PC and Music News

Six weeks have passed since the official release of Sequel 2 and Steinberg has finally launched a free trial version... better late than never !

The Sequel 2 Trial Version showcases all the new features introduced with Sequel 2 such as the Controller Learn Mode, Track Freeze, Track Icons, the enhanced Sequel MediaBay, the Virtual Keyboard and much more.

Sequel 2 is available for both Mac OS X and Windows at a retail price of €99. Updates from the previous version are available exclusively from Steinberg's online store for €29.00.

Groovebox Music presents Brainwerks: Pro Tools Operator Tutorials, a collection of Pro Tools video tutorials by Pro Tools super genius Stefan Hedengren.

From the basics, such as I/O Setup and fast track creation, to more advance topics such as making stems and submixes, Elastic Time, and daily clean up, Stefan shows you his personal tricks and techniques in detail, and sometimes wacky way, to becoming a serious Pro Tools operator.

You can view all the video tutorials in the "Pro Tools Operator" collection online for 30 days for $14.99 or download and own the full disc for $49.99. The boxed disc version will ship in 2-3 weeks for $54.99 plus shipping, but you can order it today and get the instant digital download included for free so you can start learning right away.

NUSofting has announced the launch of SMPlugins.com, a new web site created to commercialize Windows-only VST plugins produced using Outsim's SynthMaker.

For this occasion, SMPlugins has announced Open Guitar, a new acoustic guitar emulation. Open Guitar is designed for the accurate emulation of the beautiful sound of arpeggiated guitar chords in the first position of the fretboard (hence the "open" strings sound). Open Guitar can just do strums and arpeggios of an acoustic guitar, but it is customizable with the Soundbox with EQ controls. Notes range is from D1 to C4.
Open Guitar sound synthesis is created using single note samples and DSP filters. So it's not a loop player, it's a true instrument which can play any sequence you want. MIDI files are included as examples of accurate guitar sequencing. The "hammer on" and "pull off" techniques are possible.

The release date has not yet been announced but it will be priced at $35.

Urbano Lounge is the second sound pack from Percussa which contains over 140Mb of loop content recorded and produced exclusively for Percussa AudioCubes by Cuesounds (UK). Although the pack was designed to work with Propellerheads Reason 4, the samples can be used with other software too.

Included are three main folders, two of which contain sampled loops, and one containing four combinator tools. The sampled loops are included in both WAV and RX2 file format. The included combinator patches were designed to use the RX2 format. The sampled loops have been created around a general lounge and hip hop theme. Some of the sounds included are not typically representative of this genre, however help balance an eclectic palette of sounds that can be used in a variety of styles.

Urbano Lounge is available now and is priced at €14.95.

HV Synth Design has released the Acoustic Modeled FluteCollection which contains a Bass Flute, C (concert) Flute and Piccolo. The instruments are created with SynthMaker and based on a unique modeling method, called Eclectic Acoustic Synthesis.

Features :

- Very realistic flute sounds.
- Note range: 3 octaves.
- Like real flutes, you can 'blow' the models from very soft to very loud with an increment of brightness (the high frequencies become more and more prominent). This is done via modulation wheel or breath controller.
- The C (Concert) Flute can also be played as Jazz Flute, by modifying the bore and adding a lip thrill.
- Low CPU load.

Controls :

- Breath Pressure: ModWheel or Breath Controller.
- Breath Noise (MIDI Learn).
- Vibrato (amplitude and/or pitch).
- EQ.
- Fine tuning.
- Lip Thrill (MIDI Learn) (C Flute only).
- Bore modification (C Flute only).

The Acoustic Modeled FluteCollection is available now for Windows in VST and Standalone versions at a price of $139.

On top of that, HV Synth Design has also announced that trial versions of all its plug-ins are now available (FluteCollection, TrumpetCollection and LowBrassCollection).

Step into the Chiller's Joint. New from the pristine Ueberschall Nouvelle series comes a distinctive downtempo collection. Chillers Joint is heavily influenced by 60s and 70s soundtracks, Soul, Funk, Dub and Jazz. Garnished with modern Downtempo Hiphop and electronic flavours. Highlights include 20 relaxed c-kits, each over a minute long, all including intros/outros verses and refrains with over 1,100 loops. Tonal diversity is accented by custom recordings of pure vintage drum and instrumental phrases, grooves as well as atmospheric terrains.

This collection contains a lavish variety of :

• vintage drum grooves,
• electric piano licks,
• live played basslines, guitars,
• vibes,
• percussion,
• strings,
• horns,
• synths,
• soundscapes, ambiances, air and fx.

Also included in the set are divided drumloops (bassdrum, snare, hihat loops) and a wealth of single sounds to aid in easy assembly of fresh, organic, chillout styled mixes. Design with peace of mind using the bundled Elastik players powerful mix and match options. Fine tune, filter, tempo sync, chop and re-sort, reverse and other effect essentials come standard.

Chillers Joint is available now for Mac OS X and Windows in VST, AU and RTAS formats at a retail price of $119/€99/£69.