Hosa Technology Cue 5
Hosa Technology (www.hosatech.com) has introduced a cost-effective alternative to analog monitoring. The new Cue 5 all-digital monitoring system ($899) keeps the signal entirely in the digital domain until it reaches the speakers. A 5.25-inch low-frequency woofer and a 1.5-inch silk-dome tweeter are mounted in a bass reflex enclosure with an oblong rear port, which minimizes turbulence and distortion. Each enclosure measures a compact 7 by 10.2 by 8.9 inches, and they have a combined weight of 22.5 pounds.
The key to this system is Hosa's proprietary Binary Drive all-digital signal path with integrated Class D amplification, which delivers 30W per channel to a 6 load, according to the manufacturer. Binary Drive accepts 24-bit signals at up to 96 kHz via optical or coaxial S/PDIF inputs, performs amplification and crossover in the digital domain, and provides the low- and high-frequency signals to separate digital-to-analog converters that feed the woofers and tweeters. Included control software for the Mac and PC allows you to tailor the sound to your environment. The software includes 7-band parametric EQ along with independent volume, treble, bass, balance, and mute controls. If you're not quite ready to go all digital, you can feed the Cue 5's analog signals through balanced XLR, balanced ¼-inch TRS, or unbalanced RCA connectors.
Kurzweil SP2X Stage Piano
The new SP2X Stage Piano ($1,390) from Kurzweil Music Systems (www.kurzweilmusicsystems.com) is designed for practice, songwriting, live performance, and studio recording. The instrument features 64-voice polyphony and 16-part multitimbral operation, and you get 16 multitimbral setups with 3 zones each for layers and splits. A built-in USB interface with MIDI In, Out, and Thru is used for data transfer and operating-system updates. The SP2X owes its 48-pound heft to a fully weighted, 88-note, hammer-action, Velocity-sensitive keyboard. The front panel houses a 3-character LCD, a volume slider, four multifunction knobs, buttons for program recall, and pitch-bend and modulation wheels. On the back, a stereo headphone jack and balanced ¼-inch TRS outputs are fed by 24-bit digital-to-analog converters.
The SP2X comes loaded with 64 factory programs covering acoustic pianos, electric pianos, strings, pads, mallets, and voice. A user-configured quick-access bank keeps 16 programs instantly available. Kurzweil is particularly proud of the sampled Triple Strike Grand Piano. For practicing, the unit includes 64 prerecorded drum grooves and a metronome. You also get a dual effects processor with 64 algorithms that cover reverb, distortion and enhancement, time-based effects, compression and EQ, and spatial processing. The SP2X contains Kurzweil's 24-bit Mara chip and is AC powered. You can purchase an optional piano-style double footswitch and a continuous controller pedal ($49.95 each).
Native Instruments Audio 8 DJ
Native Instruments (www.native-instruments.com) has just released the second in its line of USB 2.0 audio interfaces. As the name implies, the Audio 8 DJ ($449) has eight inputs and eight outputs and is performance optimized for DJ applications. It was designed around Native Instruments Traktor 3 software for DJs, and a lite version, Traktor 3 LE (Mac/Win), is bundled with the interface. You can upgrade to the full version for $119 or to Traktor Scratch for $299.
All inputs and outputs are on RCA connectors to accommodate turntables, CD players, and DJ mixers. Two of the four stereo inputs have software-switchable phono preamps, and you also get an alternative mic input for doing voice-overs. All inputs and outputs use studio-quality 24-bit, 96 kHz digital-to-analog converters from Cirrus Logic. A separate ¼-inch headphone output has its own level knob. Native Instruments' fourth-generation drivers achieve latencies as low as 4 ms. MIDI I/O allows synchronization to external MIDI gear and connection to MIDI controllers. The unit is bus powered, obviating the need for any AC connection. The top panel contains a full spate of LEDs to indicate status and levels.
Audio Impressions Realtime Strings
Audio Impressions (www.audioimpressions.com) is now shipping the first installment of the massive orchestral sample library compiled over the last three years by film and TV composer Christopher L. Stone. Realtime Strings is available as either a complete Windows-based turnkey system ($11,999) with all the necessary hardware and software, or as a sample library (Win, $3,499) utilizing proprietary performance software together with Native Instruments Kontakt 2. The software-only system requires at least two PCs — one for the proprietary software and one for the sample library — and three are required to play all 70 stringed instruments in real time at 44.1 or 48 kHz sampling rates. Higher sampling rates require more computers. The turnkey system includes three rackmount PCs.
Beyond the high-quality samples of all orchestral strings with dozens of articulations at up to 192 kHz, what sets Realtime Strings apart is the proprietary DVZ RT and Space software. DVZ RT (which implements the divisi orchestral scoring method) gives you total real-time control of voice allocation across a fixed complement of string players, eliminating organ-style voice buildup as parts are added. Space is a mic-bleed simulation application that lets you control room size, acoustics, and player positions, generating anything from 7.1 surround to mono output.
Antares Harmony Engine
Based on the throat-modeling technology first featured in its Avox series of plug-ins, Antares Audio Technologies' (www.antarestech.com) Harmony Engine (Mac/Win, $349) makes easy work of generating vocal harmonies. It simultaneously generates four formant-corrected voices with individual character, vibrato, and pan settings. The plug-ins are available in AU, VST, and RTAS formats. The PC versions are Vista compatible, and the Mac versions are Universal Binary.
