PC and Music News

Mixer Feedback by 9 Soundware is the third and final release in a series of sample packs featuring DJ Shiftee, the winner of the 2007 DMC World Championships. The WAV format loops of mixer performances are intended to complement the mixer feedback samples found in DJ Shiftee: Extreme Turntablism.

These loops showcase DJ Shiftee's innovative techniques, in which he uses nothing but a mixer to create an astonishing variety of textures. By manipulating a feedback loop with the mixer's onboard controls, he performs phrases ranging from simple feedback rhythms to blistering walls of noises and bassline-like phrases. The ingenuity behind the unique performance is simply extraordinary and gives new meaning to the phrase "mixer as a musical instrument". Created in the spirit of experimental music traditions with the artistry of a world class DJ, these unusual samples would surely make for interesting additions to loop libraries in need of something different.

The set consists of 131 loops (1 to 4 bars in length) at tempos 70, 80,90, 100, 110, 120, 130 and 140 BPM. The 212 MB download contains files in WAV format (24-bit/44.1 kHz).

Mixer Feedback is available now for $29.99 at :

To celebrate its 11th anniversary, Thermionic Culture has announced the Culture Vulture Anniversary Limited Edition. The Anniversay model will be based on the companies current standard Culture Vulture but it has far more radical possibilities, in particular for guitar and bass applications. The production will be limited to 80 units and will have the front panel finished in Thermionic red instead of black.

MULLARD & PHILPS VALVES
The valves selected for the anniversary edition are Mullard and Philips NV, who owned 50% of Mullard.

QuikQuak announces the upcoming release of version 2.0 of its freebie UpStereo plug-in.

Changes :

- Completely 3D user-interface:
- Retains usability of traditional 2D design.
- Movable camera and light - alter the mood of the plug-in.
- Lays the foundation for future 3D interfaces with the potential for zoomable, multi-side plug-ins, and realistic 3D copies of hardware devices.

UpStereo v2.0 is currently available as a public beta for Windows in VST format, Mac versions will follow.

Kong Audio rolls out ChineeGuanZi - the Pipe of Tristesse - to the world.

Characterized by the triste tone, GuanZi (literally means Pipe) is a one-of-a-kind double-reed instrument from China. Originated in Central Asia, like many other existing Chinese instruments, GuanZi was embraced dearly and became an integral part of Chinese instruments ever since the great Tang Dynasty (7th -10th centuries).

GuanZi was once one of the standard instruments of court music. It was also used in military and festival events, as well as monumental, burial ceremonies. It is, sometimes, considered to be too distinctive to be a team instrument though, hence resulted its slightly being overlooked today.

The combination of pitch-envelopes with keyswitching in the patch programming makes ChineeGuanZi a much lively and expressive instrument to play with. ChineeGuanZi (in G) contains legato, tremolo, and various other playing techniques. The note range is from D4 to D6.

ChineeGuanZi is now available for $60.

Future Audio Workshop, a.k.a. FAW, has just updated its great semi-modular software synthesizer Circle to version 1.0.7. This new version including some bug fixes and minor feature updates.

Expert Sleepers releases Oomingmak, a pitch- and envelope-tracking (re)synthesis plug-in effect. Or, to put it another way, if you feed a sound source (e.g. a guitar) into Oomingmak it will come out sounding like you're playing an analogue monosynth. Or maybe something else entirely.

Oomingmak tracks the pitch and level of the incoming audio and uses them to :

- Synthesize an entirely original sound, using classic analogue-style waveforms and subtractive synthesis.
- Apply pitch modulation to the incoming audio, while syncing to the original waveform (the classic 'oscillator sync' effect, except that the 'oscillator' here is your audio).

The oscillator can also be synced to the incoming audio, and the tracked envelope can be used to modulate the pitch, filter cut-off and oscillator pulse-width. LFOs are also provided for further modulation possibilities. Two ring modulators are also provided, allowing two different combinations of the above sounds to be modulated against each other. As with all pitch-tracking devices, Oomingmak tends to work best on monophonic sound sources. It was designed particularly with the guitar in mind, in which case it tends to work well on solo lines rather than chords. However, sending chords, or even non-pitched sounds (e.g. drums) through it can also have very interesting results.

Oomingmak is available now for Mac OS X (AU/VST) and Windows (VST) and is priced at $29. Demo versions are available. To celebrate the release, Expert Sleepers is offering $10 off any other Expert Sleepers product when purchased at the same time as Oomingmak.