Sweden — Finally the long awaited (and announced) title in the Toontrack Music Toontrack Software Tools series is ready for release. Taking a new angle on the conversion of drum audio to drum MIDI and drum sound replacement, Drumtracker(R) features stand alone operation and all out manual operation. Like other tools in the TST series [...]

Carpinteria, Calif. — ExpressCard notebook pro audio recording has never sounded so good, or been this convenient and affordable. Indigo IOx offers one stereo 1/8 inch analog input and output on an ExpressCard powered by your notebook computer. It combines this with 24-bit/96kHz converters for the quality you deserve. Also included is a 6 foot [...]

London, UK — Ministry of Sound and iZotope today announced that, in a groundbreaking collaboration for iPhone and iPod touch, fans can now buy the iDrum: Ministry of Sound Anthems album from the iTunes Store and also purchase a companion application from the Apple App Store that lets them create original music. “This is a [...]

Ontario, Canada — ASK Video Interactive Media, a leading creator of software tutorials on DVD, is now shipping Level 3 of a 4-part tutorial DVD series for Logic Pro 8 music production software. In this third level progression in the series, ASK Video veteran Mike Baggley brings his extensive engineering and music chops to Logic [...]

Champlain, N.Y. — ­ SM Pro Audio is now shipping their highly anticipated V-Machine VST player in the US market. The V-Machine is a compact VST/VSTi hardware playback module designed to take plug-ins on the road or into the studio and access them directly without a computer. Multiple plug-ins can be loaded into bank/preset memories [...]

EVENT REVIEW: There used to be a big difference between a concert that sold out and a band that sold out. But for many artists, that difference no longer exists. Many examples of this new economic reality were examined at a fact-packed expo entitled “Bands, Brands & Beyond” produced by the National Association of Record [...]

El Cajon, Calif. — Taylor Guitars, one of the world’s premier manufacturers of acoustic and electric guitars, was amongst 1,200 businesses recognized by the California Integrated Waste Management Board as part of its Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP). Awarded in the category of “Manufacturer – Musical”, the WRAP awards acknowledge California businesses that show [...]

REVIEW: The concept of the so-called workstation keyboard is certainly not new; with a wide range of current such products on the market from big guns like Korg, Roland and Yamaha, stretching back in time to the Korg M-1. These products seek to fill the needs of the “one keyboard does all” set-up, for composing, [...]

EVENT REVIEW: Blue Microphones this past week threw a private party (November 6, 2008), to demonstrate their latest products and it turned out to have the most security of any event in the city. The site was the Gibson/Baldwin Showroom which is right next to the Beverly Hills Police Department. The BHPD was apparently calling [...]

COLUMN: Artists need publicity, public relations, media management, hype, hoopla, and buzz. In every major city can be found oodles of failed screenwriters, unpublished novelists, unsung musicians, and nameless poets who call themselves PR specialists. Does that sound unfair? Remember, I’m one of them. Sure, I’ve actually gotten a screenplay produced, two books published, and [...]

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — In his much-anticipated return to San Francisco, the legendary singer and character actor, Jim Bailey, will perform at the Herbst Theatre on December 20 in, “Jim Bailey as Judy Garland Live in Concert.” Accompanied by a full orchestra, Jim will perform Judy’s Christmas classic, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” as [...]

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — BETARecords.com, the fast growing online music social community along with its upcoming Beta Records TV show, has announced the launch of the first known peer-to-peer community advertising technology internally tagged by the team as “DAAN” - Dynamic Affinity Advertising Network. DAAN (patent applied for) allows any BETA Records community user to select [...]

Minneapolis, Minn. –­ Audiofile Engineering, a leading audio software developer for the Mac, is now shipping Wave Editor 1.4, the latest update to their popular and unique audio editing application. In addition to new features and functionality, Wave Editor 1.4 also carries a new, lower price of $79. Created from the ground up for Mac [...]

REVIEW: These Thousand Emotions — Have you ever thought about what is inside the sounds you like to hear? Harmonics and overtones are in there, for a start, but it can go way beyond that with some artists. A few special people are able to capture raw emotion and inject it into notes and chords. [...]

Westlake Village, Calif. — Blue Microphones, a leading innovator in microphone technology and design, today introduces Eyeball and Mikey, two new consumer products for capturing exceptional audio at an invitation-only event at the Gibson Showroom in Beverly Hills featuring performances by Chris Pierce, The Daylights and Mateo. “With Mikey and Eyeball, we’re building on [...]

Westlake Village, Calif. — Blue Microphones, a leading innovator in microphone technology and design, today introduced Icicle, a powerful in-line USB converter and preamp. Designed with Blue’s unique sense of style and commitment to quality, Icicle makes connecting XLR microphones directly to your Mac or PC simple and effective. “Today’s musicians live in both the [...]

Sweden — This is a unique and exclusive recording of two of the most important drummers in popular music. Clyde Stubblefield and John “Jab’o” Starks. On their own or in tandem, Starks and Stubblefield were the principal drummers for the Godfather of Soul and Funk, Mr. James Brown. Fans and critics alike cite their collective [...]

Bothell, Wash. — BEHRINGER adds to its line of effects pedals with the new VM1 Vintage Time Machine. 550ms of true analog delay deliver the great sound of tape echo machines popular in the 70’s. Effects include Delay, Echo, Chorus and Vibrato. Flexible sound-shaping controls including Effect Mix, Feedback, Delay Time and switchable Chorus / [...]

Bothell, Wash. — BEHRINGER adds to its line of active loudspeaker systems with the new EUROLIVE B315A. Featuring a 15″ 2-way design, integrated sound processing and 400 watts of power, the B315A offers a compact, high-power solution for live and playback applications. The B315A packs a long-excursion 15″ woofer and 1.75″ titanium-diaphragm compression driver with [...]

High Wycombe, UK — After getting their Royal seal of approval, Novation release a limited edition keyboard that looks out of this world. Novation are celebrating the phenomenal success of the ReMOTE SL series by releasing a special limited edition ReMOTE SL37. The ReMOTE SL was the first MIDI controller to feature Novation’s groundbreaking Automap [...]