PC and Music News

Zero-G has announced Carnival Drums, over 2,000 samples and 1.4GB of the exciting sounds of the Brazilian carnival. This library features the main drums of the Brazilian Samba Baterias (samba percussion ensembles), which perform every summer at the Rio Carnival. For this project, 10 professional Brazilian percussionists, who perform annually at the carnival, were recorded at a state-of-the-art studio with close-mics, stereo overheads and distant stereo room mics to capture the true essence of these exhilarating performances. The 10 drummers were recorded playing every rhythm in unison, creating the power and force of a large carnival band when multiple loops are combined. Carnival Drums provides users with the versatility of over 1,400 drum loops in four mic positions. In addition, the col ...

KEL Audio has announced the HM-2d, an affordable large diaphragm condenser mic voiced "in the tradition of a high quality dynamic mic". Recommended for rock and roots vocals, guitar amps, piano, outside kick drums, harmonica, horns and more the HM-2d features a specially tuned capsule and circuit to produce a frequency response that varies only about 2 dB over most of its range, producing a tight, full, sonic profile free of the peaks and thin sound associated with many budget condenser mics and popular dynamic sound reinforcement mics.

The HM-2d will ship early September and will be available direct from KEL Audio website for $149 USD including shipping. A pre-order price of $129 will be offered until September 30th.

Roland has released its new flagship SP-555 Sampling Workstation for its popular SP Sampler lineup. The SP-555 comes complete with 16 velocity sensitive pads, 37 Fantom-quality effects, a new Loop Capture function, beefed up internal sample memory, and total computer integration with USB MIDI/AUDIO connectivity.

Features overview :

- Ultra-easy sampling with innovative Loop Capture feature
- Versatile sampling through Line input, phantom-powered Mic input,USB audio streaming, and WAV/AIFF import
- Dozens of killer performance effects, including Super Filter and DJFX Looper
- Audio interface capability with any DAW or DJ audio application (Cakewalk SONAR LE included)
- Large Sample Memory via CompactFlash (up to 2GB)
- Bundled Wave Converter software (Mac and PC) for importing and exporting WAV/AIFF files
- Infrared D BEAM controller and V-LINK compatibility for high-impact performance

For more information, please visit their web site.

CME has just announced that the new UF series master keyboards is now shipping. This 2nd generation series include a built-in USB plug and play interface, a MIDI in added to the expansion slot, and even a built-in full duplex wireless MIDI interface with error detection and 262 ft range.

Features :

- 49, 61, or 76 key semi-weighted action keyboard with aftertouch (UF50 / 60 / 70)
- 88-key hammer-action weighted keyboard with aftertouch (UF80)
- Built-in duplex wireless MIDI interface
- Over 20 user template, non-volatile memories
- 8 assignable control knobs with preset functions
- 9 assignable control faders with preset functions
- LED data display
- 6 assignable shortcut knobs
- 6 sequencer remote buttons
- Panel page and layer button, data adjustment knobs.
- 1 MIDI-out ...

Alesis has introduced the Performance Pad tabletop and kit mountable drum pads with a built-in drum machine. It features eight velocity-sensitive drum pads, a built-in electronic drum machine, inputs for a bass drum pedal, hi-hat pedal, and a Line-level input to connect a CD Player, iPod®, computer, or other audio device so that percussionists can play along with nearly any recorded mix. Built-in rhythm patterns are also included to compliment playing.

Features :

- 8 natural feeling, velocity-sensitive drum pads with Dynamic Articulation
- Built-in professional drum machine so you can record and play back your own beats
- 50 Preset / 50 User drum kits with 233 sounds assignable to any pad
- Built-in rhythm patterns to complement your playing
- Large LCD display with easy-to-navi ...

RME has announced the new HDSPe MADI card to be shipping. RME further expands the "e"-line of Hammerfall DSP recording solutions for the PCI Express bus found in current Apple OS and Windows based desktop computers. With higher data rates the PCI Express bus enables high channel counts associated with lowest latency options.

The HDSPe MADI card offers a 128 I/O-channel computer connection, all 64 input and 64 playback channels can be routed and mixed independently to 64 physical outputs. For even higher channel counts several MADI cards can be combined. Compared to the standard PCI HDSP MADI card, the new PCI Express version offers several advantages :

- support for higher sample rates up to 192 kHz
- Lowest latency – down to 1 ms!
- Sync to Time Code with RME's Time Code Option Mo ...