PC and Music News

Ableton and SoundCloud's collaboration enters a new stage with Beat the Clock, a contest that's all in the timing. Atmospheric pop specialist M83, indie electronic stars Junior Boys and eclectic Los Angeles beat maker Nosaj Thing have contributed a Live Pack of samples and sounds to be used to create an original piece of music. Participants can combine the sounds from the Live Pack with their own sounds, plug-ins and instruments.

The catch: participants must work against the clock and submit their entries within 24 hours after downloading the Live Pack. SoundCloud and Live users will vote for their favorites entries, with the top 25 then judged by the three artists who will pick the ultimate winner.

Winners of Beat the Clock will take home substantial prizes, including a trip to Berlin, lifetime upgrades to Ableton Suite, 5 years of a SoundCloud Pro Plus account, and more.

Crysonic today released the first details about their upcoming product INPRESSA.

Providing Zero Latency, Stereo & Mono compatibility together with a unique proprietary Technology provides flexibility and total creative freedom. Transcending other similar plugins of it's type, INPRESSA is set to achieve Vintage and Modern sounding professional results on individual busses and the final Master Mix. INPRESSA has full Double Precision Processing natively which employ very Steep 24 dB/Oct crossover filters virtually eliminating leakage into adjacent compression bands.

All available parameters are variable supporting full automation with extreme precision control. INPRESSA, amongst other unique features automatically chooses the most appropriate peak detection circuit depending on the audio material being worked on previously impossible to do unless you have a countless number and flavor of 'expensive' compressors.

Keeping all the widely popular features and content from EZmix intact and working in EZmix 2, but adding guitar amp and speaker simulation, new effects and ready made effect chain content as well as introducing a completely new and redesigned interface.

EZmix 2 is a one-stop monster for making professional mixes easy, efficiently and, above all, great sounding!

Since 2010, MaximalSound.com offers an online audio optimization service. Based on a proprietary algorithm, this service allows indie productions, labels and musicians to release their tracks complying with the highest industry standard. This processing uses the same pattern as the human hearing. It supports every music genres from metal to hip-hop, from classical to dubstep.

- The online algorithm is updated to version 3. This latest development provides an improvement in the low frequencies through a refined psychoacoustic model for this part of the spectrum.
- Audio files in 32 bit float are now supported in order to eliminate any risk of saturation during mixing in this format.
- The free preview duration is increased by 50%
- The upload page is simplified.
- The site now includes a customer page

WARmultipress is a tube multiband compressor plugin for VST and AU hosts on Mac and Windows (summer 2012).

- 3 bands, with adjustable cross-over frequencies
- Input gain and output gain for each band compressor
- Optional soft knee compression curve
- Adjustable tube gain, from subtle warming to hot overdrive
- Frequency dependant drive
- Adjustable shape control to add asymmetry and harmonics
- Optional reel to reel tape emulation
- Mono and stereo
- Multifunction display zone (real time, compression curves and drive curves)
- Solo on each band.

The Ventura is a new design from A-Designs inspired by the great Quad Eight consoles. Run at optimal levels, its' signal is clear and ultra transparent, with all the dimensionality, air, and extended bass you expect from high-quality analog.

To add its own special mojo, it features a 3-band EQ reminiscent of console EQs from the golden age of recording.