Sony

Update features include event-based editing, the élastique time stretch and pitch shift plug-in, interactive tutorials and a mastering effects bundle.

Details below.

If you’ve used Sony Sound Forge Pro 10, leave a comment with your thoughts!

New Features:

• Event-based editing is ideal for precise audio mastering, assembling project sketches, or laying out tracks for authoring disc-at-once CDs. In Sound Forge 10, users can quickly move, split, slip, and trim events, create fades, apply ASR envelopes and crossfades within in a single data window for more precise audio control.
• Integrated disc-at-once CD burning results in time savings and provides a more efficient workflow when generating Red Book compliant disc-at-once premasters of music suitable for professional replication. Perform full PQ code editing, create live-style CDs, add CD text and metadata, and use high-resolution source audio with precise conversion to Red Book audio.
• The élastique time stretch and pitch shift plug-in provides better sounding audio when processing audio files. Users can also monitor and adjust settings while previewing in real-time, and select from various stretching methods that are tailored to their source audio including Pro, Soloist, and Efficient modes.
• The iZotope 64-bit SRC utilizes a hybrid low pass filter design, resulting in pristine audio with less aliasing converting material from one sampling rate to another. The iZotope MBIT+ dither employs psychoacoustic methods to distribute noise into less audible ranges, resulting in improved audio and smoother fades when converting the bit rates of audio files.
• Musical instrument file processing (.DLS, .SF2, .GIG) – Sound Forge Pro 10 software opens, processes, and saves DLS, GigaStudio/GigaSampler, and SoundFont 2.0 musical instrument files. Users can view bank, instrument, note range, and sample information. Effects and processes can easily be added directly to samples.
• Customizable window layouts are designed to maximize productivity by allowing users to create and save multiple unique interface layout configurations for single and dual monitor systems, and recall a window layout for specific editing tasks such as audio editing, CD layout, and multichannel file editing.
• Mastering Effects Bundle 2 powered by iZotope – The powerful bundle of audio mastering tools included with Sound Forge 10 is valued at over $200 and includes six professional plug-ins to expertly master and enhance audio production: Mastering EQ, Mastering Reverb, Multiband Compressor, Mastering Limiter, Stereo Imager, and Harmonic Exciter.
• Interactive tutorials – Sony Creative Software’s unique interactive tutorials provide walkthrough demonstrations of common features and functionality, including DAO CD burning, vinyl recording and restoration in order to help users spend less time learning and more time editing and mastering audio projects.

Price and Availability

The Sound Forge Pro 10 digital audio production software is now available in English and Japanese. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for Sound Forge Pro 10 software is U.S. $499.

Gigasampler revolutionized the music industry when it was introduced in 1999 and its importance in the music world cannot be overstated. Giga products enjoy exclusive rights to Endless Wave technology, a patented system which allows large samples to be streamed directly from the hard drive with low latency. Giga became the professional’s sampler of choice for many film, game and television composers, including many high-profile musicians.

The technology looked like it was stuck in a dead-end, though, when Tascam announced it was ceasing development.

“After reviewing over twenty companies, we believe that Garritan is the best candidate to carry on development of the Giga platform”, stated Derek Davis, EVP/COO of TEAC America, Inc. “Garritan has demonstrated a sincere interest in building on the present Giga technology and taking it to the next level.”

“We’re very excited about this opportunity and proud to own some of the very best sampling technologies on the planet,” said Gary Garritan, CEO of Garritan Corporation. “Acquiring the Giga technology helps us achieve our vision of providing the best tools to make great music available to all musicians.”

Garritan will be announcing its plan for the assets in the coming months.

TASCAM

I haven’t seen an official announcement on this yet, but a post at Virtual Instruments Composers Forum quotes TASCAM:

“Notice:  TEAC America, Inc. will cease further development of GIGASTUDIO and GIGASTUDIO related products as of July 21, 2008.  Product sales and technical support will continue through the end of the year.”

It looks like TASCAM is getting out of the software business completely. If you check TASCAM’s site, the product category for software is completely empty, and everything Giga-related is now in the legacy software category.

My guess is that the growing popularity of the Mac, combined with solid competition, made further development of GigaStudio impossible. This is unfortunate, because it not only leaves a lot of users high and dry, but many dedicated developers, too.

