OSSINING, NEW YORK, JULY 3, 2008—BiCoastal Studios has been on a roll lately, employing Aviom Personal Mixers for recent recording sessions with some of the music industry’s brightest stars, including the Yellowjackets Jazz Quartet, Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, and progressive rocker Danny Brill. more…

ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA, JULY 3, 2008—Clear-Com® Communication Systems, a brand of The Vitec Group, announces that its first software-based intercom system, Clear-Com Concert™, is now available through its worldwide network of dealers and distributors. This new multi-user conferencing and intercom product provides organizations of all sizes with a reliable and cost-effective way to easily intercommunicate. more…

Extra Music Production Power for Yamaha Customers

Buena Park, CA (July 3, 2008)—Yamaha Corporation of America announces a promotional package of cutting-edge technology and content for registered customers of Music Production Products.

The X Factor Content DVD contains over 4GB of VST instruments from IK Multimedia including Sample Tank Yamaha Edition and Amplitube Duo Amp Modeling, 2.3 GB of Sonic Reality’s best sounds in HALion One and .wav format, BFD Yamaha edition from FXpansion, Arturia’s Analog Factory SE, plus the Yamaha S90ES piano sample in HALion One VSTi format. It’s available to all owners of current Yamaha Music Production products who receive the X Factor content DVD by registering at www.MPSN.com and paying a $4.95 shipping and handling fee.

After registering their products and signing up to receive the X Factor DVD, customers can get even more valued added materials. The Cubase AI Tutorial DVD is a complete guide to using Cubase AI from Ask Video Interactive Media, an industry leader in DVD Video Tutorials. Customers can receive both the AI tutorial DVD production and X Factor DVD for $9.95 including shipping and handling.

For Motif XS owners there is a special promotion which is also fulfilled on the same www.MPSN.com site. The Motif Loyalty Content DVD features 64 new Voices taken from four of the most popular DCP Voice Libraries, a new bank of 128 XS Voices and extra Performances specially created by the Yamaha voicing team, and the S90ES piano sample in Motif XS multi sample format.

The World of Motif XS Tutorial DVD, the official Yamaha Motif XS DVD, is a complete tour of the features, functionality, and just plain fun of the Motif XS workstation.

Motif XS customers can receive all 4 Music Production Power Pack DVDs for $19.95 including shipping and handling.

For more information write Yamaha Corporation of America, Pro Audio & Combo Division, Music Production, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com.

About Yamaha

Yamaha Corporation of America is the largest subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, Japan and offers a full line of musical instruments and sound reinforcement products to the U.S. market. Products include: acoustic and digital pianos, portable keyboards, guitars, acoustic and electronic drums, band and orchestral instruments, marching percussion products, synthesizers, professional digital and analog audio products, and innovative technology products targeted to the hobbyist, education, worship, professional music, and installation markets.

New Features and Enhancements for Greater Creativity

Buena Park, CA—Yamaha Corporation of America announces a new operating system (Version 1.10) for their flagship Motif XS line of music workstations, adding new functionality and features and bringing more flexibility and creativity to their users.

New functionality includes seamless switching in Pattern and Song Mixing providing instant access to 16 Voices or 4 Performances without any interruption in sound as well as a new Copy Locate Points to Punch In and Out Points feature.

Workflow enhancements include the ability to connect a standard USB ASCII keyboard for quick navigation, and data entry as well as the ability to store Ethernet settings to simplify network connectivity.

Along with the OS, Yamaha released a new Voice and Multi-Part editor with enhanced Drum Kit and Utility features.

The new Motif XS Operating system and editor will be available July 2nd, 2008 at www.yamahasynth.com.

Blue offers rebate on Award-Winning Dragonfly Microphone

Westlake Village, CA, (July 1, 2008) - Blue Microphones, a leading innovator in microphone technology and design, offers $200 cash back on purchases of their award-winning Dragonfly Microphone between July 1 and August 31, 2008.

Purchase any number of Dragonfly microphones between July 1st and August 31, 2008, from an Authorized Blue retailer within the US and Canada and become eligible to receive a $200 rebate per microphone directly from Blue. Purchase one mic and record pristine vocal or guitar tracks. Purchase a pair for killer drum overheads and get $400 cash back. Purchase more and mic up an entire band or percussion set-up, qualifying for even more cash back.

The hand-tuned and tested Dragonfly is a uniquely shaped cardioid condenser mic featuring a rotating spherical capsule head that can be positioned and adjusted in the smallest of spaces. Offering superb detail, the Dragonfly is ideal for recording vocals, drums and percussion, electric guitar, bass and just about any acoustic instrument.

For complete details and requirements, please visit your local authorized Blue retailer or visit http://www.bluemic.com.

About Blue Microphones

Blue was founded in 1995 and has grown from a desire to create a few hand-built microphones for fellow musicians into a unique, multi-faceted audio company with a prestigious line of award-winning microphones and accessories. Headquartered in Westlake Village, California, and with engineering and manufacturing facilities in Latvia, Blue Microphones continues to grow and lead the way with cutting-edge design and technological innovation in the field of recording.

