Mac and Music News

You all know (who doesn't in this world ?) our famous software section. This true Alladdin's cave for MacMacmusicians contains thousands of treasures, updates, freewares, sharewares where you can navigate, thanks to the famous tracker. And yet in a cave, as it is the case in any house, the paintwork has to be redone at times. It's done! From now on, the software section allows you to find the history of all the versions of a software, to have access to a complete list of software by the same manufacturer, to read all the news linked with this manufacturer, or else for plugins you'll be able to move from VST version to Audio Units version for example, in absolute comfort.

In the part of Aladdin, it's our friend June Bug who proposes these improvements and whose daily and titanic work allows us all, MacMusiciens, to have this softwares database : unique and essential.

Anwida Soft announces a new VST Pack for MacOS X, which contains 5 VST audio plug-ins in a bundle : CX1V compressor/expander, L1V limiter/maximizer, GEQ15V - 15 band 2/3 octave graphic equalizer, GEQ31V - 31 band 1/3 octave graphic equalizer and PEQ1V - parametric equalizer.

VST Pack costs $199.

IK Multimedia has announced their studio instrument workstation Studiophonik. This plugin station is designed to control the sound of a band in a studio and allows user to create a virtual band. Studiophonik offers a huge variety of different vintage and custom brand instruments and comes with 2 DVD of 7 GB sound sets.

Studiophonik will be be available from Spring 2005 at 399 euros.

Cycling '74 and Octiv released Octirama, a surround dynamics processor for Digidesign ProTools TDM systems. Octirama is a multi-band dynamics processor for 5.1 surround mastering for the Digidesign TDM environment. Octirama incorporates four and five band processing for each of five channels plus advanced bass management.

Octirama will be available in first quarter 2005 for $995.

Mackie has announced a new update to v2.0 of its Audio-Midi sequencer Tracktion. This new release introduces an enhanced MIDI editor, more comprehensive keyboard control and the ability to map hardware MIDI controllers to filter parameters. This version also adds a new 64-bit mix engine, improved external synchronization support, eight auxiliary sends and returns, and full integration for Mackie Control Universal and C4 controllers.

A demo version is available on Mackie web site.

Gibson is releasing a digital guitar, featuring an ethernet-connection in addition to normal analogue out. It is designed to work as a normal Gibson Les Paul, but with digital options to expand the guitarists creative canvas, including the ability to assign separate outputs for separate strings, via a claimed no-latency breakoutbox. With some agile fingers you might be able to play all six guitarparts of your new rockopera yourself, at the same time.

My little finger (well, Peter in fact…) told me that the author of the infamous (and ultimate) "A to Z of Analogue Synthesizers" is on the way to finish his book on effects. If it's on the same league as the AZAS expect: companies histories, product extensive info, advice on the value both in use and on the 2nd hand market, and unknown beasts and white elephants.

Expect the book to be out for sale on the VEMIA site before the end of the year.

Ableton has updated its audio sequencer Live to version 4.1. This release is a huge bugfix version : crash with sample reverse, crash with MIDI Learn button, crash when deleting MIDI Track, crash when removing MIDI interface devices, and much more.

Info and download in the MacMusic softwares section.

IK Multimedia and Sonic Reality have announced the acquisition of the Miroslav Orchestral Sample Library, and unveil a first product based on this acquisition, the Miroslav Philharmonik, an integrated Orchestral Workstation plug-in. Miroslav Philharmonik will contain Miroslav Orchestral and Choir sample collection, and 16 part multi-timbral sample-based orchestral workstation plugin.

IK Miroslav Philharmonik will be available from Spring 2005 for 499 euros.

Focusrite launches 3 new products: Platinum Pro, Platinum OctoPre LE DAW and the Sapphire FW interface. The Platinum Pro is a preamp/compressor, the less expensive recording channel they sell. The pre comes from the Green range, there's a DI, an optical comp, EQ, latency free monitoring and optional ADC 24/96 digital out. Price is $299, ADC is $199, shipping in january so…

The Platinum OctoPre LE DAW and Digital Console Interface, as the name suggest, it's 8 preamps including 2 "Super Channels" which includes DI and impedance matching all at 0.003% THD, 110 dB A dynamics. It feature also a peak-reading meter similar to the ones on the Red range, switchable to the channel you want to monitor. The optional A/D-D/A card in adat lightpipe use wordclock with a X256 clock for Protools addicts. available in January (it's an habit) for $499, Digital I/O option for 199$

The Sapphire is a fireWire interface designed by the guys behind the Liquid Channel. It's a DSP peripheral, with ultra low latency, 24/192 conversion, 4 ins: 2 preamps and S/PDIF, 8 balanced outs for monitoring/headphones or 7.1 surround. Why a DSP then? because there's a plug-in suite: compression, EQ, amp modeling and monitor path reverb available on analogue inputs, for recording wet and or monitoring. Bundled is also a software to record up to 5 stereo mixes of incoming and recorded tracks. The plug-ins are available also in your favorite DAW. And… you have a MIDI I/O on top. Price and availability TBA.

