OTO Machines, a small French company helmed by two sound engineers and a music producer, have released their first product, a hand-built 8 Bit stereo processor, dubbed Biscuit.

Biscuit is a stereo sound effect processor with true 8-bit converters, digital processing and analog resonant filters. Feed a signal through Biscuit and you can achieve a wide range of sounds from harsh distortion, digital and aliasing artifacts to
warm and fat 8-bit sounds.

OTO claims that Biscuit is very useful for adding depth and texture to any kind of electronic sounds including both digital and analog synthesizers (8 Bit 303 crunch fest! —Ed.), drum machines, loops, samplers and even vocals.

Biscuit is an enhanced bit depth and sample-rate reducer, also known lovingly as a “bitcrusher,” followed by an real analog filter. Biscuit features a unique approach to adding “wetness” to the dry signal with two separated buttons, Naked and Dressed – those nutty Frenchmen! It also offers other features like removing or inverting each of the 8 bits, changing the sample rate from 250Hz to 30kHz, or adding one of the four effects (waveshaper, delay, pitch shifter and step filter).

Biscuit is fully MIDI compatible, and you can save the whole Biscuit settings (pots and switches) into 16 presets.

Features:
» Stereo inputs and outputs
» Input gain from 0 to 15 dB with diode clipping
» Real 8-bit Analog to Digital and Digital to Analog converters
» Unique capability of muting and inverting each of the 8 bits
» Variable sample clock from 250 Hz to 30 kHz
» True analog multimode filter with resonance control
» FX section: Waveshaper, Delay, Pitch Shifter and Step Filter
» Separate control of dry and 8-bit signals
» 16 presets locations
» MIDI : Continuous Controller, Beat Clock, Program Change and Sysex for presets
» True relay Bypass
» Rugged metallic Neutrik jacks
» Built like a tank: Thick metal case and strong build
» Dimensions: 190mm x 60mm x 117mm / 7.48″ x 2.36″ x 4.60″ (W x D x H)
» Weight: 580g / 1.27 lbs

OTO Machines Biscuit is available now for €449, or thereabouts. More information on the OTO Machines Biscuit.

Too Little, Too Late?

The mad scientists at JazzMutant are sneaking Mu, a new Max For Live MIDI controller for Ableton Live that unleashes the full feature-set of the Lemur platform. The problem for this ground-breaking French company is: too little, too late?

Well, it certainly isn’t too little, since you can tell from the short demo (see below) that there’s a lot of power under the hood (that will nicely evolve over time), but it may be just too late for Mu to really gain traction outside of JazzMutant’s core users.

The reason is simply with many other very cost effective controllers now available for Ableton Live, such as the Novation Launchpad and the Akai APC40 to name just a couple, can a product like the Mu really compete anymore in the market with it’s high entry fee?

More information on the JazzMutant Mu.

Katapult is new flexible mapping application for Mac OS X and Windows designed for the Novation Launchpad that goes far beyond Automap. It allows you to map customizable multipage-layouts to the Launchpad and send the MIDI output to any application or device. It also supports bi-directional communication, meaning that your software can update the controls on the Launchpad surface if desired.

Map up to 16 pages of different layouts to the Launchpad. Katapult supports bi-directional communication. Twist a knob in your software, and the corresponding control on the Launchpad is updated like 21st century motorised faders. Want one controller to update another? Katapult lets you chain controllers together for multidimensional modulations. You can even customize the colors of the LaunchPad’s buttons. Nice!

Controller Types Features:
» Hold buttons
» Toggle buttons
» Horizontal/vertical faders
» Horizontal/vertical sliders
» Indicator LEDs
» 2D Pads
» Meters
» Progress bars
» Note output
» CC output
» Drumracks
» Keyboard macros

Katapult costs $23.95 and is available now. More information no Katapult.

SPL is readying their new DrumXchanger, a plug-in that can replace drum sounds in multitrack sessions regardless of their level. The plug-in works in real time and replaces samples utilizing the German company’s Transient Designer technology for drum hit recognition rather than sound creation.

SPL claims all drum hits, including even the faintest ghost notes, are faithfully recognized regardless of their dynamic level. The samples can be mixed with the original sound and there is also a ducking function available, which only reduces the level of the original drum hit itself without affecting the ambience around it.

