REVIEW: I’ve been a fan of the late (and sadly missed) Bob Moog’s various sound creation inventions since the mid 1970s. I first saw one of his theremins at a Southern California museum and while the rest of my family perused the other modern art; I spent most of the day at the theremin making [...]

COLUMN: Proving you can’t keep good analog down, venerable synth designer and “my name is my business” owner Dave Smith, has released a new one-voice analog sound box called “Mopho” (with emphasis on the Os). Basically it’s a single voice of the new generation DSI Prophet 08 synth keyboard, in a bright yellow “fun” package, [...]

COLUMN: As a long time user of Cakewalk’s (formerly Twelve Tone Systems) flagship DAW, SONAR, I’ve been anxious to see “what’s new” in this Fall’s iteration of the software. Yesterday, we discovered numerous new features to be found in Sonar Producer 8, including new synth instruments, new FX plug-ins, and more. The full features won’t [...]

BOSTON, Mass. — Rapture users: Expand your sounds and creativity with Piscis. Proud Cakewalk progenitors in pursuit of permanently proliferating Rapture’s prodigious pad pallet, please prepare to be positively perplexed by powerful potential and perpetual possibility. Plug-and-play purveyors, pick-a-preset princes, and paladin purists, pick up the pace and promptly proceed to purchase Piscis! Galbanum’s Piscis [...]

MEYLAN, France — New Features in the updated Arturia ANALOG FACTORY 2.21 include: Better management of the key parameters: 4 LCDs now displays the parameter controlled by the “Key parameter” knobs. New set of performance parameters: Some new parameters are accessible for each sound, the pitch-bend range, the polyphony number, the polyphony mode (Mono, unison, [...]

GREENSBORO, N.C. — NOTION Music has announced that Dr. Mark Edwards Wilson, on the faculty of the School of Music at the University of Maryland, is the grand prize winner of the company’s second Realize Music Challenge, an annual orchestral composition competition that draws entries from composers across the globe. As the grand prize winner, [...]

Austin, Texas — NAB Radio Show­ — ­ iZotope, Inc., a leading innovator in audio signal processing technology, is now shipping their highly anticipated ANR-B™ Adaptive Real-time Noise Reduction Unit, bringing the company’s renowned audio algorithm for adaptive noise reduction to a dedicated hardware unit for use in real-time broadcast applications. “Broadcasters face real-time noise [...]

AUSTIN, Texas — Catering to the growing urban music scene, Open Labs will be hosting a two-day music event titled “Beats ‘N Treats Music Festival” at the Mohawk venue on October 24-25, 2008. The two day event will feature live bands and a beat competition called the “Gold Rush Beat Competition,” in which the winner [...]

MINNEAPOLIS AND LOS ANGELES — Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) and Napster Inc. (NASDAQ:NAPS) announced today that the two companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement for Best Buy to commence a tender offer for all outstanding Napster shares at a price of $2.65 per share in cash. Best Buy intends to use Napster’s [...]

BURBANK, Calif. — After many years of development, Spectrasonics is proud to release the brand new flagship virtual instrument Omnisphere(R). This epic “Power Synth” breaks completely new sonic ground by combining a wide variety of hybrid realtime synthesis techniques, an epic library of remarkable “Psychoacoustic” sounds, and many innovative features that have never been seen [...]

NEW YORK — Weighing in at just fifteen pounds is the fiery new KORG M50, ready to take on all contenders! Incredible new sounds; fat & juicy combis, splits and layers; a plethora of ace effects; dynamic Drum Tracks; enhanced poly-arpeggiators; classic sequencing tools, a solid, confident keybed; up-to-date SD storage; companion editing software and [...]

Boston, Mass. — Cakewalk, the world’s leading developer of powerful and easy to use products for music creation and recording, today announces a change in their corporate name. Effective immediately, the company will drop its previous legal name of Twelve Tone Systems, Inc. and be known as Cakewalk, Inc. Additionally, the company announced the next [...]

GENEVA, Switzerland — EWOO S.A. today announced their audio solutions for iPods: eFizz(R), eFizz Travel(R) and HandMusic(R). eFizz and eFizz Travel speakers were developed by EWOO through an unprecedented collaboration with CABASSE; the high fidelity speakers manufacturer for over 50 years, revered by audiophiles everywhere. The HandMusic remote instantly browses and displays all iPod and [...]

TORONTO, Canada — iSkin Inc. this month introduced its new solo bodyguard for iPhone 3G: a sleek and stylish protector that echoes the iPhone 3G’s beauty in a slim, fashionable package. Featuring a stunning high-gloss finish accented with subtle curves, the solo perfectly encapsulates the iPhone 3G and delivers protection against impact, scratches, dirt, dust, [...]

Recklinghausen, Germany — Access Music GmbH, the company behind the award winning Virus TI synthesizer series released OS 2.7 after an extensive public beta test. The new version, which is compatible with the entire Virus TI range including the Virus TI Snow, is a landmark in Access history of free feature OS updates.
It features Atomizer [...]

Bothell, Wash. — BEHRINGER adds to its comprehensive line of active sound reinforcement loudspeaker systems with the new E1220A and E1520A active PA / Monitor models. Two-way, 400-Watt active speakers feature a proprietary 1″ HF driver, long-excursion 12″or 15″ woofers and on-board signal processing for ultimate system control and speaker protection. The trapezoidal wood enclosure [...]

Glen Allen, Va. — ­ What happens when you join a 151-year-old musical instrument manufacturer with one of the world’s most legendary musicians who happens to be the single most influential harmonica player in the annals of popular music? You make history, of course! The Hohner company and Bob Dylan are proud to announce [...]

PARIS, France — Eiosis updates the E²Transienter to version 1.05. The E²Transienter version 1.05 brings ergonomic and display improvements: Mirror EQ on non attack option is now displayed and can be switched from the main interface. This option allows applying the same EQ on attacks and non-attacks, with an opposite gain. Additional upgrades: Process filtered [...]

Buena Park, Calif. — ­ Steinberg North America is pleased to announce a new update to its Nuendo 4 Advanced Audio and Post Production System. Nuendo 4.2 and NEK 4.2 are available now as a download for all registered customers from steinberg.net. “We’re very excited to offer full support for our recently released hardware products, [...]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival formally invited Starving for Gravity to play a music showcase on September 20th. One of the hottest buzz bands on the scene today, SFG used to play cover tunes four hours a night — sort of like another act named after an insect. [...]

Hamburg, Germany — Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH is pleased to announce the availability of a new update to its Cubase 4 and Cubase Studio 4 Music Production Systems. New update now available with Advanced Integration with MR816 CSX/X and CC121, 1.6 GB Content, Sequel 2 compatibility and more. The 4.5 update offers many new integrative [...]

Berlin, Germany — Native Instruments just introduced a new software-only version of its next-generation workstation KORE 2, and also established more affordable pricing for the KORE 2 version bundled with the high-resolution hardware controller. The new KORE 2 Software Edition is offered due to popular demand, and accommodates all musicians and producers who want to [...]

Berlin, Germany — Native Instruments just introduced KORE ELECTRONIC EXPERIENCE, a comprehensive arsenal of cutting-edge sound material for electronic music production. Drawing on the combined sonic power of Native Instruments’ most acclaimed software instruments, KORE ELECTRONIC EXPERIENCE merges seven KORE SOUNDPACKS into a single package at a substantial price advantage. Ready for use with the [...]