Mac and Music News

Well here is a hot news! Our friends from Ableton has just informed us that the long awaited Live 6 is available as from today! Live 6 is surely their most versatile and powerful version to date. With significant workflow improvements, Live continues to feel good as the functionality grows.

What's New?

• Quicktime video support
• The Essential Instrument Collection
• Instrument and Effect Racks (Dynamic Tube, Saturator, EQ Eight, etc.)
• Multicore and Multiprocessor support
• Deep Freeze
• New Project Management Tools
• And much more...

Live 6 is available for $599 (549 EUR). Upgrade pricing details can be found on the Ableton web site.

Apple released today the 10.4.8 update for PPC or Intel Mac, if you need networks to work, or are on a deadline, wait a little for feedback before upgrading:
"The 10.4.8 Update is recommended for all users and includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes for the following applications and technologies:

- connecting to wireless networks using the EAP-FAST protocol
- Apple USB modem reliability
- using OpenType fonts in Microsoft Word
- compatibility with 3rd party USB hubs
- scanner performance
- RAW camera support
- printing documents with Asian language names
- performance of the Translation widget
- broadband network performance
- security updates

For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n304200"

FXpansion updates VST to RTAS adapter to 2.0, adding Universal Binary code, Pro Tools 7 optimizing, and VST 2.3 compatibility. Note that the 2.0 version is only for Pro Tools 7 users, PT 6 users should keep the 1.0.6 VST to RTAS adapter. The update price from version 1.x is $49 or 37.5 euros.

VST to AU adapter goes the 2.0 road too, with Universal Binary, a plug-in manager to select and rename the plug-ins to wrap and better stability and performances. The update price from version 1.x is $49 or 37.5 euros too.

And the surprise: to celebrate its brand new website, FXpansion offers to all its registered users Orca their new virtual instrument, an experimental monophonic virtual synth modeled from analogue synths and components.

Do you really know about Net communities that are 9 years old and growing? Have a guess… Hey, it's MacMusic! We turn 9 today! So, we'd like to thank you all for being here, working in the shadows, standing by us for 9 looong years, or just registered yesterday, to the wikimen, for that you know (or not) you share here, for your humor, for being cool, for being angry sometimes, to the pros, and the newbies alike, to the power users, to all our partners past, present and future, you rock! And, of course, to the Macs!

Celebration aside, there's still a lot of work being done right now under the hood to enhance the MacMusic experience and ensure we will be around in 9 other years along with the future growth and broader interests for all musicians. And if you have never ask a thing in the forums or use the software tracker just to name them, have a go, everybody's welcome!

And just in case you wonder, next year, yes, there will be Champagne and a real birthday cake with candles… ;)

Soundcraft has launched the compact MPM Series of multipurpose mixers. Designed for live sound, recording, houses of worship, multi-speaker installations and other applications, the MPM is available in two standard frame sizes offering either 12 (MPM12/2) or 20 (MPM20/2) mono inputs, with each model featuring two additional stereo input strips.

Our friends from Macplus.net (article in French) analyzed that Avid was under stress. Since the announcement of the coming Pro Tools compatibility with the Mac Pro, the sales of non optimized versions have fallen. "But the fall has been way more serious than foreseen and the catch up by the universal version since its release has not compensated the losses. With sales comprising usually 33% of the sales turnover, the audio branch of Avid has sent the company in a turmoil the stock market has sanctioned. The shares have dropped yesterday of 14% that is a loss of $6.28 to $37.59."

Today Apple released an update for Logic Pro to address issues encountered by Mac Pro and G5 Quad users. The update works from a 7.2.1 or 7.2.2 version only and is recommended for all Mac Pro and G5 Quad on OS X 10.4.3 or later…

CharterOak Acoustic Devices a subsidiary of Connecticut based CharterOak Entertainment Group will announce at San Francisco AES, their intention to expand the time limit on free ADAPT modifications on SA538 and SA538B models, up to one year after the purchase date.

In the one year that has passed since CharterOak initiated ADAPT , the create-your-own-classic-modification program for the SA538 and SA538B vacuum tube condenser microphones, CharterOak has learned many engineers and producers buying microphones don't do sessions every day. As a result, 30 days is too short a period of time to live with the microphone in session, and come up with substantive feedback on how a user might want to alter the timbre of their microphone. "The program was originally designed based on my recording schedule which averages about 300 days a year, and it has come to our attention that this might not be the typical situation for a lot of our end users," remarked Michael Deming, producer, engineer, and president of CharterOak.

Creamware will release in the next weeks the Klangbox series, a bunch of 1 U rack of DSPs using the ASB engine. Playable thru MIDI or USB, the available units will be the MINIMAX, PRO-12, PRODYSSEY and B4000. The units work also as dedicated expansions for the ASB units Creamware released earlier, which in turn can be used to control the racks. The sound edition can be made by MIDI controllers or from a computer based graphical interface on Mac and PC too. All the Klangboxes share the same characteristics: 1U rack, MIDI I/O/T, MIDI thru USB, 12 voices (save the B4000, wich is fully polyphonic), stereo I/O, stereo effects (Delay, Chorus, Flanger).

Shipping soon for about 450 euros each.

The Rob Papen BLUE goes RTAS with the release of the 1.6 update. It is a free update with a native RTAS version for Mac. But also new features are added like a "free-running" option for each oscillator, an 8x Oversampling option, a "bypass" function inside the Arpeggiator, Sequencer and the FX section. It all comes together with 6 new preset banks for various styles of music productions.

Blue 1.6 is of course IntelMac compatible.

AudioSkin is a new cable organizer. The AudioSkin collects loose cables and 'zippers' them into one snake with a simple twist of the wrist. But that's not all: you can partially pull out individual cables to any length for connecting to miscellaneous inputs—while keeping the snake intact. AudioSkin is quick and easy to use and re-use. AudioSkin can easily be cut to any length, or combine multiple AudioSkins together to accomodate longer cables. Cables are organized in seconds and are easily removed in one motion - one at a time or all at the same time.

AudioSkin easily holds up to (8) guitar, microphone or monitor cables, and up to (24) Hosa cables. 5 ft. in length; 25 millimeter diameter. MSRP $16.99. (USA)

Mutools announces the release of the preliminary version 4 of Luna unlimited and Luna Free, with new features : support for VST MIDI Plugins, Audio Input Monitoring, Insert Effects can now be bypassed, Improved workflow and Bug fixes. LUNA is an alternative, ultra-light virtual music studio, designed to compose & perform music of different styles and flavors.

Luna is also now available as Universal Binary version.

Akai just released the latest of his MPC, the numbered 500. As its name suggest, this is an entry level MPC, from the likes of the MPC 1000 and 2500 with which it is data compatible as other Akai products. With a small footprint (266x175x44mm) and 1.34 kg, running on wall-wart or batteries, its comprehensive surface has the MPC trademark as usual : 12 velocity and pressure sensitive pads plus an on board 48 tracks sequencer and a 44.1 kHz sound engine. The internal memory is of 16 MB, Compact Flash cards from 32 MB to 2 GB can be used as additional memory. MIDI i/o and USB (Mac and PC) ports complet the box along with the stereo i/o and headphones socket.

The MPC 500 is available now for $1129.