Over at Create Digital Music, Peter Kirn says “Earth to Tascam: please make some kind of statement to your customers, even if it means a series of messages if the situation is evolving.” I’ll second that.

A new site, Open GigaStudio, has been created to petition TASCAM to open source GigaStudio. I’ll second that idea, too.

“Please consider making GS4 open source. The GS community is more than happy to support itself and GS developers can then at least continue to offer their products while maintaining their livlihood. GS is one of the last bastions of freedom for the user to customize and enjoy their sample content to the fullest in a world of locked samplers.” forum member “Freedom”

I’ve signed the petition, and I’d encourage readers to do the same.

TASCAM

New features include the QuickSound database tool, additions to the QuickEdit interface and user interface improvements.

GigaStudio 4 features:

• Supports 64-bit operating systems like XP64 and Windows Vista 64 (32-bit version also available).
• Unlimited polyphony.
• 96kHz/24-bit sample support.
• 128 MIDI channel playback.
• embedded GigaPulse convolution reverb.
• iMIDI rule programming includes legato mode, round-robin, alternation, portamento, dynamic expression filters and more to add realism to sampled performances.
• Sound Libraries from SONiVOX, Larry Seyer Digital, Project SAM, Wavelore.

GigaStudio 4 is available now with an MSRP of $599 USD. The GigaStudio 3 Orchestra to GigaStudio 4 Upgrade is $199 USD.

iAcoustica Studio is based on two full acoustic drum and cymbal sets and utilizes a broad range of sticks, mallets, metal brushes and wooden brushes.

Also included are hundreds of custom drum patterns covering Funk, Rock, Samba, Latin, R&B, Jazz and other genres in SMF (Standard MIDI File) format. Each pattern also features multiple variations and fills for extra versatility.

The new collection is available via electronic delivery for $44.95 USD, along with all current Bandmates products via their website. Universal format includes: Reason, Kontakt 2, EXS-24 and GigaStudio versions.

The library is available in three different formats:

• WAVESCAPE™ MULTIPAK (EXS/EXSP24, Reason NN-XT, Kontakt, Halion, RGC SFZ player, Akai Z4/8 hardware and WAV formats – ALL FORMATS IN ONE PACKAGE, 6×94=564 categorized sampler presets!) – 310MB
• EMU EMULATORX/X2 sample pack (94 presets) – 395 MB
• TASCAM™ GIGASTUDIO 3.0 sample pack (94 presets) – 230 MB

Each package available 24/7 via electronic delivery for 9.99 $ – digital items, “free shipping”.

Details and audio demonstration are available at the Wavescape Studio site.

These broadcast quality DVD videos feature GigaStudio 3 guru David Govett along with Larry Seyer demonstrating configuration and use of GigaStudio 3. The lessons are presented in easy to understand terms and include tips for both the novice and expert GigaStudio user. In addition to the informal question and answer type presentation, live screen shots of what David and Larry are doing on the screen are shown in great detail in an easy to follow manner.

Demos, screen shots and more information are available at their site..

The 2 DVD Videos contain the following GigaStudio 3 lessons:

• adding and deleting dimensions
• advanced wizard tool
• anatomy of a gig file
• audition
• auditioning samples in the editor
• basic crossfade layer
• basic wizard tool
• changing dimension controllers
• convert wavepool format
• copy and paste instruments
• create an empty gig file
• creating regions
• crossfade layer
• dsp mixer
• editor status bar
• enhanced file management
• file extension
• file open window
• gigapulse configuration
• graphical keyswitch region
• hardware configuration
• how to work faster in the gigaeditor
• importing samples
• instrument outputs
• instrument regions
• key-switch
• keyboard
• load status bar
• loading and unloading instruments
• loading recent files
• manually mapping samples
• map to null sample
• mapping dimensions
• mapping drum kit
• midi mixer
• mixer disk engine
• mono and stereo samples
• opening a gig file from the editor window
• opening the instrument editor
• quickedit
• quicksound search
• random
• rebuilding the database
• region window
• region zooming
• release trigger with tracking
• resizeable windows
• rewire plugin configuration
• round robin controller
• round robin
• saving as gsp
• send and return
• smart midi processor
• stacked instruments
• status bar
• switching order of dimensions
• Synthesizer Configuration
• tall velocity window
• turning views on and off
• wavefile compression
• waveform view
• wavepool statistics
• ways to select
• wizard tool

Precisionsound

There are also additional Cembalo FX programs included with 67 stereo files of string clusters, ambient noises and hits.

