PC and Music News

Sontronics presents a new active ribbon microphone called Delta.

The Delta has been designed to deliver the classic tonality of a traditional ribbon microphone, but with the added reliability and consistency that active electronics offer and rugged build to allow it to be used in live sound applications as well as the studio. This new microphone excels in miking electric guitar cabinets and is designed for applications ranging from subtle electro-acoustic finesse to shred-metal mayhem.

It features optimized sensitivity and 48V pre-amplified electronics to deliver solid audio consistency combined with a significant improvement in signal-to-noise compared with traditional transformer-based ribbon mics. The Delta has a 20Hz to 15kHz frequency response and can accept maximum SPLs of 135dB.

Before it reached production, the Delta was beta-tested by various studio producers and engineers, all of whom pushed the microphone to the max. Justin Smith, engineer for Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal, states: "The Delta is amazing. It really handles anything you throw at it, from quiet, non-distorted guitar to balls-to-the-wall, amp-on-11 stuff. As soon as you have more, we want them."

The Delta comes in a rugged aluminium flightcase with its shockmount and is available immediately at a list price of $799.

AnaMod will demonstrate the new AM670 Stereo Limiter at this year MusikMesse (Hall 5.1, Booth D-94A).

The AM670, list price $3295.00, is a stereo 3U rackmount based on the technology of Anamod's successful AM660 500-series compressor introduced last year. Both the AM660 and AM670 were created by the AnaMod Process. Precise mathematical models were created from the classic 1950s variable-mu 670 limiter. These models were used to synthesize the analog hardware of the AM670. Like the classic1950s variable-mu 670 limiter, the AM670 duplicates the Lateral / Vertical (mid / side) modes of compression while adding a stereo link function which was not present on original 1950s vacuum tube unit.

AnaMod's co-founder Greg Gualtieri says, "Having mid / side compression available in a buss limiter will be eye-opening for many engineers. You're able to independently control the amount of compression of the center of a mix while not affecting the extreme ends of a stereo mix… and vice-versa."

This Musikmesse is set to be Sonnox's biggest show ever, with no fewer than 10 shows a day from four different presenters. As well as mainstage shows from Fab Dupont, Robbie Bronnimann, Nils Hahmann, and Josep Maria Sola, there will be iMac stations for general public use, and plenty of Sonnox staff to ask questions and get one on one Oxford Plugins demos.

Visitors who come to the demos will have a chance to win a Sonnox Elite Collection worth around €1000, which will be presented at 17:30h each day. Also, with Sonnox's special Musikmesse promotion, purchase and register any Oxford Plugins Bundle (2 or more plug-ins) between April 1st and April 17th 2009 and receive a free Oxford Limiter with your order !

Come and see Sonnox at Booth B66, Hall 5.1 from April 1st – 4th, to find out more details.

Euphonix has announced MC Transport, the latest addition to its line of Artist Series media controllers.

Features :

- Jog Wheel : the weighted, optically encoded jog wheel provides you with professional, ultra-high resolution navigation of your timeline, and can be instantly assigned to control a host of other parameters like zooming horizontally/vertically, trimming clip head and tail, setting clip gain, cross fading, etc. by simply pressing the appropriate soft key.
- Shuttle Ring : the optically encoded shuttle ring features a revolutionary, spring-loaded design with rubberized surface for effortless one-handed operation. Shuttle ring response can be customized for each

Moog unveils long awaited and much anticipated MF-106TC Analog Time Compressor.

"-Shipping April 1, 2009-

The history of invention and innovation is replete with instances of accidental successes: Chewing gum was a bad batch of tire rubber. Penicillin came from mold growing on abandoned plates of bacteria. And we all know about Benjamin Franklin and lightning rods.

Our own musical mad scientists (who never fear failure and are constantly experimenting, tinkering and tweaking) have recently had their own kite-flying experience, and the result is the amazing and logic-defying MF-106TC, Analog Time Compressor.

"We accidentally reversed the clock phasing in the time generation on our MF-104Z Analog Delay, and discovered that it can actually work in reverse, compressing the time stream instead of expanding it. Much to our amazement and delight we began hearing sounds up to 1000 milliseconds before we played them," said Amos Gaynes, Moog Temporal Engineer.

Gaynes said that the Analog Time Compressor circuit on the MF-106TC can

Akai Professional announces the MPK88, a new addition to its MPK series of keyboard controllers with MPC pads and technology.

The new MPK88 brings the utility and creative control of its siblings to more dedicated piano and keyboard players, thanks to its fully-weighted, hammer-action keyboard with assignable keyboard split and aftertouch.

In addition to the premium keybed, the MPK88 gives the player 16 MPC pads that are velocity and pressure sensitive and can access four banks of sounds each, for access to 64 sounds at any time. The MPK88 also puts the player in command of their software with assignable Q-Link faders, knobs and buttons. The user can assign any Q-Link to control nearly any parameter in their software for hands-on, mouse-free performance. The MPK88 also has two assignable footswitch inputs and an expression pedal input.

Two technologies pioneered in the MPC series and built into the MPK88 are MPC Note Repeat and MPC Swing. MPC Note Repeat is a capability that enables the MPK to automatically play a rhythm pattern, such as 16th notes on a hi-hat, for accuracy and speed of entry. MPC Swing turns perfectly aligned sequences into human feeling time alignments. Users can specify exactly the degree and timing of swing they want to apply for the perfect feel. The MPK88 also has an arpeggiator, which enables performers to build creative riffs instantly.

The MPK88 sends MIDI values over USB and a traditional MIDI jack. The controller works with most MIDI recording, sequencing and performance software as well as sound modules, synthesizers and other MIDI-compliant hardware.

The MPK88 will be available from pro audio and musical instrument retailers in Q3, 2009.