PC and Music News

M-Audio has added another product to their Fast Track audio interface series. The Fast Track Ultra is a high-speed 8x8 USB 2.0 interface with MX Core DSP technology.

Features :

- 24-bit/96kHz professional audio on all I/O simultaneously
- high-speed USB 2.0 interface
- MX Core DSP technology (digital effects processing with assignable parameters, flexible channel routing options, expands DSP mixing interface to 16 x 8)
- 4 preamps with M-Audio Octane technology
- 4 XLR microphone inputs—including 2 XLR/TRS combo jacks for mic or instrument level inputs
- 20dB pad on each preamp
- signal/peak LED indicator lights
- phantom power
- 6 balanced line inputs
- 6 balanced analog outputs
- 2 analog inserts
- S/PDIF digital I/O
- built-in 1 x 1 MIDI interface
- 2 independent headphone outputs with individual volume controls
- USB bus power*
- full ASIO 2.0, WDM, MME, and Core Audio support

*USB bus power enables analog channels 1 and 2, S/PDIF I/O, and headphone output 1; included power supply required for full 8 x 8 operation.

The Fast Track Ultra is available now at a retail price of $449.95 / €399.

Native Instruments and Beatport today unveiled Beatport SYNC, a free music playback software for Mac and Windows that provides a unique feature set for modern listening habits. Based on the groundbreaking TRAKTOR DJ software, Beatport SYNC combines powerful music management capabilities with basic DJ mixing functions and full integration of the Beatport online store in one easy-to-use application.

Equipped with two playback decks and a crossfader section, it allows everybody to easily mix and match individual tracks into one consistent flow of music. Aspects like beat detection, tempo synchronization and loudness optimization are all handled automatically and intelligently by the software. The comprehensive track management functions also make it an ideal tool to handle today's evergro ...

Following the development of its monumental sample libraries and the groundbreaking Vienna Instruments software and audio engine, the Vienna team now introduces a new software solution called Vienna Ensemble. The exclusive Vienna Instruments mixing and host software is available as a free download for all registered users of Vienna Instruments and works on Macs and PCs. And there is even more good news for Pro Tools users: All Vienna Instruments Collections as well as the new Vienna Ensemble are now RTAS compatible on the Mac OS X platform.

Features :

- Custom-made for hosting Vienna Instruments
- Stand-alone application, ideal for running Vienna Instruments on external Macs and PCs: 8 ports with 16 MIDI channels each
- Plug-in formats RTAS (Mac PPC & Intel), AU (Mac PPC & Intel) and VST (PC and Mac PPC & Intel) for use with a host sequencer: 16 MIDI channels per instance
- Instant instrument switching gives immediate access to all instruments within the Vienna Ensemble user interface. A click on the desired instrument channel brings up its user interface instantly, no more redundant screen clutter.
- Instrument naming—all Vienna Instruments instances inside Vienna Ensemble can be labeled for a complete, at-a-glance overview.
- Total recall—orchestra setups can be saved with one click
- Definable play ranges for multi-instrument set-ups for studio and live use
- Inserts for AU (Mac) and VST (PC) effect plug-ins
- Panning and Power Panning for precise positioning
- Flexible routing with freely assignable busses
- Separated server solution that utilizes additional free memory, leaving host sequencer memory or memory used by additional Vienna Instruments plug-ins unaddressed.
- PC version: Windows XP and Vista (both 32 and 64-bit)
- Mac version: 32-bit for Mac PPC and Intel, 64-bit version coming soon

M-Audio is proud to announce shipment of the KeyStudio 49i music production system, an USB keyboard controller which integrates a 2-in/2-out audio interface and on-board premium piano sound.

Users can play the on-board piano as a stand-alone instrument—no computer or software required. The expressive, stereo-sampled emulation of a Steinway grand piano was crafted by the acclaimed Digidesign® Advanced Instrument Research Group, and also features reverb for enhanced realism without a computer. Users can also connect the KeyStudio 49i keyboard to a PC or Mac via USB and play a total of 128 sounds with the included M-Audio GM Module software. The keyboard incorporates a 2-input/2-output audio interface, allowing musicians to record vocals and instruments as well as listen to sessions and mi ...

Blue Cat Audio has enlarged its audio analysis plugins range with the release of the Blue Cat's StereoScope series, two new stereo image analysis DirectX and VST plugins for Windows. They both analyze the stereo image in details and provide a visual representation of the signal in the stereo field. They also allow the detection of potential mono compatibility issues.

Blue Cat's StereoScope Pro has specific features for single track analysis with MIDI and automation output, while Blue Cat's StereoScope Multi uses Blue Cat Audio's unique data sharing technology to analyze and monitor the stereo image of several audio tracks on a single screen.

These new plugins are available as separate products or within the Blue Cat's StereoScope Pack Bundle. Demo versions can be downloaded. A speci ...

Togu Audio Line has released TAL-Tube, a saturation plugin that have the characteristic of tubes and an additional amplifier mode. It's suitable for adding higher harmonics and can give more excitement and analog character to digital sounds. At extreme values it can also be used as a grungy distortion effect.

Features :

- Amplifier mode.
- Soft and hard mode (2 different tube types).
- Dry/Wet knob.
- Gain reduction display.
- 4x oversampled processing.
- Some presets.
- Low CPU.

TAL-Tube is free and is available as a VST effect plug-in for Windows and Mac OS X Universal Binary.