Harmony Engine offers everything from automatic harmony generation to precise control of each note. You can specify a key and the desired scale intervals, provide a chord sequence complete with inversions and vocal ranges, or use real-time or prerecorded MIDI to control the individual parts. Real-time MIDI control can be polyphonic (one channel) or multitimbral (four channels). You can even create special effects by freezing formants and pitches. With Voice and Harmony preset matrices, you can instantly recall favorite setups.
Celemony Melodyne 3.2
German software developer Celemony (www.celemony.com) has just released version 3.2 of its flagship pitch-shifting and time-stretching software ($699). Updates are free for current Melodyne Studio and Melodyne Cre8 users. The new release fixes a number of bugs and has several important user enhancements as well as a major new feature: Polyphonic Formant Tuning (Studio version only). With that, you can pitch-shift polyphonic tracks by relatively large intervals without introducing the unwelcome artifacts caused by formant shifting. You use the simple Formant Tuning slider that appears when a polyphonic part is analyzed to tell Melodyne how much formant correction to apply. That ranges from none, for standard pitch-shifting, to the default medium setting that usually produces the most natural results, to extreme settings for special effects. Extreme settings are especially useful for percussion parts.
Although they don't get Polyphonic Formant Tuning, Melodyne Cre8 users do get an improved algorithm, called Percussive 2, that raises the level of percussion processing to that of Melodyne Studio. Operational improvements include new combination vertical and horizontal scroll/zoom sliders, the ability to open arrangements with missing audio files, better RAM and CPU optimization, and Activation Assistant software for easier online authorization.
Image Line Software Morphine
Image Line Software's (www.image-line.com) flagship sequencer for the PC, FL Studio, is known for its built-in collection of synths that sound and look different. Its latest synth, Morphine (Mac/Win, $159), breaks the mold by being cross-platform and running both standalone and as a VSTi and AU plug-in. It is a 4-layer additive synth with full resynthesis capability, and it promises both low CPU drain and ease of use.
A Morphine layer starts with one or more harmonic snapshots (additive spectra), which you can draw in or generate automatically by analyzing any audio clip. Looping breakpoint envelopes are used to morph through snapshots. When more than one layer is active, you can also control the mix of layers using MIDI or envelopes. Realism (through analysis-resynthesis) and motion are the keys here. Added goodies include a fifth sound generator for mixing in sampled sounds such as onset transients, PWM filters for each layer, and a chain of five effects: chorus, delay, reverb, EQ, and distortion. A collection of 340 presets covers the bases for anyone disinclined to get down and dirty with additive synthesis.
Sound Advice
The newest ReFill from Propellerhead Software (www.propellerheads.se) is Abbey Road Keyboards ($229), a unique 16- and 24-bit collection of seven sampled instruments. All of them have resided at Abbey Road Studios in London since the 1960s and have been heard on titles ranging from the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon to all three movies in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Instruments include a 1905 Steinway Vertegrand piano with lacquered hammers, intentionally tuned to sound out of tune and affectionately known as “Mrs. Mills”; a Challen upright piano; a Hammond RT-3 and Leslie 122; a Mannborg Harmonium; a Schiedmayer celesta; Premier tubular bells; and a Mellotron 400 with strings, cello, and flute tapes.
Think you can't afford Vienna Instruments? Vienna Symphonic Library (www.vsl.co.at) has recently released Vienna Special Edition (Mac/Win, $445 Standard, $595 Extended, $1,040 Full), a “best of” collection at a down-to-earth price. The Standard Library supplies 28 sampled instruments and ensembles from the strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion families, as well as harp, celesta, and BÖsendorfer Imperial piano. Instead of offering additional articulations, the Extended Library gives you 35 more instruments, adding to the collection's timbral variety. They include saxophones, acoustic and electric guitar, and subsets of the Vienna Konzerthaus organ, Chamber Strings, and Epic Horns collections. All in all, the Full Library contains 80 GB of 24-bit, 44.1 kHz samples comprising a complete orchestra in AU and VST plug-in formats.
Get Smart
Almost anyone who records music nowadays needs to have a thorough understanding of synthesizers and effects processing. To that end, Keyfax (www.keyfax.com) has released Sound Advice ($79.99), a 3-DVD video tutorial billed as “analog-style synthesis and digital effects explained and explored.” Using the Yamaha Motif series as a platform, sound designer Dave Polich presents nearly nine hours of instruction that applies to virtually any synth and any effects software or device. On disc 1, Polich begins with an explanation of how to create basic sounds and progresses to specific programming techniques. Disc 2 examines the building block of synthesis, and disc 3 takes a detailed look at different types of effects and their parameters.
If you dream of hearing your music on TV or in film or game soundtracks, then Hey, That's My Music! ($24.95) should be essential reading. Written by intellectual-property-rights expert Brooke Wentz and published by Hal Leonard (distributed by www.musicdispatch.com), the 218-page book unravels the mysteries of music supervision and licensing. For the musician, the author gives real-life examples of placement scenarios and detailed explanations of music rights and the clearance process. For the music supervisor, she covers content acquisition and the complexities of securing music for a variety of formats. The book also includes interviews with industry professionals and provides templates of various forms and agreements.
In Shaping Sound in the Studio and Beyond ($34.99), from Thomson Course Technology PTR (www.courseptr.com), author Gary Gottlieb presents an introduction to the recording studio and investigates the aesthetic side of audio engineering. Taking a comprehensive view of technology as it applies to music production, Gottlieb discusses everything from microphones and speakers to signal processing and mixing, with an emphasis on learning to develop your critical listening skills. Three major topics are covered: basic audio theory, understanding audio equipment, and audio methods and operations such as editing, sound design, and studio procedures. The 400-page book is well suited to anyone who wants to pursue a career in recording or improve his or her studio communication skills.