June, 2006 archive

Synthax wants you to meet Bob.
RME BOB-32 is a universal breakout box for AES/EBU XLR or D-Sub. BOB-32 has two sides. One offers eight XLR AES/EBU inputs and eight XLR AES/EBU outputs, the other side provides two D-sub connectors.
But the two sides can be one, too. If wanted – the box can be “folded” in [...]

iZotope has released Goldbaby Productions’ XRB, a collection of drum grooves and playable kits for use with iZotope’s iDrum and Apple’s GarageBand.
XRB includes 256 iDrum Kits with preset grooves for each, for a total of 2,057 individual drum grooves. In addition, each of the grooves are included as Apple Loops, which can be browsed by [...]

Academy and Grammy award-winning composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto returned to his electropop roots with the 2005 release of his 15th solo project, Chasm. Now Sakamoto has turned the files over to 13 electronic artists for their stunning take on this critically acclaimed release.
Bricolages is the first Ryuichi Sakamoto Remix Project Since ‘98’s critically acclaimed [...]

SoundEngine.com has announced the availability of the follow-up to its SoundEngine Volume #1 sample CDROM in AKAI format: SoundEngine Volume #2: Vintage Analog and Digital Synths.
SoundEngine Volume 2 contains over 600 programs containing multi-samples collected from their arsenal of vintage Analog and Digital synthesizers that includes: Peavey DPM series, Peavey Spectrum Bass, Peavey Spectrum Synth, [...]

Apple today announced that CEO Steve Jobs will headline a team of Apple executives, including Philip Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing; Bertrand Serlet, senior vice president of Software Engineering; and Scott Forstall, vice president of Platform Experience, to kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote preview of [...]

The Emagic division of Babya today released Emagic Synth Pack 1- a subset of software synthesizers & related tools from Babya Logic 2.
Babya Synth Pack 1 is a subset of software synthesizers & related tools from Babya Logic 2.
The synths & tools included are:

Synths: Maestro-Tempo, Reverse,BPM, PhazePitch, Phasor Audio Tools-Custom Looper, bAudio,ASIO suite (multiple output, [...]

Livid has introduced two new video Refills, collections of royalty free video clips for mixing and presentation. Livid Refills are offered as collections of 36 clips ready to place into your Livid Clip Bank or use in your video productions.
Livid offers an instant download of the 320×240 resolution for immediate download and mixing or full [...]

Version 3.1 of Melodyne cre8/studio is now available for immediate download.
The new version runs native on Macs with Intel processors, supports as an option the iLok dongle and is compatible with the new ‘Melodyne Sound Library’. In addition, numerous requests from customers have been implemented and improvements in all areas carried out. The upgrade to [...]

VirtuosoWorks, makers of NOTION music composition and performance software, has released five Sound Kits, adding extra sounds and techniques to the standard orchestra that ships with NOTION software. These new samples were recorded in Studio One at Abbey Road Studios using London Symphony Orchestra players and include Expanded Strings, Percussion, Brass, Woodwinds and Harpsichord.
The Expanded [...]

Gamasutra has an interesting article about Establishing an Aesthetic in Next Generation Sound Design.
Given that sound designers and composers now have so much more freedom to overproduce and over-implement sound for videogames, methods of limitation will become necessary in order to differentiate the sounds of one game from another. How can we begin to make [...]