/Music Industry Newswire/ — Devine Machine has unveiled Cycler, a new audio application and plug-in designed to be the missing link between hardware loopers and modern audio applications for live music, and is collaboration oriented. Highlights: Performances in Cycler are different from any other live applications. Special features (scene recalls, ‘one-knob-fx’) have been set to ease the live manipulation of the 16 loopers and the huge number of effects, without loads of MIDI controllers.

Two users can use Cycler simultaneously on the same computer with 16 loopers each, or can also collaborate remotely and exchange project modifications across the net.

Cycler features a slice sequencer: record a sound, and Cycler will sequence it immediately. Depending on nature of the sound you will record, the project nature will change radically. Musical possibilities are endless.

Sequence editing is very simple, you have several edit modes, and you can record the sequence via MIDI. Editing can also be done live via specific functions.

Cycler can stream audio files: say you have some songs ready and want to perform some parts on the song on stage. Simply bounce your tracks, load them in Cycler, rout them to different outputs if needed, and set the BPM. Cycler is now synced to your song and you are ready to perform. You can also reload your song with MIDI controllers.

Features:

* Comprehensive interface.
* MIDI learn for all functions.
* Record/overdub.
* Replace.
* Quantized instant record modes.
* Feedback.
* First loop quantize (audio detection).
* Infinite Undos.
* Multiply loop length.
* Divide loop length.
* Post FX instant stereo resample (tweak the loop and hit resample).
* Fast Init.
* Reverse.
* Backward.
* Level.
* Pan.
* Mute.
* Start/set start/stop.
* Mono/stereo loopers modes.
* Any looper length from one 8th to 8 bars.
* Free looping time (unsynced loopers).
* Odd time signatures.
* Slice Sequencer : record a sound and hear Cycler sequence it instantly.
* One shot play of recorded slices.
* Live and screen editing over pitch, level, slice length.
* Sequencer MIDI live record.
* 960 per quarter note sequencer precision.
* Expandable sequencer edit size.
* Quantize grid (odd division available).
* Metronome.
* Multiple outputs.
* Effect multiple routing.
* User level.
* Master level.
* Audio files streaming synced with loopers.
* Background saving via MIDI.
* Software monitoring with effects.
* Hardware monitoring (latency compensation).
* Project manager with Name/BPM/Date and preview.
* Project loading via MIDI.
* Project export to another computer.
* One-Knob-FX feature: control 250 effect knobs with only 5 controllers.
* Variations recall : mixes/effects/sequences/mute scenes in one click.
* CC, note, program change, pitch bend and typing keyboard support.
* All functions accessible on screen.
* Fully skinnable.
* Skin themes.
* Syncable effects:
o Chorus
o Delay
o Distortion
o Flanger
o Noise gate
o Pitch shifter
o Phaser
o Miniblocks (beat slicer)
o Tremolo (mono/stereo)
o Filter (low/band/high pass)
o Wah
o Reverb
* Pre/post FX switch.
* Min/max value on FX MIDI learn.
* 16 loopers for each user.
* 2 users.
* Shareable/cross-platform (Win/Mac) format for collaboration work on the same project over network (Special versions with more loopers and users available on demand).

Cycler will be released for Windows and Mac OS X in stand-alone and syncable VST versions* with ReWire* and Receptor support*. VST plug-in hosting is planned.

Release date is expected to be some time during Spring 2010. Price to be announced.

Berlin, Germany /Music Industry Newswire/ — SKYLIFE announced this week the release of their flagship sample editing application, SampleRobot V3.08. Creating your own software instruments or sample base is getting a lot easier with SampleRobot V3.08 and WaveRobot V3.08, according to the company.

New Features and Improvements include:
• Waveformat extensible support — It is now possible to drag-and-drop audio files in waveformat extensible into SampleRobot and WaveRobot. Loop markers, sample names and root keys (embedded or from file name) are recognized during import.

• Updated ASIO integration — SampleRobot and WaveRobot now support the ASIO V2.2 standard which improves the communication with some audio interfaces. Furthermore the stability was optimized when using several audio interfaces with different ASIO drivers on one system.

