Soundtrack Pro 2 Gets Post, Surround; Glimpse of Logic 8?

Shown above: Soundtrack Pro. But could we finally be seeing a glimpse of what’s coming in the next Logic? Contained in the Apple Final Cut Studio 2 announcement is a new version of Apple’s video-savvy sound editor, Soundtrack Pro. Unfortunately, Apple still hasn’t restored the a la carte, Soundtrack-only purchase option — you have to […]

Organizing Your Music Life: Minim 1.1 for Mac

We’ve already been exchanging some great tips for organizing your life, both musical and mundane. On the musical side, one of the most compelling software tools just got a big update today: Minim: Music Management for Musicians This elegant, very Mac-like utility organizes your songs, storing lyrics and audio/MIDI files and letting you track metadata […]

Vista Support Updates for Sibelius, Finale Notation Software

It’s already near-impossible to find a new computer that doesn’t have Vista already installed on it. As I’ve noted here, hardware driver compatibility can be a bumpy road. That’s the bad news. The good news is, application compatibility for Windows Vista is often not as big an issue. Music notation software, for instance, largely works, […]

Flame, the Talking MIDI Synth, and a Speech Chip for DIY Hardware

GetLoFi has found a real gem in the form of the Flame talking MIDI synth. Hacking Speak ‘n Spell’s? Totally last year. This synth is homebrewed from the ground up, using an IC (integrated circuit) that specializes in speech synthesis. GetLoFi says that chip is permanently on backorder … why am I not surprised? The […]

NAB News: Final Cut Studio 2

We’ll have more complete coverage once we have more time, but incase you’ve missed the news, Apple has announced Final Cut Pro 6, Compressor 4, Cinema Tools 4, Motion 3, Soundtrack 2, Color (formerly Final Touch 2K), and Final Cut Server (yes, server). Highlights include multi format timeline in FCP 6.0, Surround sound mixing in […]

M-Audio Adds Vista Fast Track Drivers; More to Come, But Don’t Rush

In a sign that M-Audio’s Vista support may be trickling in, DJ Grobe observes that the Fast Track USB driver has been posted to the M-Audio site. Hopefully for Vista users, this means more support fast. Meanwhile, I’ve quite happily “upgraded” back from Vista to XP, and tweaked my XP system so it’s happy. That […]

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Weekend

… to go entirely off-topic for a moment. This has nothing to do with creating, or digital, though it is music. And it’s important: by parodying herself and the Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps”, it seems as though Alanis Morisette has readjusted the balance of the musical space-time continuum itself. The universe may again be […]

This Week In Synths: The First Synths to…, Star Trek Wii, Yamaha’s First Synth, Access Goldfilter, and Sequence Madness

The First Synth to… In case you missed it, Sonic State is running a video series on The Top 20 Greatest Synths of all time. About once a month they put up a video featuring three synths from the countdown. As you can imagine a few controversial pieces came up including the E-Mu Proteus, and […]

Korg Melds Audio KAOSS and Mixer; Now We Need KAOSSFour

Suddenly, a mixer without a KAOSS Pad seems so lonely. Dedicated audio + video mixers, or all-in-one? Jaymis examined the Numark AVM02 last month. It’s an innovative concept: one mixer for audio, video, and video FX. But it’s not without its shortcomings; most notably, there’s no MIDI, and some of the FX capabilities are lacking. […]