PC and Music News

Native Instruments has just introduced DISCOVERY SERIES: WEST AFRICA, a new instrument that centers on the infectious polyrhythmic grooves of traditional African music.

For use in KONTAKT 4 and in the free KONTAKT PLAYER, the instrument provides the full sonic spectrum of a West-African percussion ensemble, and represents a unique and highly versatile resource for film scoring as well as contemporary pop and club music styles.

Moog Music today announced the release of Phatty OS v.3.1, a major firmware upgrade to the very popular and portable Phatty family of analog synthesizers. The upgrade to the Phatty operating system coincides with an aesthetic upgrade for the Little Phatty Stage 2 Edition, as Moog introduces new black sidepieces.

New features in the Phatty OS v3.1

- Volume Velocity Sensitivity
- Legato Glide
- LFO Reset
- Sustain/Hold Mode
- 14-bit MIDI
- MIDI Output Filtering
- Expanded MIDI Clock sync options
- Improvements to Arpeggiator

WIN!
Sontronics HALO dynamic cardioid microphone worth £129!

Last week saw the arrival of HALO - a striking new dynamic cardioid microphone from Sontronics that has been specifically designed for guitarists.

HALO reproduces all the bite, crunch and power that you want from a guitar amp but without needing to touch the EQ. What's more, the springs that are built into the smart circular design help to isolate the mic from stage or floor vibrations.

Until 30th June, Sontronics' UK distributor Time+Space are giving you the chance to win a HALO of your own!

To enter, all you need to do is send Time+Space the answer to a very simple question.

Sampled through 60's valve preamps to worn tape to 44khz/24 bit - no eq/compression etc.This set of samples loves distortion!

The kontakt demos use their built-in effects, but the esx24 demo utilizes effects from TAL - they're currently free, and very nice.
 
(All samples unlooped)

The long awaited D50 library for Structure, LE and FREE over 2gigs high quality samples to create the ultimate replica of the Roland D50 synth. The Roland D50 was a landmark synth which first hit the streets in 1987, it was based on the combination of PCM samples and Linear Algorithmic Synthesis (LAS).

The D50 was the first synth to incorporate built in digital reverb. There wasn't a track in the 1980s that didn't include the Roland D50.

Steinberg announces the release of four VST Sound Loop Sets for electronic music aficionados. For these new products, Steinberg has collaborated with the award-winning sound design company Sample Magic to compile a best-of collection of their "zeitgeist-surfing" pool of sounds.

Producer, DJ and sound designer Sharooz, who remixed the likes of Gossip, Moby and Kings of Leon to name a few, was the one in charge of recording the sounds for these expansion packs. He created an electrifying and truly inspiring sound collection for high-quality music productions ranging from minimal to ambient and prog house to electro.