PC and Music News

Universal Audio has announced the 1176AE Anniversary Edition, celebrating a decade since UA refounding by Bill Putnam Junior to revive the classic UA products made famous by his father, Bill Putnam in the 1960s.

The 1176AE combines the best of the A "Bluestripe" and E revisions while adding the lower 2 to 1 compression ratio found on the 176. A new "Slo" attack mode gives the 1176AE the potential for both classic and uniquely individual compression effects.

Features :

- Unique rev.A/E "hot-rod-mod" features, cosmetics and sonic signature
- Program dependency of legendary "Bluestripe" Rev.A 1176
- Vintage UA 176 compression ratio array - 2:1, 4:1, 8:1 with 20:1 for limiting
- Expanded range of "multi-button" compression and classic "all-button" mode
- "Slo" 15ms Attack setting adds increased versatility for new uses
- Hand-built in the USA, Limited-Edition of only 500 units worldwide

The 1176AE will have an MSRP of US$2999, an estimated street price of US$2499, and will ship as a 500 limited-edition product beginning in June 2008.

Wusik has announced that Wusik VM - VST Manager and Organizer is now FREE and Open-Source (using a BSD license).

Wusik VM is a VST Plug-in Manager / Organizer. The idea behind it is very simple - load WVM and inside it load your VST plug-ins. Then extract the presets to FXP files, you can organize those files in any way you want, or download categorized FXP files from Wusik's planned future library of VST FXP files. When a FXP is loaded, it will load the correct VST plug-in for it and apply the FXP Preset to the loaded VST.

For example, you could have a directory with FXP files of BASS sounds. Those files can be from several different VST plug-ins. When you browse and load each FXP, it will load the correct plug-in making browsing for sounds with multiple plug-ins much easier. You can categorize by mood, style, or any way you want.

On top of that, the Wusik VM download also includes two VST MIDI-Tools: Arpeggiator and Melody. For more information please visit the link below :

Oldschool is a collection of patches for Zebra2, the fabulous virtual synth from U-he. Today Oldskool has been updated, it now features 512 "playable and lush sounding" patches designed by Michael Kastrup that cover decades of synthesizer and keyboard history.

Oldskool is available as a download at a special price of $59 instead of $69 until June 15th.

AKG unveils the brand new C 214, a recording microphone designed as a cost-effective alternative to the high-end C 414 family.

Features :

- AKG's Legendary 1" Edge-Terminated Large Diaphragm Sound'
- Outstanding Dynamic Range (up to 156 dB SPL, Ultra-Low Noise)
- Roadworthy Design
- Integrated Suspension to reduce mechanical Noise
- Switchable 20 dB Attenuation Pad and Low Cut Switch
- Rugged double mesh Grill for high RF immunity but unaffected Acoustics
- All-metal Die-cast body with shock- and scratch-resistant Finish
- Spider-type Shock Mount included
- Metal Carrying Case included
- Designed, Engineered and Build in Vienna, Austria

The C 214 will be available at a list price of €629 (street price is about €460).

Everything happens ! Stillwell Audio has finally released Mac OS X Universal Binary VST and AU versions of all its beautiful plug-ins. It includes :

- 1973
- Bad Buss Mojo
- Event Horizon
- Major Tom
- Transient Monster
- Verbiage
- Vide-EQ

For more information, please visit

Camel Audio's presets for Absynth and Massive have been updated to KORE 2 format including full attributes, thanks to the efforts of Stephan Wey. This update makes finding the presets you require even easier.

In addition, owners of the Biolabs Massive soundset can now download an extra free bank of over 50 presets created by Biomechanoid, Antonio Blanca and Tim Conrardy. The bank features pads, leads, basses and atmospheres - all produced to the exacting standards of these leading sound designers.

For a limited time you can buy any of the preset packs for Absynth or Massive at a reduced price of just $59 / €49 / £39.

KORE users will also be pleased to hear that all the CamelPhat and CamelSpace factory preset banks are now available in KORE 2 format, together with template KORE presets.

Sonalksis has announced the release of version 2.04 of the "Essentials Mk2" plug-in suite which includes SV-315 Mk2, SV-517Mk2 and SV-719 plug-ins.

