PC and Music News

U-he presents ACE (Any Cable Everywhere), a new modular virtual synth.

According to u-he, ACE delivers top quality sound at a highly competitive price. The selection of modules and clear layout make ACE the ideal instrument for newcomers delving into the fascinating world of modular synthesis. The number of ways to connect modules together is practically infinite, and you will soon discover how much more fun it is to make your own sounds in ACE than in a non-modular synthesizer.

Details :

• ETA: early December 2009
• pricing: 69EUR (includes 19% VAT, ca. 85 USD net when bought from overseas)
• formats: VST on Windows, VST/AU/RTAS on MacOS X
• system requirments Mac: Apple Macintosh Computer running MacOS X 10.4+ on a G4 processor or newer, Intel Core 2 Duo or better recommended
• system requirments Win: VST2 compatible host software on a PC with SSE2 supporting processor, Intel Core 2 Duo or better recommended
• number of presets and such: tba
• fun factor: high !

Cartec is a new British company that has stepped up to fight in the 'clone wars' with their version of the classic Pultec EQ. After a conversation at Olympic studios in London regarding their Pultecs and the noise/maintenance issues Liam Carter set out to build a no compromise alternative.

The Cartec EQP-1A features :

• All valve gain stage and valve power rectification
• Transformer balanced input and output (authentic hand-wound British Sowter models)
• Point-to-point wiring (no circuit boards inside) and hand assembled in England
• Sealed switches and control pots (military grade Grayhill and PEC models respectively)
• JJ ECC83s, ECC82 and United Electronic CV4005 rectifier valves
• 150mm deep aluminium chassis/engraved aluminium faceplate
• Custom made knobs by Davies molding (Manufacturer of the original Pultec knobs)

The Cartec EQP-1A is priced at £1955.

Sennheiser is closing down Klein + Hummel.

According to a dutch website (cf. link below) most employes will be kept and their famous Studio Monitors will be released under the Neumann brand which is also own by Sennheiser.

SPL announces a plug-in version of its Stereo Vitalizer MK2-T hardware unit.

The Stereo Vitalizer MK2-T is an equaliser concept which makes use of scientific psychoacoustic technology to process audio signals. The Vitalizer-technology has been constantly improved over the past nine years since its invention by SPL's Wolfgang Neumann and Hermann Gier. The plug-in version is modeled after Hermann's (SPL CEO), original privately owned hardware unit.

The Vitalizer MK2-T plug-in will be available on December 7, 2009 for Windows and Mac OS X in VST, AU, RTAS and TDM plug-in formats. The native version will cost €239 Net (€285 incl. VAT where applicable). The TDM version will cost €385 Net (€459 incl. VAT where applicable). An introductory discount of 25% will be offered for the first month of release.

More details will soon be available at :

Square State Solid State launches the Equalizer model one b, an affordable hardware EQ. Here is what they say about it :

"Combining inductor-based topology with a modern, high-speed op amp design, the Equalizer model one b is unrivaled at its price. Boasting an intuitive, logical layout and the ability to connect to most any line level source (balanced, unbalanced, mixer inserts, etc.), the model one b promises great sounds and tones in any application — making it a valuable tool for tracking, mixing or live sound.

The Equalizer model one b's low, mid, and high bands offer a substantial amount of cut/boost (nearly 20 dB) at useful frequencies (six per band), while still behaving musically when pushed to extremes — a revered characteristic of classic inductor-based equalizers. Furthermore, the switchable low and high frequency bands offer bell and shelf shapes for maximum versatility. And all of this functionality is wrapped up in a sturdy, all-metal rack-mountable chassis with a simple, yet elegant appearance."

The Equalizer model one b is available now at a price of $499.

For more details, please visit :

Best Service has announced the release of Gladiator 2 Complete.

Gladiator 2 Complete is a boxed-version of Tone2's Gladiator 2 synth which includes the Electronic Expansion. For the record, Gladiator 2 is a virtual synthesizer based on the concept of Advanced Harmonic Content Morphing (HCM) Synthesis. It supports an extensive list of synthesis types : Harmonic Content Morphing (HCM3), Frequency Modulation (FM), Amplitude Modulation (AM), Phase Distortion (PD), Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), Phase Modulation (PM), oscillator sync, wave shaping, supersaw, resynthesis sounds, vocoding, additive and sample playback modes.

Available as VST and AU instrument plug-ins on Windows and Mac OS X, Gladiator 2 Complete costs €198. Note that audio demos are available at :