Music Software News

A personal selection of the latest music software news, regarding innovation and practical progress in music production with computers.


March 2006 - Music Software News


Cubase SX4 end 2006 - announcement
I have been talking to Steinberg staff at the Musikmesse Frankfurt. They said that the release of SX4 and VST3.0 is planned at the end of 2006. It will include the support of side-chaining in effect plug-ins and drag and drop of effects settings across tracks.

Vienna Instruments - release
They did it again! After producing probably the best orchestra library, the "Vienna symphonic library" , they also cranked out the best software sampler we've seen so far just to be able to play that library in all it's variations. It seems like this will set a new standard, not only in sound but also in playability of virtual orchestras.

Logic Pro as "Universal" - release
Apple works hard to make their audio software a "Universal" which means compatible to the new Intel Macs. At the Musikmesse Frankfurt I have seen Logic running on one of the new Intel power books and boy, that was fast. A full blown mix with lots of plug-ins and instruments playing while the CPU load was still moderate.

DMM Sienzo reads chords from Audio files - release
A very useful software has been presented at Frankfurter Musikmesse that analyses audio files (wav or mp3) and gives you the chords or guitar tabs. You can then add the lyrics and save it as a file. While it doesn't work completely flawless it is still good enough to be very helpful.

Fujitsu 200Gb Laptop drives - announcement
Fujitsu is developing 200GB 2.5-inch hard drives. The shipping date should be the third quarter of 2006. They will use a SATA connection, fast enough for multimedia applications. Currently, the largest laptop drives contain 160GB.

Reason 3.0.5 - Beta test
Reason 3.0.5 works as "Universal". But if you know the Propellerheads, you also know that they never release a software without making it as bug-free as possible. So you can apply here as a Beta tester.

Novation ReMOTE SL for Ableton Live  - release
Novation has released a new driver for their beautiful and very handy hardware controller ReMOTE SL. Now it fully supports Ableton Live and is a great tool for Live performances.

Digidesign Music Production Toolkit - release
Enhancement for Pro Tools LE and M-powered systems. Includes a new synthesizer, convolution reverb, professional compressor/limiter, Sound Replacer, noise reduction, 48 stereo tracks up to 96 kHz, multitrack version of Beat Detective and the ability to export mixes as mp3 files.

BIAS PEAK supports Intel Macs - announcement
One of the best sound editors on the Mac platform Bias Peak supports the new Intel Macs. BIAS will be demonstrating its Universal applications on the newly available Intel-based iMac computer in its Frankfurt Musikmesse booth located in Hall 5.1 at Booth 63. The updates should be available in second quarter 2006.

Digital Performer 5 - announcement
The new version should be released at first quarter 2006 and include six instruments including three subtractive synthesis synths, one FM synth, a sampler and a twelve part drum module. It will support track folders for audio and MIDI, new editing tools, a better audio editor and many improvements for film and video scoring.

February 2006 - Music Software News


Acid Pro 6 - announcement
At the Namm Show 2006 in Anaheim USA Sony presented version 6 of this innovative way to make music. A completely overhauled and more efficient Audio engine, multiple files per track (finally!!!), instrument automation per rubber band curves, multiple Audio- and Midi-track recording, inline MIDI editing with Piano and Drum editor, hardware controller support and a lot more improvements let Acid grow to a serious DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).

Logic Pro 7.2  - upgrade
A paid upgrade that makes Logic run on Power PC Macs and the new Macs with Intel processors. 32 audio instrument channel support, AAC playback, three new GarageBand 3 plug-ins, better ReWire and hardware controller support, new sound effects library, software support for the new Apogee Ensemble audio interface, support for the Serato Time& Pitch plug-in.

KORE - announcement
Native instruments announces a total solution for virtual instruments. A sophisticated hardware controller combined with a software that is host for virtual instruments and effects of all kind and a plug-in for sequencers, a universal sound library for all plug-ins. That means you can control all your instruments and effects with the same controller and one big sound library. Great idea! More at the Frankfurter Musikmesse end of march.

January 2006 - Music Software News


VST 2.4 standard - release
Steinberg releases the software development kit for a new version of its Virtual Studio Technology interface standard. It offers full support for 64-bit audio, double precision floating point capability and complete compatibility with the newest Intel-based Apple Macintosh computers. It has also got a general overhaul, making it clearer and simpler to use.

Wavelab 6.0 - release
Wavelab now also offers spectral editing,
a new sample rate converter, an advanced time stretching and pitch-shifting algorithm (Dirac), hardware controller support, new metering and monitoring tools including support for
renowned mastering engineer Bob KatzÂ’ K-System as well as the new loudness distribution window.

Gigastudio as Plug-In - announcement
The new GVI (Giga Virtual Instrument) will be Gigasampler as a 16 part multi-timbral plug-in for VSTi and RTAS formats. Announced Release date will be spring 2006.

Fruity Loops FL Studio 6  - release (review)
The revamped version of FL Studio comes with a new, resizable mixer, where you can route any track to any number of other tracks, multiple MIDI-in support, a bunch of new Plug-ins and an updated browser. See also my comparison chart or detailed review of FL studio 6.

Steinberg's Virtual Guitarist 2.0  - release
Almost 7 GB of high-quality library consisting of meticulously recorded performances by top studio guitarists. Nearly 1100 different parts across 88 styles. All parts are fully editable. This is the only really realistic way to record guitar without a guitar player.

Melodyne 3.0  - release
A long expected feature became reality now. You can work with polyphonic sound the same way as you could with monophonic. You won't be able however to edit or alter the individual notes of a chord. See also the hard facts of Melodyne 3.0 in my comparison chart.

Adobe Audition 2.0  - release (review)
Audition on it's way to a fully fledged multitrack audio recording program. Multi I/O Asio Support, low latency mixing engine, totally revamped user interface, frequency space editing, real-time mixer automation recording. Still poor MIDI and virtual instrument support. See also my comparison chart or a detailed review of Adobe Audition 2.0.