PC and Music News

JZ Microphones launches Black Hole SE, a "simple" cardioid version of their well-known Black Hole condenser microphone.

This new toy is a cardioid condenser microphone with one large, true electrostatic capsule inside the compact head made by new golden drops technology. The new special capsule has single, less centre tap diaphragm and patterned variable sputtering, using specially mixed alloy for coating. It also has new generation integrated shockmounting which is very easy and comfortable to use.

Characteristics :

- Cardioid condenser microphone.
- Class A discrete amplifier circuit.
- One large, true electrostatic capsule inside the compact head.
- New special capsule with single, less centre tap diaphragm and adjustable backplate.
- Patterned variable sputtering of diaphragm, using specially mixed alloy for coating.
- Integrated capsule shockmount.

The Black Hole SE has five year warranty and is made in Latvia by handcrafted and tested approach. The retail price of BH-SE is USD 1895, 00 (EURO 1299, 00) and it will be presented at Prolight+Sound show in Frankfurt (hall 4.1, booth F 80).

Drawmer has announced not less than three new products for 2008 : A2D2, M-Clock Plus and M-Clock Lite.

A2D2 : a stereo A/D converter giving simultaneous dual stereo outputs at different selectable sample rates from 44.1kHz to 192kHz - so it is possible to have a main output at, say 192kHz with another at 44.1kHz as a low resolution copy.

M-Clock Plus : a high stability master clock generator offering clock rates from 44.1 to 192kHz, coupled to two sample rate converters, which allow material to be re-sampled and syncronised to the selected high precision clock. In addition to the internal clocks, M-Clock Plus can sync to either external word clock or clocks from AES/EBU signals. Precision clock frequency measurement and display indicates the exact frequency of the selected clock, whether internal or external, to an accuracy of 2ppm.

M-Clock Lite : the aim of M-Clock Lite is to provide a simple, high quality clock generator, which is forward compatible with high speed clocks predicted for the future. M-Clock Lite features an AES Grade 1 master clock generator, meaning that the generated clock has a long term frequency accuracy of +/- 1ppm.

Fatar/StudioLogic will introduce a brand new product called NUMA at the upcoming MusikMesse. Basically it's a professional keyboard/controller but the company claims that it will set "a new standard in musical control"... let's take a look at the spec.

- Easy Control System. A new user interface panel has been developed using touch sensititve technology. Graphic LCD display will allow clear and efficient programming. Gloss metacrilato surface for tactile grace.
- Progressive Grand Hammer Action. Sophisticated touch action. Increased throw distance simulates a full concert grand.
- Intelligent Dynamic System. With the unique YouPlay feature the instrument will guide you into the spacial function to set up your best dynamic touch, the most advanced, customizable velocity response system ever developed.
- Elegant Design Cabinet. Semi-translucent polished ABS cabinet and alumnium cover.

Well, it sounds good but not really revolutionary... For more information, please visit their web site.

Here's a new ProTools Corner issue by our VIP Moderator Brian White from audioMIDI.com. Protools corner is a cool column for tips, tricks, and other fun stuff related to ProTools. This month, Brian takes a close look at two specific timeline/transport features that often go unnoticed; dynamic transport mode and timeline/edit linking.

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.

Native Instruments has just released Kore Player, its free software instrument designed for use with Kore SoundPacks. KORE Player is now available for free directly from NI web site in VST, RTAS, AU and Standalone formats for Mac OSX and Windows. On top of that, four new KORE SoundPacks have also been released.

New libraries include :

- Massive Expansion Vol. 1 : contains 200 production-ready leads, basses and pad sounds based on the powerful Massive wavetable engine.
- Best of Absynth : with 200 soundscapes, pads and keyboard sounds from the library of Native Instruments' semi-modular synthesizer.
- Pop Drums : featuring studio-grade acoustic drum kits specifically engineered for pop productions, and equipped with an extensive collection of MIDI grooves.
- Kontakt Sax & Brass : a library of highly sophisticated trumpet, saxophone and trombone instruments, recorded by renowned sampling specialist Chris Hein and designed for Jazz, Funk, and R'n'B styles.

The new Kore Soundpacks are now available for download purchase on the NI website for a price of $59 / €49, with Pop Drums being priced at $79 / €69. For more information about KORE Player, please visit :

MHC Synthesizers and Effects has announced updates and new product structure.

The Studio Setup plugins have been split up into separate products, which means that the Space Synthesizer, Fatsondo and Voxynth synthesizers are available separately. The same applies to the effects which were part of the Studio Setup; Vox FX, Space Effect and Flex FX. This doesn't change anything for customers who bought the Studio Setup. They will still be supported.

On Mac OS X these plugins used to be installed by dragging and dropping them into the Audio Unit folder and then the user would have to activate them by running a "registration tool". This procedure has been changed and the plugins are now installed using traditional installers which prompt for the user's name and code before the installer puts the plugin
in the correct folder. On Windows, the installers have been changed and the activation is carried out during the installation phase too, in a similar manner.

Finally, note that the Space Synthesizer manual has been updated.