Mac and Music News

Digidesign introduced the Mbox 2, a next-generation USB-powered audio/MIDI production system that builds on the performance and simplicity of the original Mbox. Mbox 2 comes with the Pro Tools Ignition Pack, an impressive collection of powerful plug-ins, creative applications, and additional tools to help professionally produce and promote music. With the addition of the Pro Tools Ignition Pack, Mbox 2 includes more than 50 plug-ins and instruments. The new MBox 2 features :

- Four simultaneous inputs with analog and digital I/O
- Two analog inputs (XLR and 1/4" jacks) and two analog outputs (1/4" jacks)
- Two channels of S/PDIF digital I/O (RCA)
- 48V phantom power for condenser mics
- 24-bit/48 kHz audio
- MIDI in/out

SonicBirth has been updated to version 1.0.1. This new version features : runtime is now free, and several bugs fixed. SonicBirth is an AudioUnit designing application. The first in its category, it allows users to build their own AudioUnit plugins, either by working with existing circuits or by creating circuits completely from scratch. SonicBirth is also an AudioUnits package, as it comes bundled with a set of plugins designed for standalone use as plugins as well as pre-constructed circuits to modify or build upon for creating new plugins.

Arboretum Systems announces that Ray Gun Pro Audio Units has been updated to version 3.1.1. in order to change : better tuning of Attack and Decay in Noise module, and occasional problem when registering fixed. Ray Gun Pro is ideal for cleaning up scratchy vinyl, tape hiss, noisy dialog, HVAC noise, and any track with poor sonic quality.


 

Propellerhead announces that ReBirth 2.0.1 (for Mac OS9) and The ReBirth RB-338 ReFill are now available for free ! On September '05, Propellerhead announced that the era of the ReBirth had come to an end and created the ReBirth Museum, an online community with downloads, ReBirths songs and ReFills.

Steinberg has updated sequencers Cubase SX and Cubase SL to version 3.1. These updated versions add several improvements in mixing, editing, recording, MIDI and connections.

Full list of improvements available in our software section.

Apple Computer will host a special "music related products" event at 10:00am on Sept. 7th at San Francisco's Moscone Center. Several web sites and other sources reported that Apple would unveil new products : new iPod, or the long awaited iPhone. This cell phone would be the first Motorola's iTunes phone, and sources says that Motorola and Apple will introduce a complete line of music-oriented phones that go by the name ROKR, rather than a single handset.

We just have to wait now...

WormHole allows you to transmit audio over TCP/IP and between applications. This new version 2.0.2 for both Audio Units and VST formats features : more reliable latency compensation / insert loop mode, better Audio Units compatibility, and multiple minor glitch fixes.

Garritan Jazz and Big Band Collection will feature Trumpets, Trombones, a Comprehensive Saxophone Collection, Keyboards, Rhythm Section and more (over 50 individual instruments), all accessible via the included Native Instruments Kontakt Player in VST, AU, DX, RTAS and standalone formats on Mac OS X.

Garritan Jazz and Big Band Collection is now available for pre-order at introductory price of $259 and is expected to ship late September.

Alphakanal has updated its substrative synthesizer Automat to Audio Units version 0.3.2. This new release changes : better sounding EFX section, better randomize function, new modulation waveforms, new presets and new clicks generator (beta. part of an new upcoming feature).

Automat is a freeware available in our software section.

Easy beat by Ergonis is a music authoring program for composing, scoring, and playing songs on Mac OS X. This new release 2.2.1 adds Mac OS 10.4 Tiger compatibility and fixes a number of user-reported bugs. Easy Beat is an easy-to-use and full-fledged MIDI sequencer. This software was designed to be "used in the way that most musicians really work. It does not require following a structured process or read extensive user manuals". Easy Beat features : up to 16 song tracks plus a metronome track, multiple views of individual tracks, export to GarageBand, MIDI import and export, export to QuickTime movies and AIFF files, and more...

Make Music announces that the demo version of its music notation software Finale 2006 is available as a download for Macintosh OS X. Here are the differences between the demo and full version: No saving, and Prints only first page with a "demo" watermark.