All programs are mapped for Gigastudio and compatible with HALion & Kontakt.

The Cembalo is a Philip Jack Specken model from 1748 rebuilt by Nils Olof Berg in 1986 and recorded in the SAMI A-studio in Stockholm.

For demo song and more information, visit http://www.precisionsound.net

Prominy

Features:

• 243 .gig files which includes over 7,200 instruments
  Single note, 5th-dyad chord, 4th-dyad chord, mute(tight, medium, loose), octave, vibrato(single note, 5th-dyad cord, 4th-dyad chord, octave), single bend, unison bend, stationary bend, double bend, legato slide, pinch harmonic, various chords, picking noises, scrape, etc.
• Legato Slide
  A huge number of sampled legato slide techniques; From Seminole (1 fret) to 1 octave (12 frets), multiple tempos and velocity options for every single note, 5th-dyad chord, 4th-dyad chord2, and octave playing styles.
• Real-time Legato Slide instruments
  Using Giga Studio 3.0’s new feature, ‘Legato Mode’, you can enjoy real-time legato slide.
• Various chords played by up, down, fast, and slow strokes major, minor, 7th, minor7th, major7th , add9th, 7th-9th, major7th-9th, sus4th, dim7th, #9th, minor9th, major3rd(vibrato), major (picking harmonics), open chords, etc.
• Clean and Distorted, both timbres of the electric guitar are included.
• Huge number of picking noises are recorded in multiple forms on all frets and strings.

Price: $599.00 (Introductory price: $499.00 offer ends May 6 2005)

On completion, Strings/Brass/Winds is projected at 180GB in size, with a list price for the entire library of $995 US, representing a significant value versus comparable sized libraries retailing up to 600% higher. Hunter said that he was able to offer such value pricing because of his decision to sell direct from his web site, bypassing the traditional distributor/retailer route. “If I went through an outside distributor I would easily have to double the cost, but I wanted to give Lexus quality at a Hyundai price,” explained Hunter.

Load ‘n Play

After interviewing dozens of composers, Hunter found that the three chief complaints about large libraries, sectional or full orchestral, were ease of use, naming conventions, and the lack of direction of where to start first.

For ease of use, Strings/Brass/Winds is programmed so that the composer can work by choosing from easy-to-read .gig files arranged by vibrato intensity, non-sustained or combinations and effects. Generally, there are three levels of vibrato; “Heavy”, which has the most dramatic and passionate sound, “Lite”, which has a very useful warm tone, and “No Vib”, for use in passages where a mysterious or austere sound is desired. The composer can easily choose instruments that either have velocity controlling volume with after touch controlling vibrato, or mod wheel controlling volume with after touch controlling vibrato. Also, single-layer Gig instruments are contained in each file, quickly enabling the songwriter/composer to create custom templates, literally in a few minutes. Program names explain themselves at a glance. For even faster starting, sectional templates are included. “It’s truly load and play,” Hunter explained.

Complete Sections

All sections are set up for completeness without having to buy separate libraries. Concert Strings comes with a full string section, chamber strings and solo strings. All sections are recorded un-muted and muted with close and far microphone placement. Concert Brass comes with solo brass, sectional brass and muted brass recorded un-muted and muted with close and far microphone placement. Concert Winds comes with solo instruments and woodwind ensembles.

“Blendable” Ambiance

Composer interviews revealed a desire for orchestral samples to carry some ambiance, but not enough to lock the composer into the sound of a specific hall. Thus, Strings/Brass/Winds has a touch of ambiance within the sample, allowing outside reverb to be used for blending and sound shaping.

