PC and Music News

Audio Ease has just released the second version of their end-all speaker simulator Speakerphone.

In the 17 months after Speakerphone's release it has quickly become a household name in audio post production and also in many music studios. Speakerphone version 2 has a new cleaner look, new features, many newly sampled guitar amp cabinets, antique phones, toys, answering machines and megaphones.

Speakerphone will give you all the walkie-talkies, distant transistor radios, upstairs TV sets, bullhorns, cell phones and guitar cabinets you'll ever need, plus 5 gigabyte of ambiences and sound FX to provide some context.

Added is a microphone simulation module that hosts microphones ranging from Royers to toy mics. And also among the new modules in Speakerphone 2 is one that's called 'Coverup'. Coverup can place any sound inside tin cans, cardboard boxes, under blankets or in the closed trunk of a car. Speakerphone 2 adds presets that switch via automation, an extensive LFO and envelope following section for controlling virtually all parameters of Speakerphone, and a Leslie speaker module.

So if you want to see and hear for yourself what's new (or if you just want to hear Arjen lock Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor in the trunk of a Volvo parked on a moonlit business park) do check out the what's new movie or take the complete guided tour.

Available for both Mac and PC in VST, RTAS, AU and Mas formats, Speakerphone 2's upgrade costs $149 / €119, but free upgrades are available to anyone that purchased Speakerphone or the All In Bundle in 2009. New customers can buy Speakerphone 2 at a price of $609 / €470.

Nexus by reFX is now available in 2.1 version.

Changes in v2.1 :

• New insert FX: Ringmod.
• All Delay-FX now follow the tempo without artifacts.
• Chorus-, Flanger- and Ensemble-FX parameter changes don't introduce artifacts.
• The FFT display is now more precise.
• Memory optimizations. Nexus now uses less memory than before.
• Added new internal features for the new expansions.
• OSX: Made Nexus more compatible with Time Machine.

reFX has also announced the release of two new expansions :

• Vocoder Expansion [€69.99 / $79.99]
128 vocoder / choir / vocal sounds for Nexus2. Typical Daft Punk basses, Kanye West Vocoder, Loveparade Vocoder Beats, Hollywood choirs of high quality and many funky vocals.

• NuElectro Expansion [€69.99 / $79.99]
Kraftwerk goes 2009... The NuElectro artist 'Rauschwerk' presents 160 presets that show you what is needed for true Electro music: warm basses, deep 808-like eDrumkits, spheric pads and textures, beeeps & boongs. Sampled from cult-synths of the Electro-era, this is an all-in-one package for the NuElectro style.

SONiVOX has released the latest versions of its Downloadable Virtual Instrument plug-ins. DVI 2.0 adds features in addition to offering deeper control over SONiVOX's next generation of in-house developed synthesis engine technology. It also includes additional DSP / Special FX by iZotope.

As a part of the rollout SONiVOX is offering a free trial program allowing musicians to try these downloadable virtual instruments before they purchase them.


There are currently 59 DVIs available for instant download and free trial including orchestral instruments, vintage keyboards, ethnic tonal & percussion instruments, electronic instruments, guitars, basses, and much more, with price starting at $19.95. Many more releases are to follow. Registered DVI 1.0 users may upgrade to DVI 2.0 versions free of charge. DVIs are all available for Windows and Mac OS X as stand-alone applications and AU, VST and RTAS instrument plug-ins.

D16 Group unveils the full feature list for Nithonat, its virtual Roland TR-606 emulation. You can discover those features by following the link bellow. Note that Nithonat is now available for pre-order for €69 (it will be €79 upon release in the middle of May).

Toontrack Music is proud to present the Monster MIDI Pack. This pack contains more than 400 MIDI files, individually played by drummer Peter Fredlander. Available as 4/4 straight and 4/4 Swing in various tempos and divided into :

· Hats intro variations
· Hats open/closed grooves
· Cymbal grooves
· Hats/ride sidestick grooves
· Tom & Snare grooves
· Fills
· Intro Fills

The Monster MIDI Pack works with EZdrummer and Superior Drummer®, optimized for standard drum kits : 1 kick, 1 snare, 2 toms, 1 floortom, 2 crash-cymbals, 1 ride-cymbal (GM).

The Monster MIDI Pack is available now for $19/€15 in the Toontrack webshop.

Let me introduce you to Jasuto, the first truly modular synthesizer for iPhone and iPod Touch.

Jasuto seems to be like a tiny Reactable for your iPhone. Best of all, there's also a VST version ! The iPhone app and VST versions can communicate with each other over your wi-fi network. When in this mode the app acts like a high resolution multi-touch remote controlling the VST in your host software. You can also sync patches via this method as well, giving you the ability to share them with others or just back them up…




Jasuto is available now through the iTunes Store at a price of $1/€0.79.