PC and Music News

JoeCo presents the Blackbox Recorder, a high performance multi-track capturing device designed for the 21st century.

Aimed primarily at the live music market, it records 24 channels of hi-res audio directly to a USB2 drive. It can be plugged directly into the insert points on any console and can also provide Virtual Sound Checking facilities. Recording to standard external USB2 disks formatted with FAT32 in Broadcast WAV file format (BWAV), any material can be instantly used in a studio Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) without any need for time-consuming file conversions or transfers.

Features :

- 24 track audio recorder
- Virtual Sound Check Facility
- 24bit/96kHz conversion
- Simple User interface
- Keyboard input for naming tracks and songs
- Data entry wheel for navigating menus and making adjustments
- Scrub function for finding loop points
- AES / SPDIF word clock
- Linear time code (LTC) & MIDI time code
- SONY PII (9-pin) control
- Records to standard USB2 drive in BWF format - Instant import into DAW
- Multiple Blackbox Recorder units can be chained for really large multi-track recordings
- Applications as standalone multichannel recorder for use in studios, conferences, conventions, logging and monitoring

The Blackbox Recorder will be available from April 09.

It's not official for now but it seems that after the little MPK 25, Akai will soon unveil its big brother : the MPK 88.

As we can see on the picture the MPK 88 will be a fully weighted 88 note keyboard with all the features of the MPK49 plus the full quota of 16 MPC pads, as opposed to the 12 on the MPK 49 & 25.

Roland is pleased to present the VP-770 Vocal & Ensemble Keyboard, featuring newly-developed Vocal Designer effects and high-quality ensemble sounds powered by Roland's exclusive SuperNATURAL technology.

With a solid wood construction and metal chassis, the VP-770 features a newly enhanced interface, plus expressive onboard sounds applicable across a vast array of musical genres. A high-quality headset microphone comes standard and provides the best signal path possible in combination with the VP-770's pristine onboard microphone preamp.

Performers will especially love how inviting and inspiring the VP-770 is to use onstage. It's ideal for musicians who perform alone or in small groups, and for those who need an interactive, real-time backing chorus. Film and TV music composers who are challenged with time and budget can use the VP-770 to generate high-impact choral, string, and brass arrangements on the spot. Churches in need of a choir (or choir enhancer) will love the VP-770 as well.

The VP-770 is also equipped with high-resolution vocoder modeling, which can be used to generate signature vocal effects for the dance music, pop, R&B, and hip-hop genres without the hassle and expense of a separate vocoder or processor.

Primacoustic is pleased to announce the latest Recoil Stabilizer: the RX5 UF up-fire; a nearfield monitor isolation platform designed for post production facilities where the playback monitor is often on a desk and needs to be angled upwards and aimed at the listener's ears.

The Recoil Stabilizer is a unique device (patent pending) that at once isolates the nearfield monitor from the desk or shelf to eliminate resonance while providing a solid isolation platform to eliminate sway from the back & forth piston movement of the loudspeaker. Once installed, one immediately notices clearer more defined bass, improved transient response and a wider soundscape with more detailed imaging. Because the Recoils eliminate resonance; irregularities between rooms is reduced and therefore mixes immediately translate better between studios.

The RX5-UF Recoil Stabilizer is the newest arrival in the family and features a 10° up-fire angle designed to allow the engineer to aim the tweeter at his ears and achieve the proper listening angle when used on a table-top surface. Priced at $99 US each.

SKB Corporation displays two new 4U models in its Shock-Rack case line of products. The 24" deep (3SKB-R904U24) Shock-Rack model expands the 24" series to seven different sizes while the 30" deep model (3SKB-R904U30) expands the 30" line to four different models.

As with all SKB 24" deep shockmount cases, the 4U Roto Shock-Racks provide a rotationally molded tough shell with integrally molded valance, and they each come standard with eight elastomeric shocks (load up to 150 lbs). The load range can be enhanced by adding an additional shock on each mounting point.

The 4U Roto Shock-Racks feature field-replaceable, black powder coated stainless steel latches, as well as a patent pending compound hinge door system that allows the lid to swing out and completely around and lie flat against the main body of the case (or alternately go lid-less with an effortless lift motion) and then be reinstalled with the same ease in seconds. The front and rear lids are designed to protrude into the base of the case approximately 1", and their unique double wall structure makes them incredibly stiff where this intersection occurs. Each 4U Roto Shock-Rack is securely stackable with the wheels on or off. In addition, this revolutionary design is the only such product that will open front and back while stacked. Other features include removable 4" casters, gasketed doors and pressure relief valve. Finally, both 4U Roto Shock-Racks are covered by SKB's unmatched Million Mile Guaranty (Lifetime Warranty).

The 3SKB-R904U24 24" deep x 4U Roto Shock-Rock and 3SKB-R904U30 30" deep x 4U Roto Shock-Rack are available now with U.S. estimated street pricing as follows :

3SKB-R904U24 24" deep x 4U Roto Shock-Rock $949.99
3SKB-R904U30 30" deep x 4U Roto Shock-Rack $1,149.99

Cakewalk has announced Craig Anderton's Electronic Guitars Expansion Pack for Rapture and Rapture LE. Using Rapture's advanced engine and unique processing options, Craig has turned the sound of the electric guitar inside-out to create "stunning" synthetic sounds that retain the guitar's organic qualities.

As displayed in his 'Minimoog Tribute Expansion Pack,' Craig's programming style combines musicality and innovation and takes full advantage of Rapture's advanced synthesis capabilities. In the new Electronic Guitars Expansion Pack, he leverages LFOs, StepGenerators, FX, and creative use of modulators to do everything from layering to patch morphing to providing alternate bass sounds within the same patch. Craig has even created evocative one-finger chord patches that change from major to minor with mod wheel use.

Craig Anderton's Electronic Guitars uses sounds from PRS, Gibson, Peavey, and Fender guitars, as well as Roland's VG-8 guitar synth, to create unique textures that sound like nothing you've heard before, according to Cakewalk.

Craig Anderton's Electronic Guitars Expansion Pack is available to registered Rapture, Rapture LE, SONAR 7 & 8, and SONAR V-Studio 700 customers for $49 via download. In addition to the programs and waveforms, the package includes 10 free audio loops crafted from these sounds, and a video detailing the story behind the programs.