PC and Music News

Summer is here, and EastWest heats things up with its "Buy One Get One Free" worldwide promotion of PLAY products.

Until June 30, 2009 each customer that purchases a qualifying PLAY virtual instrument will receive an additional free product of equal or lesser value from among the products included in the promotion.

The qualifying PLAY products are :

• EWQL SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA PLATINUM PLUS
• EWQL SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA PLATINUM
• EWQL SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA GOLD
• EWQL SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA SILVER
• EWQL PIANOS; EWQL PIANOS GOLD
• QL GOLIATH
• QL STORMDRUM 2
• QL GYPSY
• FAB FOUR
• QL MINISTRY OF ROCK
• QL VOICES OF PASSION
• QL SILK
• EWQL SYMPHONIC CHOIRS
• QL RA

For more information, please visit the link below :

PSP Audioware has updated the Lexicon PSP 42 and PSP 84 plug-ins to v1.5.3. The update includes x64 VST PC preliminary builds which run natively on 64-bit Windows XP and Vista operating systems.

Other changes include :

• AudioUnit PowerPC <> Intel-Mac session portability issues resolved.
• Unresponsive GUI controls now work fine in Digital Performer.
• Default bank feature added, which allows user to specify the bank file to be automatically loaded on plug-in startup (the factory bank can always be restored by apple/ctrl clicking on the default bank icon).
• PC/PPC/Intel-Mac bank/preset file portability issues resolved.

Here's a new Pro Tools Corner issue by our VIP Moderator Brian White from audioMIDI.com.

"On top of all the fancy new UI enhancements and fantastic sounding Virtual Instruments, Pro Tools 8 has made significant improvements to many of my everyday workflows. Playlists have always been a great way to keep track of alternate takes in Pro Tools, allowing you to easily craft the perfect composite performance or "comp" by piecing together different takes. Pro Tools 8 has enhanced this process infinitely by allowing you to view, edit and audition a track's playlists within its new "Playlists View." This week at the corner I will show you some tricks that will cut your comping time in half and share what's new with playlists in Pro Tools 8."

if you have a Pro Tools related question that you would like Brian to take a shot at answering or have any feedback, please post-it in our Mac ProTools Forum or Pc ProTools Forum. Brian will do his best to select the questions that seem to stump the most people.

Here's a picture of the Prophet '08 Pot Edition that Dave Smith Instruments sends us today.

Pretty good looking, is'nt it ?

Still no more info on their website though...

Steinberg has updated its HALion 3 virtual sampler VST instrument to version 3.5. The update adds native support for 64-bit editions of Windows Vista, as well as a new Factory Content sound bank consisting of 128 new electronic instruments and drum kits.

Adding compatibility to 64-bit Vista, HALion 3.5 can now address vast amounts of memory, allowing many more additional instruments to be loaded simultaneously.

Due to several changes needed for 64-Bit compatibility, projects created with HALion 3.5 can not be loaded with any prior version (of course you can load projects created with versions before in 3.5). For 32-Bit and OS X users it is recommended to continue using HALion 3.3.2, except if you need compatibility to the HALion 3.5 64-Bit version. For example in dual boot configurations with 32/64-Bit Vista you need to install HALion 3.5 on the 32-Bit machine as well to keep compatibility between both.

PreSonus has just announced the release of a major firmware update for its StudioLive 16.4.2 small-format digital mixer.

One of the most exciting new features lets you use the mixer's FireWire ports to daisy-chain two StudioLive mixers for 32 channels of recording or to combine up to 4 StudioLive mixers for 64 channels in live performance, with sample-accurate synchronization between units.

The update also adds a 31-band graphic EQ on the StudioLive's main output, perfect for adjusting your sound system to compensate for your space's acoustics. New Save and Load pages enable you to manage the EQ presets. A new Recall mode lets you recall your fader settings without recalling the master section controls or aux outputs, and the auxiliary outputs now mute when the channel mute button is pushed. The auxiliary meters are now post-output level and post-Talkback circuit.

Firmware version 1.11 is packaged in one installer, along with a new 64-bit-compatible FireWire driver and Universal Control software update for all PreSonus FireWire products. With Universal Control, you can daisy-chain any FireStudio-series interface with your StudioLive 16.4.2, completely integrating the units, so that you not only get more inputs and outputs, you also have software control over the FireStudio-series' internal mixers. This installer will be part of the PreSonus open-beta program and is available on the PreSonus Web site at :