PC and Music News

MXL Microphones has announced the new MXL 990 USB stereo condenser microphone. With electronics based upon the MXL 990, the 990 USB features two gold diaphragm capsules in an X/Y stereo configuration and delivers "a big, rich sound with excellent spatial imaging". Unlike most condenser microphones, however, the MXL 990 USB is a Universal Serial Bus instrument that connects directly to a computer without the need for external mic preamps. Featuring support for USB 1.1 and 2.0, it even includes gain adjustment settings via the built-in three position attenuation switch.

The MXL 990 USB stereo condenser microphone comes with a travel case, a mic stand adapter, a shock mount, a 10-foot USB cable, an owner's manual, and an applications guide. Scheduled to ship Q3 of 2007, it will carry an MSRP of $199.95.

The Covert Operators released 3 new packs for Ableton Live 6.

- Constructs: A Live Pack containing hundreds of presets and over 3000 Meta Sound files.

- The Muses - Covert MIDI Effects: This is a collection of MIDI Effect Racks that contains over a 100 presets. Including 70 different Arpegiattor Racks.

- The Muses - Covert Audio Effects: These presets include beat manglers, mad distortion effects, delays and insane effects that could only have come from the reigning Ableton content kings.

For more information, please visit their web site.

BandmateLoops has just released a new multi-sample Universal Acoustic Drum Library called iAcoustica Studio. Based on two full acoustic drum and cymbal sets played with a broad range of sticks, mallets, metal brushes and wooden brushes, iAcoustica Studio offers the contemporary composer/producer eight "unique, extremely realistic" drum kits for Reason, Kontakt 2, EXS-24 and GigaStudio. 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.

iAcoustica Studio is available via electronic delivery via BandmateLoops website.

Sonic Reality and esoundz.com are proud to announce a Summer Group Buy on 15 Rex Paks featuring collectively over 12,000 loops in pristine 24 bit audio quality. Designed to work with products like Stylus RMX, Reason, FL Studio, Tracktion 3, Dimension Pro, Kontakt, ProTools, Cubase and more, these fresh beats, instrument phrases, drum and percussion grooves are made to work in many styles of music from Hip Hop to Rock, Latin, R&B, Electronic, Pop, Soul, Blues, Country, Jazz and many others.

Deadline: Join between August 1st to August 21st 2007 to be a part of the group buy !

Livid Instruments introduced today Cell, a real-time video software designed for instant playback and performance. Cell provides users an intuitive, touch-screen friendly interface with stunning effects and control, making video performance incredibly simple. Features include, real-time effects, live video input, large clip libraries, and playback manipulation such as; scrubbing, speed, loop, and reverse play. MIDI integration allows it to be controlled with almost any MIDI device on the market.

Available for both Mac OSX and Windows XP, Cell can be purchased now directly from Livid Instruments for $99. Note that a demo version is also available.

Universal Audio and AMS-Neve in partnership announce the release of UAD Nevana X2 , a double DSP system with 2 PCis cards (one for each DSP) which includes UA's Neve emulations (1073/1073SE EQ, 1081/1081SE EQ, 33609/33609SE Bus Compressor and 88RS Channel Strip) and 14 plugins from UA Mix Essentials (with VST, Audio Unit and RTAS support).

With an additional and special promotion (200 $ value to get more plugins), UAD Nevana X2 should be available at the end of august : Price : 1 499 $