Open Labs MiKo

Open Labs (www.openlabs.com), maker of the OpenSynth NeKo, has begun shipping the MiKo ($2,499 and up), a smaller keyboard workstation based on a single- or dual-core 64-bit AMD Opteron processor. By combining a well-equipped computer, a MIDI keyboard and controllers, an audio interface, and an assortment of software, the MiKo lets you compose, record, sweeten, mix, and master your productions, and then burn them to disc or distribute them on the Web.

Like the NeKo, every MiKo is a custom configuration. The base model has 37-note and QWERTY keyboards, a 15-inch color touch screen, a dual-layer DVD-RW drive, 512 MB of RAM, four PCI slots, user-assignable Alpha and DJ control surfaces, and a 24-bit, 96 kHz audio interface with four inputs, six outputs, and two mic preamps. Connections include audio I/O, FireWire, USB 2.0, Ethernet, and 802.11g wireless.

You can order or install 4 GB of RAM, a 250 GB hard drive instead of the standard 80 GB drive, a second hard drive, or the optional OpenPad trigger pad array. The MiKo comes with Windows XP, Open Labs' Musical Operating System, Karsyn, mFusion, Cubase LE, and multiple software instruments, effects plug-ins, and sound presets. An optional Windows application called Mimik ($199) lets you sample any MIDI sound source automatically, effectively cloning other instruments.

MOTU Digital Performer 5

Digital Performer 5 (Mac, $795; $195 for upgrade), an updated version of the audio and MIDI sequencer from MOTU (www.motu.com), adds features such as Record-Safe input monitoring, enhanced count-off, customized click patterns, automatic voice allocation, and the ability to play instruments from your computer keyboard. You can organize tracklists into folders and subfolders that you open and close with a click. The toolbar contains four new audio-editing tools: Trim, Slip, Slide, and Roll. The waveform editor offers real-time pitch correction and direct editing of audio file tempo maps. For film composers, DP5 can display visual cues on a video monitor and display and export streamers, flutters, and punches. The Meter Bridge lets you monitor all audio signal paths at a glance.

Bundled with DP5 are six CPU-efficient instrument plug-ins. PolySynth is inspired by the Roland Juno-106, and Modulo is a versatile dual-oscillator subtractive synth. NanoSampler lets you create instant sampler instruments by dragging audio files from other windows. BassLine is a single-oscillator, Minimoog-style monosynth, and Proton is a 2-operator FM synth. DP5 also includes Model 12, a programmable drum module with hundreds of factory samples. Previous Digital Performer users will appreciate the ease of adding instrument and MIDI tracks simultaneously.

Native Instruments Kore

Kore (Mac/Win, $569), from Native Instruments (www.native-instruments.com), combines hardware and software in an integrated host system that runs any VST or AU plug-in. It operates either as a standalone or as a single plug-in within any AU, DXi, RTAS, or VST host program.

The new KoreSound format organizes routing and layering data and embedded MIDI files as well as combinations of sounds and effects from various plug-ins according to their musical attributes. Double-clicking on a sound in the Kore browser will load its associated plug-in. Thousands of presets for Native Instruments software are included, and you can categorize presets from any software instrument or effects plug-in. Kore's software gives views of a virtual rack containing instruments and effects, and a mapping editor facilitates assigning splits and layers graphically. Standalone mode simplifies using software instruments onstage with your computer. Kore also simplifies moving sounds and setups from one sequencer or computer to another.

Kore's controller is an audio and MIDI interface as well as a control surface. It has analog stereo in and out, coaxial S/PDIF out, a ¼-inch stereo headphone jack, MIDI In and Out, a USB 2.0 port, and inputs for two footswitches. Eight touch-sensitive knobs offer five times the resolution of MIDI controllers. When you touch a knob, its assigned parameter and value are displayed. Matching plug-in parameters are assigned to the same knobs across Native Instruments' entire product line, and you can easily assign knobs to any parameter that responds to MIDI Control Changes.