• Optimized Export — In SampleRobot and SampleRobot Essentials you can now export projects that are not fully recorded. This makes testing of multi-samples in a software sampler environment a lot easier.

• New driver cleanup services — When closing and opening different audio drivers shortly after another, under special circumstances this could affect the audio performance of some interfaces. Due to the new cleanup services those issues do not occur any longer. Furthermore a special cleanup log is written to hard disc offering debugging options in the future.

• Save Preferences to Disk — Now you can save all settings manually to disk including MIDI and Audio setup, multi-sample setup and GUI / Zoom settings.

• MIDI Monitor filter — Real time MIDI messages (like “timing clock”) are filtered automatically in the MIDI monitor so that other messages can easily be identified.

• Updated program activation dialogue — Since the SKYLIFE server has moved to another location is was necessary to adapt all dedicated internet links for program activation.

• Default Autoload samples into Note/Loop/Release-Editor and WaveRobot — This important function to see the waveforms of all samples in a multi-sample just by rolling with the mouse pointer over the dedicated keys is now activated by default. Furthermore at the same time all dedicated sample information like length and loop behavior is displayed in an overlay window. For each key-sample individual zoom settings are stored.

• Demo versions — Several new graphical screens and also new internet links have been included in all demo versions. Furthermore all restrictions of the demo versions are displayed during program start.

• General improvements of the graphical user interface

Pricing for various editions:
SampleRobot Version 3.08: 419 $ / 219 £
SampleRobot Essentials Version 3.08: 159 $ / 89 £
SampleRobot Essentials + WaveRobot Version 3.08: 229 $ / 129 £
WaveRobot Version 3.08: 109 $ / 59 £ .

More information: www.samplerobot.com (International SampleRobot product website).

Meylan, France /Music Industry Newswire/ — Arturia announces the HIP-HOP PRODUCER, a complete, ready-to-go and ideal solution that will get you started in Hip-Hop music production! A high-quality synthesizer built by Arturia, 4 top-notch Electric Pianos from AAS and a great Hip Hop drum library made by ModernBeats give you all the weapons you need to start producing quality Hip Hop within Ableton Live Lite 8 Arturia Edition, also included in the box.

Four products are bundled in one box, four tools for the next generation of Hip Hop legends to pursue their passion:

Analog Factory Hip Hop is a synthesizer offering:
- 250 preset sounds carefully selected from the Arturia Classics collection – The original analog sounds thanks to Arturia TAE® technology
- Polyphony up to 32 voices with Unison possibilities

Ableton Live Lite Arturia Edition offers :
- Maximum of 8 tracks (either audio or MIDI)
- Audio Effects, MIDI effects, Instruments/Racks
- MPC-like sampler included

Lounge Lizard Session offers:
- Four engine presets covering the classic Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos
- High-end effects: tremolo, distortion, chorus, flanger, phaser, vibrato, wah, delays, and reverb

ModernBeats Hip Hop drums:
- From L.A. based sample artists ModernBeats, this custom built sound bank includes more than 1200 Hip Hop drum samples (beatbox, claps, scratch, analog drum machines, acoustic drums) and music loops (Tribal Xplosion).

Great Value: the reference software titles in their respective categories gather to offer the reference Hip Hop solution.

Great Deal: Analog Factory Hip Hop + Lounge Lizard Session + Modernbeatz Hip Hop Sounds + Ableton Live Lite (a non-time limited version of the most successful DAW today).

Great User Experience: One DVD with a single Installation process, one manual holding quickstarts, one single approach toward copy-protection.

More information: www.arturia.com/evolution/en/products/hiphop-producer/intro.html .

COLUMN: This week Cakewalk announced the latest update to their venerable DAW platform, SONAR. While it’s been updated annually with full incremental versions, sometimes to the criticism by users (e.g., “why not fix all issues with current version before launching a new one?”), Cakewalk’s team have chosen this year to do a .5 upgrade, since there is not enough new to warrant going to version 9. This is laudable, but is there enough new for existing users to pay an upgrade fee?

