PC and Music News

Tascam unveils the DR-100 Portable Recorder. Building on the DR-1 recorder, the DR-100 has a pair of XLR mic ins with phantom power for adding pro condenser microphones. In addition, the DR-100 has four built-in electret condenser mics—two cardioid and two omni—and a built-in speaker for playback. It's powered either through an included Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery or easy-to-find AA batteries. analog line inputs and outputs are also available, as well as a mic stand mounting hole for recording flexibility.

Other features include a wireless remote control and audio editing features. Playback can be looped or slowed down without changing the pitch, and locate points can be added while recording. The DR-100 records to SD or SDHC cards, and a 2GB card is included with the unit.

Garritan has announced a new World Instruments library presenting a comprehensive collection of expressive and exotic instruments from around the world.

The Garritan World Instruments collection offers a large variety of beautifully sampled flutes — Native American flutes, bamboo flues, Irish flutes, Chinese and Japanese flutes, Indian flutes, clay flutes, pan flutes, nose flutes and many other exotic winds from around the globe. Included is a dynamic array of pitched and un-pitched percussion instruments — Taiko drums, Gamelan ensemble, Log drums, tablas, ewe drums, balaphon, Udu drum, talking drum, steel drums, an array of Latin percussion, and much more. There are numerous types of plucked and bowed strings, including: Indian Sitars, Japanese koto and shamisen, African kora, Middle Eastern oud and santoor, and erhu. A variety of other instruments include didgeridoo, Middle Eastern reed instruments, accordions, Tibetan bowls, and harmonium, to name just a few.

The Garritan World Instruments Library is designed with playability and expressive control in mind. It features controls for dynamics, vibrato, tongue/slur techniques, airflow, auto legato, auto-variability, auto-portamento, trills and more — to make these samples musical, realistic and expressive. There is even support for wind controllers (like the Akai EWI). A unique feature of the Garritan World instruments is its support for Scala files to adjust to different temperaments and tunings.

Powered by the ARIA playback engine (developed by Plogue Technologies), the Garritan World Instruments will work on a single computer, laptop and even some netbooks, Mac OSX or PC platform, standalone, or plug-in for all major sequencers (VST, AU, RTAS), works with Finale 2009 and with other supported notation programs.

Garritan World Instruments is expected to be released first quarter 2009. Pricing will be announced upon release.

Line 6 announces POD Studio KB37, an USB audio interface that combines a 37-key MIDI controller and multiple inputs and outputs with a complete collection of pro audio software that includes POD Farm , the premium tone plug-in.

POD Studio KB37 boasts up to 96 kHz/24-bit recording, exclusive Line 6 ToneDirect monitoring for near-zero latency, and the lowest noise for recording guitar. Plus, the included software bundle offers Ableton® Live Lite Line 6 Studio Edition 16-track recording software, Reason® Adapted virtual studio, RiffWorks T4 recording software, and POD Farm.

POD Studio KB37 offers incredible flexibility with 37 full-size velocity-sensitive keys, a variety of software-assignable MIDI controls, and a comprehensive I/O that features two balanced XLR inputs with high-quality mic pres and phantom power, 1/4-inch guitar input (with -10dB pad), S/PDIF digital output, two 1/4-inch line inputs, two 1/4-inch analog outs, assignable VU meters and much more.

POD Studio KB37: $419.99 MSRP

JBL Professional is introducing the new LSR2300 Series Studio Monitor System, delivering professional performance at price points within reach of any studio.

The LSR2300 Series includes: the LSR2328P Bi-Amplified 8-inch Studio Monitor with 160 Watts of amplification; the LSR2325P Bi-Amplified 5-inch Studio Monitor with 85 Watts of amplification; and the LSR2310SP Powered 10-inch Studio Subwoofer with an integrated 180 Watt power amplifier.

In developing the LSR2300 Series, JBL applied the same stringent Linear Spatial Reference criteria used in the design of the LSR6300 and LSR4300 Series. While most manufacturers take only a single on-axis measurement of the speaker's performance, JBL's Linear Spatial Reference criteria requires 70 measurements, yielding more than 1,200 times more d ...

EastWest has added two more of its collections into the PLAY lineup : Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs and Quantum Leap RA.

Now with the PLAY sample engine, users of EastWest Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs PLAY Edition and Quantum Leap RA will have access to many new features including :

- 64-bit* with 32-bit compatibility for PC (*see system specifications).
- Full memory access with MAC (requires 64-bit MAC).
- Mac Intel compatibility.
- An intuitive custom interface.
- Intelligent performance section including portamento, repetition, legato
- Features round robin reset.
- Offers improved articulation window and controls.
- On-screen Mic position mixing (Choirs only).
- Switchable 24-bit/16-bit depth.
- State-of-the-art convolution reverb with pre-delay.
- Convolution reverb includes the hall the choir was recorded in (Choirs only).
- An intelligent release trail engine that follows note-on samples volume at all times.
- Improved sound quality with high-resolution audio engine.
- Hi-fidelity one pole filter for natural cross-fades.
- Stereo image editing is now possible using channel sourcing.
- The instruments/voices featured in the PLAY Editions are newly-programmed for PLAY from the original recordings.

Ultimate Support introduces another unique line of customized accessories to match your inimitable style and sound! These new Custom Mic Stand Tops take their cue from their Custom Chrome Mic Stand Series launch—now offered as an affordable, stand-alone accessory, adaptable to work with any mic stand!

"Your mic stand is the centerpiece of your performance," offers CEO Mike Belitz. "Why settle for a boring black tube when you can make a statement with a custom look at an affordable price? Ultimate Support's new Custom Mic Stand Tops allow you to match your music with a visual vibe guaranteed to get you noticed. Although they work with all standard mic stands in the market, if used with our new Live series stands, they act as a functional, one-hand clutch. All this without breaking the bank!"

Six unique designs are available, each with universal connectors making it easy to mix and match with any new or existing mic stand in your arsenal: "Are You Talkin' to Me?" (Brass knuckle clutch), "Dark Magic" (Celtic Cross-themed), "Bring It on Sucka" (Hand-grenade clutch), "Love/Hate" (Conical clutch), "Venom" (Black widow clutch), and "Smell The Rubber" (60's-style shifter clutch).