PC and Music News

Paul at ManyTone Music turned 44 this week so ManyTone is having a Birthday/Halloween sale: 44% off the regular price of any product for the next two weeks (Until October 31st, 2008).

To get these prices go to the ManyTone web site and check the latest news release. It contains the special prices and the links to purchase at these prices.

Happy Birthday Paul !

FanBand Software is a musician's tool for selling your digital music files at shows. Because the music industry has changed over the years, selling a CD alone at shows is not enough if a majority of your audience are buying digital downloads.

You may have digital distribution all over the internet, so why should you be limited to selling your mp3 files only online, when you are constantly performing at shows? What if someone only liked one of your songs you played at a show, and they rather purchase that one song then buy an entire CD? It happens when you sell music online.

FanBand Software works by allowing your audience to purchase songs directly from a laptop you provide at shows, and automatically sends your music file directly to their email address right from FanBand Software without the need for a credit card terminal, a merchant account, or even an internet connection in the venue at the time. All transactions are cash only, and you retain 100% of the profit. You also obtain the fan's email address, and MySpace address, so you can build a 'local MySpace list' to keep your new fans updated, right from FanBand Software.

FanBand is available now for Windows XP/Vista and costs $39.99.

Ultimate Sound Bank has released the USB Producer Pack, a massive library which features more than 26 GB of sounds, instruments and loops, containing more than 50 000 samples, and covering every aspect of music and sound production. So much for figures, here are the sounds that don't have to be introduced anymore, in full version :

- Plugsound Pro : the award-winning global library
- Xtreme FX : the most famous sound design tool
- Synth Anthology : 30 years of synthesis history
- Mayhem of Loops: thousands of useful loops

"These magic collections are the secret weapon for a lot of producers around the world. Now united in one single and easy package." said Alain Etchart, Founder and Director of Marketing at Univers Sons / Ultimate Sound Bank.

Available now for $299, the USB Producer Pack also includes the full version of UVI Workstation.

Found on Trident website :

"After long negotiations, PMI Audio has announced its acquisition of the original Trident Audio Developments Company. PMI has purchased all of the trademark rights, intellectual property rights, goodwill and assets of Trident Audio Developments from David Stocks. David Stocks acquired the company from Relyon after Malcolm Toft sold it to Relyon."

Funny thing is that PMI Audio also owns Toft Audio Designs, the new company of Malcolm Toft. It seems that the circle is now complete.

"Within the last decade, computer-based plug-in synths have gradually overtaken hardware as the primary weapon in keyboardists' arsenal. The flexibility, convenience and low cost of plug-ins certainly cannot be argued. But what if you're a live-gigging musician? You could take a laptop to the gig, but laptops are delicate and generally require external audio hardware for high-quality audio. What if there was a compact, affordable synth module that allowed you to play a range of high-quality plug-ins without the need for a laptop? Enter Use Audio's Plugiator !"

Thermionic Culture has finally announced the availability of its long-awaited Fat Bustard Valve Mixer.

This beautiful unit has a total of 12 inputs arranged as 4x stereo pairs and 4x mono with pan controls, all with toggle mute switches. The simple but amazing Bass and Treble EQ has 0.5dB stepped Lift controls while there are 6 way stepped Bass & Treble Cut controls. This unit also includes a really sweet and effective stereo width control, a little reminiscent of some vinyl lathe cutting EQ's. Four valves are used on the master buss, a pair of 5965 double triodes, the first half of which is pre-amp/eq, the second half is gain makeup in conjunction with the dedicated 'Attitude' feedback control which determines the amount of THD. The Attitude control can yield a clean signal or add gain and some "valvy" 2nd harmonic distortion. The other pair of valves is the larger 6SN7 double triode connected in parallel to give massive headroom cleanly (approaching +30 dBm).

Additional pair of AUX inputs is also provided for future channel expansion by adding the optional Little Bustard 16 channel expander, which will be due later this year.

Retail is approximately £2800.00 ex VAT.