Changes :

- All Essentials Mk2 :

. Ported to Digidesign Audiosuite format.
. Improved cross-platform session handling.
. Support display of Unicode characters in names.
. Mousewheel handling for plugins via hook added for all hosts.
. Mousewheel functionality added for text boxes.
. Mousewheel sensitivity improved.
. Mousewheel/Drag interaction handling improved.
. Non "Velocity Sensitive" mode now works with Wacom tablets.
. GUI "Off switch" (plug-in bypass) switches off all LEDS.
. Stop signal LED from locking "on" when bypassed.

- RTAS :

. Sample rate problem fixed.
. Shelf bug fixed.
. Added Alt+Ctr ...

Humanoid Sound Systems has released Scanned Synth Pro 2, its virtual instrument designed to create "rich complex digital tones and fantastic sound effects", while using simplifed controls and traditional synths techniques.

What's new :

- New GUI design.
- New presets.
- An audio input that can be used to feed Scanned Synth Pro's hammer and mass shapes making its sound even more dynamic.
- An envelope follower that follows the level of the audio input and can be used to modulate the synth's parameters.
- A Danger Switch for extra nastiness.
- Context-sensitive help.
- The facility to load and save fxp and fxb files from within the plug-in.
- Improved sound quality.
- Improved host support.

Scanned Synth Pro 2 is available now as a VSTi for Windows at a price of €60. Registered users of version 1 can upgrade to version 2 for free by logging into the support system. A demo version is also available.

Stanton DJ proudly introduces the Uberstand, a laptop stand described as "the essential tool for the traveling laptop DJ or musician".

Specification :

- Stable, rugged laptop stand for use by DJs and musicians
- Folds flat into a 12" zippered bag (included)
- Metal — aircraft grade — aluminum and stainless steel
- Lightweight and small form factor when folded
- Adjustable shelf to store Final Scratch ScratchAmp or external hard-drive
- Reusable plastic ties and Velcro

The Uberstand will retail for $99.99.

Universal Audio unveils the 710 Twin-Finity, a radically new UA pre-amp design which uniquely combines both the classic retro warmth of UA tube design and the transient bite of solid-state in a 2U, half-rack, all-metal chassis.

The 710 Twin-Finity design with dual signal paths is centered around the innovative phase-aligned "Tone-Blending" knob which is continually variable from 100% Tube to 100% Solid-State offering easy access to a myriad of unique pre-amp tones.

Features :

• Vacuum Tube(12AX7) & Solid-State Dual-Path Preamp
• UA Sonic Quality, Twin-Finity Phase-aligned Tone-Blending
• Dual Gain Stages: Wire with Gain to Creamy to Crunchy
• Class A, High-Headroom, High Gain (70dB+) Mic Pre & DI
• Metal Chassis, Designed & Made in the USA, Rack-Kit Included

The 710 Twin-Finity will have an MSRP of US$999, an estimated street price of US$799, and will include a single or dual-unit 19" pro rack mount kit. The 710 Twin-Finity will ship worldwide in July 2008.

G-Sonique has just released the XBass4000, a new and unique VST effect plug-in for "maximal kick-up" of the bass frequencies. The virtual circuits of the XBass4000 combine two different algorithms emphasizing the bass spectrum of the track:

- a psychoacoustic algorithm BassEnhancer that emphasize the intensity of hearable bass content
- an analog style saturation unit that enriches bass spectrum of a requested "fat" and "warm" sounds known from tube circuits. It also adds higher harmonic frequencies that expands and enlightens the hearable spectrum as well as sub-bass spectrum

The XBass4000L is available for Windows as a VST effect plug-in at a price of €15. A demo version is also available.

PreSonus Audio Electronics is pleased to announce the Open Beta Driver Program allowing customers the opportunity to download and use beta version drivers for PreSonus products.

The first beta driver available for download is the all new driver, firmware and Control Console (version 2) for the FireStudio 26x26 firewire recording system. The new FireStudio driver package for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac Leopard increases overall efficiency and stability as well as introduces a completely new version of the Control Console DSP mixer/router software with a switchable "expanded mix mode" making the second bank of ADAT channels for mixing and routing available.