PC and Music News

Following their initial announcement at Winter Namm back in January, audio hardware specialists ESI have released their compact audio recorder – Rekord-M.

Priced at 159€, the stylish ESI Rekord M provides studio quality recordings for budget-conscious musicians seeking a portable unit to record their ideas, gigs and sessions.

Despite its incredibly compact size (3.4 x 8.5 x 1.4cm), Rekord-M features a built-in stereo microphone, integrated speaker, mono microphone input for dynamic microphones, stereo line level input with adjustable input level, integrated battery, convenient charging via USB, 4 GB of memory and even a colour LCD display.

Roland announces that the GAIA SH-01 is now shipping. This 37-key compact synthesizer combines a classic panel layout reminiscent of vintage Roland synthesizers with the latest in Roland's analog-modeling technology.

The GAIA SH-01 is lightweight, compact, and great for musicians on the go. The 37-note keyboard is full-size for natural playing, and can be powered via AC or batteries. The GAIA SH-01 is able to create rich, massive sound with three virtual-analog sound engines, each with a dedicated oscillator, filter, amplifier, envelope, and LFO. With 64 polyphonic voices onboard, GAIA makes it possible to play massive sounds without experiencing note drop-out.

The instantly selectable multi-effects of the GAIA SH-01 allow for the layering of up to five simultaneous effects. Onboard ...

E-MU Systems has announced the release of new "Beta" drivers for users of USB and PCI/PCIe audio interface products. These beta drivers will allow E-MU customers to continue to use their E-MU products with the latest Mac and PC operating systems.

These drivers are compatible with Macintosh OS X 10.5 and above (Leopard & Snow Leopard) and Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 32-Bit & 64-Bit versions.

There is no official support for these Beta drivers, however, customer feedback on these drivers is both desired and welcome.

Steinberg announces the free 5.5 update for Cubase 5 and Cubase Studio 5 music production systems, adding new features plus an array of enhancements to instruments and workflow.

The 5.5 update ensures an improved low-latency performance on systems with four or more CPU cores, while the included version increments of two Cubase 5 features, LoopMash and the REVerence convolution reverb, reduce CPU usage considerably. The native x64 version of Cubase and Cubase Studio features an enhanced VST Bridge to improve compatibility with the majority of bridged 32-bit VST2.4 plug-ins within a native 64-bit production environment.

Enhancements for both mixing and video work have been realized with additional automation functionality in the automation panel as well as expanding the Quick Control s ...

112db just released Big Blue Limiter, a tube modelling limiter. It is neither transparent nor intended to be. In fact it adds a little mojo to everything you run through it, if desired even when no limiting is taking place.

Big Blue Limiter uses analog tube modelling in its limiting circuitry, which makes any limited warmer and fatter by adding a pleasing amount of coloration. And as if that weren't enough it also features an independent preamp that just loves to be overdriven. Whenever your material lacks character or oomph you will find that Big Blue Limiter is exactly what it takes.

With its versatile sound, intuitive interface, easy operation, adjustable latency (down to 6 samples!) and negligible CPU load Big Blue Limiter feels equally at home during a mix session and a mastering session.