Google Music Set For Fall Debut?

July 30th, 2010

It’s no secret that Google has been developing a new online music store, but it appears that the new service may bow as soon as this Fall for the Holiday shopping season.

Industry sources have observed that Google, after making deals with several labels, is now in talks with publishers including the Harry Fox Agency. The increased pace of the deals indicate that the backend of the download store is now in the alpha stages of development, and the content deals need to be sewn up for a debut before the end of the year.

The major labels have welcomed competition from other players in the space including Amazon and Wal-Mart in order to create more balance. Amazon and Wal-Mart each own a little over 10% of the market and the majors feel that Google could achieve another 10% depending on the success of their rollout and how it’s integrated with their other products. A Google, Wal-Mart and Amazon marketshare of 30% would rival Apple’s 30% share and may give them the leverage they need to combat Cupertino’s strict terms.

Google will face an uphill battle in terms of their interface. Google’s online applications and services are by no means “sexy” and the music industry could certainly use some shine these days. Worse still is that while Google may be able to dial in Android, other players may not fare as well as far as seamless integration.

The Future: Google, no doubt, is taking the initiative seriously, and will not just enter the market to say “we can too” – A strategy that ultimately diminished Yahoo’s stature and relegated it to second tier status. If Google is going to enter the market with some luster, they’re going to need to include a killer feature that hasn’t been exploited before…

Posted in Digital Media Players, Digital Music, Industry, Music Phones, Record Labels, The Future of Music | No Comments »

Mackie Premiers Onyx Blackjack & Blackbird Recording Interfaces

July 30th, 2010

Mackie has premiered the Onyx Blackjack and Blackbird, two new audio recording Interfaces, which the company claims to deliver professional recording quality and innovative features.

Blackbird

Mackie states that the boutique-quality Onyx mic preamps and proper AD/DA converters deliver fidelity, headroom and transparency for your recordings. From a simple, bus-powered desktop solution to a quality, 16-input front end for your studio, these interfaces offer a compelling solution for audio recording.

Onyx Blackjack

Features:
» PREMIUM ONYX PREAMPS: Unmatched fidelity, headroom and transparency
» QUALITY AD/DA CONVERSION: Cirrus Logic converters with 114dB dynamic range (A-weighted)
» TRUE HARDWARE MONITORING: Mono and stereo recording with zero-latency
» PRO FEATURES: Integrated DIs, phantom power and expandability for flexible and simple studio integration
» MAC/PC COMPATIBILITY: Compatible with most major DAWs, includes Tracktion 3 Music Production Software
» RUGGED AND ERGONOMIC DESIGN: They are Mackie tough, and built for maximum workflow

More information on Mackie’s Onyx Black Series.

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Native Instruments Announce KOMPLETE 7

July 30th, 2010

Native Instruments have announced KOMPLETE 7, an expanded version of its studio-standard software bundle. The next generation of KOMPLETE now combines 24 instruments and effects – including five entirely new products – with over 10,000 sounds and 90 GB of samples.

KOMPLETE 7 includes the latest versions of Native Instruments’ full-featured instruments and effects, ranging from ABSYNTH 5, BATTERY 3.1, FM8, GUITAR RIG 4.1, KONTAKT 4.1 and MASSIVE to the upcoming REAKTOR 5.5. As the next generation of the legendary modular synthesis studio, the new REAKTOR version adds powerful modal and additive synthesis, a revised user interface, the unique “Lazerbass” synthesizer and many enhancements for both instrument builders and musicians.

KOMPLETE 7 also integrates a wealth of instruments and effects based on the player versions of KONTAKT, KORE, REAKTOR and GUITAR RIG. Products added to the bundle include the acclaimed ABBEY ROAD 60s DRUMS vintage drum library, the radical performance effect THE FINGER by Tim Exile, the sampled electric bass SCARBEE MM-BASS and all four electric pianos from the SCARBEE VINTAGE KEYS series by sampling mastermind Thomas Scarbee, all four acoustic pianos of the CLASSIC PIANO COLLECTION, the cinematic ACOUSTIC REFRACTIONS instrument and the distinctive REAKTOR SPARK synthesizer.

