December, 2004 archive

Native Instruments has announced that demo versions of XPress Keyboards are now available.
XPress Keyboards is a new series of software instruments combining the sound of three famous vintage keyboards with maximum ease of use and affordability. It includes the B4 XPress vintage organ, the PRO-53 XPress virtual analog synthesizer and the FM7 XPress digital FM [...]

One of the most unique releases of 2004 for vintage synth fans is GMedia’s Vintage Synth Trumps, a card game that features 52 classic synths.
GMedia calls Vintage Synth Trumps a deadly serious card game for vintage synth enthusiasts. The deck featuring 52 classic instruments and lets you test your knowledge and settle those arguments once [...]

Electrix, best known for their colorful line of analog/digital rack effects, is coming back.
The company shut down several years ago. Since then, several of its products, including the Electrix Repeater, Warpfactory and FilterFactory, have become hot items on eBay.
Per the Electrix site:
We’re excited to announce the re-launch of your favorite effects and sampler mods, and [...]

VirSyn has released Cantor 1.5, a completely revised version of their vocal synthesis application.
The upgrade makes it much easier to produce intelligible vocal lines. This is achieved with an improved filter model and a new kind of rule-based phoneme sequencer which adapts the phoneme transitions according to the context inside a word.

Cantor’s main purpose is [...]

Edirol has announced Mac OS 9 support for the FA-101, 10×10 FireWire Audio Interface. This driver set includes ASIO2.0, OMS, & FreeMIDI support on Apple computers running Mac OS 9. With OS 9 and OS X support, the FA-101 now offers low-latency, high fidelity, multi-channel audio support to essentially all Mac users.
On Mac OS X, [...]

Precisionsound has released Monzter Guitars, a sample collection designed to provide an intuitive, playable “wall of guitar” sample-set.
The CD is produced by Thomas Johansson, a guitarist and producer with over 50 CD productions to his name.
The Monzter guitars SampleSet contains:

Two programs for each format, Gigastudio, HALion & Kontakt.
Fifths sampled both as long notes and staccatos.
The [...]

Valentine Records is offering a free MP3 download from Hypnotique’s upcoming debut album, The Hanging Garden.
Hypnotique calls her music soothing and uplifting music for the impending apocalypse. Look for The Hanging Garden to be released in late January 2005 as a limited edition CD with handmade artwork.
For the rest of the month of December, you [...]

Switched On: Early Electronic Oddities, a 90-minute live radio show featuring Hypnotique, the UK’s leading cabaret thereminist/talk-show hostess, is now available online as streaming audio.
The show features recordings of early electronic instruments from 1860 to 1975, including the Trautonium, the RCA synthesizer, the Italian futurists, the electro-theremin, and the Radiophonic Workshop. It also includes live [...]

Users of the Garritan Personal Orchestra application have collaborated to create a free Christmas CD that showcases state-of-the-art virtual orchestration.
The Garritan Personal Orchestra Christmas CD is a collaborative effort of the GPO community, and is available for download in MP3 format.
The CD features orchestral arrangements of traditional holiday themes, realized using the Garritan Personal Orchestra.
Tracks:

Joy [...]

Electronica artist BT has carried his success as a songwriter and performer into his film scoring ventures. He scored the Academy Award-winning Monster, as well as contributed music for The Fast and the Furious, Under Suspicion and Zoolander. He’s also currently writing music for an upcoming reality television chronicle he conceived about a rock star’s [...]