PC and Music News

Image Line has just released Gross Beat, a time manipulation effect designed for repetition and scratching effects. Gross beat is perfect for real-time or rendered gating, glitch, repeat, scratching and stutter performances. Gross Beat stores audio in a 2-bar rolling buffer under the control of 36 user definable time and volume envelopes, giving you unlimited creative control.

Key features :

- Powerful MIDI controlled envelopes
- 2 bar audio buffer
- Real time effect, perfect for live performance
- 36 volume/gating envelopes with user-controlled smoothing
- Linked or independent volume & gating slot operation
- A large number of creative presets ready to go

Gross Beat is available now as a VST plug-in for Windows and is priced at $99. Until the end of December 2008 every order of Image Line Software products $99 or more, comes with a free copy of Gross Beat.

Kaces unveils a new rack case line for nomad musicians. Designed to protect rack equipment and provide easy connections between the computer and rack gear, these cases features a lightweight frame reinforced with rigid plastic panels that are designed to absorb shock and protect your equipment. A 20mm padded laptop pocket opens to the interior, allowing cables to be pre-wired for quick setup and easy transport.

The exterior is covered with water-resistant luggage-grade nylon. Rigid flaps open in front and back, and the front flap has an additional 20mm foam padding to protect knobs and front panels. The rack rails are recessed 1\'94 to allow additional room between the front flap and your equipment. Comfortable bolted-in soft rubber handles on the top and bottom offer multiple transport options.

Available in 2, 4 and 6 spaces with or without wheels, list prices range from $129.95 - $229.95.

MOTU has introduced the Traveler-mk3, a mobile Firewire audio interface for Mac and Windows personal computers that provides eight channels of pristine 192kHz analog recording and playback combined with twenty channels of digital I/O in ADAT optical, AES/EBU and S/PDIF formats.

Engineered for portable recording situations with either desktop or laptop computers, the Traveler-mk3 draws power from its Firewire connection to the computer. For extended remote sessions, the Traveler can be powered by an industry-standard field battery pack. As a complete audio recording system with 28 inputs and 30 outputs operating simultaneously, including four XLR/TRS "combo" style mic inputs equipped with high-quality preamps, the Traveler-mk3 inherits many features from the previous Traveler interface and adds many additional significant new features, including V-Limit signal overload protection, true hi-Z guitar inputs, a 32-bit floating point DSP for on-board effects and mixing, two banks of configurable optical I/O and much more.

The Traveler-mk3 is expected to ship Q1 of 2009 at the same price as the original Traveler. For more information, please follow the link below :

AuraPlug has released Fuzz-Stone, the second plug-in in their Freetortion Series of free VST plug-ins for Windows. Fuzz-Stone is a '60s-styled guitar fuzz tone pedal which simulates the Legendary Stones' Satisfaction guitar tone.

Features :

- Stompbox design.
- Level control.
- Distortion control.
- Cabinet simulation.
- Easy to use.
- Low CPU usage.

The Controls :
- Volume - Set the overall volume of the unit.
- Attack - Set the amount of distortion.
- Cabinet - Cabinet simulation.

Korg introduces the Kaossilator Pink Limited Edition.

The Kaossilator is a dynamic phrase synthesizer and comes packed with 100 sound programs that combine Korg's modelling synthesizer engine with effects from the KAOSS Pad series. Its horizontal axis is assigned to note/pitch, while the vertical axis is assigned to parameters such as: cut-off, feedback, or modulation depth, giving you a wide range of performance possibilities. In addition to classic synthesizer sounds, there are faithfully simulated piano, guitar and trumpet sounds as well as looped and one-shot drum sounds.

The Kaossilator offers you a choice of 31 different scales, including chromatic and diminished, as well as major and minor blues and pentatonic scales – by using the key setting function, you can play them in any key. In addition to the standard western scales, Korg has included a few more exotic varieties such as Spanish, Ryukyu, and Raga. It also includes a Gate Arpeggiator which enables you to produce specific patterns of notes in sync with user specified tempos, and a Loop Recording function allowing you to record a phrase with a specified number of beats to a maximum of two bars (or measures) and add layers to it.

This Pink Limited Edition will be available soon at approximately $300.

British hardware manufacturers DAV Electronics have released the Broadhurst Gardens No. 501 (BG501) which is a microphone amplifier with DI Input in the API 500 Series format. The features of this microphone amplifier consist of low noise and low distortion. It offers switched gain controls for high accuracy level setting (4 dB steps), D.I. Input (high impedance), level indication, 26dB pads (switchable), phase reversal and 48v phantom supply (switchable).

The BG501 is available at a price of £399 (excl. VAT).