Week of February 13, 2005 Friday, February 18 2005 | dmac Granted Software releases AudioUnit Manager v1.1 With AudioUnits and hosts multiplying practically daily, users with growing collections of both soon want to be able to specify subsets of AudioUnits to be loaded with particular hosts. AudioUnit Manager provides a simple way to organize AudioUnits into sets so users can load just the AudioUnits they need for a particular application. This can mean accelerated application launch times and exclusion of incompatible AudioUnits for some hosts. AudioUnit Manager's command line option makes it possible to select a set in an AppleScript before launching an AudioUnit host. AudioUnit Manager also makes tedious trial by error trouble shooting easier by allowing simple disabling of an AudioUnit. New in 1.1: Reimplemented database system for improved reliability. Fixed crashing bug when version info is missing from the AudioUnit. More @ grantedsw.com. Friday, February 18 2005 | dmac Polarity Releases Free VST Tube Amp Plug-in Polarity has announced a free VST PC format audio processing plugin for simulation of high-gain, long-sustain, classic British tube amplifier and speaker combos. It is available for download now. The Tubester-1 VST is a combined preamp, EQ and guitar speaker simulator designed to integrate seamlessly into PC based digital audio workstation software like Cubase, Cakewalk, Tracktion, FL Studio. The amp model is a 3-stage, 3-valve preamp with input and feedback filtering implemented to match original 1960's designs. Preamp tubes are physically modelled on actual Mullard EL83 triodes. An EQ section gives fine control over bass, mid and treble bands (at 100Hz, 300Hz, 750Hz with +/- 20db of boost and cut) with a presence control at around 5KHz for additional control over tonal purity. Tubester-1 is a zero-latency implementation with minimal CPU overhead, suitable for real-time, live use. For more information, visit their web site at polarity.com. Thursday, February 17 2005 | dmac Anthology Bundle Includes All Eventide TDM Plug-Ins H3000 Factory H3000 Band Delays Eventide has introduced the Anthology bundle of plug-ins for Digidesign Pro Tools TDM systems. Anthology offers all nine Eventide TDM plug-ins, including the much-anticipated H3000 Factory, in one affordable bundle for Mac or Windows. "Many Pro Tools users prefer the completeness of a bundle," said Eventide vice president of sales and marketing Ray Maxwell. "Anthology is our entire catalog of TDM plug-ins in one bundle for a very attractive price. It reflects the best Eventide effects from the 70s, 80s and 90s, as well as some new magic. Subsequent plug-in releases will be offered as affordable upgrades, so that Anthology customers can continue to have the complete Eventide software catalog at their fingertips now and in the future." Included in the Anthology bundle are H3000 Band Delays and H3000 Factory plug-ins. Factory offers the ability to patch together any combination of eighteen effects blocks; creating your own complex multi-effects has never been so easy. Band Delays offers eight voices of tempo-based parametric filtered delays, each with pan, delay, and level controls. Factory and Band Delays are based on Eventide's best-selling H3000 and they offer its unique Function Generator featuring nineteen waveshapes, MIDI control, and all delays lockable to system tempo. All five plug-ins from Clockworks Legacy are included. H910: the original Harmonizer pitch changer with delay; great for micro pitch shifting. H949: the Harmonizer pitch changer featuring flanging, delay, and a randomizer; great for guitar. Omnipressor: a double knee compressor/expander with an attitude. Instant Phaser: the software version of the world's first swept filter bank. Instant Flanger: a dedicated flanger featuring input level, LFO, or manual sweep for modulation sources. Also included are two plug-ins which take their heritage from Eventide's top-of-the-line processor, Orville. Eventide Reverb is truly a multi-effect plug-in featuring nine room types with pre or post compression, pre and post parametric EQ, and twin delays. Octavox features eight voices of diatonic Harmonizer pitch shifting, each voice with individual delay, level, and pan controls, and our unique Notation Grid. The new Anthology bundle, representing a combined retail value of $2,875, will be available for a list price of $1,195 with an estimated US street price of $995. Owners of two or more Eventide software products will be able to purchase the Anthology upgrade for $599 through June 30, 2005. Anthology will be available mid-February 2005 through authorized Eventide dealers throughout Canada and the United States. Anthology will also be available through all Digidesign Pro Tools retailers internationally. For more information, visit their web site at eventide.com. Wednesday, February 16 2005 | dmac Voxengo Debuts HarmoniEQ Equalizer Plug-In HarmoniEQ is a digital equalizer in PC VST format specifically designed to bring unconventional performance requiring little to no effort from the user. It is described as a harmonically-enhanced equalizer because of the harmonic enhancement it applies to the sound. Its special Boost mode coupled with a high-shelving boost produces a harmonically-rich and shiny sound, according to the company. With ease of tuning as one of the primary design goals, HarmoniEQ features a single control surface to control the equalizer curve. No boost/cut knobs to deal with. HarmoniEQ offers 3 shelving and 4 bell-shaped filters in total. As an added bonus HarmoniEQ features a special Woofer sound mode which allows you to make instant bass adjustments. The frequency of HarmoniEQ's control surface extends up to 35 kHz. Voxengo HarmoniEQ features: 4 bell-shaped filter bands Low-shelf filter band 2 high-shelf filter bands Special Boost mode Special Woofer mode "A-to-B" comparisons Factory presets Mono-to-Stereo, Stereo-to-Stereo processing Any sample rate is supported Internal 64-bit processing Native assembler DSP code HarmoniEQ is currently available for the introductory price of US$69.95 which will expire on March 