Mac and Music News

DontCrac[k] launched a new community site that hosts and supports passionate audio software developers. Visitors will find hundreds of free audio software (freeware) for Mac & PC, forums to communicate with developers, and a secure boutique where they will find hard to find, uncommon shareware.

The name says it all : DontCrac[k] actively encourages fair use of software (as we always did on MM) because small manufacturers need to be strongly supported to create more innovative software. DontCrac[k] supports and distributes hot developers like : 4Front Technologies - Acon digital media - Camel Audio - CDXtract - CodeOperator - Delaydots - Ergonis - NUSofting - PSP Audioware - Sagan Technologies - Softplug - Swar Systems - U-he and many more.

In order to actively help developers market their products in professional conditions, DontCrack has also built a convenient and secure store for their products to be sold. Customers will appreciate reading precise product descriptions and requirements, downloading product demos, etc. Moreover, visitors won't have to wait to start using the software they purchased. They will instantly receive a full product file or license number to unlock their software.

Applied Acoustics Systems launches the AAS Modeling Collection, the ultimate solution in physically modeled software instruments. The collection comprises the entire AAS line of products - Tassman 4, Lounge Lizard EP-2, Ultra Analog VA-1 and String Studio VS-1 - at the very special price of $499. The AAS instruments are based on the most advanced physical modeling technology available today. They include sound libraries which constitute an unprecedented variety of sounds and textures covering every musical style and sound design need. Here is a quick overview of the products:

Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH unveiled the latest version of its Cubase SE entry-level music production software. Cubase SE3 provides ample creative space for professional musicians and producers looking to expand their music-making environment. With its 48 audio and unlimited MIDI tracks and the included range of VST instruments, virtual effects and MIDI effects, Cubase SE3 offers a huge palette of creative potential. Its professional-standard 32-bit audio engine offers pristine 24-bit/96kHz recording and playback, including full delay compensation.

As twice a year, Peter Forrest's VEMIA, da best musical instruments and stuff auction on this side of the galaxy, comes back. It'll run between the 5th and the 12th of November. Happy bidding!

PSPaudioware, a fine polish editor making great stuff, launched a sophisticated multidelay: Each beat has its own feedback, stereo image, pan, delay time, multimode filter, modulation, overdrive and reverb. Feedback and drive can be in front or end of the audio chain. Modulations are assured by a LFO and an envelope follower. Signal resolution goes up to 24 bits 192 KHz. All operations are MIDI programmable.

You will need OS X 10.3.5 and higher, plus an AU or VST compatible host. For ProTools, please have a look on the PSP website. Priced at $149, registered PSP users will get discounts up to 60%!!!

Native Instruments announces TRAKTOR DJ Studio 3, the next
generation of its groundbreaking mixing software. The new version will
provide a host of powerful creative features, including four playback decks, a suite of performance effects, an analog-modeled mixer section, a customizable user interface and more. TRAKTOR DJ Studio 3 also allows DJs to browse and purchase the latest club music releases from within the software by giving access to the full catalog of Beatport, the leading online store for club music.

Access annouces the release and availability of the VIRUS Total Integration (TI) Line of synthesizers, leading the world in a completely new direction with musical instrument and pro-audio convergence. TOTAL INTEGRATION uses innovative technology to greatly expand the VIRUS Synthesizer, resulting in an advanced stage/standalone instrument, while simultaneously extending the product capabilities with a suite of compelling studio integration features.

The Virus TI Line will be available worldwide beginning October 3rd, 2005.

The following Pro Tools CS (Customer Support) releases are now available.
Please see the individual update pages for complete details. In addition to all previous fixes, Pro Tools TDM 6.9.3cs2 for Mac OS X 10.4 and Pro Tools TDM 6.9.1cs3 for Mac OS X 10.3 all contain the following fixes:

- Fixed: Inconsistent Lock Times or Intermittent Locks When Syncing to Time Code. Lock times could vary from short, to very long, or no lock at all until you stopped the code and tried again. Also, record passes could result in "missed sync point" or -6085 errors, or "missed the sync point, due to time spend allocating disk space," while play passes could result in "waiting for sync" or "waiting for sync point."
- Fixed: Pro Tools Could Crash When Closing the Hardware Setup Window. This could occur ...

A new Konfabulator Widget helps with the conversion of Beats Per Minute to milliseconds. You tell this Widget the BPM of your song and it will provide the milliseconds for a quarter, eighth, 16th and 32nd note.

This should come in handy when mixing your music and you need to know how to set your pre-delay, auto-pan, LFO modulation, etc.