Mac and Music News

Thanks to NAMM visitors who saw it there on demo, a new version of Digital Performer should be released during the first quarter 2006. Macintel support should be available during the second quarter. Numbered 5.0, this version will include "track folders" for Audio and MIDI, new editing tools, a better audio editor… Add on this 6 new virtual instruments: Nanosampler, Polysynth, Modulo, Bassline, Proton and Model 12, and last, a new red logo will be used.

Price of the update TBA.

Minod, a small Sweden based company is proposing a small analogue synth, the Vorga. It's a box with one DCO, one VCF Band Pass 12dB or Low Pass 24dB, one or two LFO (it's not clear), one ADSR, a small 8 steps sequencer, Accent, Glide, and an assignable X-Y joystick for live inspiration. The Vorga is totally MIDI. It can substitute itself easily as a MIDI controller too, and then you just use the pots to twiddle other gear or parameters on your computer. Price is 640€ without p/h and AC adapter.

Do you remember the Resonator Neuronium? This weird limited edition analogue synth Jürgen Michaelis issued based on the neural nets applied to analogue synthesis. First its software goes to 1.03. Genetic recombinations between neurons can be individually edited and stored now. Addional mutations of different kinds can be applied to the nets so that networked sounds can evolve with time. The second series of Neuronium is finished. Now it gave Jürgen an idea about filters… So came the M-Resonator. It has a true differential envelope follower and 2 Filters that can be fed back in every way. The filter smoothly distorts. Price and availability TBA.

Universal Audio announced it has agreed with AMS Neve to develop impersonations of Neve signal processors. The first of these will be the Neve 1073 Equalizer at a date undisclosed. Universal Audio also announced the availability of the 4.2 software for the UAD-1 DSP card which will ship this first quarter 2006. This update will include a demo version (14 days) of the $249 Roland Classic FX series. This new bundle is composed of recreations of the Roland Dimension D SDD-320 and BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, along with the Roland RE-201 Space Echo. Features of this last one:

Focusrite announced another Firewire Saffire interface. The Saffire Pro 26i/o features:

- 24-bit/192kHz operation
- High pass filters on every channel
- 2 super channels, variable impedance and insert points
- Green series preamps
- 8 analog outputs
- 2 SPDIF
- 16 ADAT, 48kHz
- 2 headphones output with individual level
- MIDI in, out.
- Talkback feature for sessions thru software
- 1U rack with detachable ears.

[edit LPM] Price 500 GBP, $1000, available in march with universal binary drivers.
Also:
- Separated headphone buses
- Word clock In and Out
- Front panel Level, Dim and Mute controls assignable to all outputs
- Analogue I/O: 8 In via 8 x XLR (mic - rear) or 8 balanced TRS Jack (line), 8 Out on balanced TRS Jack

From the company that made "groovebox" a household name comes an addition to the famous Roland MC family: the MC-808. The sleek, silver powerstation features eight motorized faders on its surface — a groovebox first!

The MC-808 shares two key attributes with the flagship MC-909: The same sampling and sequencing features that made the MC-909 so famous are built into the MC-808, making it a serious tool for sampling, editing, track building, and mixing. Performers are in for an extra treat with the MC-808, however, as is the world's first groovebox with motorized faders. No matter what pattern is called up, the faders will snap to the proper position. As a result, the parameter values and position of the faders always correspond, allowing the performer to see the values instantly and make changes directly. No more unexpected jumps in values when a fader is grabbed in mid-performance. It's always in the right position.

Akai announced its new impersonation of MIDI wind controller the EWI4000S. It's much more than the previous models as it's now an analogue modeled synth (built in), so it sports MIDI in and out ports. But it's not everything, there's some effect processing too: reverb, delay, and chorus, another first in wind controllers. And for the complete image, there's a dedicated software for editing sounds which are stored in the EWI4000S synth.

Line 6 will launch in spring its ToneCore range of modular stompboxes. They are based on the actual models, but you can plug modules into the StompDock (available in mono or stereo). So it's swapping time when you want to change your sound but not break the bank of the guitar heroes. As the original ToneCore, it's still modeling,and it runs from batteries or AC adapters. Now, when will we have the relevant guitar rigg?

