PC and Music News

The d16 Group unveils Fazortan, the next release in their "Silver Line" of effects plug-ins.

Basically Fazortan is a controllable space phaser based on a retro phaser from the 70s but it has been expanded to take advantage of the flexibility software can provide.

Features :

- True emulation of classic analog all-pass phase shifter.
- 2 full controllable LFOs.
- Unique sound different from the others digital phasers.
- Presets organised into groups.
- MIDI learn function.
- 64-bit internal processing.
- No harmonic distortions at output.

Fazortan will be available at the end of this month for both PC and Mac in VST and VST/AU formats respectively. It is currently available for pre-order priced at €29. Note that audio examples are available.

Digidesign has announced the immediate availability of specially-priced Massive Pack 7 and Massive Pack Pro 7 mixing and sound processing plug-in bundles, exclusively for Pro Tools|HD users.

Inspired by overwhelming response to earlier MassivePack bundles, the new MassivePack 7 and MassivePack Pro 7 bundles offer registered Pro Tools|HD owners an opportunity to get significant savings on eight of the most in-demand Digidesign Development Partners plug-ins from Eventide, TC Electronic, Abbey Road, Brainworx, and more, as well as a choice of eight more plug-ins from Digidesign's own collection, including Eleven, Digidesign's acclaimed new guitar amp emulation plug-in, ReVibe, Reel Tape Suite, and more.

In addition, the upgraded MassivePack Pro 7 includes an HD Accel card (in PCI or PCIe format) and two additional plug-ins from TC Electronic. Both bundles are Windows XP- and Mac- compatible; many of the plug-ins are also compatible with Digidesign VENUE live sound systems.

MassivePack 7 and Massive Pack Pro 7 are available through authorized Digidesign Pro Tools|HD dealers.

Pricing :
- MassivePack 7 MSRP (USD): $1,295
- MassivePack Pro 7 (PCI) MSRP (USD): $3,495
- MassivePack Pro 7 (PCIe) MSRP (USD): $3,495

Sonoma Wire Works announces the launch of RiffWorks T4, a free edition of RiffWorks guitar recording and online collaboration software. With RiffWorks T4, musicians can record ideas at the moment of inspiration, quickly create complete songs with drums and effects, easily collaborate online with musicians around the world for free, and cast tunes to RiffWorld.com.

A free level of online collaboration is included with RiffWorks T4, which allows up to four musicians to collaborate on a song and chat simultaneously. RiffWorks loop-based recording workflow allows collaboration without latency or distance issues. As a track is recorded, it streams to other players and is perfectly in sync with the drums. All contributions are saved on RiffWorld.com and can be opened later in RiffWorks to continue recording. An unlimited number of musicians may contribute to a song (4 at a time). Mac and PC musicians worldwide are creating songs together online no matter how far apart they live.

Features :

- Automatic track creation and loop recording with 4 layers plus drum loops
- 7 effects (Wah, Multi-band Compression & Distortion, Modulation, Delay, Reverb, Compression, and British Style EQ)
- InstantDrummer with adjustable intensity and variation
- Online music collaboration - record songs with people around the world for free
- RiffWorld.com song posting and collaboration community
- "Quick Start" tutorial in 14 languages
- IK Multimedia's AmpliTube® Duo LE guitar amp and effects plug-in
- Gallo Engineering's Studio Devil BVC amp model plug-in

For more information, please visit the link below :

Percussa has announced the avaibility of a free DnB sound pack for its AudioCubes and Ableton Live 7.

This free sound pack release contains 30 impressive DnB style sounds in WAV format, from Loopmasters Artist Series of sound libraries, and a premapped Ableton Live 7 set for AudioCubes. In contrast to the standard demo which is included with software updates and which focuses on simplicity and getting started, this Live set goes much deeper, mapping multiple effects, providing easy shortcuts into song structure for the performer, and includes impressive colour sequences for the cubes.

You now have the chance to try the Live set yourself on your computer, even if you don't have the cubes yet.

The sound pack if compatible with Mac and Windows platforms, and we recommend to use it with AudioCubes 052008 software.

We're very pleased to publish in the Articles Section a review of MixMeister Studio, written by one of our friend at audioMIDI.com. MixMeister Studio is an innovative software for playing, producing and performing music mixes that will let you unlock your "inner DJ".

Enjoy your reading !

Owners of the Moog Voyager and Little Phatty synths can now significantly upgrade their capabilities via free downloads from the Moog Music website.

The new Voyager 3.4 Operating System features extensive local control options, new touch surface features and enhanced pot resolution. All the great sonic capability of the Little Phatty Stage Edition is enhanced with the addition of an arpeggiator in the Stage II. And for controlling LFO and Arpeggiator rate, the Stage II has a new Tap Tempo and MIDI sync capability. Topping it all is the addition of a new bank of presets.

There are two types of upgrades available for the Voyager and Little Phatty operating systems:

Voyager : A free software upgrade (for owners with version 3.0 or above) is available for download at moogmusic.com/voyager (under the "software" tab). A hardware upgrade is available for customers who have an older model of the Voyager (OS revision 2.5 or lower, built before August, 2005) increasing their current single bank of 128 presets to seven banks of 128 for a total of 896.

This upgrade is available as a field upgrade for $265 or as a factory upgrade for $365. Customers who choose to upgrade will then be able to take advantage of all the latest software features in Version 3.4.

Little Phatty : Software upgrades for the Little Phatty Stage Edition are available for free download at moogmusic.com/littlephatty (under the "software" tab). If Stage Edition customers want to add the MIDI over USB capability of the Stage II, a hardware-based upgrade is available as a field upgrade for $100 or factory upgrade for $150.