HOLLYWOOD – The eagerly awaited sequel “Batman: The Dark Knight” hits theaters in July and promises to be a summer blockbuster. Peter Snell, technical scoring engineer on the film, employed the Solid State Logic XLogic Delta-Link as the right device to streamline the massive Pro Tools HD® scoring setup for composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. The MADI-based Delta-Link provides up to 64 channels of audio over a single optical cable, greatly reducing the amount of traditional I/O units and requisite cabling to accomplish the same task.

“I prefer to use the Delta-Links in a Pro Tools rig for Hans Zimmer because he doesn’t do anything small,” says Snell. “The maximum size rig that you can build for Pro Tools regarding digital I/O is with 10 16-channel Digidesign-192 units or 160 channels. Because the Delta-Link modules can handle 64 channels each, I can significantly reduce the amount of rack space I take up. This is very good because these systems tend to move around from studio to studio. The first movie we used them on was “Pirates of the Caribbean 3” when we built remote rigs for Hans and Lorne Balfe to compose at Disney. Then we used them on the “Simpsons” movie and had to move the rigs from Disney to Fox. On “Batman: The Dark Knight,” I used two Delta-Link systems for each of two Pro Tools rigs and thereby replaced 16 of the Digidesign-192 I/O units.”

The XLogic Delta Link MADI HD is a professional Multichannel Audio Digital Interface (MADI) to Pro Tools HD converter for studio, live and broadcast applications. MADI enabled audio equipment such as routers, digital mixing consoles and converters can now be directly interfaced with Pro Tools HD, providing simplified interconnectivity and significant cost reductions, eliminating the need for complicated format conversion workarounds.

“Another item that comes along with running multiple units into Pro Tools is connecting up the word clock,” Snell explains. “The problem with the original all Digi-based system was that I had 10 hardware boxes to sync. Now I use two Delta-Link boxes and two 192’s to get my 160 channels, so I am only clocking four units. I am now not only saving on rack space, I am saving in clock distribution.”

When working on any major release feature film, the costs incurred for any downtime can be staggering. The last thing the engineering staff needs is equipment that won’t work and this is another reason for Snell moving over to the Delta-Link units.

“There is a great efficiency in dealing with MADI,” Snell states. “I can now run 64 channels on one cable as opposed to eight DigiLink cables with the other system. With the two rigs for “Batman,” I was able to reduce 16 DigiLink cables down to two. That is an amazing difference. Another advantage is that if something isn’t working correctly, I have reduced the sheer number of items I must look at to trouble shoot the system – time is big money in this business. I would say that anyone running anymore than a 64 IO on a Pro Tools rig really should be looking at the SSL boxes; it will save them money and save time configuring and trouble shooting. What can be better than that?”

Solid State Logic is the world’s leading manufacturer of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider of creative tools for music, broadcast and post production professionals. For more information about our award-winning products, please visit: www.solid-state-logic.com.

~Studio Remixes and Remasters Iconic Live Album ~

BETHLEHEM, PA – The StarCity Recording Company production team is giving fans a front-row seat to some of the most memorable live performances to be recorded of 70’s rock band KANSAS. The deluxe, expanded version of Two for the Show, the iconic 2 LP set from the legendary group was re-mastered at StarCity Studios. In addition to the re-mastering of the original release, this deluxe version contains 11 previously un-released performances. Jeff Glixman, president of StarCity Records and long-time producer for Kansas, teamed up with StarCity’s Chief of Production Zak Rizvi and Staff Engineer John Andreas to mix the new tracks and handle the mastering. The process began with Phil Ehart, Glixman’s KANSAS productions partner and the band’s founder/drummer, narrowing the large collection of available tracks down to the 11 selections. more…

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Universal Audio, a leading manufacturer of audio production hardware and software products, recently completed work on a recording studio designed and built for its new Scotts Valley, California facility. In order to reduce room reflections and frequency anomalies, Auralex Acoustics, Inc., the industry leader in innovative sound control solutions, outfitted the studio with its state-of-the art acoustical treatments.

“The control room, which is used to test new hardware and software products, as well as operate as a private recording facility in the evenings, was experiencing lingering issues with flutter echoes and low-end buildup.” explained Will Shanks, Universal Audio’s Product Manager. “Auralex provided the solution with a number of products, including its SonoSuede Pro System, its best-selling LENRD bass traps as well as its pArtScience SpaceArrays and Screen6 System, which I was first introduced to by Russ Berger himself. The Space Arrays are fantastic, and delivered exactly what we wanted.” more…

TORONTO, CANADA—Humber College, which has trained professional musicians since the 1972 launch of its Jazz Music Diploma, has installed a 48-channel Duality console from Solid State Logic, the world’s leading manufacturer of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider of creative tools for music, broadcast and post production professionals. more…

EASTWEST, the industry leader in soundware development and distribution, is pleased to announce that all of its EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA “PLAY” EDITIONS will start shipping July 15, 2008. more…