Mac and Music News

Smartelectronix announces ScanSynth, a new VST virtual instrument for Mac OS X. This new synth is based on "scanned synthesis" method described by Bill Verplank, Max Mathews and Robert Shaw, in which pitch is determined by the speed of the scanning function, and pitch control is completely separate from the dynamic system control. Each voice has 2 scanning-oscillators and a chaotic LFO.

More info on Smartelectronix (available soon) on the Smartelectronix' blog.

Audio Hijack Pro by Rogue Amoeba has been updated to version 2.5.5. Audio Hijack Pro is an enhanced version of Audio Hijack, and this new version now supports hijacking Dashboard widgets, and features : instant Hijack updated to version 1.3.1, better support for Radio devices, major bug fix for AIFF resampling, fixed another bug with AAC and ALAC recording and several other bug fixes.

FabFilter has updated its FabFilter Volcano to version 1.1. Audio Units and VST. This new release features : EG MIDI note-on triggering, LFO MIDI note-on triggering, Filter frequency MIDI note-on triggering , Dotted/Triplets mode for the LFOs, Option to link the cut-off, peak and panning knobs for both filters and Two new filter characteristics 'Gentle' and 'Extreme'.

This update is free for registered users.

IK Multimedia announces the launch of www.philharmonik.com, the official Miroslav Philharmonik website. All news and information about the highly anticipated release and detailed features of the orchestral workstation from IK are now available. The new Miroslav Philharmonik website is filled with audio examples and product information, along with press material, videos, historical information and image downloads.

Yamaha unveils the S90 ES music synthesizer, which combines natural acoustic piano sound with all the sonic flexibility of the Motif ES. The new S90 ES features 88-key balanced hammer action with aftertouch, complete MOTIF ES Wave ROM, 128-note polyphony, Eight Part with dual insert effects, reverb, mastering, and master EQ, and an optional mLAN16E card to turn your S90 ES into a multi-channel ASIO soundcard.

The new Yamaha S90 ES will be available on August '05 at $2599.

Camel Audio has updated CamelSpace to version 1.1 and CamelPhat to version 3.1. The updates to these multi-effects include much improved preset handling, more presets (192 per plugin) as well as many other minor improvements and bug fixes (MIDI control, AU host sync, graphic update problems, right click issues, ...).

The update is free to all registered users.

Famous music notation software Sibelius was just updated to version 4.0. This new release for Mac OS X features : Dynamic Parts always match the score, 1700 ready-made worksheets & resources, Write music to video, Copy-and-paste to Word, SibeliusEducation.com, Optical beams & ties, Helsinki & other music fonts, 11 new plug-ins, On-screen tutorials & reference and much more.

Celemony announces an update to version 1.1.2 for Melodyne Uno. Melodyne Uno can now handle audio files in split stereo format. Pro Tools users will also appreciate the new Spot to Pro Tools function that increases the synergy of Pro Tools and Melodyne Uno. Thus update also fixes some bugs and adds some improvements on the recognition function and the ReWire integration.

Melodyne Uno 1.1.2 is a free update for registered users.

ClickRepair is a simple application to assist you in restoring the sound archived from old records. ClickRepair replaces clicks and pops with a believable interpolation of the surrounding sound, and is very effective and inexpensive.

ClickRepair costs $25.

Bias Peak is one of the most famous audio editing software. Our fellows Doug Edge and Richard Zvonar from AudioMidi review this world's most popular stereo audio editing, processing, and mastering application for the Mac.

Enjoy your reading, and jump to the MacMusic Articles section !

M-Audio announces the Studiophile BX8a, an updated version of the BX8 near-field reference monitor. Like the recently released BX5a, these new monitors feature a 8" low-frequency driver cone crafted from Kevlar. New BX8a features 40Hz-22kHz frequency response, input impedance of 20k ohms, 130 Watts of bi-amped power, XLR balanced and 1/4" balanced/unbalanced inputs.

The BX8a is shipping at $599.95 per pair, or 510 euros.