According to the company: “SONAR 8.5 Producer gives you what you need for recording, composing, editing, mixing, and mastering. Get innovations that matter, from exclusive features to ignite creativity and perfect your tracks, to groundbreaking technologies that always keep you in control, all backed by the industry’s leading 64-bit audio quality. And SONAR 8.5 Producer delivers the go-to production tools you want with the best collection of virtual instruments, mixing, and mastering effects found in any DAW.

With version 8.5, SONAR continues to innovate on all fronts. New beat creating and arrangement tools, a new drum instrument loaded with stellar kits, enhanced audio quantizing, new multi-stage effect plug-ins, and more combine together to make SONAR the most complete, most professional, and best sounding DAW on any platform.”

All well and good, but hype aside, what do you get?

In 8.5, the drum track toolkit, Session Drummer is now at version 3, and has an improved drumkit POV interface, dedicated page for fine-tuning kits, mix and match kits capability, and drag-and-drop support for building kits from wav or ogg files. Also notable is the inclusion of 10 high quality kits from Sonic Reality, with coupon for a free download of one of the highly regarded Ocean Way Drums kit. Also, 2 kits from Steven Slate Drums. If you don’t already have something like BFD, or Superior 2, or if you already use Session Drummer extensively, the new kits might be the tipping point for getting the upgrade all by itself.

Exclusive to Sonar Producer Edition (PE), is the new PX-64 Percussion Strip, which is (according to Cakewalk), “is a seven-stage processor designed specifically for shaping drum and percussion sounds. Like the VX-64 Vocal Strip, the PX-64 Percussion Strip employs Cakewalk’s exclusive tube saturation algorithms with unique filtering and auto-leveling circuitry technologies. Combining transient shaping, compression, expansion, equalization, delay, and tube saturation in one convenient plug-in, the PX-64 Percussion Strip includes 70 go-to presets along with click & drag reordering of processing stage routing, making it fast and easy to enhance any drum or percussion track in seconds.”

Also in PE 8.5, is the new VX-64 Vocal Strip, which will be of most interest to music producers who work with singers and vocal recording of any kind. According to Cakewalk, the VX-64 Vocal Strip “is a seven-stage processor designed for sculpting incredible sounding vocal tracks. Each of the VX-64’s stages have been fine-tuned to be vocal-specific, taking the work out of loading an entire chain of vocal processors. The VX-64 features a new Cakewalk technology that employs phase-coherent, multi-band saturation to avoid unwanted distortion; unique filtering to avoid artifacts at extreme high and low frequencies; and an auto-leveling circuit that prevents the tube saturation from sounding too harsh when high gain transients are processed by it. VX-64 also employs a new de-essing algorithm designed with Cakewalk’s LP-64 linear phase effect filtering technology to remove sibilance without creating any frequency smearing. The VX-64 includes 64 go-to presets and click & drag reordering of processing stage routing, making it fast and easy to get high quality vocals in seconds.”

But wait, there’s more! Enter the Matrix (sorry).

Also for PE 8.5, a new “Matrix View” (see photo), which at first glance looks a little like a mix of Ableton Live meets Cakewalk’s Project 5. The company description follows.

Matrix View – with simple and flexible cell-based, non-linear audio and MIDI arranging and triggering, the Matrix offers new ways to experiment with arrangements or creating remixes of existing songs, or quickly laying down beds of tracks for new songs in any genre. The Matrix is also a perfect tool for beat-juggling and triggering one-shots and backing tracks live.

The Matrix view is easy to use, simply drag-and-drop any type of audio or MIDI clip/file/pattern from the Track view, Media Brower or desktop into empty cell, then click individual cells or columns of cells to turn on and off playback. The Matrix provides a comfortable, trigger-anything looping environment using four trigger modes, multiple play styles, and advanced MIDI controls. Click the Capture button to simultaneously record your Matrix performance as an arrangement of audio and MIDI tracks in SONAR’s Track View.

