PC and Music News

Korg presents the M3 XPanded. This free major upgrade of Korg's M3 Workstation offers 668 MB of expansive new sounds, interactive interface functionality, advanced sequencer enhancements, additions to Korg's exclusive KARMA technology and more.

The new M3 XPanded upgrade is available for free in the box with all new M3 purchases, with a USB memory stick included containing the new OS and 640 MB of PCM (USB-PCM-04 is available for download only). The complete M3 XPanded upgrade is also available for download for existing users.

Tascam has announced the DP-008, an 8-track Digital Portastudio small enough to fit into a guitar case.

Based on the DP-004, the DP-008 adds four more tracks for a total of eight tracks with built-in mixing. The DP-008 has dedicated knobs for volume and pan for each track, plus a reverb send knob for the built-in reverb effect. The DP-008 has two XLR microphone inputs with phantom power, a guitar level input and even built-in stereo mics so you're ready to record anything. Tracks are mixed down to a dedicated stereo track and EQ is available on each track, but the Portastudio interface keeps it simple to use. It records to SD Card media, and a 2GB card is included with the unit.

The DP-008 will be available in October with an estimated street price of $299.

Tascam has unleashed the US-2000, a new 16-input USB audio interface condensed into only one rackspace.

Features:

• 16-in / 4-out USB 2.0 audio interface
• 96kHz / 24-bit audio resolution
• (8) XLR microphone inputs with phantom power
• (6) 1/4" balanced line inputs
• (4) 1/4" balanced line outputs
• (2) 1/4" instrument inputs (chan. 7&8 on front panel "combi "jacks)
• Stereo S/PDIF digital in and out
• 100-LED meter bridge (5 segments for each input and output)
• Zero-latency direct monitoring with mono/stereo switch for each pair of inputs
• 1/4" balanced stereo monitor output with its own volume control
• 1/4" stereo high-powered headphone output
• Mac and Windows compatible
• Steinberg Cubase LE4 48-track recording software included

The US-2000 will be available in October at a projected street price under $500.

IZotope, Inc. has announced plans to release a new line of Digidesign Pro Tools TDM plug-ins starting with their IRC Limiter in early 2010.

"We are committed to making our professional audio tools and effects available to users in all different environments," explained Jeremy Todd, CTO of iZotope, Inc. "Support for Pro Tools TDM systems is an important step to achieving this goal."

iZotope's first offering will include their IRC Loudness Maximizer featuring the transparent "Intelligent II" mode for exceptional handling of transients. Designed specifically for studio, post and live performance applications, this powerful tool allows users to prevent clipping while dramatically lifting the perceived overall audio level.

iZotope plans to follow-up this release with advanced EQ and multiband dynamics effect plug-ins. These releases expand iZotope's Pro Audio line which already includes the ANR-B adaptive noise reduction hardware unit and RX Advanced.

For over 35 years Lexicon has been recognized as the golden standard of digital reverb and effects processing. Today Lexicon unveils the PCM Native Reverb Plug-In Bundle, a brand new reverb plug-in for creating professional, inspirational mixes within popular DAWs like Pro Tools, Logic, and any other VST, Audio Unit, or RTAS compatible platform.

With all the flexibility you would expect from a native plug-in, this powerhouse Bundle delivers 7 legendary Lexicon reverbs with hundreds of the most versatile and finely-crafted studio presets, including recognizable classics from Lexicon's immense library of sounds. Designed to bring the highest level of sonic quality and function to all your audio applications, the PCM Native Reverb Bundle will take center stage in your DAW.

Features at a ...

Berkley Integrated Audio Software, Inc. ("BIAS") today debuted PitchCraft EZ, a new pitch correction and special effects tool. As a plug-in for popular audio host applications on Mac and Windows computing platforms, PitchCraft EZ is both easy to use and highly effective.

"Super-natural" sonic quality with ease
BIAS first developed advanced pitch correction and modification technologies for their Master Perfection Suite — a professional plug-in suite for Mac and PC that includes PitchCraft (also available in the company's flagship Peak Pro XT audio editing, processing, mastering, and delivery software application exclusive for Mac). Using essential algorithms from PitchCraft, PitchCraft EZ offers many core features while focusing on ease of use and quick, pro-quality results. The pitch, transposition, and formant preservation DSP algorithms employed ensure natural-sounding, pitch-correction and transposition, while offering additional options not found in other low-priced solutions.