Besides the basic functions to process the original and sample signals, DrumXchanger includes two fully operational Transient Designer processors, as well as high-pass and low-pass filters for the original, sampled, and output signals. All samples can be pitch-shifted one octave above or below in real time, while a delay control allows precise sample replacement.

In addition, SPL has included a basic library with high-quality 24-bit/96kHz samples. The library, created exclusively with SPL’s preamps and processors, includes three drum kits with one snare, one bass drum and four toms each. Every multisample is made up of up to 80 sounds in sixteen dynamic levels and five variations. Why they tossed in this stocking stuffer with DrumXchanger is not readily apparent, but maybe they created these samples and had no idea what to do with them. We’d suggest releasing them for free on their website to gain viewership and goodwill with longtime and new customers. But hell, what do we know…

DrumXchanger will be available for a substantial $449 / €299, but no release date has been announced. The native version comes in the RTAS, VST, and AU flavors. More information on the SPL DrumXchanger.

Image-Line has released Drumaxx, a percussion modeling instrument that gives the user control over 16 physically modeled drum pads that can be routed to independent outputs for external effects processing.

Drumaxx is not based on samples or even commonly used synthesis techniques, where oscillators are mixed and the result is always electronic. Drumaxx uses modeling algorithms to create bass drums, hi-hats, snares, realistic and electronic sounds too. But what about the traditional Achilles’heel’ of synthesis, cymbals? Drumaxx creates cymbals and metallic percussion also.

At the core of Drumaxx is a model where the vibrating membrane is represented as a mesh of interconnected points. Each point is given physical properties including mass, inertia, stiffness, damping, and all that good physics stuff. For the musician, this means Drumaxx gives you control over multiple parameters such as material, thickness, tension and shape. More importantly, the parameters can be modulated in real-time as a function of velocity or external controls. The drum body is also under user control too, including body material, size, vibration damping, and shape. All this gives you multi-dimensional performance options, a Matrix of variables providing nearly infinite possibilities.

Features:
» 16 Physically modeled drum pads
» Multi-output for individual effects processing on each pad
» Huge range of modeling possibilities covering sounds from cymbals to kettle-drums
» Velocity modulation matrix for detailed expressiveness
» Integrated Step sequencer with trigger-key playback
» Integrated effects
» Single-pad version ‘Drumpad’ available for tight integration with FL Studio

Image-Line is launching Drumaxx with the pay what you think it’s worth system. Until the 31st of March you can pay a minimum of $13 / €9 to cover our costs. Image-Line will donate $1 from each sale to support Haiti earthquake victims. Sounds like a Win-Win to us!! More information on Image-Line Drumaxx.

Earthworks has unveiled the SR40, a 40kHz High Definition Cardioid Microphone. Offering an extended high frequency response, extremely fast impulse response, short diaphragm settling time, near-perfect cardioid polar pattern, and high rejection of sounds from the rear of the microphone, the new SR40 makes an exceptional choice for a myriad of miking applications from drum overheads to miking a guitar cabinet, or as a solo microphone.

Earthworks’ new SR40 offers a 30Hz – 40kHz frequency response. Considering that very few microphones offer a frequency response above 20kHz, audio professionals will quickly notice subtleties in the sound that are simply non-existent from microphones with less high frequency range. Equally significant, the SR40 offers an extremely fast impulse response that enables the microphone to acquire fast transients far more accurately. The exceptionally short diaphragm setting time allows the SR40 to reveal subtle low level nuances in sound that other microphones mask.

The SR40’s near-perfect cardioid polar pattern ensures that the microphone will not beam or spotlight and provides significantly more gain before feedback than conventional microphones. This near-perfect polar response also enables vocalists or instruments at the sides of the microphone (at 45- or 90-degrees) to have the same pristine sound quality as those at the front of the microphone. This near-perfect polar response also facilitates the use of fewer microphones with closer placement to the source, enabling yet additional gain before feedback in live sound applications.

The SR40’s high SPL handling and rear rejection are additional noteworthy attributes. With an acoustic input rating of 145dB SPL, the new SR40 is a first-rate performer when it comes to capturing loud sound sources. Be it a guitar cabinet or a close miked trumpet or saxophone, the SR40 is ideally suited to handle challenging instruments.

The Earthworks SR40 costs $1,295 and comes in a black finish, requires 48-volt phantom power and has an optional screw-on windscreen. More information on the Earthworks SR40.