Features:

•Cell-based view offering non-linear arrangement and live triggering.
•Sync to SONAR Transport / Track View.
•One-step capture of Matrix “performances” to Track View for more precise editing and mixing.
•Drag-drop any audio (multiple files at once) and MIDI content from the Track View or the Media Browser into the Matrix.
•Four triggering modes with measure, beat, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64 note resolutions.
•Play Styles: Global and Per-Cell modes for looping and latching (set cells to trigger from the beginning, or offset from SONAR Now Time).
•Flexible Routing: each row routes to a track, multiple rows can be routed to the same track, per row mute and exclusive solo.
•Completely MIDI controllable.

AudioSnap 2.0

A new version of AudioSnap now has an easier to use toolbar for all options like tempo, timing, filter, and render mode. Simpler transient marker appearance reduces visual clutter. New tempo detection algorithm auto-detects the tempo of all audio in SONAR and the Clip Tempo Map feature allows for easy manual tempo mapping of non-rhythmic, non-constant, or atypical audio.

Step Sequencer 2.0

Version 8.5 takes Sonar’s step sequencer “up another notch,” with new flam feature, auto populate feature, redesigned controller pane, enhance per-step parameter controls, and all 1.0 features retained. An interesting new twist is the “per step probability” feature, which “provides control over the probability of how often a step will be triggered. Use it to create automatic variations (make some steps only play occasionally) to keep repetitive patterns sounding fresh.”

Other stuff
An updated, integrated arpeggiator with hundreds of patterns, but enhanced “humanizing” features like swing for less robotic sounding repetitions. Roland V-Vocal is now included with Sonar Studio Edition 8.5 (previously only included with PE). An updated media browser helps keep track of loops, groove clips, and sequencer patterns.

Also, according to the company, they have made some additional new features, in addition to being Windows 7 ready.

During SONAR 8.5 development, Cakewalk engineers have added what we are calling a collection of “featurettes” that we are sure SONAR users will appreciate, since many of them came directly from user feedback, including:

•Convenient Freeze and Archive buttons on each track.
•Updated Insert Send Assistant, with matching track gain/pan while creating sends.
•Solo Button on all effects plug-in windows, to quickly solo and focus on the track being processed.
•New Track View grid lines options to present grid lines behind or in front of clips.
•New option to automatically lock scrolling during playback when initiating an edit.
•The Now Time cursor can be dragged to a new position during playback.
•DC Offset meter in the Cakewalk Analyst plug-in.
•New FX -SONAR 8.5 now includes the Project5 “Half-Rack” Tempo-Sync’d Effects, including the Alias Factor Bit Decimator, Classic Phaser, Compressor/Gate, HF Exciter, Mod Filter, Chorus/Flanger, Para-Q, StudioVerb II, and Tempo Delay.
•Installation has been simplified with an easy one-click install option that accepts all default settings and locations and installs the entire SONAR application, as well as plug-ins and content data.

And the bottom line is . . .
Upgrades for Studio Edition range from $79 to $249, depending on whether you get a download version, boxed version, or choose some of the optional add-ons (found in the Cakewalk Store online). Similarly the Producer Edition upgrades range from $99, to $449.

For example, the Sonar 8.5 Producer “Elite Piano Edition” is $179(US), and includes Sonar 8.5 PE download, full version of 4Front TruePianos, Sonar 8.5 DVDs, user guide. The “Elite Reverb Edition” with IK Multimedia Classik Studio Reverb is $199. The “Elite Guitar Edition” with full version of Guitar Rig 4 Pro, is also $199. The “Elite Notation Edition” with Notion3, is $229. The “Elite Restoration Edition” with iZotope RX, is $299. The basic boxed version by mail, with instant download, is $119 plus shipping and tax.

The download of 8.5 PE is about 2GB, and is a little slow (as of 9:30am PDT on Sept. 17) coming off the Amazon cloud servers. There is already a 8.5.1 patch to download at the same time, along with the Ocean Way drums coupon PDF. With the various “Elite” add-on editions, you might also have to download the application(s), except for those pending release (i.e., Guitar Rig 4 is not quite shipping yet).

