PC and Music News

Version 1.9 of the Serato Scratch Live software is on its way - as always, the upgrade is completely free. Major new features include SP-6 Sample Player, LiveFeed, native MEP-7000 support, Loop Roll, enhanced History, and support for Video-SL 1.1.

The new SP-6 Sample Player adds six extra audio players that can be triggered with the computer keyboard or a MIDI controller, turning compatible Rane hardware into a high performance sampler.

Brand new in Scratch Live 1.9 is a groundbreaking feature called LiveFeed, taking live external audio and placing it directly on a Scratch Live virtual deck, all in real time. The DJ has instant control of live external audio with Vinyl, CD or MIDI.

"LiveFeed gives DJs a live stream of audio to mess with, the creative possibilities are really endless", reports General Manager, Sam Gribben.

The Pioneer MEP-7000 gains plug-and-play native support, joining the popular Pioneer CDJ-400 as a Scratch Live control surface. Control CDs are not required, and song data is shown directly on the MEP-7000's displays.

Loop Roll adds an interesting new stutter effect, which can also be used in conjunction with the new LiveFeed feature.

The History function now keeps a comprehensive record of every track played, during every gig. This is a real time saver for professional DJs who need to log their sessions.

Album Art is also added to the virtual deck in Scratch Live, assisting with rapid song identification.

Scratch Live 1.9 also adds offline video playback, in conjunction with the Video-SL 1.1 plug-in, also being shown at NAMM 2009. This feature lets Serato Video-SL users manage effects, cue and loop points for their videos without hardware connected. Video-SL 1.1 adds support for the Rane SL 1 and Rane MP 4.

A public beta of Scratch Live version 1.9 is available now at :

Combination SD and CD Recorder Built Into Portable Sound System, the newly-announced Tascam BB-1000 Portable CD/SD Recorder is built to make recording to CD as simple as pressing record on a cassette 'boom box.' The battery-powered recorder records to either SD Card media or blank CDs from four built-in microphones or XLR mic inputs. The two front and two back mics can be individually trimmed for a balanced recording, and tracks can be immediately played back through a built-in 10W sound system. The BB-1000CD has been designed for simple operation in schools, houses of worship and band rehearsal spaces.

The BB-1000CD offers uncompressed recording to CD-R/RW media for audio CDs. The SD Card can capture as WAV file or MP3 files, and SD Card recordings can be burned to CD. The recorder can use two microphones on the front of the unit, two mics on the rear, or a pair of XLR mic inputs with phantom power as the recording source. Tracks can be played through the built-in speaker system, and can be looped and slowed down without changing the pitch.

This year Native Instruments has announced three new products at the Winter NAMM : Maschine, Audio 4 DJ and Guitar Rig Mobile.

Maschine combines a software sequencer and sampler with a performance controller. Audio 4 DJ is an USB 2.0 audio interface specifically designed for Traktor and other DJ software. Guitar Rig Mobile is a system which combnes an ultra-compact USB 2.0 audio interface with the Guitar Rig 3 LE software.

Maschine will be available in March 2009 for a suggested retail price of €599.Audio 4 DJ is available now for purchase in the NI Online Shop for a suggested retail price of €229. Guitar Rig Mobile will be available in April 2009 for a suggested retail price of €99.

CAD presents a line of new multi-purpose USB microphones. The CAD U37 Studio Recording mic, U7 Tabletop Recording mic, U2 Stereo Headset Mic and U1 Recording Mic are designed to offer computer users, gamers, musicians and home recordists more sophisticated performance at affordable prices.

The typically precise and uncompromising new CAD U37 USB enables users to easily "plug in and record" studio-quality audio directly into Windows and Macintosh-compatible computers. This versatile vocal and instrument mic can be used for creating podcasts over the Internet, audio for video and recording songs and soundtracks.

An accurate tabletop recording mic that also works well with laptop computers, the new CAD U7 USB is designed for home, office and music applications such as conference and legal recording, dictation of meeting notes, adding audio to slide presentations, and recording vocals, instruments and bands.

The U2 USB stereo headphones with microphone are designed for exceptional performance in VoIP use, language training, gaming, and podcasting. Light and rugged, the U2 features a comfortable headband with soft ear pads and gooseneck condenser microphone boom.

The U1 USB recording mic enables direct recording of vocals and instruments into any Windows-based or Macintosh computer for creating music tracks, podcasts and audio for video recordings.

MSRP for the CAD U37 Studio Recording & U7 Tabletop USB Mics: $79.00
MSRP for the CAD U2 Stereo Headset Mic & U1 Recording Mics: $49.00

Garritan has announced a new edition of its Garritan Personal Orchestra product. The company announced a 4th Edition of Garritan Personal Orchestra that now contains the Garritan ARIA sample engine and adds new features, new instrument sounds, updated programming and a lower price.

Garritan Personal Orchestra 4th Edition includes all the major instruments of the orchestra - strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion and keyboards plus quality instruments such as a Steinway grand piano, Stradivari violin (with new controllable vibrato), select Project SAM solo and section brass samples (new for this version), concert harps, celesta, concert pipe organ, and many other fine instruments. Personal Orchestra allows you to make ensembles of any size from the individual instruments, ranging from gro ...

Roland is pleased to announce the release of the latest system update for the V-Synth GT elastic audio synthesizer. Version 2.0 adds new enhancements to the V-Synth GT that include new effects and patches :

- New cutting-edge sounds
- 22 new multi-effects and 5 new reverbs
- Added chromatic-scale pitch bender function
- Improved File Import Function (Patch/Tone/Wave/Sample)
- Improved User Interface
- More USB storage functionality