Steinberg WaveLab 6

Steinberg (www.steinberg.de) is shipping WaveLab 6 (Win, $699.99; discounted upgrades available for previous WaveLab owners), the latest version of its surround-capable multitrack audio-editing and mastering program. WaveLab 6 offers dozens of new and enhanced features, such as the sophisticated Spectrum Editor, Dirac time-stretching and pitch-shifting, and the ability to remotely control any WaveLab command with MIDI. The Audio Montage, which enables simultaneous edits across several tracks, has new editing, batch-processing, and clip-handling functions. Metering and monitoring tools include support for mastering engineer Bob Katz's K-System and the new Loudness Distribution window.

Spectrum Editor gives you a sonogram view and allows you to remove unwanted frequencies and noise, process selected frequencies with plug-ins, and cut and paste background ambience from one file to another. To counteract level variations caused by plug-ins and external hardware, SmartBypass automatically compensates for changes in perceived loudness. Additional enhancements include sampling-rate conversion up to 384 kHz and the ability to import files larger than 2 GB.

PSPaudioware PSP Neon

PSP Neon (Win, $149), a new product from Poland's most prolific purveyor of processor plug-ins, PSPaudioware (www.pspaudioware.com), is a linear-phase equalizer with eight independent bands, each assignable to any of seven filter types. The software uses frequency-domain, fast-convolution-based linear-phase algorithms, resulting in CPU efficiency and 100 percent phase accuracy. Even if you turn off Linear Phase mode to minimize CPU cycles, you can still use the plug-in's analog-modeled filters in Infinite Impulse Response mode.

In addition to the standard edition, there is PSP Neon HR (Win, $299), a high-resolution version of the program that operates at sampling rates as high as 192 kHz. It offers stereo and mid-side operation, independent control and processing of each channel, and PSPaudioware's exclusive FAT mode. PSP Neon HR requires an iLok USB key. Both plug-ins support DirectX, RTAS, and VST formats.

Eventide Anthology II

Anthology II (Mac/Win, $1,195) from audio hardware and software maker Eventide (www.eventide.com) is a TDM collection that introduces six plug-ins to supplement the previous Anthology suite's nine. Anthology II adds two channel strips, two 48-bit double-precision equalizers, a phase-alignment tool, and a new Harmonizer. Existing Anthology owners can get the new plug-ins for $299. Upgrade pricing is also available for Eventide Reverb, Octavox, MassivePack, H3000 Band Delay, and Clockwork Legacy owners.

The Ultra-Channel channel strip has a gate, a 5-band EQ, a de-esser, a stereo delay, and a micropitch shifter, as well as an Omnipressor compressor/limiter. With a gate, five bands of EQ, and a compressor/limiter, E-Channel offers maximum CPU efficiency for a greater number of instances when tracking.

The versatile EQ65 Filter Set duplicates an analog filter bank with third-order lowpass and highpass filters and two variable bands of either notch or peak filtering. EQ45 has second-order lowpass and highpass filters and four bands of parametric EQ with continuously variable bandwidth and frequency.

The Precision Time Align plug-in corrects phase-alignment problems in separate tracks and is especially useful for dealing with multiple-mic setups used to record drums. Quadravox features four voices of Harmonizer pitch-shift, with individual delay and pan for each voice.

SoundTech LightSnake

Although you'll find no shortage of methods for getting a guitar signal into your computer, perhaps the simplest and most direct would be a cable with a ¼-inch phone plug on one end and a USB connector on the other. That perfectly describes the LightSnake USB Intelligent Instrument Cable ($69.99), a unidirectional “sound card on a cable” from SoundTech (www.soundtech.com). The LightSnake is a 15-foot, heavy-duty shielded cable containing a 16-bit A/D converter with a 48 kHz sampling rate and an embedded signal booster.