Sweden /Music Industry Newswire/ — Toontrack Music proudly announce that Monster Drummer Peter Fredlander is back with the third package in the Monster MIDI series – Monster MIDI Pack 3 – Fills! Boasting more than 450 individually played fills with drum beats leading up to them, hierarchically organized by level of intensity and difficulty, this is a given must-have in your arsenal of MIDI and a shot of adrenalin to your creativity and songwriting! These fills and lead-ins will spice up your drum tracks like never before!

Works for all genres – fills to suit anything from mellow Pop to insane Metal!

Works with EZdrummer®, Superior Drummer® or any GM compatible drum kit (optimized for 1 kick, 1 snare, 2 toms, 1 floortom, 2 crash-cymbals, 1 ride-cymbal).

Available now.

MADISON, Wisc. /Music Industry Newswire/ — Sony Creative Software, a leading provider of professional video and audio production applications, today announced the availability of Sound Forge™ Pro 10 digital audio production suite. Sound Forge Pro 10 new features include event-based editing, disc-at-once CD burning, iZotope™ 64-bit SRC™ (sample rate conversion), MBIT+™ dither (bit-depth conversion), musical instrument file processing, and the élastique Pro timestretch/pitch shift plug-in. In addition, Sound Forge Pro 10 software provides exclusive new enhancements, including customizable window layouts, metadata editing, performance optimizations, and interactive tutorials. These new features create a powerful and flexible audio production environment, increasing workflow and efficiency while consistently delivering the pristine audio quality the recording industry has come to expect from Sound Forge software.

“Digital audio production is a staple of not only the traditional recording industry, but also video game developers, post-production houses, video producers, web media creators, sound designers, and mobile device content producers. While developing this new version, we took into account the specific challenges each one of these industries face and incorporated many new features that provide unique solutions for these diverse professional needs,” said Dave Chaimson, Sony Creative Software vice president of global marketing. “Extensive customer feedback and industry input ensure that the enhancements in Sound Forge Pro 10 software will intuitively handle the most complex projects of professional producers in today’s varied digital audio fields.”

New Sound Forge Pro 10 Feature Highlights
Key new features in Sound Forge Pro 10 include:
- Event-based editing
Event-based editing is ideal for precise audio mastering, assembling project sketches, or laying out tracks for authoring disc-at-once CDs. In Sound Forge 10, users can quickly move, split, slip, and trim events, create fades, apply ASR envelopes and crossfades within in a single data window for more precise audio control.
- Integrated Disc-at-Once (DAO) CD burning
Integrated disc-at-once CD burning results in time savings and provides a more efficient workflow when generating Red Book compliant disc-at-once premasters of music suitable for professional replication. Perform full PQ code editing, create live-style CDs, add CD text and metadata, and use high-resolution source audio with precise conversion to Red Book audio.
- Zplane élastique Pro Timestretch DirectX® plug-in
The élastique time stretch and pitch shift plug-in provides better sounding audio when processing audio files. Users can also monitor and adjust settings while previewing in real-time, and select from various stretching methods that are tailored to their source audio including Pro, Soloist, and Efficient modes.
-Zotope 64-bit SRC (sample rate conversion) and MBIT+ dither (bit-depth conversion)
The iZotope 64-bit SRC utilizes a hybrid low pass filter design, resulting in pristine audio with less aliasing converting material from one sampling rate to another. The iZotope MBIT+ dither employs psychoacoustic methods to distribute noise into less audible ranges, resulting in improved audio and smoother fades when converting the bit rates of audio files.
-Musical instrument file processing (.DLS, .SF2, .GIG)
Sound Forge Pro 10 software opens, processes, and saves DLS, GigaStudio/GigaSampler, and SoundFont 2.0 musical instrument files. Users can view bank, instrument, note range, and sample information. Effects and processes can easily be added directly to samples.
- Customizable window layouts
Customizable window layouts are designed to maximize productivity by allowing users to create and save multiple unique interface layout configurations for single and dual monitor systems, and recall a window layout for specific editing tasks such as audio editing, CD layout, and multichannel file editing.
- Mastering Effects Bundle 2 powered by iZotope™
The powerful bundle of audio mastering tools included with Sound Forge 10 is valued at over $200 and includes six professional plug-ins to expertly master and enhance audio production: Mastering EQ, Mastering Reverb, Multiband Compressor, Mastering Limiter, Stereo Imager, and Harmonic Exciter.
-Interactive tutorials.
Sony Creative Software’s unique interactive tutorials provide walkthrough demonstrations of common features and functionality, including DAO CD burning, vinyl recording and restoration in order to help users spend less time learning and more time editing and mastering audio projects.

rice and Availability

The Sound Forge Pro 10 digital audio production software is now available in English and Japanese from www.sonycreativesoftware.com and select retailers and e-tailers worldwide. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for Sound Forge Pro 10 software is U.S. $499.