Modules: Uber Metal, Dr. Distorto, Otto Filter, Crunchtone $41.99 each ; Space Chorus, Tap Tremolo, Constrictor, Liqua-Flange, Roto-Machine $55.99 each ; Echo Park, Verbzilla $99.99 each.
ToneDock mono $99.99, stereo $112.99

Behringer has a thing for keyboards this year as they announce two digital Pianos the EG1040 and EG2040. They are in wood looking case, black or dark rosewood, feature a 88-note, weighted hammer-action keyboard and 14 sounds (Grand Piano, EPiano, organ, harpsichord, strings…) for 64 voices of polyphony. Add to this effect (reverb, modulation and brillance) before the 80W of stereo amplification. The EG2040 has a sliding key cover.

Price and availability TBA.

Native Instruments, beside abusing of K letters in their product name, knows a thing or two about virtual instruments, I'm sure we can agree on that. Now, NI announced they've been working not only on some hardware, but:

- A universal controller for all your plug-ins.
- A universal VST and AU host on your computer (unified interface of plug-ins on the computer), itself a stand-alone or a plug-in.
- A universal sound database within the host (find your sound by attribute, and don't care if it's in a virtual sampler or a virtual synth or whatever).
- A unified file format, KoreSound, to store layers, routing, configuration and categorization data.

Behringer announced it will release a brand new range of controllers: the U-Control UM25, UMX49 and UMX61. They only differ by their keyboard size.

Features:
- USB controller/MIDI interfaces
- 25, 49 and 61 velocity-sensitive keyboard, full sized keys.
- 10 programmable MIDI controllers and 8 assignable switches.
- Assignable mod wheel, volume fader and pedal value.
- MIDI Out (NO MIDI in!)
- 6 free instrument plug-ins (50 for windows PCs… sigh) 4Front Epiano, Piano, and Bass Modules, Ultimatesoundbank Plugsound Free, AudioNerdz DelayLama, reFX Claw 1.0. (Well, you see…) And Ableton Live 4 Lite.
- Power from USB, batteries or AC adapter.

UM25 $129.99, UMX49 $159.99 and UMX61 $189.99

As a side note, the F-CONTROL AUDIO FCA202 firewire ($99.99), and the U-CONTROL UCA202 ($34.99) USB audio interfaces previously announced will be available this quarter 2006 as the UM-X range.

During the NAMM show, Apple was demonstrating the latest Logic Pro 7.2 on a MacBookPro. This demo cleary showed that Intel based mac are faster to run Logic than current G5 mac.

Logic Pro 7.2 will also feature integrated support for the new Apogee Ensemble interface; Digidesign Pro Tools HD 7 DAE support; Serato Pitch 'n Time support; Improved Rewire support; Enhanced Control Surfaces support; and 32-channel support for multi-channel Audio Units instruments; GarageBand 3 compatibility.

Logic Pro 7.2 should be available in february and should cost $49 for 7.1 users.

Taken from the OASYS monster flagship of KORG, the MMT (Multiple Modeling Technology) synthesis engine now will power the Radias synth in a more accessible way. It is a virtual analogue synth, with a maximum of 24 voices (depending of DSP use), available either in a rack format (Radias-R) or plain synth with a tilt pannel in a rather uncommon form. It smells technology that way, but I'm less sure of the reliability in the end, but the control panel is awesome. The Radias is composed of:

There's nothing like a inquisitive user, now, thanks to the PR department of MOTU (for the silence), we know (thanks to Unicornation!) that MOTU IS developing an PCI-e version of his 424 PCI card used by the likes of 2408, 24i etc. No release date is given but at least we know now there will be a time when we'll be able to use our latest G5s AND MOTU PCI-based interfaces, as we can/will be with Digidesign and Apogee products.

Price of upgrade and availability TBA sometimes.

Introducing the latest addition to Edirol's red-hot portable recorder lineup: the R-09. Building on the success of the R-1, the R-09 takes many of the most desired features — 24-bit uncompressed recording and a built-in stereo mic — and shrinks it all down into a more streamlined, stylish, and affordable package.

It's ultra small and looks like a gadget, but make no mistake — the R-09 is a serious, top-quality professional recorder with time-stamp capability. Capture source material at a crystal-clean 24-bit resolution with your choice of 44.1 or 48kHz sample rates. Record and play back in MP3 format as well (up to 320kbps). Once recorded, files can be monitored through the R-09's headphone jack and/or exported to a computer via USB.