Archive for May, 2009

IK Multimedia is pleased to announce a new strategic software alliance with SAE Institute in the U.S.  Now SAE audio school students who begin the Audio Diploma course in July 2009 at any SAE Institute campus in the US will receive IK Multimedia’s Total Studio 2 Bundle as part of the Laptop Production Package at no additional cost to their regular package price.

The 12 included software programs in IK’s Total Studio Bundle 2 will greatly enhance the production and processing ability of the current SAE recording, sequencing and mixing bundle. SAE’s students now have access to IK’s award winning virtual instrument and FX plug-ins, including award-winning T-RackS Mastering and Mixing software, and most of IK’s “Powered by SampleTank and “Powered by AmpliTube” products. more

~ Sound Control Products Get the Job Done in Live Room and ISO Booth ~

PALATINE, IL – Planet10Studios, a new, state-of-the-art recording facility in the Chicago suburbs, discovered several acoustical flaws in the original construction of its new space while preparing its studio for opening. Looking for the perfect solution, Planet10Studios turned to Auralex and the company’s wide variety of products to control and tighten the sound characteristics of the live recording room, isolation booth and stand speaker mounts.

Auralex’s 4-inch StudioFoam Wedges, SheetBlok Sound Isolation Barrier, Mineral Fiber and MoPAD products were employed throughout the facility to provide the balanced sound quality the studio was looking for. more

HOLLYWOOD — Summer is coming and EASTWEST is heating things up by offering a Buy One Get One Free Promotion for its top-selling PLAY-powered products. Included in this offer are some of its most popular PLAY-powered products, such as Quantum Leap SILK, EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP Symphonic Choirs PLAY Edition, EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP Symphonic Orchestra PLAY Edition, EASTWEST FAB FOUR and QUANTUM LEAP Goliath.

Users visiting the EASTWEST U.S. (www.soundsonline.com) or worldwide (www.soundsonline-europe.com). Websites from now until June 30, 2009 will be able to purchase one PLAY product and receive a collection of equal to or lesser value for free. The offer is also available at participating domestic and international retailers using a mail-in rebate.

“This is one of the biggest promotions that EASTWEST has ever offered,” says Doug Rogers, founder of EASTWEST. “All of our most popular PLAY-powered collections are included and there is no limit to the amount of virtual instruments that can be purchased where you can receive one free. This offer really is a great and affordable way to flesh out your sound library with some of the best-sounding collections on the market.”

PLAY-powered collections eligible for the promotion include:

Quantum Leap SILK: A collection of historic and unique string and woodwind instruments from China, Persia and India. The collection contains extensive articulations, interval sampling (where appropriate), round robin (alternate samples) and phrases to give the feeling of smooth effortless performance – like silk.

EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP Symphonic Choirs PLAY Edition: The first virtual instrument to offer complete control over a choir’s words and sound; and the first to include three simultaneous stereo mic setups (close, stage and hall). With EASTWEST Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs PLAY Edition running off of the PLAY sample engine, users will be able to experience perfect harmony between PLAY and the collection’s WordBuilder software. PLAY aids with the setup process of WordBuilder, making it easier for users to take full advantage of this feature.

EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA PLAY EDITION (Platinum Plus, Platinum, Gold and Silver Editions): One of the most popular collections EASTWEST has to offer has received a turbo boost from the company’s PLAY 64-bit (with 32-bit compatibility) sampling engine, offering the opportunity to load more of these high-quality sounds than ever before — all in an easy-to-use interface.

QUANTUM LEAP STORMDRUM 2: This sequel to Stormdrum is packed with over 12 GBs of percussion, drawing from the secret collections of three world-class percussionists, offering some of the most amazing multi-sampled percussion imaginable. For the maximum customization without sound degradation, SD2 – The Next Generation delivers MIDI performances created with Roland V-Drums and Zendrum percussion controllers.

EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP PIANOS FULL EDITION: The most detailed collection of the world’s finest grand pianos. These include a $225,000 Bechstein D-280 Concert Grand, the same kind of piano engineer/producer Ken Scott used to record Elton John, David Bowie, and Supertramp. EASTWEST invited Scott to engineer the Bechstein’s close-miced recordings to provide users with a cutting, dynamic pop/rock piano sound. The collection features three micing positions to offer the best in realism and expression.

EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP PIANOS GOLD PLAY EDITION: Pianos Gold Edition offers all the great pianos featured in the full version of Pianos but offers only one mic position. This allows the collection to run faster on slower computers than the full three mic version.

QUANTUM LEAP RA PLAY EDITION: One of the largest and most detailed collections of ethnic instruments from six areas of the world: Africa, Americas and Australia; Europe, Far East, Middle East and the Turkish Empire; and India. Every instrument and ensemble was sampled extensively so that the character of each instrument is preserved. For the first time, users will have more control over the sounds offered in the collection along with the ability to load even more instruments than ever before.

QUANTUM LEAP GOLIATH: The sequel to Colossus, this collection encompasses the entire Colossus collection plus 8 Gigabytes of new content. Users now have more than 180 high-quality instruments and more than 600 patches including drums and percussion, guitars, basses, acoustic and electric pianos, keyboards and mallets, pop brass, orchestral instruments, choirs and vocals, ethnic instruments, new age ensembles, morphing atmospheres, synth basses, synth leads, and synth pads—all at their disposal. As part of the additional content, Goliath features the full collections of sounds from the EW/PMI Bösendorfer 290 Piano collection.

EASTWEST FAB FOUR: A faithfully executed, incredibly accurate comprehensive collection of the same kind of musical instruments and recording equipment the Beatles used to record their music. Winner of the 2008 M.I.P.A. Award, selected by 100 top M.I. magazines worldwide.

EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP GYPSY: A virtual instrument of intimate European sounds with unprecedented detail.

EASTWEST/QUANTUM LEAP MINISTRY OF ROCK: A huge virtual instrument of rock drums, basses and guitars that provides a true all-in-one solution for rock productions.

QUANTUM LEAP VOICES OF PASSION: A virtual instrument of female vocalists from Wales, Syria, India, Bulgaria and America. Voices of Passion features five outstanding professional female artists singing vowels, words, morphing vowels, effects, phrases, calls, whispers and breath noises.

In order to be eligible for the free product(s), orders must be placed by June 30, 2009 and dealer rebate forms must be mailed no later than July 15, 2009 with an original receipt.

For more information and to hear demos of the collection, please visit the EASTWEST website, www.soundsonline.com or www.soundsonline-europe.com.

Matrix Room Brings Project Studio Intimacy to the Professional Environment

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA – Larrabee Studios, a facility that has defined the high-end commercial recording studio for decades working with everyone from Fleetwood Mac and Prince to Dr. Dre and Sheryl Crow, is re-defining the meaning of full service by opening a production room centered on a Solid State Logic Matrix console. Larrabee is an enduring witness to the fact that the professional recording environment is alive and well and, indeed, sought out by the top talent in the music industry. Responding to client interest, the Matrix production room allows artists and producers to have a smaller room available for composing, working on a part or experimenting with a sound, thereby alleviating time pressure on Larrabee’s three very busy SSL XL 9000 K series rooms. more

Espoo, Finland - EKS, creators of the world’s most innovative and fully configurable DJ controllers, is proud to announce that Otus now natively supports the most popular DJ and VJ softwares: Virtual DJ 6, PCDJ, DJDecks and Resolume. In addition, Otus has been designated “Traktor Ready” by Native Instruments and is fully compatible with Traktor Pro and Traktor 3.

While the Otus controller has always been compatible with these software suites thanks to EKS’ XMAP MIDI Mapper, native support now allows users to more easily sync their favorite DJ or VJ software with EKS’ Otus. Additionally, these natively supported softwares stand to enhance Otus’ functionality. For instance, native support of Virtual DJ 6 now means that Otus offers HID support that results in less latency, which delivers improved scratching functionality.

“At the core of EKS’ future proof ideology is the belief that artists should be able to combine our controllers with any software, mixer or controller,” remarked Sulevi Seppänen, EKS’ Sales Director. “Our patented XMAP MIDI Mapper has been the tool that has made this possible until this point. Now with the world’s most popular DJ and VJ softwares being natively supported by Otus, we’ve given our customers the ability to more quickly pair the Otus with their software of choice.”