Berlin, Germany /Music Industry Newswire/ — Native Instruments today announced KOMPLETE 6, the latest version of its popular software bundle that has become a mainstay with professional musicians and producers. The new collection offers a veritable arsenal of acclaimed instruments and effects that cover all areas of modern music production, including powerful new versions of ABSYNTH, GUITAR RIG and KONTAKT, at a significantly reduced price point.

KOMPLETE 6 incorporates the latest ABSYNTH 5, KONTAKT 4 and GUITAR RIG 4 PRO versions, which add significant creative capabilities over their predecessors, complemented by BATTERY 3, FM8, MASSIVE and REAKTOR 5. All included products offer comprehensive compatibility for current host software versions and operating systems. ELEKTRIK PIANO is now included within the new KONTAKT factory library, while AKOUSTIK PIANO, B4 II and PRO-53 are no longer part of the bundle due to their discontinuation as individual products. Overall, KOMPLETE 6 includes an assortment of 7,000 individual preset sounds based on 60 GByte of premium sample material.

With its powerful selection of state-of-the-art instruments and effects at only half the price of the previous bundle generation, KOMPLETE 6 continues to mark the cutting edge of software instrument technology, and provides an invaluable resource for all areas of modern music production and performance.

KOMPLETE 6 will be available in October 2009 for a suggested retail price of $559 / 499 EUR. An update for owners of KOMPLETE 2/3/4/5 will be available for $169 / 149 EUR.

Furthermore, Native Instruments will offer a special time-limited upgrade for owners of any version of KONTAKT or REAKTOR. These users will be able to purchase KOMPLETE 6 at a special price of $339 / 299 EUR until December 31st 2009.

Berlin, Germany /Music Industry Newswire/ — Native Instruments today announced GUITAR RIG 4 PRO, the next generation of its acclaimed guitar studio. The fourth version raises the bar on sonic authenticity with advanced new speaker emulation technology, and further expands on nearly all aspects that sets GUITAR RIG apart as the most capable digital guitar solution.

To bring the acclaimed authenticity of GUITAR RIG to the next level, the new version introduces advanced cabinet and microphone modeling, providing an enhanced organic tone based on latency-free convolution technology. The advanced speaker emulation is also the basis for the versatile new “Control Room” module, developed in collaboration with leading German studio guitarist and recording expert Peter Weihe. This new module allows users to freely mix and match up to eight phase-aligned studio microphones for each cabinet, allowing an unlimited range of high-end studio recording tones.

To further expand its comprehensive arsenal of carefully modeled amplifiers, GUITAR RIG 4 PRO offers two additional tube amp models that include the hot-rodded “Hot Plex” and the energetic “Jump”, both based on Native Instruments’ sophisticated Dynamic Tube Response technology. The comprehensive arsenal of effects in GUITAR RIG is complemented with two new delay units and two new flavors of reverb, bringing the overall number of included effects to 48.

Musicians who use GUITAR RIG for live performance benefit from the new, dedicated master effects section, which enables popular stage configurations that can now include global equalizers as well as overlapping delays and reverbs. For recording purposes, GUITAR RIG 4 PRO also introduces true-stereo processing across the whole signal chain, which greatly accommodates the usage of the software as a universal effect unit for stereo signals.