KOMPLETE 7 features five completely new products that further expand the creative potential of the bundle: The powerful studio reverb REFLEKTOR with its advanced zero-latency convolution engine; the REAKTOR PRISM modal synthesizer designed by NI founder Stephan Schmitt; the performance effects suite TRAKTOR’S 12, derived from Native Instruments’ leading DJ software; the new VINTAGE ORGANS instrument with its comprehensive arsenal of painstakingly sampled electromagnetic organs; and the new RAMMFIRE amp emulation that was developed in close collaboration with one of Rammstein’s guitarists, Richard Z. Kruspe.

Every copy of KOMPLETE 7 also includes an NI Online Shop voucher worth $60 / 50 EUR, valid towards any product from the KOMPLETE Instruments and Effects range that is not included in the bundle.

Native Instruments’ KOMPLETE 7 will be available in September 2010 for a suggested retail price of $559 / €499. An update for owners of KOMPLETE 2/3/4/5/6 will be available for $229 / €199. More information on NI’s KOMPLETE 7.

Posted in Updates & Upgrades | No Comments »

Sugar Bytes Unleash Guitarist

July 30th, 2010

The innovators at Sugar Bytes have taken the wraps off what they deem is “the most complete guitar software of all times.” Guitarist is a new plug-in for Mac and PC that features convincing guitar riffs, combined with amps, wah pedals and effects that can be programmed. The actual guitar player has been transformed into a step sequencer system that allows control about playing styles, chord progressions and song structures.” Sounds pretty good to us!

Sugar Bytes Guitarist

Guitarist can be played live as well, with just two fingers you can combine chords and patterns easily. You can choose from factory chords or just create your own chords on the fingerboard. The Action Section allows you to tweak the sequence in realtime and apply timestretch, looper or other crazy effects. Guitar players, keyboarders, producers, Guitarist is the new solution when guitar tracks are needed.

Features:
» Pattern Sequencer
On 16 steps you can determine if a chord is triggered, which strings are played and if the strum goes up- or downward. The playing style (normal, dead, damped) can be determined and the strum speed can be made slower or a double strum ca be triggered. Slides,bends, vibratos and portamentos can be made and strings can be stopped at any time.

» Chord Sequencer
On 16 steps you can create chord-progresions from the factory chords or selfmade userchords. Each step of the chord sequencer can be repeated up to 16 times. That way you can create long lasting compositions and change chords also earlier or later. That rocks.

» Animation
A really cool feature is the animation sequencer. Each finger can be moved up or downward by 3 seminotes. You can use it for little melodies and alternating chords and it brings immediate beauty and life to your riff.

» Song
On 16 steps you can combine the 24 available patterns to create songs or complex riffs. Each step of the pattern sequencer can be repeated for up to 16 times, that allows long pattern progressions and pattern changes also at uneven times.

» Action Section
Here you get some realtime action to tweak the pattern with just pressing a button! Quickly apply a Looper, Timestretcher, slow the sequencer down or force dead- or damped notes!

» Amp
Two wonderful sounding amp models are available as well as a direct out mode for your favorite amp-amulator-software..

» Effects
Two effect-units with 10 effect altogether provide the colors you are looking for. Additionally there is a multimode Wah Pedal that provides a classical wah, talk wah and volume pedal/thremolo mode.

» Guitar
Each finger on the fretboard shows its notename which makes it easy to identify, alternate and create chords. 24 chords can be saved on the “Chord Board” to be called with the Sequencer or with your keyboard.

» Keyboard
Here the sequencer is triggered and the 24 Userchords and Patterns are called for playback and editing.

Sugar Bytes’ Guitarist will be available in September for Mac and PC and come in the AU/VST flavors. More information on Sugar Bytes Guitarist.

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Grace Premiers Tuner – Wireless Radio & Media Player

July 28th, 2010

Grace Digital has debuted the Tuner Wireless Radio & Media Player, a new addition to their line of internet radios. Simply plug it into your current home stereo system and gain access to 30,000 internet radio stations, podcast and on demand Wi-Fi radio content. Like all Grace Digital internet radios, Tuner supports a variety of services including Pandora Radio, NPR on-demand, iheartradio, and SIRIUS.

