PC and Music News

After many years of development, Spectrasonics today previewed their brand new flagship virtual instrument Omnisphere®.
The revolutionary 'Power Synth' breaks completely new sonic ground by combining a wide variety of hybrid realtime synthesis techniques, an epic library of remarkable 'Psychoacoustic' sounds, and many innovative features that have never been seen before in any hardware or software synthesizer.
The new instrument is the first to be based on Spectrasonics' STEAM Engine, the company's newly developed core technology.
Omnisphere is set to be released September 15, 2008, the MSRP is $499 US.

Omnisphere will offer a host of hybrid synthesis and new control capabilities including Variable Waveshaping DSP synthesis, Granular synthesis, Timbre Shifting, FM synthesis, polyp ...

Scarbee today announced Blue Bass, a sample library made for N.I. Kontakt 2 and Kontakt 3. Scarbee Blue Bass has been built to take advantage of the advanced scripting technology originally developed for the Black Bass.

Blue Bass was designed to be very easy to play live. Almost all articulations can be triggered without any keyswitches. Eg. legato playing triggers hammer-on and pull-off, legato playing with sustain pedal pressed triggers slides, fast legato playing triggers grace notes.

Features
• All four strings sampled, more than 4 000 samples and up to 9 velocity layers to capture the full timbre of the bass.
• Real-time playable – with the exception of cross hammering and trills all of the articulations in the list given further below can be triggered without the ne ...

At NAMM, Applied Acoustics Systems presents on its upcoming plug-in instrument - Strum Acoustic GS-1, an Acoustic Guitar Plug-in Synthesizer.

- Keyboardist's Acoustic Guitar: Can't learn the guitar in time for your deadline. Your favorite session player is out of town. ROMplers are not quite there. Strum is the just-right solution.
- Play a folk song with open chords: Play the chords you know and Strum voices them as a guitarist would.
- Strum on your keyboard: Auto-strum chords or play them via strumming keys or MIDI loops.
- Pick a guitar from your collection: Go from nylon to steel, from jumbo to concert, or from country rock to finger-style classical.
- Create your own space: Add warmth with the EQ, lush with the chorus, and space with the reverb.

Strum Acoustic GS-1 will be available by the end of Q1 2008 for Windows and Mac OS X (Universal Binary) in VST, AU and RTAS formats.

Moog Music has announced two new product innovations, unveiled for the first time at the 2008 NAMM show in Anaheim.

The Minimoog Voyager Old School is an analog synth based upon their famous Voyager. The Old School will feature a streamlined interface for a more authentic experience. The Old School features an enhanced modulation selection and a slightly altered knob configuration, and unlike the Minimoog Voyager, there is no touch screen, pre-sets or MIDI functionality. And thanks to this streamlining, the Old School comes at a significantly lower price point than the Minimoog Voyager.

The MP-201 Multi-Pedal extends expressive control to virtually all contemporary synths (both hardware and software), as well as effects processors, laptops and DJ gear. Thanks to its MID ...

NAMM 2008 sees the unveiling of Focusrite's new 'ISA One' microphone pre-amplifier. It features the classic vintage microphone pre-amplifier topology from the original ISA110 module in a rugged and portable chassis, including the Lundahl L1538 transformer and bespoke zobel network. (The original 110 pre amp formed the cornerstone of each channel of Focusrite's legendary Forte console.)

The pre amp is complemented by a line input (XLR and TRS Jack) and an independent D.I. channel, complete with dedicated gain control, active or passive impedance switch, a TRS Jack output for routing to an amp and an independent XLR output on the rear.

A variable impedance circuit has been added, allowing the user to switch between four carefully selected input impedance settings. In addition to the or ...

Novation unveils a new USB controller called Nocturn. Featuring the latest Automap Universal 2.0 software, exclusive to Novation controllers, Nocturn provides automatic, instant and intelligent control of all automatable plug-ins within every major sequencer, including Pro Tools.

Features :

- 8 touch-sensitive rotary encoders, each equipped with a bright eleven-LED ring
- 8 user-assignable illuminated buttons
- smooth, professional 45mm cross-fader
- Novation's unique 'speed dial'; a touch-sensitive rotary encoder that instantly takes control of whatever your mouse is focused on!

Featuring a revolutionary new 'heads-up transparent control GUI', Automap Universal 2.0 places a transparent control map across your computer screen, to be recalled or hidden at will. Little or no user ...