PC and Music News

With Predator 1.6.4 the best just got a whole lot better — and bigger! First and foremost, studio-based producers and musicians maximising ‘screen estate’ to speed up DAW workflow will appreciate the new Big Screen graphic mode which increases the original Predator GUI by 150%.

Of course, sound is where the art is, and, given its pedigree, Predator 1.6.4 does not disappoint with over 450 new presets!

Musicrow releases Analogica, an advanced analog filter emulation for Native Instruments Reaktor. Analogica is now available individually, or as part of Musicrow's Golden Ensembles 3 bundle for Reaktor.

Analogica is a fat and smooth analog sounding filter. It offers a distinctive warm character, sweet and beautiful self oscillation sound, flexible design and an intuitive interface.

Analogica enables you to fulfill any filtering mission with ease. It is not only suitable for elementary filtering tasks, but also capable of producing beautiful raw distortion sounds, interesting rhythmic patterns and unusual musical effects.

Native Instruments today introduced ABBEY ROAD 50s DRUMMER, a new KONTAKT instrument featuring the sound of two classic drum kits from the 1950s.

The kits provide the distinctive drum sound of the era, which was necessary to compete with the electrified instruments gaining popularity at the time. Recorded with both state-of-the-art and period equipment at Abbey Road Studios in London, 50s DRUMMER also includes a groove library, mixer presets, and a new set of brush articulations, delivering the authentic feel of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country, and jazz from the 1950s.

It is a free upgrade (as usual) and to many people the most interesting news is probably 64-bit compatibility.

It also features new MIDI controlling possibilities (including pattern edits via MIDI CC) and a beautiful new skin with spacier layout and crispier pixels.

Zero-G and Xfonic present The London Sessions - 1700 royalty free samples from some of the best session players around all recorded in glorious 24bit audio and delivered in multiple formats including Acid Wav, Apple Loops, EXS24, Kontakt, Halion and Reason NNXT.

Imagine that you had the pick of the best session musicians in London. Musicians who have played for artists as diverse as Amy Winehouse, Chaka Khan, Robbie Williams, Lily Allen, The Specials, Whitney Houston, Ronnie Wood, Tiny Tempah and Kathryn Williams.

Then you record them in one of the best known studios in the world, Dean Street in Soho, London. A studio that has played host to the likes of David Bowie, T-Rex, Thin Lizzy, U2, The Smiths, Robert Plant, Pink Floyd, Tina Turner, Black Eyed Peas, Noel Gallagher, Tinchy Stryder, Plan B, Frank Sinatra and Dusty Springfield to name but a few.

Paper Stone Instruments is a new Kontakt Library development company formed by the team at Paper Stone Recording Studios in Nottingham, UK.

Working from studio 2, a converted cinema auditorium dating back to the early 1900s with incredible acoustics, we have have taken our time to experiment with microphones, preamps and positioning to create the best possible sound quality. The resulting close, stereo and ambient room recordings can be blended on the Kontakt interface to tailor make the sound that suits your needs.

Some features:
- 4 Patches in NKI format.
- 1737 stereo samples recorded at 24bit 44.1 KHz.
- Original user interface and advanced custom scripting engine.
- PMP Full.nki (Complete with all articulations and dynamic keyswitching)
- PMP Staccato.nki (Lighter version with just the Staccato articulation loaded)
- PMP Pedalled.nki (Lighter version with just the Pedalled articulation loaded)
- PMP Sustain.nki (Lighter version with just the Sustain articulation loaded)