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What's New

Mar 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Len Sasso

JZ MICROPHONES BLACK HOLE

JZ Microphones (www.jzmic.com) has just released its first product, the multipattern Black Hole studio mic ($1,850). The Black Hole's two large electrostatic capsules provide three patterns: omni, cardioid, and figure-8. The company claims the mic has a frequency range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz and a dynamic range of 127 dB for its Class A mic preamplifier. Special features include a patented Variable Sputtering of Diaphragm system, an integrated capsule shockmount, and an original stand-holder system for superior damping.

M-AUDIO FAST TRACK ULTRA

The new Fast Track Ultra ($349) from M-Audio (www.m-audio.com) is an 8 × 8 24-bit, 96 kHz USB 2.0 audio interface offering great flexibility in a compact package. The front panel houses four phantom-powered XLR mic inputs, two of which are XLR/TRS combo jacks. All in all, you get six balanced analog inputs and outputs (with inserts for outboard effects on the first two channels), two channels of S/PDIF digital I/O, and two headphone outputs. M-Audio's Core DSP technology allows sophisticated channel routing with multiple monitor mixes.

IK MULTIMEDIA ARC SYSTEM

IK Multimedia (www.ikmultimedia.com) has released its ARC System (Mac/Win, $599; cross-grade, $499) for acoustic room correction. ARC System uses Audyssey MultEQ technology to correct both frequency- and time-domain problems. You start by using the included ¼-inch omnidirectional, precision-measurement condenser microphone and ARC's room-measurement software to perform a step-by-step analysis of your room. You then use the VST, RTAS, or AU plug-in in your DAW to make the indicated corrections.

OLYMPUS LS-10

The new LS-10 handheld PCM recorder ($399) from Olympus (www.olympusamerica.com) targets the on-the-go musician. In addition to 24-bit, 96 kHz PCM recording, the unit offers 44.1 kHz, MP3, and WMA recording at various Kbps rates. You can augment its built-in 2 GB memory with SD removable media cards. Olympus claims you can get 10 hours of recording time from two AA batteries. You connect the unit to your computer through its USB port, and Steinberg Cubase LE 4 is included for those without other DAW software. The LS-10 comes with a carrying case, cables, and batteries. An infrared remote, AC adapter, tripod, zoom mic, and headset are available as options.

Chimera Synthesis bC16

Chimera Synthesis (www.chimera-synthesis.com) is shipping the bC16 ($229), a cylindrical modular synthesizer roughly the diameter of a CD. Its top is ringed with 16 color-coded knobs and 30 sockets. The knobs control the synth modules (oscillator, noise generator, 24 dB filter, amplifier, ADSR, LFO, and ring modulator). You interconnect the modules using mini banana cables. A built-in headphone amp and two 9V batteries for power make the unit self-contained. External power is optional, and you can integrate the bC16 with MIDI equipment by using a soon-to-be-released MIDI-to-CV converter. You can also drive the unit with an upcoming step sequencer, the SM16.

PSPAUDIOWARE XENON

Polish plug-in developer PSPaudioware (www.pspaudioware.com) has released the latest in its line of professional mastering plug-ins. Xenon (Mac/Win, $249 [MSRP]) is a full-band, dual-stage limiter with integrated leveler and advanced K-System metering. Applications include peak limiting, maximization, and transient shaping. The plug-in's 2-stage brick-wall limiter minimizes pumping, aliasing, and intermodulation distortion. Xenon uses 64-bit precision processing throughout its signal path and supports sampling rates up to 192 kHz. Triangular Probability Density Function dithering at the output features three psychoacoustically optimized noise-shaping curves for requantization and dithering.

VIRSYN MATRIX

Matrix (Mac/Win, $199) from German software developer VirSyn (www.virsyn.de) brings precision analog modeling to vocoding. It renders top-quality resynthesis using 8-pole filters with extremely fast envelope followers, and its stereo 32-channel filter bank preserves the spatial characteristics of the vocoded signal. High speech intelligibility is achieved with new voiced/unvoiced-detection and pitch-extraction algorithms. Despite its advanced features, Matrix is easy to use. You set a few analysis and resynthesis parameters, map the filter bands using an onscreen matrix, and start talking. Matrix sings the rest.