Grace Tuner

By connecting directly to your home stereo system the Tuner Wi-Fi Radio & Media Player provides superior sound quality and access to internet radio stations and services from all over the world. With a built-in Ethernet jack and a true 802.11g wireless connectivity, set up is quick and easy. The Tuner’s stand-width design appears to be just another component in your current home audio setup. The Tuner can dial in Reciva, iheartradio, CBS Radio, Pandora, Premium SIRIUS Internet radio, Live365, MP3tunes, NOAA, and NPR. Users can also wirelessly stream their personal collection direct from their PC or Mac to their home stereo. The Tuner comes equipped with a full function remote control or download the Grace Digital Audio Remote Control App to control one or more of your Grace Digital internet radios from your iPhone, iPad and/or iPod Touch.

Grace’s Tuner is available no for $219.99. More information on the Grace Digital Tuner Wi-Fi Radio & Media Player.

Posted in Samples & Sounds | No Comments »

Apple Debuts 12-Core Mac Pro

July 27th, 2010

Apple has announced a new Mac Pro line with up to 12 processing cores and up to 50 percent greater performance than the previous generation. Featuring the latest quad-core and 6-core Intel Xeon processors, all-new ATI graphics and the option for up to four 512GB solid state drives (SSD), the new Mac Pro looks to be the new go-to box for audio professionals who utilize the OS X platform.

At the heart of the new Mac Pro’s performance are next generation quad-core and 6-core Intel Xeon processors running at speeds up to 3.33 GHz. These multi-core processors use a single die design so each core can share up to 12MB L3 cache to improve efficiency while increasing processing speed. These systems feature an integrated memory controller for faster memory bandwidth and reduced memory latency; Turbo Boost to dynamically boost processor speeds up to 3.6 GHz; and Hyper-Threading to create up to 24 virtual cores. The Mac Pro now comes with the ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics processor with 1GB of memory and customers can configure-to-order the even faster ATI Radeon HD 5870 with 1GB of memory.

For the first time, Mac Pro customers have the option to order a 512GB SSD. With the ability to install up to four SSD drives in the system’s internal drive bays, the new Mac Pro can provide ultra high-speed disk bandwidth and random disk performance, two times faster than the average performance of a standard disk drive. Mac Pro also now features two Mini DisplayPorts and one dual-link DVI port. The additional Mini DisplayPort output allows customers to connect two LED Cinema Displays without an additional graphics card or adapter and the dual-link DVI port supports legacy DVI-based displays up to a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels.

The new Mac Pro will be available in August. More information on the Apple Mac Pro.

Posted in Music Technology, New Gear | No Comments »

Apogee Announces Symphony Audio Interface

July 26th, 2010

Apogee has announced the Symphony I/O, a multi-channel professional audio interface offering native Logic and Pro Tools compatibility and I/O flexibility. Symphony can function in StandAlone Mode or connect directly to a Mac via any Mac-based audio workstation. The new Symphony System also features new digital audio conversion technology, new Maestro 2 software, multiple I/O options and low latency performance. The Symphony I/O will replace AD-16X,
DA-16X and the Rosetta 800.

Apogee Symphony

With flexible and scalable I/O architecture, the upgraded Symphony System now allows end-users to define a system to their specific needs. Symphony I/O’s base chassis can accommodate up to 2 I/O modules, creating any combination of analog and digital I/O with USB 2.0, Symphony and Avid’s Pro Tools connectivity.

The new Maestro 2 software offers integral control of Symphony I/O with a new interface that makes workflow easier by removing the guesswork from routing, mic pre adjustment, input and output calibration and hardware control. Lastly, connect Symphony I/O to the Symphony 64 PCI or Symphony Mobile Express/34 card for low latency with Apple Logic, and all Apple Core Audio applications.

