PC and Music News

After Bitter Sweet II, Flux today announces the release of its new freebie plug-in called Stereo Tool.

Stereo Tool offers controls and visual feedback for the stereo stage. It features ultra precise controls of input gain and individual pan for left and right channels. A phase inverter is available for each channel. A global stereo pan and a stereo width setting are also implemented to complete the management of the stereo signal. Stereo Tool also offers an accurate visual feedback reflecting the signal content. A vector scope display, Peak meters for both inputs and outputs, and a phase correlation meter permanently monitor the signal. As all Flux plug-ins it features 64-bit floating point processing, up to 8 FS (384 KHz).

Stereo Tool is available for AU, RTAS and VST compatible host applications for Windows and Mac OS X.

CableGuys has just released FilterShaper, a new VST plug-in that aims to "bring life to your sounds and loops".

FilterShaper enables you to draw any curve, assign it to its 4 LFOs and use them to modulate filter cutoff and filter resonance of its filters, or simply modulate the volume. ts drawing possibilities are ultra-flexible, yet easy to use. You can draw any curves you like shaping hard-synced or analogue-sounding rhythms. Create interesting rhythmic strings, shape a bass sound, destroy vocal recordings, create vivid shaker rhythms out of white noise, etc. You can go from subtle changes to extreme modulations, from little sound corrections to nicely filtered rhythmic loops. Its various filters can be set to drastic values from zero resonance up to self-oscillation.

FilterShaper is available as a VST effect plug-in for Windows. The demo version gives you full functionality with the only limitation being that only one instance of the plugin can be used at the same time, so it is essentially free unless you want to use more than one instance in a project. The full license can be purchased for €29 / $44.

Expert Sleepers has released Clocker, a free utility VST plug-in for Windows that sends MIDI clock.

Why would you want a plug-in to do that, when your host app sends MIDI clock perfectly fine? Well, with Clocker you have a separate, adjustable source of MIDI clock. So you can send all kinds of crazy tempo to some of your outboard gear, while the rest of your stuff plays back in time as usual.

KRK Systems has announced the second generation of their industry-standard Rokit monitor. The second generation Rokit incorporates several technologies from the company's flagship VXT and E8B lines, including radically radiused edges along the front of the cabinet. The new Rokits replace the current Rokit 5", 6" and 8" models.

The Rokits leverage KRK's research and development into baffle design and fabrication. The Rokit G2's curved front baffle was engineered to minimize diffraction of high-frequencies, resulting in a sweet spot that is significantly larger than products with square or lightly rounded baffles. The baffle also houses a molded front-facing bass port that minimizes low-frequency phase distortion and unwanted frequency emphasis typical of rear-facing bass ports. The end result is a harmonious yet accurate blend of low and high-frequency components that result in a more accurate speaker. Additionally, the Rokit G2's voicing has been slightly enhanced to provide even better mix clarity and precision.

The new Rokit G2's are available now at a price of $149, $199 and $249 for the 5, 6 and 8 inch versions, respectively.

Voxengo has announced the release of Voxengo Crunchessor v2.0, a major new version of its general-purpose track compressor.

Version 2.0 features a wide range of enhancements over the previous version: namely, multi-platform support, multi-channel operation, mid-side processing, preset manager, and other additions.

New features :

- Multi-channel support.
- Multi-platform support.
- Wet/dry mix.
- Custom key filter adjustments.
- Undo/redo.
- Routing matrix.
- Mid/side processing.
- Preset manager.
- User interface coloration.
- User interface re-scaling.
- Channel grouping.
- Plug-in instance naming.
- Selectable oversampling level.
- Bypass switch.
- In Gain control removed (it is superfluous).
- Better metering.

Crunchessor 2.0 is available now in VST and AU formats for Mac OS X and Windows. One-month introductory price of $39.95 is now effective, which is 20% off the regular price of $49.95. Upgrading from the previous version costs $24.95 if previous version was purchased earlier than 90 days from now: otherwise upgrade is free during this grace period. Demo versions of Crunchessor are available.

Native Instruments has just released Kontakt Retro Machines, the latest addition to its Kore Soundpack range of sound libraries for Kore 2 and the free Kore Player.

Based on material from the Kontakt 3 factory library, Kontakt Retro Machines offers an essential collection of charismatic vintage instruments that were formative for many electronic music genres of the past decades. This includes various classic synthesizers as well as several sought-after drum machines, with their creative potential maximized through the powerful capabilities of the Kore platform.

Native Instruments is determined to firmly establish the Kore Soundpacks line as the most valuable, diverse and inspiring range of sound material for studio and stage, and will release a substantial number of additional libraries over the course of 2008.

Kontakt Retro Machines is now available for download purchase in the NI Online Shop for $59 / €49.