Mac and Music News

Finally it is done : Independence Pro is now shipping ! It includes Independence 2, Independence Live and Independence FX.

Independence 2

The "next level of software sampler workstations" including a premium 70GB sound library. The audio engine of Independence 2 was completely redesigned and improved. With the new "multi core support" you can now decide how many cores of your computer you want to reserve for Independence 2.
Another leap forward is the possibilty to load 3rd party VST effects and VST instruments directly in Independence 2, so you have immediate access not only to other sample libraries in Independence 2 but also all your other VST effects and/or instruments.
The completely new "Browser" page lets you search and import audio and MIDI files as easy as possibl ...

Electro Grime is the latest release from Sample Label, Inspiration Sounds. It has been created for producers looking for totally fresh electro synths, basslines, drums and synth fx for dirty electro house and minimal house production.

Created exclusively using analogue synthesizers and drum machines, all loops are at 128BPM. It includes Drum Loops (Tops), Drum Loops (Bottoms), Bass Loops, Synth & FX Loops, Musical Loops but also one-shot hits.

Specifications :

- 570MB Data
- ACIDized Wave Files
- Apple Loops
- REX2 files
- All loops sync to BPM
- PC/Mac Compatible

Electro Grime is available now for instant download at a retail price of £29.95 / €39.95 / $49.95.

Voxengo releases VariSaturator, an audio effect plug-in designed to apply saturation effects over audio material. It can be used both to boost the loudness of the audio tracks without increasing their peak levels proportionally, and to apply subtle harmonic coloration that makes tracks sound more pronounced and polished.

Features :

- Two-band processing
- Valve and digital saturation
- Multi-channel processing
- Internal channel routing
- Channel grouping
- Mid/side processing
- 64-bit floating point processing
- Preset manager
- Undo/redo history
- A/B comparisons
- Contextual hint messages

VariSaturator is available now for Windows and Mac OS X in VST and AU formats at an introductary price of $55.96 (regular price $69.95).

IK Multimedia is proud to introduce the "Plug & Mix Madness" promotion starting on February 21st and lasting through April 30th 2008, customers may purchase and register any of the qualifying IK Multimedia plug-in based music production software, hardware combinations or bundles and they will receive one FREE IK effect plug-in download of their choice! (UP TO A $269/€199 VALUE-FREE).

Purchase and register full or crossgrade versions of the eligible IK products within the promotional time period, then select one from these multi-award-winning effect plug-ins for FREE :

- AmpliTube® 2 - Guitar Amp and FX Modeling Plug-in
- Ampeg® SVX - Bass Amp & FX Modeling Plug-In
- AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix - Guitar Amp and FX Plug-in
- Classik Studio Reverb - A suite of four high-end studio-qualit ...

Propellerhead has just released ReCycle 2.1.2, a maintenance update that addresses a few important issues.

Changes :

- ReCycle is now compatible with Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard.
- ReCycle is now compatible with AMD64 Processors.
- Minor alterations to the authorization procedures have been made, reducing the risk of having to enter your serial number again, after installation.

ReCycle 2.1.2 is a free update for owners of ReCycle 2.1 and it is a recommended installation for all ReCycle 2.1 owners.

Keyfax has released a new video called "Using Cubase 4 Recording The Band". Shot live in Santa Cruz and featuring rock band "the Liminal," this DVD lifts the lid on what it takes to record a band in the 21st century armed with Cubase as your recording medium.

The DVD shows how to hook up a hardware interface, how to deal with mic-ed amps and drums, monitoring, recording procedures and techniques, and how to prepare the best mix for mastering. Everything in the program is geared towards the practicality of a multi-musician, band type of recording experience.

"Using Cubase 4 Recording The Band" includes the raw audio files on the DVD (Cubase 4 Project file, plus the final mix) and is available from all good music stores or direct from the Steinberg web site for $44.95.

MPC-Samples.com has released the drum sample pack 'Vintage Cymbals', a single instrument collection containing 96 full stereo cymbal samples, cut to vinyl and re-sampled through valve processors to give a warm, vintage feel. Suitable for all models of Akai MPC including the latest MPC5000 and MPC500 models, this pack features 16 bit, stereo WAV and SND files laid out into MPC programs for quick loading.

Vintage Cymbals is available for download at a retail price of $29.99.

Puremagnetik has recently released TeeBee, a collection of instruments and loops for Ableton Live, Kontakt and Logic sampled from the famous Roland TB-303 synthesizer.

Programmed to flawlessly emulate the original synthesizer, Puremagnetik has employed many of the new features in Live 7, Kontakt 3 and Logic 8. Instead of using the DAW's built-in effects to emulate sounds, Puremagnetik has actually sampled the unique filter and envelope stages of the original TB-303. The TeeBee download includes 24-bit 96khz sample content and over 50 looped phrases styled after classic TB-303 articulations. For Ableton Live users, Puremagnetik has developed a version for Live 7 and a "light" version for Live 6.

Puremagnetik subscriptions start at $5.75 per month.

Apple releases a firmware update for MacBook and MacBook Pro. This update addresses an issue where the first key press may be ignored if the computer has been sitting idle. It also addresses some other issues.

For more information follow the link below :

Soniccouture has released a new sample library for Native Instruments Kontakt called Balinese Gamelan. A gamelan is a kind of musical ensemble of Indonesia typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings.

Features :

- 24GB Library — 24 Bit 96Khz Stereo Sampling
- 25 Individual Gamelan Instruments
- Up to 20 Velocity Layers
- Over 4000 Samples
- Multiple Round Robin Layers Kontakt 2 + 3 Format

This library is available now at a retail price of $499. To hear sound samples of Balinese Gamelan please visit :