Features:
» The latest in Apogee conversion and clocking technologies
» Current I/O Modules include:
— 8 Analog I/O + 8 Optical I/O
— 8 Analog I/O + 8 AES I/O
— 8 Mic Preamp
— 16 Analog IN + 16 Optical OUT
— 16 Analog OUT + 16 Optical IN
» Audio Interface Mode (AIM): Easily configure Symphony I/O from the front panel for these modes:
— Symphony (connect to Symphony PCIe card or Symphony Mobile
— Express/34 card for ultra low latency use with Logic or any Core Audio application)
— Pro Tools HD (connect directly to Pro Tools PCIe card)
— USB (connect to high-speed USB 2.0 port)
— StandAlone (I/O inputs routed directly to I/O outputs)
» Front panel control including two encoder knobs for selectable input gain and output level adjustment and sixteen (16) high-resolution meters, audio system and clocking indication
» Two (2) studio quality headphone outputs
» Four (4) word clock connections
» Available with feet for desktop use or rack ears for rack mounting

Apogee’s Symphony starts at $3690 and will begin rolling out on August 1st. More information on Apogee Symphony.

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Allen & Heath Launches iLive Tweak App

July 26th, 2010

Allen & Heath has launched iLive Tweak, an iPhone app, which provides real time mobile control of the iLive digital mixing range. The release adds yet another option to iLive’s array of remote control possibilities, which includes laptops and touch tablets running iLive Editor control software, and the PL Series of controllers.

Available to download free of charge from the Apple store, iLive Tweak opens up new control possibilities for iPhone-using sound engineers, enabling them to remotely browse and select channels on their iLive MixRack, and adjust Levels and Mutes, PEQ, GEQ and Delays.

iLive Tweak is compatible with iLive’s latest software release, v1.7, and runs on the iPhone 3, 3G, 3GS and 4, as well as the new iPad.

More information on Allen & Heath iLive Tweak.

Posted in Apps, Music Phones, New Gear | No Comments »

Backline Engineering Releases RiffBox – Audio Looping App

July 26th, 2010

Backline has debuted RiffBox, an audio looping app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Become a one-man band, capture a musical idea or practice your beatboxing skills. By detecting repeated notes or rhythm patterns that you play or sing, RiffBox uses patented technology to automatically recognize and create perfectly timed loops.

riffbox

Change the loop length by timing them to notes or chords that you play. An unlimited number of layers can be added to create complex musical passages. Store your music in a loop library and e-mail loops as WAV files, or download basic rhythm loops from the web. RiffBox offers many exciting looping features.

There are multiple ways you can create a basic loop:
- Based on the number of notes or chords played
- Starting after you play the same note for a second time
- Recognizing rhythm patterns to determine the loop you are playing
- Recognizing note sequences to determine the loop you are playing
- Press a button and manual mode starts looping on the very next note
- Restrict the frequency range of notes or rhythms that are recognized
- Automatically create click-tracks as the basis for your loops
- Download basic rhythm loops such as drum patterns from the web

Once you’ve created your loop:
- Record and mix 4 additional audio layers at a time
- Use the mixdown function to add an unlimited number of audio layers
- Change the loop length timed to the audio ‘events’ that are part of the loop
- E-mail the base loop or all loop layers as WAV files

More information on the Backline RiffBox.

Posted in Music Gadgets | No Comments »

PSP Audioware Unveils PSP 85 – New Delay Plug-In For Mac & PC

July 26th, 2010

PSP Audioware has unveiled the PSP 85, a new delay plug-in that is the successor to their PSP 84.

PSP 85

The PSP 85 contains aggressive algorithm optimization and adds numerous significant new features while retaining full preset and bank compatibility with the PSP 84 delay. The plug-in comes with 60 new presets designed to highlight its exciting new attributes, in addition to a supplementary bank containing more ‘bread and butter’ PSP 84 factory programs.

Features:
» pre-delay for creating complex rhythmic patterns
» delay line output panning
» delay gating, which offers extended control over number of echoes and their level
» automatic ducking (with auxiliary sidechain input option), an invaluable tool for helping to preserve sound clarity by attenuating superfluous echoes that would have been otherwise masked by a hot input signal
» filter resonance modulation
» LFO song position synchronization for repeatable playback results
» input muting, allowing you to connect the delay lines in series when used on mono tracks
» 64 bit audio stream support (VST format only)

PSP Audioware’s PSP 85 costs $149 and is available now, arriving in the AU / VST / RTAS flavors. A trail version is also available to download. More information on the PSP Audioware PSP 85.

Posted in Updates & Upgrades | No Comments »

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