Just plug in your guitar, bass, or keyboard, and you can record audio sequencer tracks or play through your virtual guitar-amp software. The LightSnake is USB 2.0 device compliant; no drivers are necessary for Windows or Mac (an ASIO driver is in development). To minimize latency, an included ¼-inch splitter lets you send a signal to your computer and to an amp or mixer simultaneously. The LightSnake features Host Side Data Loss (HSDL) noise reduction and emits a luminous green glow when connected.

M-Audio Sputnik

Although the Sputnik ($699.95) is the first microphone from M-Audio (www.m-audio.com) to exceed the $400 price barrier, it is designed to reproduce the sound of mics costing considerably more. The Sputnik is a large-diaphragm tube condenser mic that lets you select cardioid, figure-8, or omnidirectional polar patterns. It is M-Audio's third lollipop-style mic, and it has a 3-micron-thick evaporated-gold-coated Mylar diaphragm housed in a solid brass body with a polished nickel finish. A tuned brass backplate ensures optimal on- and off-axis frequency response and pattern symmetry, according to M-Audio. Two switches enable an 80 Hz highpass filter and -10 dB attenuation.

In addition to imparting the vocal sound associated with tube condenser mics, the Sputnik offers maximum versatility for recording almost any instrument. Its Class A cascode amplifier circuit has a high output impedance and a discrete transconductance design that incorporates a handpicked, military-grade 6205M pentode vacuum tube wired as a triode. The dedicated power supply allows cable runs as long as 200 feet. Each mic also includes a 7-pin mic cable, a shockmount, a cloth bag, and an aluminum flight case.

SoundToys Native Effects

SoundToys (www.soundtoys.com), a developer of TDM plug-ins for Pro Tools, has bundled six of its most popular plug-ins and made them available for Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered. Native Effects (Mac, $495) is a suite of RTAS effects plug-ins designed to emulate the warmth of analog processing. Each features MIDI synchronization, multiple modulation types, and a collection of presets.

EchoBoy is a virtual analog and digital delay plug-in with intricate rhythmic capabilities. It offers 30 types of repetition, from lo-fi chorused delays to tape-echo simulations. FilterFreak gives you rhythmic resonant filtering that syncs to tempo. PhaseMistress generates stereo phase-shifter effects and simulates virtually every popular hardware phaser. For time- and pitch-stretching tasks, Speed offers Simple, Graphic, and Calculator modes. Inspired by the Eventide H3000, Crystallizer combines granular reverse-echo slicing and pitch-shifting. Tremolator not only produces tremolos and gating effects, but also supplies programmable waveshape and rhythm editors to customize your sound.

Key Changes

Registered owners of Kontakt 2 (Mac/Win) can download the much-anticipated 2.1 update from Native Instruments (www.native-instruments.com). Kontakt 2.1 offers shorter loading times, less memory usage, lower processor load, and better multiprocessor support. Its Search function has been improved, and you can minimize and customize the view. Other features include new effects, RTAS compatibility, and additional import formats … Steinberg (www.steinberg.net) has released a software development kit that updates the Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plug-in format to version 2.4. VST 2.4 supports 64-bit audio, double-precision floating-point processing, and Intel-based Apple Macintosh computers … After years of being exclusively the domain of Mac audio, Altiverb for Windows is right around the corner, according to developer Audio Ease (www.audioease.com). It should be available by the time you read this … FabFilter (www.fabfilter.com) has updated all three of its plug-ins — Twin, Volcano, and One — for Windows and Mac OS X. Improvements include new functionality, updated VST and Audio Units support, bug fixes, and support for Intel-based Macs. The updates are free for current users … Applied Acoustic Systems (www.applied-acoustics.com) is offering free updates to two of its software instruments. Ultra Analog 1.0.2 and String Studio 1.0.1 enhance their stability in host sequencers and extend their authorization grace periods to 15 days. Ultra Analog also has better filter response, and the behavior of String Studio's Termination model has been corrected … Prophet-V owners can download a free update from Arturia (www.arturia.com). Prophet-V 1.1 fixes a few bugs and adds universal binary support to the Mac version.