October, 2007 archive

CME has announced the launch of the ASX Advanced Synthesis Expansion for UF and VX series keyboards. It’s a synth on a board that goes into the expansion slot of UF and VX series control keyboards, turning the CME MIDI controller keyboard into a stand-alone synthesizer.
The ASX does not rely on playback of sampled sounds [...]

Steinberg has announced an update to its music production application, Cubase. Cubase 4.1 and Cubase Studio 4.1 offer major new features in a free update for all registered owners. The new features include a redesigned Sample Editor, side chaining for VST3 plug-ins, MusicXML support, compatibility with Sequel project import and support for Windows Vista.
“This update [...]

Camel Audio’s plugins are now available on Muse Research’s Receptor  hardware plugin player.
CamelCrusher—a freeware compressor, distortion and filter multi-effect—comes pre-installed on all Receptors, along with demo versions of our other plugins. Registered users can crossgrade to Receptor versions free of charge.
A specially-licensed version of CamelSpace is now included with the popular MixMeister DJ software. Its [...]

PreSonus has dropped the prices for the PreSonus Inspire 1394 and FaderPort to $149 (estimated street price in the US).

The INSPIRE 1394 is a FireWire Recording System featuring professional quality 24-bit/96k analog to digital conversion rate, four simultaneous inputs, software control panel as well as audio recording and production software.
The microphone and instrument preamplifiers loaded [...]

Beta Monkey Music has released Drum Werks Volume IX, a collection of slow and mid-tempo acoustic rock drum loops. Drum Werks IX offers nearly 600 acoustic drum loops and samples in comprehensive Groove Sets, from moody 60 BPM vibes through power rock stomping at 90 BPM.
The Drum Werks IX Power Rock Collection is designed to [...]

Soniccouture is offering their VA Drums Brush Kit as a free download.
The 150mb Drum kit features mixable direct and ambient microphones, Drum roll emulation via the Roll Control KSP script, multiple velocity layers and articulations. The kit was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath, England.
Brush kit is available in Kontakt 2 + [...]

BandmateLoops and new content partner Westgate Studios have unveiled a new line of Woodwind Virtual Instruments.
Westgate Studios Woodwinds are divided into five volumes, featuring an expressive collection of instruments. All five volumes can also be purchased together (Complete version) at a significant discount.
Westgate Studios Woodwinds currently support GigaStudio—with more formats available in the near future.
Each [...]

Turntables may not be practical, sensible or reasonable in this day and age, but they can still be great tools for enjoying music, and just as important, they can still be sexy as hell.
Here are our picks for the seven sexiest turntables in the world.
The Rega Planar 78

The Rega Planar 78 is a minimal mono [...]

Blue Cat Audio has released a new version of its spectrum analysis DirectX and VST plugins for windows. The new versions bring several user interface and performance improvements. Blue Cat’s FreqAnalyst is still completely free, and Blue Cat’s FreqAnalyst Pro is available for a special price for a limited time, as a single plugin or [...]

Roland has updated the Edirol R-09 WAVE/MP3 Recorder to be compatible with 8-GB SD High Capacity (SDHC) cards. With the update, the R-09 now also offers manual file splitting—activated by a single button push while the R-09 is in RECORD mode.
“We are always looking for ways to increase the functionality and capability of our products,” [...]