PC and Music News

Mackie announces the launch of its Onyx-i Series FireWire Recording Mixers, delivering premium analog features, tremendous flexibility, and built-in 24-bit/96kHz FireWire I/O. Onyx-i FireWire mixers can be used with all major DAWs, and is qualified by Mackie for use with Pro Tools® M-Powered 8 (*), offering those users a host of new hardware options.

The new Onyx-i Series mixers feature extremely deep FireWire integration and a host of proven, high-quality analog features like Onyx mic preamps and Perkins EQ. Users can choose to implement the Perkins EQ into the recording path at the push of a button, and can also choose to record auxes, groups (1640i) and the master L/R signal. The flagship Onyx 1640i incorporates a massively flexible 16x16 FireWire interface, allowing the user to return up to 16 DAW channels right back into the channel strips for a true tape-style mixdown.

MakeMusic has announced the simultaneous release of Finale Songwriter 2010 and Finale PrintMusic 2010. Both music notation software packages include new features and provide compatibility with current operating systems and files created with Finale 2010, MakeMusic's flagship software package.

With a list price of $49.95, SongWriter lets songwriters, teachers, band and choir directors, church musicians, students and other musicians create publisher-quality sheet music with instrumentations of up to 8 staves. SongWriter includes tools that inspire creativity including Drum Groove and Band-in-a-Box Auto-Harmonizing. With SongWriter they can hear their music played back using hundreds of built-in sounds, share their music with others using the free downloadable Finale Reader and create .MP ...

Cytomic has announced the release of 'The Glue', a high quality analog modeled plug-in based on a cross between an E and G series SSL 4000 buss compressor with some additional features.

Features :

• 4 in / 2 out stereo compressor (second stereo input for external side-chain processing)
• Accurate analog model of famous British mix bus compressor of the 80's
• Ultra-fast attack time of up to 0.01 mS
• Range knob to naturally control the maximum compression applied
• Peak Clip to optionally hard limit transients
• DSP coded using C++ and assembler, Interface coded using the Juce framework (C++)
• VST, AU and RTAS plug-in formats for Mac OS X, only VST fot Windows but an RTAS version will follow soon.

'The Glue' costs 99$.

BIAS has just announced the release of SoundSoap Pro 2, a major upgrade to its professional audio noise reduction and restoration software plug-in for Mac and Windows operating systems. SoundSoap Pro combines four restoration tools - Broadband noise reduction ; Click and Crackle removal ; Hum removal ; and a Noise Gate.

SoundSoap Pro's intelligent broadband noise reduction is significantly enhanced in version 2 by new adaptive noise reduction (ANR) algorithms from BIAS. "SoundSoap Pro 2 provides 'super-intelligent' noise reduction", said Jason E. Davies, VP Sales & Marketing for BIAS, Inc. "Traditional approaches to broadband noise reduction require a selection of isolated noise in order to work effectively. In cases where the broadband noise changes over time — the results can suffer ...

Best Service presents Accordions, a new Kontakt Player-powered sample library produced by Eduardo Tarilonte. It is designed and scripted to perform, in real-time, ultra-realistic accordion melodies and chords. All the subtle sounds from an accordion have been carefully captured to increase the realism of your performance, like key and button noises.

Features :

• 7 complete independent instruments plus 1 bonus accordion : Bandoneon, Concertina, Single Reed Piccolo Accordion, Single Reed Musette Accordion, Single Reed Bassoon Accordion, Double Reed Musette Accordion, Left Hand Bass Accordion, Steirische Accordion (Bonus)
• 8 perfectly balanced multis with fine-tune combinations to create new ready-to-use registers : Oboe Register, Celeste Register, Bandoneon Register, Organ ...

Livid Instruments has announced that its class-compliant MIDI controller Ohm64 is now shipping.

Available now for $599.