Mac and Music News

FabFilter has released Volcano, their new filter effect plug-in for Mac OS X. It features two independent filters with low-pass, high-pass, and band-pass responses, and panning setting on both filters. The frequency, peak, and panning settings can be modulated in any way imaginable with the two LFOs and the triggered envelope generator. FabFilter Volcano works with any MIDI keyboard or controller.

Volcano filter (VST and Audio Units) costs $139.

PSP announces the release of new versions for Lexicon PSP42, PSP84 and PSPNitro. New versions of Lexicon PSP42 and PSP84 are v1.4.3 (AudioUnit, RTAS, VST) and new version of PSP Nitro is v1.0.4.(AudioUnit, RTAS, VST). They're both bugfixes versions.

Digidesign announces Pro Tools 6.9.2 is available as a free download for Pro Tools TDM 6.9 users. Pro Tools TDM 6.9.2 adds support for Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" to the Pro Tools 6.9 feature set. Pro Tools TDM 6.9.2 software provides support for Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel. Pro Tools 6.9 must be installed first in order to use the Pro Tools 6.9.2 Updater.

Updater CDs will be available soon through the DigiStore for $4.95 plus shipping and handling.

A Reaktor Workshop will take place in Brusseles on June 4th 2005. The Workshop will be held by Brian Smith (Native Instruments) and Andreas Sumerauer. Topics covered: advanced sequencing (by Brian) and physical modelling - Reaktor5 core technology (by Andreas).

Food and Drinks are included in the workshop fee which is 60,- Euros for registered Reaktor Users, 110 Euro for everyboy else.

DJ-1800 is a shareware application that emulates the Denon DN-1800F professional CD Player system used by many DJs and radio stations. This v2.0 release features improved iTunes synchronisation, support for QuickTime 7 and Tiger (Mac OS 10.4), crackle-free (and much higher quality) pitch shifting, and many other fixes and improvements.

Cycling '74 today announced a special workshop on Cycling '74 products at the San Francisco Apple Store. As part of a series Apple hosts, this workshop will feature Product Specialist Gregory Taylor at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, May 25th  at the San Francisco Apple Store located at One Stockton Street in downtown San Francisco.

The event will feature an overview of the Max/MSP/Jitter audio and video environment, and a first look at the JazzMutant Lemur programmable touchscreen controller.

Tascam announces that its full line of FireWire audio control surfaces and interfaces are now compatible with Apple's Final Cut Pro 5 and Soundtrack Pro editing software with Apple's unveiling of the Final Cut Studio production suite that includes the Final Cut Pro 5 upgrade. This major upgrade to the Apple's software means that Final Cut Pro 5 and Soundtrack Pro are now fully compatible with MCP (Mackie Control Protocol) devices, so you can use external audio control surfaces— including TASCAM's FW-1884 or FW-1082—to edit and manipulate audio more efficiently.

Ploytec GmbH (formerly known as "propagamma") just released their first non-beta version of the USB Audio driver for Mac OS X. It's completly redesigned and finally unleashes the performance the USB ASIO driver for Mac OS 9 is known for, on Mac OS X. The design ensures real 1:1 audio and already works with USB2 highspeed devices in Ploytec's lab. The driver is available as a free update for registered owners of the earlier versions and a 50% off crossgrade for users of the USB ASIO driver for Mac OS 9.

A version 2.3 of RoomVerb M2 by SpinAudio is now available. This new release comes with a redesigned reverb engine (with greatly improved stereo image), 10 new factory presets (totaling 260 deady-to-use presets), ans several minor bugfixes.

DPA announces Windpac, Windshield System for use when it is raining. The windshield itself is water resistant however for extended rainy outdoor use the RainCover will protect the windshield and the microphone. The foam breaks the speed of heavy rain drops, and in addition, the RainCover absorbs the sound of the drop. Because of the characteristics of the RainCover it does not cause any significant distortion to the recorded sound.

Wizzo annouces that Wizooverb W2 version 1.0 RTAS is now available. W2 allows creating stereo room emulations either based on impulse responses or by a proprietary algorithm – and even allows for arbitrary combination of both technologies.

More info in the MacMusic softwares section.

Apple is voluntarily recalling certain lithium ion rechargeable batteries that were sold worldwide from October 2004 through May 2005 for use with the following notebook computers: 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch PowerBook G4 and 15-inch PowerBook G4. These batteries were manufactured by LG Chem, Ltd. of South Korea. The affected batteries could overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers. The recalled batteries include those with model numbers A1061, A1078, and A1079 and serial numbers that begin with HQ441 through HQ507 and 3X446 through 3X510.

If you have a recalled battery, please stop using it and order a replacement battery immediately.