FXPANSION BFD2

FXpansion (www.fxpansion.com) has released the much-anticipated upgrade of its flagship drum-production workstation BFD2 (Mac/Win, $399; upgrade, $199). You now get ten full kits featuring multiple mic positions, a variety of articulations, and up to 96 Velocity layers. The new FX suite includes high-quality circuit-modeled compression with models of the Universal Audio 1176 and a legendary British compressor, along with an EQ modeled on a well-known console. Presets along with 5,000 ready-to-use drum parts let you start working immediately. BFD2 comes standalone as well as in VSTi, AU, and RTAS plug-in formats.

SUBMERSIBLE MUSIC KITCORE

KitCore (Mac/Win, $49), now available from Submersible Music (www.submersiblemusic.com), provides the MIDI drum-machine portion of DrumCore as a plug-in for your DAW in VSTi, AU, and RTAS formats. It features eight kits and includes MIDI grooves that cover pop/rock, jazz, electronic, and Latin sounds. KitCore Deluxe ($99) offers all the kits and grooves from DrumCore Deluxe (more than 100 kits and 1,000 MIDI files). Libraries can be expanded with KitPacks, which you can buy from the Submersible site. According to Kord Taylor of Submersible Music, the company's goal is to give you no-hassle access to your favorite DrummerPack kits.

Get Smart

Grooveboxmusic.com's Logic 8 Explained

Grooveboxmusic.com (www.grooveboxmusic.com) has released a new set of Apple Logic 8 tutorials by Logic guru and EM contributor Eli Krantzberg. You can purchase Logic 8 Explained (Mac/Win, $49.99) as a download or on DVD-ROM. Its 41 tutorials comprise more than 5 hours of video. The tutorials start with basic descriptions of all the elements of Logic 8, then launch into advanced how-to sessions designed to speed up your work and expand your horizons.

ASK Video's Reason Version 4 Tutorial DVD

ASK Video Interactive Media (www.askvideo.com) has released a new tutorial DVD for Propellerhead Reason 4 (Mac/Win, $55). You get 41 video tutorials totaling over 5 hours of instruction. Topics range from the elementary, such as installation and preferences, through in-depth coverage of the sequencer and each module in the Reason 4 rack. Two tips-and-tricks segments creating demo projects round out the DVD. Author Morgan Pottruff also created ASK's popular Live and Melodyne tutorial DVDs.

Garritan Libraries' Exploring Jazz Arranging

Exploring Jazz Arranging (Mac/Win, free), from Garritan (www.garritan.com), is an interactive, online series of 20 lessons from the upcoming book of the same name by legendary arranger and bass player Chuck Israels. The online version expands on a course already in use at Juilliard School of Music by embedding more than 100 animated scores performed live or played with Garritan Libraries Jazz and Big Band Library. You do not need the library to hear the scores. The lessons, which are hosted by Northern Sound Source (www.northernsounds.com), are available 24/7 along with associated Q&A threads.

Sound Advice

Vienna Symphonic Library (www.vsl.co.at) has released a sequel to its 2008 Remix Technology Award-winning Appassionata Strings. Appassionata Strings II (Mac/Win, $515) features large, muted string ensembles with most of the articulations of the original collection, but they are played con sordino for a broad, cinematic sound that is perfect for styles ranging from pop to symphonic. This 10.7 GB 24-bit, 44.1 kHz collection comes as a standalone virtual instrument as well as a plug-in in AU, VSTi, and RTAS formats.

Loopmasters (www.loopmasters.com) Airwave Triloops Dance Breaks (Mac/Win, $69) is a 550 MB collection of drum loops ranging in tempo from 60 to 140 bpm. Most loops fall between 125 and 132 bpm and are well suited to house, trance, techno, and break genres. These royalty-free samples come from the private collection of noted producer and collaborator Airwave. They are provided as WAV and REX files in downloadable format. The CD version includes separate data and audio CDs.

Propellerhead Software (www.propellerheads.se) has released the latest in its Drummerheads series of ReFills for Reason. The Jason McGerr Sessions (Mac/Win, $49) were recorded by the Death Cab for Cutie drummer in his Two Sticks Recording Studio. You get more than 450 REX loop variations in both close- and ambient-miked configurations. For adding your own spice, each set of loops comes with a matching drum kit. The collection includes song starters, MIDI files, and ReDrum; NN-XT; effects patches; and style kits and drum-machine patches for Combinator.