April, 2007 archive

The Who’s Pete Townshend, with the help of mathematician and composer Lawrence Ball and software engineer David Snowdon, has created a computer system called The Method which allows users to make unique pieces of music created by inputting personal information, sounds and a rhythm. Users will ’sit’ for the software in the same way a [...]

Prosoniq has announced that version 2 of TimeFactory time and pitch manipulation software is shipping. They ask all customers who have purchased version 1.7 or higher after January 1st, 2007 to claim their free upgrade by submitting a short note with a proof of purchase with their 1.x serial number, or the relevant Prosoniq support [...]

ManiacTools has released MIDI Converter Studio 5.6, a specialized software utility for musicians and sound professionals that converts MIDI files to popular music file formats, such as MP3, WAV, OGG and WMA. The software is very simple and straightforward, and is capable of processing various types of MIDI files - MIDI 0, MIDI 1, [...]

Bjork is calling on fans to make the video for her new song Innocence. A post on Bjork’s official website is calling upon the help of any budding video makers:
Björk has suggested the idea, that the video to Innocence of Volta is to be made by anyone who wants to. She has asked the Madwebcarpenters [...]

Ueberschall has released Trance ID, a new sample collection that offers a huge variety of sequences, lead sounds, basslines, pads, atmospheres and fx, as well as hundreds of drum and percussion samples and loops.
Responsible for the production of Ueberschall Trance ID are Mike Koglin, Marc Steinmeier, Steve Baltes, and Ole Cramer. This team has produced [...]

PowerFX has announced the release of Grand Colour, a new virtual instrument piano library from Colour Sonics. The library has been split up into individual downloads of particular pianos with each download including patches for Kontakt 1, 2.1 and HALion.
The acoustic pianos consist of the Bösendorfer 290, the Steinway D, the Baldwin Vertical and the [...]

Sony Creative Software has announced an upgrade to their Sound Forge professional digital audio editing application to version 9.
Sound Forge 9 software contains a wide range of new features including multichannel audio support, which allows users to edit, process, and record multichannel audio files. Also new are workflow enhancements such as drag-and-drop editing between channels, [...]

The Poteet High School Percussion Ensemble, Director, Mike Myers, do an awesomely faithful adaption of Emerson Lake and Palmer’s Karn Evil 9 - 1st Impression, Part 2, complete with Moog solos and marimba arangements of Keith Emerson riffs.

Diatonis, an LA-based ambient artist, is offering a collection of tracks as free MP3 downloads. Diatonis describes his music as “an eclectic mix of ambient, electronic, and world styles.”
Diatonis is also heavily into surround sound and video. An example is embedded below, and there are many more examples available at his site.
Diatonis’ latest release, perception, [...]

 

 Diatonis - Aurora: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Diatonis Waiting For Eternity: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Maxim Digital Audio (MDA) has a collection of free Audio Unit plug-ins that can be used in Garageband, Logic and other apps that support AU’s. They’ve been available for a while, but we hadn’t highlighted them here yet and they are definitely worth checking out.
The plug-ins are Mac versions of plug-ins that are also available [...]

SonicProjects has released version 2.0 of its Oberheim OB-X clone, which is ready for shipping. The update brings a completely new GUI, new envelopes, enhanced analog approximations and a lot of new sounds.
Note to SonicProjects: those gorgeous 3-D renderings of software synths makes us lust for real hardware synths, not virtual synths.

EDIT is a new hardware controller from WK Audio, designed for Steinberg’s Nuendo Media Production System.
EDIT is designed for Nuendo users who need a compact, professional control surface focused on edit work and multitrack recording, rather than a complete mixing desk.
Derived from the popular ID Controller, EDIT shares an almost identical layout and construction with [...]

Ueberschall has released Hardtechno vs. Schranz, produced by Robert Natus, one of the best and most respected Hardtechno producers in the industry.
Description:
This library is packed with samples in 40 powerful construction kits, containing Hardtechno and Schranz sounds. The variety of sequences gives you a powerful tool to create perfect music that enables you for success. [...]

Touching the Serpent’s Tail, the latest CD from synthesist and composer Robert Fox, is a polished new age/space music release.
Fox describes himself as “master of the grand soundscape and one of the UK’s leading exponents of melodic orchestral instrumental music”. He’s released twelve solo CDs and also works with label mate David Wright [...]

Korg has introduced two entirely droolworthy Kaoss DJ mixers. The two-channel KM-202 and four-channel KM-402 Dynamic DJ Mixers are hybrid products that combine the effects and interface from the renowned KAOSS Pad with a performance-oriented 24-bit digital DJ mixer complete with a variety of independent EQ types and adjustable crossfader curves.
Sweeeeet!
Description:
The KM-202 and KM-402 incorporate [...]