EKS’ Otus software updates are available now for download at: http://eks.fi/index2.php?p=support&o=Otus

For additional information on Otus, or native software support, please contact PR Representative Brian Metcalf at (305) 576-1171 x11 or by e-mail at brianmetcalf@maxborgesagency.com . To learn more about EKS, go to www.eks.fi.

About EKS:

EKS was founded in 2000 by a select group of audio engineers, DJs, producers and software engineers who set out to create a new standard in digital DJ controllers. Out of this, the XP10 and later the XP5 were born and instantly met with great acclaim by the industry’s best. Most recently, EKS engineers completed development of the most innovative and fully configurable controller ever conceived - the Otus. While new to North America, the Otus is acknowledged by many of Europe’s most well respected industry magazines and professional DJs as the most cutting edge controller on the market. www.eks.fi

Planet Waves’ Scale Wizard App provides 10,000 guitar scales, modes, and arpeggios

FARMINGDALE, NY (May 15, 2009) – Planet Waves, one of the D’Addario Company’s family of

world-renowned musical instrument accessory brands, introduces Scale Wizard, a comprehensive guitar scale library as a companion to their best-selling Chordmaster App, a quintessential guitar chord library. Between them, Scale Wizard and Chordmaster provide volumes of guitar reference material in a hand-held iPhone and iTouch App.

Offering over 10,000 scale, mode, and arpeggio shapes, a left-handed view and alternate tunings, Scale Wizard is the most complete scale application on any platform. With an interface truly optimized for iPhone and iPod touch, guitarists can swipe a finger up and down the fret board to hear ascending and descending scales or tap the screen to hear individual notes played by a skilled professional guitarist. Multiple positions of each scale, mode and arpeggio along with adjustable playback speed make Scale Wizard the perfect learning, reference, and practice tool for any level of guitar player.

Having reached the #1 selling App in the Music Category on the Apple App Store, Chordmaster offers a comprehensive and accurate library of over 7,800 guitar chords, displaying notes and fingerings on a virtual fret board. While allowing users to view each chord in every position up and down the guitar neck, players can even strum the virtual strings to play and hear each chord in pristine audio. The library, separated into root, chord type and chord variants, allows users to navigate to any chord easily and quickly and even comes complete with a “lefty mode” for the often-ignored left-hand guitarist.

Available now, users can simply log into their Apple App Store account and search Planet Waves to download Scale Wizard and Chordmaster for $1.99 each.

For more product information, please visit www.planetwaves.com.

Matrix Provides Unique Opportunity to Teach both Analogue and Digital Signal Flow Techniques

WINTER PARK, FL – Full Sail University has installed seven Solid State Logic Matrix consoles and Duende PCIe cards as the centerpiece gear for the newly enhanced “Recording and Mixing Consoles” lab program. Home to 13 SSL AWS 900+ consoles and three SL 9000 J Series consoles representing the largest installation of SSL music recording consoles and equipment in the world, Full Sail will use the Matrix to teach the basics of signal flow for both DAW and analogue projects. The Matrix-based lab offers Full Sail the ergonomics and functionality of a larger analogue desk, while offering the on-console control of the lab’s Apple Logic Pro-based DAWs. more

SAE campuses in the US are offering a series of free workshops open to the public between May 22nd and June 5th. Learn from faculty and guest lecturers on topics ranging from Remixing to Final Cut Pro.

SAE Institute prides itself in providing quality hands-on training to students in multiple disciplines including audio engineering, digital film production, animation and web design.  Students work on industry standard equipment while recording, editing and creating  media whether it be songs, films, or animation. Once again, in late May and early June, SAE is offering free workshops and seminars and is inviting public to attend.

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN, May 12, 2009—The Institute of Production and Recording (IPR) is taking part in an exciting project this summer. In collaboration with The Jackie Lee Robinson Foundation, with support from the Hubert H. Humphrey Center for Democracy and Citizenship, and in partnership with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, IPR is launching a unique multimedia arts education program in the Minneapolis Park system, aptly named “IDEAWERKS®.” more

FRANKLIN, TN — Paragon Studios, an industry leader in audio, broadcast and film post-production, has expanded its world-class recording studio by adding a Digidesign D-Command® ES Console to Studio C. A significant element to Paragon’s Studio C upgrade, the D-Command ES console provides unparalleled integration with Pro Tools|HD® while delivering the ultimate in hands-on Pro Tools control. more