Week of January 29, 2006 Sunday, January 29 2006 | dmac Voxengo Releases Version 1.3 Update For r8brain PRO Voxengo r8brain PRO is a professional sample rate conversion software for Windows. Version update 1.3 features a lot of new useful improvements and minor issue fixes. r8brain PRO now supports a variety of non-standard sample rates as well. The most useful improvement of this version is the new "Ultra Steep" conversion mode which offers an excellent bandwidth (less than 1.5% high-frequency rejection) at the expense of conversion times. This clearly eliminates all further questions about high-frequency roll-off and any possible aliasing artifacts: in the "Ultra Steep" mode both these problems finally go away. We are also keeping an eye on advancements of our competitors. That is why this version update offers a slightly improved sample rate conversion quality and overall increased SNR. For your information, r8brain PRO implements sample rate conversion processing in its full: interpolation and decimation steps without exploiting any kind of simplifications; the signal is first resampled to a least common multiple sample rate which makes conversion perfect. r8brain PRO features: Reads 8-, 16-, 24-, 32-bit PCM and IEEE files Reads both WAV and AIFF files Writes 16-, 24-, 32-bit PCM and IEEE WAV files Multi-channel file support Extensible wave format support EBU BWF extensions support Linear- and minimum-phase modes Ultra-steep conversion mode Batch support Automatic normalization Supports all standard sample rates For more information, visit their web site at voxengo.com. Sunday, January 29 2006 | dmac Precisionsound Releases Retro Gadgets Vol. 1 Sound Library Retro Gadgets Vol.1 is a collection of 3 legendary retro toy keyboards. Every half note of the instrument's natural range and articulation possibilities has been captured. The content of Retro Gadgets Vol.1: Dubrek Stylophone (Black) The most common of the Stylophone models with a middle range. Every half note with and without vibrato has been sampled. A total of 40 WAV files. 4 programs for HALion/Kontakt. 2 programs for SoundFont Dubrek Stylophone (White) This is the high pitched Stylophone model. Every half note with and without vibrato has been sampled. A total of 40 WAV files. 4 programs for HALion/Kontakt. 2 programs in SoundFont format. Waddington Compute-A-Tune A more advanced and very good sounding -70ies keyboard, rare to find and with a "bleep" sound that suits electronica and retro pop well. A total of 144 WAV files 13 programs for HALion/Kontakt 3 programs in SoundFont format. Retro Gadgets Vol.1 costs $25 (+$11 if you want it on CD). For more information, visit their web site at precisionsound.net. Sunday, January 29 2006 | dmac Serato Audio Research Announces Pitch 'n Time LE Serato has been setting the standard in time and pitch adjustment since the first release of their award winning plug-in Pitch 'n Time 5 years ago. Once again they are leading the way with Pitch 'n Time LE, making professional quality pitch shifting and time stretching more accessible than ever before. Pitch 'n Time LE allows you to make dramatic alterations to a sample, or even to a completed mix, and produce a natural sounding result that you have to hear to believe. Pitch 'n Time LE is simple to use and yet produces an accurate and professional quality result. Previously only available on the Pro Tools platform, this award winning technology is now available as a plug-in for Logic Pro! Pitch 'n Time LE is perfect for: Re-pitching backing vocals Fitting the material you have into that 30 second spot Adjusting the pitch or tempo of any loop so it fits into any song Changing the key of a whole piece of music Creating unique sounds for special effects General features Modify tempo independent of pitch and pitch independent of tempo Unique patented time compression/expansion and pitch-shifting algorithm No loss of timing accuracy Process stereo tracks without phasing Process Dolby matrix encoded tracks without losing surround information Pro Tools only features: Perfect Pro-Tools integration using the Pro-tools time trimmer tool Modify tempo from 50%th to 200% of original and simultaneously pitch shift by ±12 semitones Time stretch by tempo change, length change, target length, or target BPM Select pitch shift by frequency change or semitone shift Preview changes in real time Logic Pro only features Modify tempo from 1/8 to 8x of original and simultaneously pitch shift by ±36 semitones Time stretch by tempo change, length change, target length, target BPM, target time code and bars and beats Select pitch shift by cents Integrates into Logic's Time Machine Minimum requirements Pro Tools 6 or better Or Logic Pro 7.2 Windows 2000 or better, Mac OSX iLok required Pitch 'n Time LE is schedule to ship at the end of February with a MSRP of $399. For more information, visit their web site at serato.com.