Week of June 26, 2005 Friday, July 1 2005 | dmac TC-Helicon VoicePro Now Shipping Front Panel Rear Panel TC-Helicon has announced the immediate availability of their most powerful vocal processor to date, VoicePro. Designed to save time and inspire broadcasters, music producers, and post production engineers, VoicePro constitutes a new approach to producing and processing every thinkable aspect of the human voice. VoicePro is the perfect tool for enhancing character, pitch & time shift effects, special FX, correction, harmony and doubling, as well as any other application where getting the perfect voice is paramount. Integrating VoicePro in any studio setting is possible with 24/96 analog and multi-channel AES/EBU digital I/O. In conjunction with VoicePro shipping, TC-Helicon provides a free downloadable software editor by PSI Craft for the new vocal processor. The Mac/PC editor, provided by PSI Craft, can be loaded as a VST plug-in or stand-alone application. The editor requires a MIDI device to communicate with VoicePro and features full control over all preset and utility parameters in VoicePro, as well as preset management. VoicePro users can soon download the editor from tc-helicon.com/editors. VoicePro is shipping now at Euro 2495 retail ex. VAT. For more information, visit their web site at tc-helicon.com. Friday, July 1 2005 | dmac LilyPond Notation Package Version 2.6 Now Available LilyPond is an open source package for creating music notation that is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Inspired by the best classical engraving available, LilyPond handles spacing, line breaking and collisions resolution automatically. As the input is text-based, it can be seamlessly integrated with text documents, such as HTML and LaTeX. LilyPond is distributed as open source, so you can download it for free. With version 2.6, LilyPond is now truly for everyone. For every platform - LilyPond now installs in a snap on Windows, MacOS X, and any version of Linux/x86. For every language - Pango text formatting lets you print Unicode lyrics in your favorite script and font. For every application - Create SVG files, and edit them in Inkscape. In addition, version 2.6 adds support for Staves starting anywhere on the page Solfa notation Arrowed lines Better auto-beaming Circled text String-number notation Better ledger line formatting Score separators Cleaner syntax for text markup Pagebreaks around titles Stemlets on beams Easier titles customization Direct PostScript or SVG output (te)TeX no longer necessary Revised manual Website now translated into Dutch and French For more information, visit their web site at lilypond.org. Wednesday, June 29 2005 | dmac Studio Necessities DirectX Bundle Updated to Version 2.0 StudioVerb StudioEQ Acon Digital Media announced the public release of Studio Necessities 2.0, a collection of DirectX compatible plug-ins consisting of the following plug-ins: StudioVerb, a reverberation simulator StudioModulator, a phaser effect and delay modulation effects such as flanger and chorus StudioEQ, a six-band full parametric equalizer with six different filter types, including peak and shelving filters StudioLimiter, a brickwall limiter StudioDynamics, a versatile dynamic processor StudioDelay, a multi-tap delay effect New in version 2.0 is a brick wall limiter plug-in suitable for increasing the overall level of final mixes. The graphical user interfaces were completely redesigned in all plug-ins. Further improvements were made in the reverb algorithm, which now allows even higher densities without coloration according to the company. StudioDelay now supports a tempo sync mode, where the delay times are specified in beats. The plug-ins support multi-channel audio up to eight channels, including 5.1 and 7.1 surround formats. Both PCM formats (up to 32 bit resolution) and floating point (IEEE 32 bit) formats are supported. Price and Availability Studio Necessities is available for $49.00 (USD) via electronic delivery. The upgrade to version 2.0 is free for registered Studio Necessities users. A demonstration version is available online as well. For more information, visit their web site at acondigital.com. Wednesday, June 29 2005 | dmac JamLab Makes Computer Recording Easy for Guitarists M-Audio has announced the release of the new JamLab virtual guitar system for Mac and PC platforms. The JamLab system consists of a simple, compact USB interface designed specifically for guitarists, plus DSound GT Player Express software that combines the functionality of a guitar amp, effects pedals and standard audio file player. The JamLab hardware connects easily to a PC or Mac computer via an integral USB cable, and features a 1/4" jack for guitar input. An 1/8" jack can be used as either a line or headphone output, allowing for practicing in complete privacy. Volume control is handled using the JamLab driver control panel. The interface delivers 24-bit fidelity at 44.1 or 48kHz. The JamLab system includes GT Player Express software as an integral component. GT Player Express features amp simulation and virtual effects boxes for distortion, EQ, chorus, delay, reverb and noise gate. GT Player Express can also play and down-speed standard AAC, MP3 and WAV audio files, making the JamLab package suitable for practicing and easy learning. The JamLab system also ships with 160MB of WAV drum loops from M-Audio's ProSessions Sound and Loops Library. Users can load them into GT Player Express in any order to create an instant custom drum machine to jam along with. The JamLab package can be used standalone or in conjunction with most host software. Compatibility includes Core Audio, WDM, ASIO 2, ReWire and VST plug-ins. The unit is also class-compliant with Mac OS X 10.3.8. Minimum system requirements are Mac OS X 10.3.8 with 128MB RAM, or Windows XP (SP1), Pentium II 350MHz, with 64MB RAM. JamLab is expected to ship in June at an MSPR of $79.95 USD. For more information, visit their web site at m-audio.com. Wednesday, June 29 2005 | dmac Starplugs Releases VST PC Format Vocoder New from Starplugs is Vocoder 1.0, a VST effect for Windows XP. The quality of a vocoder is defined by its filterbanks. The Starplugs Vocoder uses 32 of pd's quantumfilter to create two banks of high quality analysis and synthesis filters. The plug-in provides special functions like pitch shifting and consonant-support, plus a 256 matrix so you can draw from a wide range of possibilities. Features: 16 analysis filter + 36 dB/oct 16 synthesis filter + 48 dB/oct + pitch shift function 16 envelopes / amps + freeze funtion + adjustable precision + 16 peak meter 256 routing matrix + channel add functionality + channel shutdown control 1 analysis input gate + autodecay function 2 signal generators + noise / saw + pitch mode + routable to vowel / consonant Created with SynthEdit Price: €69.99 and a demo version is available. For more information, visit their web site starplugs.com. Monday, June 27 2005 | dmac WWAYM Ports NWRCFil Lowpass Filter to OS X Already available for Windows users, the NWRCFil lowpass filter VST effect from WWAYM is now available for OS X. NWRCFil is based on classic hardware filters where simplicity and a warm sound are most important. The effect uses selectable 2-pole and 4-pole filter algorithms developed by WWAYM. The characteristics of the filter can be adjusted by 10 RC parameters. With the help of the envelope follower the sound can get lively and dynamic that suits funky guitars and is often used in house/funk house productions. Features: 2-pole and 4-pole analogue sounding lowpass filters Customizable filter characteristics Dry/wet mix Envelope follower with adjustable attack and release parameters Input, output gain controll Lots of presets to ease finding a startpoint Full MIDI support via MIDI learn Interpolated parameters (no steps) Easy to use, comfortable and familiar user interface with a display For more information, visit their web site at wwaym.com.