To give guitarists easy access to the right tones for every musical context, GUITAR RIG 4 PRO introduces a completely overhauled preset browser with many usability optimizations. With a new layout, faster and more efficient search functions, flexible attributes, convenient sorting and full compatibility with the KoreSound(TM) format from Native Instruments’ acclaimed KORE 2, even large collections of tones can be managed in an especially convenient way. To provide users with a versatile sonic arsenal right from the start, GUITAR RIG 4 PRO includes a pre-categorized and conveniently tagged arsenal of more than 250 ready-to-play guitar sounds for a wide range of musical styles.

Further improvements in GUITAR RIG 4 PRO include optimized sound quality for pitch-based effect modules, expanded host automation and controller assignment features, universal MIDI control functionality for the Rig Kontrol 3 pedal board, and more.

GUITAR RIG 4 PRO will be available in October 2009 in various versions to accommodate guitarists and producers of all categories. The GUITAR RIG 4 PRO software will be available for a suggested retail price of $199 / 179 EUR, and will also be part of the new KOMPLETE 6 bundle. Further versions of GUITAR RIG 4 include GUITAR RIG KONTROL with included foot controller/audio interface ($449 / 399 EUR), GUITAR RIG 4 ESSENTIAL as a more affordable software version with a reduced feature set ($99 / 89 EUR), GUITAR RIG SESSION which combines GUITAR RIG 4 ESSENTIAL with the SESSION I/O audio interface ($249 / 229 EUR), and GUITAR RIG MOBILE which now also includes the mid-range GUITAR RIG ESSENTIAL software ($119 / 99 EUR).

Berlin, Germany /Music Industry Newswire/ — Native Instruments today announced ABSYNTH 5, a new generation of the acclaimed semi-modular software synthesizer that is renowned for its unique evolving sounds and textures. The new version enhances the profound sonic capabilities of ABSYNTH with powerful additional synthesis and effects features as well as overall improved audio quality, and offers an ingenious new way to create complex sounds based on musical attributes.

Popular among professional composers and sound designers as a distinctive instrument for innovative timbres and complex soundscapes, ABSYNTH has now been upgraded with special sound shaping features that further widen its remarkable sonic palette. A powerful “Supercomb Filter” opens up a new world of physical modeling-type sounds with intricate acoustic resonances, while the new granular-based “Cloud Filter” can add both subtle and drastic spectral modulations. The addition of filter feedback paths also enables a whole new range of organic, gritty and unpredictable tones.

The versatile effects section of ABSYNTH has been expanded with the new “Aetherizer,” a unique algorithm that breaks up sound into microscopic particles and rearranges them in complex ways, creating sophisticated and previously unheard sound treatments. With all parameters available for realtime modulation via versatile envelopes and MIDI control, the Atherizer also supercharges the popular application of ABSYNTH as an extraordinary creative effects processor for external audio material.

ABSYNTH 5 also introduces the “Mutator”, an innovative feature that enables intuitive sound creation and variation based on actual musical terms. For any given preset, users can choose specific attributes from the sound browser that they want to change the sound towards. The software then analyzes other presets related to these attributes, and adjusts the original patch to adapt the desired sound characteristic. Combined with various customization options and an adjustable randomization function, the Mutator allows all users of ABSYNTH 5 to create unique and complex new sounds in an efficient and highly convenient way.

The comprehensive sound library of ABSYNTH has been expanded with 250 new presets that make use of the new soundshaping features, resulting in an arsenal of over 1,800 ready-to-play presets that are all easily accessible through the integrated KORE-compatible sound browser. To further refine the general audio quality, ABSYNTH 5 also utilizes new oversampling algorithms in various stages of the signal path that enable increased sonic clarity in the crucial upper frequency range.

ABSYNTH 5 will be available in October 2009 for a suggested retail price of $199 / 179 EUR, and will also be part of the new KOMPLETE 6 bundle. An update for owners of previous versions of ABSYNTH will be available for $79 / 69 EUR.

More information on ABSYNTH 5 including audio demos can be found at
www.native-instruments.com/absynth.info

About Native Instruments:

Native Instruments is a leading manufacturer of software and hardware for computer-based music production and performance. The company’s mission is to develop innovative, fully integrated solutions for all professions, styles and genres. The resulting products regularly push technological boundaries and open up new creative horizons for professionals and amateurs alike.