IK Multimedia has announced AmpliTube 2.0, a fully redesigned version of this amp simulator. AmpliTube 2.0 now offers more than 20,000 amp combinations with more exclusive separate Pre-Amp, EQ, Power Amp and Cabinet models. Amplitube 2.0 also features 30 effects, different real microphone placement options for the 6 new microphone models, and two completely customizable 6-stompbox pedal-boards.

AmpliTube 2 will be available from Spring 2005 for 399 euros.

VoicePro is the new head of the bunch voice processing from TC Helicon, It's a 2U rack with analogue balanced/unbalanced XLR (24/96 converters, 44, 48, 88 and 96 internal, 24 bits Dual bit delta sigma sampling at 6.1 MHz) and digital In/Outs (2 In/8 Out AES/EBU). Effects/treatments are Hybrid Shifting, Flextime, VoiceModeling, 4-part harmony, 4-band EQ (2), Compressor (2), De-esser (2), Reverb, Delay, µMod, Transducer, Multi-path mixer. External control is done by MIDI or Ethernet. The unit has also a large color display, which given the $3495 pricetag is not a luxury. Also, the internal treatment time is of 1.54 ms...

IK Multimedia has announced a version 2.1 for SampleTank, which now features a new enhanced STRETCH engine. Stretch is the "Sampletank Time REsynthesis TeCHnology" designed for Pitch-Shift/Time-Stretch, that gives more sonic control over the tempo, pitch, harmonics of both pitched and non-pitched sounds, with an improved sample analyzing system. This new version also features : separate outputs extended to 16 stereo outputs or 32 mono outputs, drag and drop management of Expansion Tank library, stand-alone operation now available, updated collection of sounds on 2 DVDs, and more.

SampleTank 2.1 will be available from Spring 2005.

CMLabs introduce the Motormate, their new flagship in the controller area. It's main feature is to have along the 8100 mm faders, way too many (is it possible?) switches and encoders, a jogshuttle, transport buttons, a Zoom Stick (exclusive) to help navigation, the habitual display, an additional timecode display and a monitoring section.

The Motormate works with the other controller made by CMLabs (up to 3 Motormix), and can control the Sixty Four studio router and their "upcoming tube mic preamp" (uh oh…). The comprehensive monitor section need a breakout box to show it's beauty. Looks like a complete studio solution on the way... The mate is available now for $1700.

IK Multimedia and Ampeg announce the future release of a new Bass Amp modeling plugin, the Ampeg SVX. This plugin will include over 20 Ampeg bass amps, such as SVT Classic, the SVT 5 PRO, the BA500 or the B15R, and of course effects designed for bass : Chorus, Delay, Flanger, Phaser, Octaver, Wah, Auto Filter, Distortion, Graphic EQ and Compressor.

Ampeg SVX is expected to be released within the summer of 2005. Prices and distribution are to be announced.

G-media is on the way to release (price and date TBA, but it's soon) an Ohm force development (you know the crazy blokes) which seems to be just like a MiniM… in AU, RTAS and VST. Need I say more? Well... M-audio is making a bundle called Gforce with impOSCar, M-Tron, Minimonsta and Oddity (price TBA).

If you know about JoMoX (XBase, Airbase, Sunsyn), you know about the brain behind the great designs: Juergen Michaelis. When he's alone at night, he does thing on his own (he's the boss anyway) and what did he finished at last? His Resonator Neuronium.

A unique synth, analogue, based on neural networks (remember Hartman Neuron? it's a digital implementation of the basic ideas leading to something different). Unique because it was a private project, and finally, Juergen is going to make a small series of 10 machines at least to be able to lower the towering price to a more reasonable 2499€. Building will start once 10 firm buys are secured with a provision. This is a very unique thing, it's rare to see new stuff in synthesis, this is one!

After design some cute preamps in their german laboratories, Mindprint comes along with a desktop interface, TRIO. First point, you don't need a computer, second, it's a one button/pot-one function box and it's 24 bits/96 kHz.

It offers as inputs: 1 Mic XLR In Class A with phantom power, 1 instrument in (HiZ by Hugues&Kettner) and 2 Line In on jacks, 2 aux In and 2 DAW analog In in RCA, 1 Insert send and one Insert return in jack. Out: 2 direct Out and 2 DAW analog Out in RCA, 2 Headphones out in stereo jack, 3 pairs of speakers out (3 pairs: 2 Jack, 4 RCA), S/PDIF optical In/Out (2 TOSlink) at 44, 48, 88 and 96 kHz in 24 bit linear, sync: master or slave. It runs on an external PSU.