Concert Strings Ships Late-August 2004

The 60GB-sized Concert Strings ships with full Sections: 24 Violins, First and Second Violins (10 each), 16 Violas, 12 Cellos and 6 Basses; Chamber Strings: First and Second Violins (10 each), 8 Violas, 6 Cellos and 3 Basses; Solo Strings: solo violin, viola, cello and bass. Suggested list price is $499, but can be advanced ordered for a limited time for $399 at http://www.kirkhunter.com/libraries/strings.shtml.

Tascam

The new version, a from-the-ground-up rewrite of the original application, adds dozens of new features for composers, sound designers and music producers. Available in three versions – Orchestra, Ensemble and Solo – it offers up to unlimited polyphony, 96kHz/24-bit sample support, ReWire support, VST FX, and GigaPiano 2, real-time convolution and a new look and feel to maintain GigaStudio’s presence at the forefront of the sampling market. And it retains the features that made it the professional choice for sampling, such as disk streaming, the lowest latency of any sampler and the best sound libraries in the world.

“GigaStudio continues to be the best choice for composers looking for the most realistic sampled instruments available,” says Pete Snell, GigaStudio Sales and Marketing manager for TASCAM. “GigaStudio 3 adds GigaPulse SP, which allows library developers to add reverb and instrument resonance convolution to their instruments for a new level of realism. Plus, new features like Quick Edit, VST plug-in support and ReWire routing support make it easier to integrate the power of GigaStudio into virtually any studio.”

GigaStudio 3 adds a list of new features designed to make music production easier while producing the most authentic sampled instruments ever created.

GigaStudio has always been the overwhelming choice of demanding creative professionals such as feature film composers and music producers… but with the major improvements in GS3, we are confident that anyone doing computer based music will want to own this product We have never before seen such a level of excitement from the soundware development community, which means that, in addition to GS3, there will be many new and revolutionary sample libraries available in the coming months that will turn into “must-haves” for the GS3 user.

Key New GS3 Features include:

• A completely redesigned editing and mixing interface – With the addition of the new Quick Edit feature, we’ve greatly enhanced GigaStudio’s creative capabilities: The sound editor now has a quick and intuitive window to the real-time aspects of Giga Instruments; the new DSP Station Giga Mixer has also been completely retooled and now has 4-band parametric EQ and compression on every channel, as well as eight aux sends, 128 channels, and up to 32 stereo groups.
• Unlimited polyphony – With GS2.5, many composers had to use stacks of computers simultaneously running Giga to attain the high polyphony needed for complex orchestrations. In GS3 we have seen polyphonies as high as 600 voices, compared to the previous limit of 160 voices in the top level of version 2.5. In the high-end GS3 Orchestra version, polyphony is only limited by your computer hardware, while the Ensemble version is “limited” to 160 voices, and the entry level Solo version will produce 96 voices.
• 24-bit/96 kHz sampling support – The Gig format is already the format of choice for the most advanced sound library developers. With GS3 they now have the ability to provide new libraries in pristine high sample rate versions. The added dynamic range and detail at even the lowest listening levels will take these already great sound libraries to new heights of realism.
• Support for Rewire and VST Plug-Ins – While most power users are fine with running multiple instances of Giga on a bank of machines, the typical computer music aficionado will appreciate the convenience of routing audio from GS3 into a Rewire-compatible application on a single computer. We’ve also added support for VST plug-ins so you can now use your favorites such as Waves, Nomad Factory or Antares Filter in the GS3 mixer inserts.
• New GigaPulse Technology –GS3 has integrated the power of GigaPulse™ into every version. Not only does GigaPulse let you place Giga instruments into actual sampled room environments, but also allows sound developers to create new instruments from their raw sample data. For instance, the strings and hammer sound of a Steinway D can be combined with the body of a Bosendorfer Imperial Grand or, for something totally unheard of, the body of a Martin D28. In GS3 Orchestra, GigaPulse Pro allows you to place an instrument in a specific location in a given room, using its surround-sampling engine.
• Huge bundled library sample – To take advantage of all this new power, we’re shipping all versions of GS3 with gigabytes of free sound libraries and samples. With a broad range of instruments from our top sound developers, a new user will be able to get started creating immediately. And for the power user who buys GS3 Orchestra, we are including a special version of the acclaimed Vienna Symphony Library. This is a full symphonic orchestra library built specifically for GS3.