PC and Music News

Tascam has created the Track Pack X1 and Track Pack X2 bundles for musicians looking for an inexpensive way to start recording in their computers.

The Track Pack X1 contains the new US-100 USB interface, dynamic microphone and set of closed-ear headphones for under $150. The Track Pack X2 features the new US-122mkII audio interface, TM-78 large-diaphragm condenser microphone and Cubase LE4 48-track recording software for under $200.

The new US-100 and US-122mkII interfaces are compatible with Mac and Windows computers, even Apple's new Snow Leopard operating system.

Tascam Track Packs will be shipping in time for holiday sales.

Harrison Consoles and Great River Electronics are proud to announce a new product collaboration, the 32EQ.

The 32EQ is a new 500-series form-factor design of the EQ and filters from the renowned Harrison 32 Series consoles. The 32EQ incorporates the original specifications and with support directly from the original designers at Harrison Consoles it is guaranteed that the prized characteristics of the original are maintained in the new design.

Features :

• Low, Low-Mid, Hi-Mid, and High EQ bands with Gain and Frequency controls
• Low and High Band "peaking" switches
• EQ in/out switch
• Harrison's renowned High- and Low-pass filters with sweepable frequency
• Filter in/out switch
• An internal jumper provides selection of the "vintage" feedback design, or a non-feedback option
• Designed and built in the USA

The 32EQ will be priced at $775. Availability TBA.

Tascam has upgraded their best-selling audio interfaces to the US-122mkII and US-144mkII USB 2.0 Audio/MIDI Interfaces.

The US-122mkII features improved audio performance along with a new, eye-catching compact design. The US-144mkII shares the design improvements, adding S/PDIF digital audio I/O for four channels of 96kHz/24-bit audio to and from a computer. Both interfaces use USB 2.0 technology for hiccup-free low-latency performance to Mac or Windows computers.

The US-122mkII and US-144mkII feature a pair of XLR microphone inputs with phantom power for recording condenser mics into a computer. Balanced line inputs and a guitar level in are also provided. MIDI in and out jacks allow for synthesizer and control messages to be passed to the computer, and the unbalanced line outputs connect to studio monitors. The US-144mkII has the addition of digital in and out, for a total of four channels, and a dedicated headphone level control means you don't need to switch off your monitors when recording on phones. A copy of Steinberg's 48-track Cubase LE4 is included to begin recording right away.

Tascam's US-122mkII and US-144mkII will be available in October. Estimated street price for the US-122mkII is $129, the US-144mkII is expected to sell for $149.

Waves makes vocal processing easier than it's ever been with their upcoming Vocal Rider plug-in. The name says it all - Vocal Rider is designed to match your vocal tracks to the rest of the mix and then keep the relative volume throughout the song. All you do is instantiate it on your vocal track, bus a summed instrumental mix to the side-chain, and hit play. The plug-in fader then takes over, keeping the relative volume of the vocals and the rest of the mix constant. And, unlike compression, Vocal Rider doesn't crush the dynamic range or color the vocal track at all.

Features :

• Intelligent adjustment of the vocal track based on the dynamics of the music
• Saves time doing the kind of automation you would have to do manually
• Writes automatic volume riding to the track as automation for fine tuning

More details will be available soon at :

Mytek Digital, manufacturer of high end mastering audio converters announced a brand new Stereo 192 DAC, top performance 192k PCM and DSD Digital to Analog Converter. The new DAC features USB and Firewire, as well as standard AES, SPDIF and Toslink inputs, capable of handling stereo PCM playback of up to 24 bit 192k as well as playback of DSD files with absolute state of the art accuracy and transparency.

Numerous features include: high end headphone amplifier, precision volume control with memory (separate for phones and main output), selectable upsampling to 192k and optional remote control.

The DAC will be available in Q1 2010, in both industrial and hi-fi 1/3 rack highly portable enclosure, at Mytek dealers worldwide. It's priced at $1595 for industrial version and $1695 for black or silver Hi-Fi version with RCA outputs.

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.