PC and Music News

Universal Audio has announced new partnerships with Harman Pro Group, Ampex Corporation and Dunlop.

Each company in the Harman Pro Group has a near-mythic status in the professional audio world - ranging from reverb (Lexicon), to compression and other processing (dbx), tape machines (Studer), and spring reverb (AKG). Under the terms of this agreement, Universal Audio will develop, market and sell plug-in emulations of select Lexicon, Studer, dbx, and AKG equipment for the UAD-2 Powered Plug-In Platform.

Ampex is famous in the professional audio world as innovators of magnetic tape and tape recorder technology - widely praised for its rich, almost magical sound quality. For the first time ever, Universal Audio's renowned team of DSP engineers will exhaustively and faithfully model these complex devices and media, bringing accurate emulations of Ampex magnetic recording tape to the UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins platform.

Dunlop is a leading manufacturer of guitar stompboxes and studio-oriented effects under the Dunlop and MXR brands. Under this partnership, Universal Audio will deliver a range of unique and classic effects to the ever-growing family of plug-ins available on the UAD-2 platform.

On top of that, Universal Audio has also announced the upcoming release of the highly anticipated Manley Labs Massive Passive EQ plug-ins in Q1 2010.

Working with Manley Labs, Universal Audio's Massive Passive EQ plug-ins represent their most ambitious EQ modeling project to date, bringing UAD-2 users both the standard and mastering versions of this world-renowned hardware EQ. Specifically, the two-channel, four-band Manley Massive Passive EQ utilizes design strengths from choice console, graphic, parametric and Pultec EQs - delivering a fundamentally different type of EQ. The Massive Passive's natural treatment of a signal lends itself to both radical tonal shaping as well as delicate vocal shading or subtle mastering enhancement.

Softube is about to release a new EQ plug-in based upon the famous Trident A-Range EQ. It will be available on february for both Mac (TDM, AU, VST, RTAS) and PC (TDM, VST, RTAS).

Introductory Offer during february :

• Native version : $229 ($70 off)
• TDM version : $329 ($120 off)

Arturia has released Brass v2.0.

Brass is a software recreation of three wind instruments - a trumpet, a saxophone and a trombone. Version 2.0, Brass offers an entirely redesigned interface with major new features and improvements :

• New physical modelling of the saxophone.
• Two new Saxophone mouthpieces.
• Possibility to play four instruments at a time using a new Harmonization module.
• Advanced spatialization possibilities.
• Improved MIDI control.
• Better integration into DAW software.
• Entirely redesigned interface.

On top of that, Arturia has announced a new limited edition bundle featuring the Brass 2 software and the Akai Pro EWI-USB wind-controller. This bundle will start shipping on January 25th, 2010 at a price of €399 / $449.

Arturia announces the Analog Experience Series, a new series of three hybrid synthesizers: Analog Experience The Player, Analog Experience The Factory and Analog Experience The Laboratory.

Analog Experience The Player - with 25 keys this is the smallest, most lightweight and simple version of the series. It features a compact MIDI keyboard controller and light version of Analog Factory software giving a very easy-to-use and affordable package including the very best of Arturia's signature sounds and a dedicated quality keyboard perfect for the mobile musician.

Analog Experience The Factory - with 32 keys (previously named "Analog Factory Experience") this adds a dedicated keyboard to the Analog Factory software, allowing all sounds to be dramatically modified instantaneously.

Rupert Neve Designs presents a new addition to its Portico line of products, the Portico 5017, which combined a DI box, a mic preamp and a fixed-ratio compressor.

Features :

• DI box / Mic Pre / Compressor
• Variphase, Silk, Blend and two channel operation
• desktop unit


The Portico 5017 will be shipping at the end of February 2010 for $1195.

Akai Professional announces the MPD26 USB/MIDI Pad Controller.

Features :

• Access 64 samples on 16 pressure and velocity-sensitive MPC pads with four banks each
• MPC technologies include Note Repeat, Swing, 16 Level, Full Level, and Tap Tempo
• Control virtually any 12 software parameters on assignable Q-Link knobs and faders
• Dedicated transport controls transmit MMC and MIDI to DAW and sequencing applications
• MIDI output over USB and traditional DIN MIDI I/O for controlling software and hardware
• Backlit, easy-to-read screen
• USB bus powered, class compliant: plug and play with one USB cable
• Comes with Ableton Live Lite and Editor Librarian software

The MPD26 will be available on february at the same price as the MPD24.