PC and Music News

Sontronics has just announced the release of Sonora, a dual-channel preamp / DI-box with two discrete solid-state channels.

Featuring a proprietary vintage circuit design engineered to recreate a classic sonic character while using modern manufacturing techniques, Sonora provides a very linear response with a variance of just ±0.1dB from 20 Hz to 40 kHz. Both channels are identical, each with a 12-step 'click' level control which makes a simple task of matching levels in stereo applications. Each channel has its own 75Hz high-pass filter, -20dB attenuation and +48 Volt phantom power switches, plus independent Signal & Clip LEDs.

The electronically-balanced inputs will match seamlessly with your favourite mics, guitars and synths while the electronically-balanced outputs ensure that your signal is delivered to your recording or PA system with perfect integrity.

An external mains power supply ensures that the integrity of your audio signal stays free from electrical inductance, plus it is voltage-switchable for use around the world.

Sonora is 100% made in Europe, having been conceived and designed in the UK, and developed and manufactured in Portugal. It costs £399 including VAT in the UK and $699 in the USA.

Sonic Reality unveils a new expandable studio instrument plug-in : Infinite Player. Powered by Native Instruments' Kontakt Player, this new plug-in and stand-alone music software is made to be infinitely expandable with fresh new sample content from Sonic Reality including the Studio ProFiles series multi-track drum kit and groove collections.

Infinite Player features high resolution 24 bit fidelity, virtually unlimited polyphony, up to 64-part multi-timbrality, advanced surround capabilities and integrated effects including convolution and master effects. It also has the unique ability to read Sonic Reality's proprietary multi-channel Rex 2 files which are mapped across the keyboard in Kontakt's Beat Mode which offers for the first time real audio drum grooves with both the ability to lock to your host's tempo and also the ability to mix the discrete mics of the recorded drums. Users of Kontakt software can also read Infinite Player libraries inside full Kontakt and the individual rex grooves can also be read by any software that supports Rex 2 files such as ProTools, Cubase, Logic, Stylus RMX, Reason, Project 5 and more.

Infinite Player will be available world-wide as a download before the end of the month, it can be purchased in combination with Sonic Reality sound collections such as the Studio ProFiles Drum Masters Silver, Gold and Platinum packages and others at a variety of prices ranging from $199 to $995.

To celebrate Christmas, Ableton has announced a 25% discount for anyone purchasing Live 7, Live 7 LE or Suite before the 31st December 2008.

The 25% off deal also applies to users who wish to upgrade to the full version from Lite or LE versions of the software.

WOK has just released MoogoFilter, a stereo filter in the style of the Moog-filter. In addition to the common manual controls it has a MIDI-controllable envelope.

Features :

- Moog-style resonant low-pass filter.
- Drive, Level and Keytrk controls.
- MIDI-controllable ADSR envelope.

MoogoFilter is a freeware / donationware and is available as a VST effect plug-in for Windows.

Here's what audioMIDI.com sent us today :

"Just a quick note to let you know about a great deal on the new ProTools 8 upgrade (expected early to mid December). We're offering the MBox 2 Micro audio interface (regular price $249), a downloadable ProTools 8 upgrade, and a FREE Secrets Of The Pros/Pro Tools Vol I tutorial DVD (a $35 value) at a great price- so low they won't let us advertise it. The ProTools 8 upgrade is $149, but for just a little more bread, you can get the MBox 2 Micro audio interface- great for working on tracks on-the-go with a laptop.

And you'll be the first to get the ProTools 8 upgrade!

Give me a call at (866) 283-4601, ext 112 for all the details
(if you purchased Pro Tools after 10/3/08, the Pro Tools 8 upgrade is free)."

So if you wanna learn more you know what to do now, just give them a call !

British hardware manufacturers DAV Electronics have just released the Broadhurst Gardens No. 7 (or BG7 for short), a 1U rackmountable channel strip that features a mic and instrument preamplifier, plus a compressor/limiter section.

Derived from the designs of the Decca Record Company, the BG7 compressor/limiter section is a replication of the Decca 1977 circuit, "brought up to date" by DAV. The features of the 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, high pass filter (switchable), 26dB pads (switchable), phase reversal and 48v phantom supply (switchable).

The BG7 is available now at a suggested retail price of £599 ($880/€700).