PC and Music News

Following up on the runaway success of its StudioLive 16.4.2 digital mixer, PreSonus announced a new member of the family: the StudioLive 24.4.2. Like its 16-channel sibling, the 24-channel StudioLive 24.4.2 is designed for both studio recording and live sound, without compromising the requirements for either.

On top of the Portico 5017, Rupert Neve Designs has also unveiled the Portico 5024, a new quad mic preamp with Silk, MS, and Two DI.

Pricing and availability TBA. More details coming soon...

Alesis has announced the Q49 USB/MIDI keyboard controller.

The Q49 is a 49-note keyboard controller that works with virtually all music software and MIDI hardware devices. The compact controller features USB-MIDI and traditional MIDI jacks for easy connection to Mac, PC and MIDI hardware.

The Q49 provides keyboard players with a full compliment of controls including pitch and modulation wheels, octave up and down buttons, an assignable data slider and the ability to send program changes from the keys.

The Q49 will be available from musical instrument and pro audio retailers in March 2010.

MOTU is now shipping ZBox ($39.95), a guitar pickup adapter that matches the output impedance of a guitar with instrument inputs on audio interfaces or other devices.

Guitar inputs on audio interfaces, mixers, PAs, wireless transmitters, and other similar devices (often labeled "instrument") usually have impedance levels that differ significantly from those typically found on guitar amp inputs. This mismatch can make a guitar sound unnatural (too bright, thin and brittle). In addition, the guitar may not "feel right" while played through software- or DSP-driven amp models.

By providing the proper impedance levels, ZBox restores natural guitar tone that would otherwise be lost through a non-amp input.

ZBox is simple to use. Just plug a guitar into ZBox's Lo-Z or Hi-Z input (whichev ...

Audio Ease has unveiled some of the new features that will come with Altiverb 7. Check it out :


Pricing and availability TBA.

The Bridge spans the gap between music production and DJing, creating a natural link between Ableton Live and Serato Scratch Live or ITCH. The Bridge provides a powerful fusion of DJ and production tools, opening a world of opportunities for DJing, remixing and live performance.

You can cross the Bridge in either direction:

Ableton to Serato
The Bridge provides Ableton Transport Control (ATC), giving you turntable-style control of your own multitrack productions. Simply drag an Ableton Live Set to a deck in Scratch Live or ITCH and use your turntables, CDJ or ITCH controller to control the transport.