PC and Music News

Alesis has announced the Q49 USB/MIDI keyboard controller.

The Q49 is a 49-note keyboard controller that works with virtually all music software and MIDI hardware devices. The compact controller features USB-MIDI and traditional MIDI jacks for easy connection to Mac, PC and MIDI hardware.

The Q49 provides keyboard players with a full compliment of controls including pitch and modulation wheels, octave up and down buttons, an assignable data slider and the ability to send program changes from the keys.

The Q49 will be available from musical instrument and pro audio retailers in March 2010.

MOTU is now shipping ZBox ($39.95), a guitar pickup adapter that matches the output impedance of a guitar with instrument inputs on audio interfaces or other devices.

Guitar inputs on audio interfaces, mixers, PAs, wireless transmitters, and other similar devices (often labeled "instrument") usually have impedance levels that differ significantly from those typically found on guitar amp inputs. This mismatch can make a guitar sound unnatural (too bright, thin and brittle). In addition, the guitar may not "feel right" while played through software- or DSP-driven amp models.

By providing the proper impedance levels, ZBox restores natural guitar tone that would otherwise be lost through a non-amp input.

ZBox is simple to use. Just plug a guitar into ZBox's Lo-Z or Hi-Z input (whichev ...

Audio Ease has unveiled some of the new features that will come with Altiverb 7. Check it out :


Pricing and availability TBA.

The Bridge spans the gap between music production and DJing, creating a natural link between Ableton Live and Serato Scratch Live or ITCH. The Bridge provides a powerful fusion of DJ and production tools, opening a world of opportunities for DJing, remixing and live performance.

You can cross the Bridge in either direction:

Ableton to Serato
The Bridge provides Ableton Transport Control (ATC), giving you turntable-style control of your own multitrack productions. Simply drag an Ableton Live Set to a deck in Scratch Live or ITCH and use your turntables, CDJ or ITCH controller to control the transport.

The Marchin' library by AcousticsampleS is a military marching band set made of :

• two 24' bassdrums
• 8 16' toms pitched differently
• 6 15' snares
• one 18' cymbal
• 2,16Go of samples recorded at 24 bits, 44.1khz.
• Custom mapping, you can assign every element to any key from the interface in two different ways.You can even assign multiple elements to the same key.
• Mapping preset that helps you play multiple elements at the same time.
• Variable mapping repetition to play it with both hands.
• Multiple microphone positions and custom mixing of each element, we recorded each one with one stereo pair around 3 meters away plus one for the up side and one on the down side.
• Advanced cymbal action : releasing the cymbal key wil ...

Cakewalk announces the launch of the FA-66 FireWire Audio Interface for Mac and PC.

The FA-66 is a compact, portable 6-in/6-out FireWire 400/800 audio interface designed for mobile recording and performance professionals. The unit has two XLR/TRS combo inputs with phantom powered mic preamps, with one offering Hi-Z for recording electric guitar or bass, plus two RCA inputs – all with zero latency direct monitoring. The FA-66 delivers 4x4 simultaneous performance at up to 24-bit/192kHz sound quality, or 6x6 simultaneous performance at up to 24-bit/96 kHz.

The FA-66 also features MIDI in/out ports, optical S/PDIF I/O, a built-in analog limiter and indicator, and FireWire bus power. Combining premium audio components and solid, compact construction with support for the latest operating ...