PC and Music News

Story & Clark Pianos announced that it's all-new acoustic piano line would come standard with PNOscan , which features MIDI and USB ports, effectively creating a bridge between the world of traditional acoustic pianos and today's leading-edge technologies.

PNOscan, the only retrofit optical recorder on the market, was introduced last fall. Providing full recording and playback capabilities, it uses 88 optical sensors to track the movement of every key as it is played and translates the sound for output via MIDI and USB ports.

For more information, please visit the link below :

Manytone Music has just released ManyBass, a bass guitar sample based synthesizer. Designed and built in collaboration with AraldFX, ManyBass comes with 2,4Go of samples and includes a large choice of amp simulators , speakers, and FX rack with choices from phaser to compressor, chorus, flanger and delay. On top of that ManyBass will allow you to load up to 4 different articulations of an instrument and switch between these articulations using simple Keyswitching or Midi cc.

ManyBass is available for $139.95 (introductory price of $119.95) in PC VSTi format and Mac AU and VSTi formats (Universal Binary).

Peavey has just acquired Alien Connections and its ReValver plug-in and unveiled ReValver Mk III.

Features :

- 15 amp models, including Peavey 6505, JSX, Classic, ValveKing and Triple XXX.
- Modules in amp head, preamp and power amp formats.
- Two operation modes, with 64-bit and oversampling in HQ mode for hi-fi fanatics.
- FFT based convolution reverb, including sampled spring reverb.
- More than 150 speaker samples using real-time convolution and membrane modeling.
- Algorithm improvements from Mk II to enhance realism, especially in the tube and transformer simulation.
- Standard Tuner and Simul-Tuner with six independent tuners for tuning to presets.

ReValver Mk III will be available for Mac OS X and Windows in VST and AU formats with an MSRP of $299.99.

After Stereoiser and Stereoplacer, NuGen Audio offers with Audio Visualizer a spectral analysis tool with a lot of functionalities.
Already available as a VST plug for Windows, Visualizer is now ready for the Mac, in a beta UB version (AU and VST). Its price is $89.

Main specs:

-Multiple metering meters (Peak/RMS/K12/K14/K20 etc.)
-FFT Spectrum Analysis
-Stereo Spectrum Analysis
-Stereo Spectrogram
-Vector Scope
-Stereoscope
-Stereo Bias meter
-Correlation Meter
-Intelligent window optimisation
-Frequency zoom and scroll
-dB Zoom and scroll
-Peak hold control
-Colour selection
-A/B snapshot

NuGen Audio is always looking for beta-testers, and Jon Schorah, creative director, always shows great reactivity (I'm not a NuGen employee...).

Scuzzphut has announced a new drum machine plug-in Phatbeatz.

Phatbeatz is a drum machine plugin built for quick working and easy kit & sample management. With an exclusive sample library by Electronisounds, an intuitive and easy step sequencer and a host of features designed to make beat creation quick and effective, Phatbeatz is a tool aimed at electronic musicians who want to create, not wait.

Features :

- 10 Sample Slots.
- Pattern Sequencer.
- Kit Browser.
- In place preview of Samples.
- In place preview of kits.
- Drag and Drop Samples from Explorer into phatbeatz.
- 32 step patterns - auto detects if only 16 steps used.
- Automatic loop tuning.
- 3 Outputs with fx on each.
- Decay and tune controls per sample (with fine control).
- Beautiful GUI by Berend Vervelde (Amoebe).
- Simple kit creation and management.
- Exclusive Electronisounds kit library.

Phatbeatz is coming Q1, 2008 with price TBA.

ESI has announced the new U46 XL USB audio interface with 4 input and 6 output channels for all current Windows versions and Mac OS X including Leopard.

Features :

- compact device in stylish white / aluminum case
- supports 48kHz input recording and output playback with 100dB(a) dynamic range ADC / DAC
- 6 channel analog output plus separate mix output
- microphone input with balanced XLR input and switchable +48V support
- Hi-Z input signal support (i.e. for electric guitars)
- 4 channel analog line input (4 simultaneous input channels in total)
- bus powered (no extra power supply needed)

The U46 XL will most likely be shipping in Q2 2008.

Christian Knufinke Software has released version 2.2 of its convolution reverb plug-in SIR2 and also released a public beta version for Intel-Macs (VST and AU).

Improvements in v2.2 :

- More routing capabilities (mono->mono, mono->stereo etc.).
- Better support for mono-channels.
- Auto true stereo file creation for special impulse response libraries.
- Improved host compatibility.

Sugar Bytes has announced Effectrix, a new multi-effect sequencer featuring 13 effects and a 32-step sequencer with 12 sub-patterns. If you are looking for "grooving sound mutations and exciting breakbeat effects" this one is for you !

Effects included : Looper, Timestretch, Scratch, Reverse, Tape Stop, Tonal Delay, Stutter, Crush, Filter (10 filter types), Phaser, Chorus, Delay, Reverb.

Effectrix will be released in February 2008 for Windows and Mac OS X in VST and AU formats. It will cost €99 / $129.

Minimal House is a newcomer in the Ueberschall's huge sample collection. This library comes with 900 loops and samples, gathered in 24 construction kits and contains over 1.6GB of sample content. Main tasks of this product are live use, DJ sets and "behind the scenes sound commandos".

Minimal House offers a huge variety of sequences from basslines, atmospheres, synthetix and fx. Hundreds of finely detailed drums, percussion samples and loops are ready to utilize and personalize in most trusted VST/AU/RTAS hosts or Standalone operations. As usual this sound library comes along with the loop player "Elastik".

Minimal House is available now for Mac OS X and Windows at a retail price of $119. (€ 99.) For more information, please visit their web site.

Audio-Technica introduces the AT2020 USB Cardioid Condenser Microphone. Designed for computer-based recording, the AT2020 comes with a USB digital output, low self-noise, extended frequency response and a fixed cardioid polar pattern to allow isolation of the desired sound source.

The AT2020 USB is powered from a USB Bus and includes a tripod desk stand, stand mount, USB cable and soft protective carrying pouch. It will be available in March 2008 with an MSRP of $249.

MOTU unveils the third version of its 828 audio interface which was one of the first FireWire audio interface ever made. The 828mk3 comes with a lot of new features : a 32-bit floating point DSP for digital mixing and effects processing, a total of 28 inputs and 30 outputs, 192 kHz operation, true hi-Z guitar inputs, signal overload protection, digitally controlled analog input trims on all inputs, two banks of ADAT/TOSLink optical, MIDI I/O and much more in a single rack-space form factor.

All I/O is routed to a new on-board 16-bus digital mixer driven by hardware-based DSP with 32-bit floating point precision. The mixer allows users to apply no-latency effects processing to inputs, outputs or busses directly in the 828mk3 hardware, independent of the computer. Effects can even be app ...