14, 2005. For more information, visit their web site at voxengo.com. Wednesday, February 16 2005 | dmac otiumFX Releases Compadre Beatpuncher VST Compressor Compadre is a dynamics processor in VST PC format designed especially for use on beats, drumloops and other percussive material, capable of providing subtle enhancements or heavy duty compression. Compadre is the result of more than one year of research, development and countless hours of listening tests. The final product is a compressor that not only delivers a highly optimized sonic behavior according to the company, but also adds it's own character. It has it's own sound with a response optimized for a dedicated purpose - drums, but it's flexible enough to be useable on many other types of tracks as well. Furthermore Compadre features extensive sidechain control through external key input and flexible filtering. This allows for techniques such as synchronized gating, ducking and frequency dependant compression. Features Feed forward RMS compressor. Multiple compression modes for expanded flexibility. True stereo sidechain. (4 channel input; 1+2=audio, 3+4=Sidechain) High & lowpass filters on the sidechain. Further 9 filter models featuring presets with key frequencies in drummixing. Adjustable low-level controls to finetune the compression characteristics. ("Snap", "Linearity" & "Envelope"). Dry/wet control allowing easy "parallel compression". Optional extra "Crunch" by enabling a built-in second compressor on the output stage. Optional limiter on output. Zero latency. 80 categorized presets included. Compadre is available as a VST plugin for the PC platform. The price is USD 49.00. A demo version is available for download. For more information, visit their web site at otiumfx.com. Wednesday, February 16 2005 | dmac FabFilter One Plug-In Now Available in VST Format for OS X FabFilter announced the release of FabFilter One in the VST plug-in format for Mac OS X, in the addition to the existing Audio Units version. This makes it possible to use FabFilter One in VST-only hosts on OS X, such as Cubase or Tracktion. Originally released in March 2004, FabFilter One focuses on the best possible sound and filter quality. The goal was to create a pure and solid-sounding oscillator and a unique self-resonating cut-off filter that has been tuned carefully to achieve the character and warmth of a classic analog synthesizer. FabFilter is currently finishing its next product, FabFilter Volcano, an extensive filter effect plug-in building on the filter technology developed for FabFilter One. The release is planned for Spring 2005. FabFilter One 3.0 is now available for $59 (US) as an Audio Units plug-in and a VST plug-in for Mac OS X and as a VST plug-in and stand-alone version for Windows. System requirements are either Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) or higher with an Audio Units or VST 2 host, or Windows XP, 2000, 98, Me, or 2003, with a VST 2 host. For more information, visit their web site at fabfilter.com. Wednesday, February 16 2005 | dmac Verison 1.2.3 of Rax AudioUnit Host Released Granted Software announced the availability of Rax 1.2.3 for Mac OS X, a free update for registered users. Rax turns your Mac into a virtual rig for live performance, slaving instruments and effects from another app or offloading DSP to a second computer. With its streamlined UI, this is the easiest way to play AudioUnit instruments and process live audio through your AudioUnit effects. One-touch record lets you capture a great riff without delay. Rax comes with many features such as multiple synths per rack, flexible effect routing including insert, send and master effects, a 16 channel mixer, and support for live audio inputs. MIDI features include layering , keyboard and velocity splits, multiple inputs, host based MIDI learn for AudioUnit controls and external MIDI clock sync. 1.2.3 includes the following bug fixes (among others): Non-44.1kHz sample rate issues have been resolved. Losing audio input when changing buffer size issue has been resolved. Compatibility issues with Rax AIFF files have been resolved. Changes included in the previous 1.2.2 update are: Mixer channel Mute is now remote controllable. Setting mixer channel volume to zero eliminates instrument load on CPU. MIDI notes are no longer buffered when a rack is deactivated or a channel is muted. External sync is now passing through tempo data to all AudioUnits. The product is available as a download directly from Granted Software for USD $29.95. Until a license is purchased users are limited to a single instrument and audio input per rack and recording is disabled. For more information, visit their web site at grantedsw.com. Sunday, February 13 2005 | dmac e-Lab Releases Foundation Virtual Instrument Based on e-LABs unique i.v.i. engine, Foundation is a loop-based virtual instrument with total tempo independance, realtime playback control, and creative freedom with separated drum loop parts (Kick, Snare & Hihat, etc all on separate tracks), effectively removing all limitations of handling breakbeats and loops. Foundation comes with 3.7 GB of Funky Cracklin' HipHop Breaks, mixed with Jazzy Basses, Horns & Flutes, Chords and more. All sounds specifically recorded and produced for Foundation: 3000 drumloops, 5000 drumsamples with the ability to import external Rex2 files. 8 tracks of simultaneous drumloop playback with an interactive groove system enabling millions of loop combinations. To access mixing and editing you get kick, snare, hihat, etc on individual tracks, routed through 8 addressable synthesizers/stereo outputs. These offer extensive loop editing control with 8 separate synthesizer engines: Multimode Resonant Filters (HP, BP, LP); ADSR on both Amp. and Modulation Env; open architechture Modulation Matrix (LFO, Env, Velocity, Mod. Wheel, Filter, Pitch, Pan, Resonance, etc). The i.v.i. engine uses Propellerhead 24 bit Rex2 format. Foundation supports VSTi, RTAS on Windows XP and VSTi, AudioUnits & RTAS on MacOSX. e-Lab's Foundation retails for Euro 209,- excl. VAT. For more information, visit their web site at e-lab.se.