PC and Music News

Steinberg is pleased to announce an upcoming free update to its Cubase 5 and Cubase Studio 5 Music Production Systems. The free update to version 5.5 adds new features and capabilities as well as a range of enhancements to existing instruments, functionality and workflow.

"We're proud to offer such a large range of improvements in a free update, it's a way for us to thank our customers for choosing Cubase," comments Helge Vogt, Steinberg's Product Marketing Manager for Cubase and the HALion product range. "The enhancements cover many areas of the application, from multi-core support and a new video engine to added automation features and updates for the onboard instruments, to name but a few. The 5.5 update underlines our vision for Cubase, that it is not just a piece of software, it's ...

For all the track and songwriters with tight deadlines and a mobile work situation out there, Toontrack, in collaboration with DSP developers par excellance Overloud, has developed EZmix.

EZmix is a simple (EZ), yet powerful, mixing tool that gives you access to a huge array of mix presets for the whole gamut of mixing needs. Whether you need to mix drums, vocals, guitars, bass or keyboards this is your tool.

Simply connect EZmix to a channel strip in your sequencer like you would any plug-in, pick a preset for the instrument or sound on that strip. Done. For demo purposes or in full on production EZmix will cut your studio time, speed up and enhance your creative process from the initial hook to the final track.

Priced at €49, EZmix is a Mac and PC compatible, AU, RTAS and VST plug-in delivered with a wide variety of mix presets, with a heavy accent on your drum mixing needs, designed by Toontrack Music Head Of Sound Design Mattias Eklund.

Roland is proud to introduce the Lucina AX-09, a compact shoulder synthesizer designed to fit all musicians — even kids.

Features :

• Stylish, lightweight, compact design
• Easy-to-use, intuitive user interface
• 150 high-quality sounds that cover a wide stylistic range
• 37-note velocity-sensitive keyboard, 128-voice polyphony
• External-In Jack and USB-Memory Audio Player Function
• Runs on AC or battery power

The Lucina AX-09 is scheduled to ship in May with a suggested retail price of $699.

Toontrack Music announces a new product line for its drum sampler Superior Drummer 2.0 - S2.0 Producer Presets. To launch its first ever release under the new line, Toontrack has collaborated with allenmorganaudio to create a versatile presets package designed by acclaimed producer/mixer/re-mixer himself, Allen Morgan.

Allen Morgan has worked with a diverse range of artists spanning from country giants such as Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton and Reba McIntire to pop acts like NSYNC and rock acts such as Nine Inch Nails and Stevie Nicks. Allen is known for his innovative mixing and his ability to create unique, expansive soundscapes and being able to lend a contemporary touch to all his work without ever losing track of the organic feel. Aside from traditional mixing and producing, he is also ...

AudioSpillage has announced the release of DrumSpillage, a new virtual drum synth for Mac OS X (AU). Inspired by early analog and digital drum machines but expanding on the original blue print DrumSpillage is equipped with a unique and modern feature set designed for today's electronic musicians and producers.

Key Features:

• Future proof model-driven architecture.
• 13 exclusive drum synthesis algorithms with extensive editing facilities.
• 16 part/64 note polyphonic percussion synthesizer.
• Pad based real-time control/mixing surface.
• Fast slider based GUI.
• Dynamic velocity accent control.
• Flexible modulation possibilities.
• Full MIDI key mapping and pad layering.
• 9 mono/stereo outputs.
• High resolution 64-bit DSP engine.

Full retail price is £99 / €119 / $159 with a special introductory 25% off discount price for the first 10 customers.

Line 6 has released POD Farm 2 and POD Farm 2 Platinum software plug-ins. The pair of AU/RTAS/VST plug-ins builds upon the foundations set by their predecessors to deliver extensive model counts, a simple yet powerful workflow and POD tone for any digital audio workstation. These new versions offer enhanced routing with flexible DSP, POD Farm Elements, and full MIDI support.

The enhanced routing with flexible DSP (digital signal processing) inspires creativity and allows for a broad range of tones. Users can build Dual Tones, which are dual signal chains that can be played separately or simultaneously. Dual Tones can include up to twenty effect models of any type placed in any order within the signal chain.

Included with both POD Farm 2 and POD Farm 2 Platinum, POD Farm Elements are ...