It's a rough time here in NYC for people presenting live music. Tonic, the primary venue in the city for experimental live music (including, especially, out-there electronics) is in big trouble: rent that's doubled in 7 years, tripled insurance rates, a robbery, failing facilities, and a collapsed sewage line. (Plague of locusts? That may be […]

To add further fodder to software choice discussion on this site: both major Mac-only DAWs have won Key Buy awards from Keyboard Magazine, Apple's Logic Pro and MOTU Digital Performer. DP won its Key Buy in my review of version 4.5, which came out in the February Keyboard; for excerpts see MOTU's site. Francis Preve […]

Virsyn's virtual singer software Cantor has now added voices and pronunciation for German (which Virsyn says works nicely for Latin pronunciation, too). Version 1.6 includes German support with 100,000 words, which handily beats my own 23-word vocabulary in German, most of which is related to food. There's also a new choral generator feature and the […]

We missed MOTU's NAMM announcements in my travels, though in the meantime they've had time to put details up on their site, so here you go: MOTU's MachFive sampler version 2 adds standalone operation, unlimited parts, a full-screen preset browser and expanded views of many other sampler components, a groove-slicing engine called LoopLab (related to […]

NAMM was host to a bevy of new virtual orchestra products. Here's a quick summary: Garritan Personal Orchestra (Windows/Mac) now comes in three versions adding more sounds and articulations: the Second Edition update adds various enhancements and patch additions, while a new Advanced (US$499) version includes more instruments and articulations like harmonics and a Lite […]

Fervent Software is now shipping a US-localized version of its Studio-to-Go Linux CD software, and has updated their Web site over the last month with more information. (Runs on Mambo, just like CDM — interesting.) The idea is this: load in a CD, boot up, and you have an entire studio filled with Linux music […]

I remember running into a top Apple music rep at Macworld. I said something involving the phrase "OS X transition." "Can't we stop referring to it as a transition now?" said the Apple person. I think at the time Digital Performer lacked AU support, Pro Tools wasn't available, things were crashing, audio support was undocumented […]

At long last, one of the most beloved and unusual Mac sound creation applications has made it to OS X, with vastly expanded features. The brainchild of Bryce creator Eric Wenger, the first version of U&I Software's MetaSynth was popular with the likes of Aphex Twin for its far-out, one-of-a-kind sound production and the ability […]

Today I'm speaking to an audience at the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology of Connecticut College about finding a meeting place between visual expression and sound. For attendees (and you readers at home), here are some helpful links: Physical Modeling and Sound Creation: Apple's Logic (Mac-only) is deep as it is, but its Sculpture […]

Clearly, the future of headphones is surround sound, delivered by "acoustical alloy" tubing worn around the head. I have no qualms whatsoever about this device. I'm sure the surround effect is completely successful, and I think the claim of "mastering" as an application is an excellent idea — if you're mastering professional 5.1 surround mixes, […]