Mac and Music News

Paris, May 2006: The finishing touches are being put on the preparations for the 120th AES Pro Audio Expo & Convention, which opens its doors in less than two weeks. Many exciting new features have been added in the past few months alone, making this year's convention a real standout in both the number as well as the range of new convention elements. "This year visitors can expect a much greater number of presentations for all of the various subjects covered in the convention", says Roger Furness, Executive Director of the AES. "Attendees will see an expansion in all areas of the convention – from the workshops, to the new Application Seminars, to the comprehensive Paper Sessions as well as the Exhibitor Seminars."

The Application Seminars are creating the biggest buzz at this year's convention. "They will focus on one important topic per day, each having been selected for its relevance to the practical daily work" explains Gisele Clark, who is responsible for organizing the Application Seminars. "They will be held in a specially-built auditorium directly on the exhibition floor, easy for everyone to reach. What's more, visitors will be able to take part in these new seminars at absolutely no cost!"

Apple posted an update to version 7.1 for QuickTime. QuickTime 7.1 is an important release that delivers numerous bug fixes, support for iLife '06, and H.264 performance improvements. This update is highly recommended for all QuickTime 7 users. Please note that a new Mac OS X Security update is also available.

Theses updates are available form the Apple web site and via the Software Update utility.

Native Instruments has updated its Elektrik Piano to version 1.1, with enhanced stability, enhanced performance in ProTools 6.9 (but not optimized for Pro Tools 7) and support for Native Instruments Kore.Elektrik Piano unites the four most beloved E-pianos of all time into one high-performance software instrument, which reproduces in exacting detail the sounds of the Fender Rhodes MK ITM and MK IITM, Hohner Clavinet E7TM, and the Wurlitzer A 200TM.

Focusrite announces its new Saffire LE audio interface. Housed within a sleek Black and Silver casing and mirroring the original Saffire's desktop design, Saffire LE features :

- Ultra-low latency Firewire 400 interface
- 24-bit, 96kHz integrated A-D/D-A
- Six inputs; Two Focusrite preamps, two balanced Line I/Ps and SPDIF I/Ps
- Eight Outputs: Six balanced analogue outputs for creating separate headphone/monitor mixes or 5.1 surround monitoring and SPDIF Output
- Suite of saffire plug-ins; Compression, EQ, Amp modeling and Reverb
- SaffireControl LE – Comprehensive level and monitoring control
- MIDI I/O and MIDI Thru
- AC3 and DTS compatibility.

Saffire LE will be shipping at the end of May, at a price of £239 including VAT (yes..pounds sterling...so approx. 348 euros or $440 ).

Zero-G announces the release of TOTAL REX, a collection of professional REX files in a single product, featuring over 15,000 of loops selected from over 40 different Zero-G products. Over 10 Gb of groove inspiration! Over 15,000 drumloops, instrument grooves & riffs, breakbeats and awesome rhythmic inspiration for use with: Spectrasonics STYLUS RMX (Total Rex is "Stylus RMX-optimized" for fast accurate loading), Propellerheads REASON, Steinberg CUBASE, Apple LOGIC PRO, Motu MACHFIVE, Motu DIGITAL PERFORMER, NI INTAKT, NI KONTAKT, Cakewalk SONAR, Image-Line FL STUDIO, and more....Note that the REX files are accessible individually (not packed into a REFILL).

Recommended Retail Price: $169.95 or 149 Euro.

Digidesign announces that its new Pro Tools custom Keyboard is now available. It let users work faster by providing direct access to primary Pro Tools transport and editing functions. Pro Tools Custom Keyboards use the same symbols and color coding system as the keyboards on the ICON D-Control worksurface surfaces while retaining all the conventional alphanumeric labels that appear on standard computer keyboards. All three versions of Pro Tools software share most of the same key commands. However, Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered users should be aware that some key commands are available in Pro Tools HD software only.

Pro Tools Custom Keyboard is $119.00 for the Mac version. (our photo : the old version of the Digi custom Keyboard).

Myriad software announces that Melody Assistant and Harmony Assistant have both been updated :

- Melody assistant is now available as version 7.2 for PowerPC Macs, and version 7.2 for Intel-based Macs. It now features New document wizard, Unicode characters management, Concert key edit mode, Styled text, Fine adjustment of score appearance and more...

- Harmony Assistant grows to version 9.2 PowerPC and version 9.2 for MacIntel, with the same new features.

Details and downloads in our software section.

IK Multimedia announces a fully usable demo (30-day) version of AmpliTube 2. This version 2.0 adds a completely redesigned interface and enhanced DSP engine, 5 separate modules, the ability to build your own custom Amp with more than 20,000 possible amp combinations, 21 stomp effects, 11 rack effects, 2 simultaneous guitar-rigs, more flexible routing, and advanced preset management.

AmpliTube 2.0 ships for $399. The demo version is only available to users with a Syncrosoft USB dongle.

Digidesign announces updated versions for Pro Tools HD, Pro Tools LE and Pro Tolos M-Powered :

- Pro Tools HD 7.1cs7 fixes : "Import Session Data" and choosing "Consolidate From Source Media" would post an error, when using ReVibe -6042 errors could be encountered when making automation changes, and error messages when using MachineControl to lock non-linear devices.

- Pro Tool LE and M-Powered 7.1cs7 fixes : using "Import Session Data" and choosing "Consolidate From Source Media" would post an error, "Unexpected Quit" when launched from a Non-Admin or Second Admin user account, and same probleme with Music Production Toolkit and DV Toolkit.

Tom Erbe announces a new Freesound bundle available with 5 plugins in Audio Units public beta versions :

- "+chebyshev" : polynomial based distortion to create low order even and
odd harmonics
- "+compand" : a compressor/expander with soft knee and rms or peak level
detection
- "+decimate" : bitdepth and sample rate reduction and distortion
- "+matrix" : a mid side encoder and decoder
- "+phasescope:" an x-y oscilloscope with left at -45 and right at 45.

These plugins are compatible with new Intel-based Macs, and RTAS/VST versions are coming soon.

Native Instruments announces that its new KORE system has been updated to version 1.0.1. This release adds a new "Live View" mode, six new effects, optimized audio drivers, and a pre-configured "Easy Access Pages" allowing to automatically assign plug-in parameters to the KORE controller for several virtual instruments from Arturia, Gmedia, Korg, Spectrasonics and others.

KORE is now shipping at $559 or 499€.

Our partner EastWest-Sounds Online are proud to offer this attractive QUANTUM LEAP RA (the finest collection of world or ethnic sampled instruments) GROUP BUY which will result in a 50% discount off the list price, if there are more than 101 buyers before it ends on JUNE 2, 2006 (all Group Buys to date have achieved the lowest price).

Expert Sleepers announces new Universal Binary versions, compatible with both Intel-based and PowerPC Macs, for their plugins : Phaser, Multitap delay, Latency fixer, Buffer delay and Merger. Remember that Minky Starshine v1.0.4, Crossfade Loop Synth v2.1.2 and Augustus Loop v1.6.1 are already available as Universal Binary versions.

These Universal Binary plugins from Expert Sleepers are freewares.