transitions according to the context inside a word. 

E-LAB has announced that a demo version of Foundation is now available. Foundation is a loop based virtual instrument which features more than 3.7 Gb of samples, 3000 drum loops, 5000 drum samples, 8 tracks of simultaneous drum loop playback with an interactive groove system, MIDI CC Learn, and flexible editing functions for each individual drumloop track.

The full version in VSTi, AudioUnits & RTAS for MacOSX is scheduled to be released in January/February 2005.

Pinnacle has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Germany-based Steinberg audio software business to Yamaha Corporation. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed during Pinnacle's third fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2005. As part of the transaction, Steinberg and Pinnacle will cross-license certain intellectual property on a royalty-free basis and Pinnacle will continue to distribute Steinberg's WaveLab Lite audio editing product with Pinnacle Studio Media Suite.

Rumours have been growing since Pascal Cagni - Apple vice president and Europe chairman - moved to London and today rumours have proved true : Apple Europe is about to leave Greater Paris to settle in the British capital. If we trust the various sites spreading rumours and the English press, Apple would have undertaken to rent for a period of 15 years the 2000 sqm of offices located just above the Regent Street Apple Store. Apple does not communicate on this subject but had given a very simple explanation for Mr Cagni's move to London, saying it was due to a surprising, according to me, "increase in power of the British market." Apple "Europe" in the country which hates Euro, it's funny !

For the next Apple Expo, I therefore suggest other countries whose markets are increasing in power : Andorra, Gibraltar, Guernesey, Jersey, Luxemburg, Madeira, Isle of Man and Monaco.

Done ! Digidesign has sold 150 ICON integrated console systems since the product began shipping on April 18, 2004. The 150th ICON system was sold to producer and engineer Nathaniel Kunkel. ICON is Digidesign's integrated console environment featuring the all-new D-Control tactile worksurface, Pro Tools|HD Accel as its core DSP engine, and modular Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces for analog and digital I/O.

For more information, visit Digidesign web site.

Expert sleepers has announced Megingue 1.0, a freeware Audio Units plugin for Mac OS X. Meringue is a delay effect. Unlike most delays, the delay runs alternately forwards and backwards, rather than continually forwards.

Meringue is available in the MacMusic softwares section.

The MacWorld Conference and Expo will take place from January 10 to 15, 2005 at the Moscone Center in San Fransisco. The Steve Job's MacWorld keynote address will take place on Tuesday, January 11 at 9:00 AM.