CHAMPAIGN Ill. /Music Industry Newswire/ — Symbolic Sound Corporation has expanded the real-time sound-computing power of its Paca(rana) sound engine by making it possible for Kyma sound designers to chain two or more multiprocessor Paca(rana)s together via the built-in A/B Expansion ports. To the Kyma software, a network of Paca(rana)s appears as a single sound computation engine with multiple processors. Kyma automatically detects the number of available processors and schedules the execution of DSP-intensive signal processing and synthesis algorithms across multiple processors.

“One of the most frequently asked questions we were asked when we announced the new Paca and Pacarana sound engines back in January was ‘Is it expandable?’” recalls Symbolic Sound president Carla Scaletti. “Now we can answer with an unequivocal, YES!” She adds that, “…while not everyone needs that much sound computing power, it’s nice to know it’s available should you ever need it, even if only on a temporary basis.”

How it works
Two or more Pacas, Pacaranas, or combinations of both can be connected by plugging the orange cables, provided by Symbolic Sound, into the Expansion A and B ports on the backs of the units. A combination of audio and control signals is transmitted over the orange wires from each Paca(rana) to its neighbor. One of the Paca(rana)s is connected to a Macintosh or Windows computer (running the Kyma sound design software) via FireWire 800 (or 400). A single FireWire audio interface on the same bus handles all of the analog and digital audio inputs and outputs and, depending on the audio interface, MIDI. (A list of compatible converters can be found here: www.symbolicsound.com/Learn/SupportedConverters). The composite super-Pacarana shows up in Kyma as a single sound computation engine with extra processors. To the sound designer or musician, the expansion is completely transparent; Kyma automatically takes advantage of the additional real-time processing power and memory.

Video
Link to a hand-held video with a Kyma-synthesized sound track showing the connection of 3 Pacas and 3 Pacaranas to create an 18-processor sound computer:

ssc-media.com/Movies/Wormhole.mov

Who can use it
Anyone, from large sound design studios (which may set up a rack of Pacaranas as an audio compute-farm for intensive sound modelling operations) to friends getting together and temporarily hooking their Pacas together for some sound tweaking fun, can enjoy the benefits of the newly enabled expansion ports and orange connector cables. Audio engineers or sound designers managing complex signal processing and sound design requirements for live shows or theatre productions can assemble a rack of Pacaranas, all controlled and sequenced from a single computer. Supercomputing centers can offer scalable real-time sound computation and data sonification as an adjunct to the computer graphics rendering and dynamic simulation modelling already being offered to researchers and artists. Game design studios can set up a sound-design rendering farm for creating special sound effects for cinematics and voice processing for game characters. Anyone who ever finds themselves running out of real-time sound computation power could benefit from this new technology.

Early adopters
(Photos of 3-Pacarana Rack in Tobias Enhus’ Studio (Photo Credit: Tobias Enhus): www.symbolicsound.com/cgi-bin/bin/view/Company/PacaranaExpansionImages#Photos_from_Tobias_Enhus_Studio)

Beta testers for the new technology include Hollywood film composer Tobias Enhus (www.symbolicsound.com/cgi-bin/bin/view/Community/WebHome#EnhusStudioOfTheMonth), who has already been using his rack of three interconnected Pacaranas to generate disturbingly bizarre sound tracks for Alan Rifkin’s upcoming Showtime series Look, and organist/composer Franz Danksagmüller (de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Danksagmüller) who recently used his 2-Pacarana system to accurately simulate the sounds of a cathedral organ on a portable keyboard to accompany a showing of Fritz Lang’s silent film masterpiece Metropolis at the Göteborg International Film Festival.

Pricing & Availability
The Paca, Pacarana, and “orange wires” for connecting two or more of them together are now available at the Symbolic Sound Store (www.symbolicsound.com). Current multiple-Paca(rana) owners can request a free set of cables from Symbolic Sound. Every Paca or Pacarana comes with Symbolic Sound’s innovative Kyma X environment featuring its unique set of sound synthesis and processing algorithms and a powerful way to easily re-combine these algorithms to create sounds that have never been heard before.