Peak Pro 5 XT, Mac Audio Package, on Review at Macworld

Sure, there are basic stereo audio editors built into most multitrack audio apps, but for most of us, nothing can replace a trusty stereo waveform editor and batch processor. In that spirit, my review of Peak Pro XT 5 is up on Macworld.com: Peak Pro XT 5: Sound-editing software bundles great restoration, mastering, and CD-creation […]

NAMM: MiKo Portable DJ/VJ/Keyboard "Music Workcenter" Tease

Open Labs is slowly teasing out the specs of a new portable music device called the MiKo, promising a complete portable workstation for everything from DJing to music production to VJing and . . . podcasting? The company won’t make a full announcement until the NAMM trade show later this month in Anaheim; in the […]

NAMM: MiKo Portable DJ/VJ/Keyboard "Music Workcenter" Tease

Open Labs is slowly teasing out the specs of a new portable music device called the MiKo, promising a complete portable workstation for everything from DJing to music production to VJing and . . . podcasting? The company won’t make a full announcement until the NAMM trade show later this month in Anaheim; in the […]

Tab and Lyric Sites Close in Face of Crackdown by Publishers

Legal action against traders of MP3s and videos? That’s so last year. 2006 will be the year the music publishing industry cracks down on online lyrics, song notation, and tablature. We’re not talking small lawsuits: the head of the publishing association promises jail time for site owners. Guitar tablature, transcribed and distributed in ASCII text […]

All-Tube Synth Revealed: Metasonix Wretch Machine

Last month, we looked at an upcoming all-tube synth from the twisted minds at Metasonix, as shown at a tube expo. We heard 2006 for launch at US$2500 or thereabouts. CDM reader Michael Weeks is busy writing the user manual for the synth (aka the S-1000). Result? He’s got a prototype. Michael lets us in […]

Atari Marble Madness Music Co-Creator Brad Fuller: 1 Second of Fame

A late submission to our 1-second music roundup deserves its own mention: Brad Fuller writes us: “Attached is 1 sec from Level 2 of Marble Madness arcade game from Atari. I did the music and sounds along with Hal Canon at Atari Games.” Marble Madness Level 2 [1-second MP3 excerpt] Talk about iconic music: while […]

Tip: Never Trust Your Plug-ins, Says Colonel Panic

Lesson learned — again. Working on assembling your leap second compositions in Apple Soundtrack Pro, I hit repeated kernel panics, the rare but reboot-forcingy Mac equivalent of the Windows Blue Screen of Death. (More info: Kernel Panic FAQ; BSOD History.) Sounds like a Soundtrack Pro problem, right? Wrong: I removed some suspect plug-ins in my […]

Guitarist Robert Fripp Scores Windows Vista, the Soundtrack

Our blog buddy Matrix just sent this one: how do you create music that embodies an operating system? On our bad computer days, I suppose that would involve crashing death metal and lots of expletives. Let me rephrase that: how do you create music that embodies Windows Vista when Microsoft has hired you? Legendary guitarist […]

CDM 2.0 is Coming; PHP Coders?

It’s my 2006 New Year’s Resolution: give you loyal readers a new site design, new features, new forum, and fix all the things that have been driving you and me crazy about the current site. (MSIE6 Windows users on lower resolutions? I feel your pain.) We’re making headway, switching from Mambo to the brilliant open-source […]