In the Know
May 1, 2001 12:00 PM
Auto-Tune 3.0 PITCH CORRECTION SOFTWARE PLUG-IN
Antares's Auto-Tune 3.0 gives musicians and producers
complete control over pitch correction of instruments and vocal
performances. Available for the Mac (MAS, RTAS, or standalone,
$299; VST or MOTU, $399; TDM, $599) and PC (DirectX or RTAS, $299),
Auto-Tune synchronizes pitch in real time at
professional-audio sampling rates (88.2 kHz and 96 kHz compatible)
with no distortion or artifacts. In automatic mode, the program's
virtual knobs tune the performance's pitch to the closest note in a
user-specified scale or to any note chosen. Antares provides
several preselected, commonly used scales, and users can also
create new scales using a MIDI keyboard or sequencer. Graphical
mode enables you to draw in your desired performance while viewing
the performer's pitch, displayed in a visual line. For added
realism, the software can add vibrato with variable depth, rate,
and onset delay.
Antares; tel. (831) 461-7800; Web
www.antarestech.com
SR JV80-19 House Collection JV EXPANSION BOARD
Featuring a wide variety of material from renowned house music
producer Mousse T. and the Ueberschall sound design crew, Roland's
SR JV80-19 House Collection expansion board ($295) offers
8 MB of professionally recorded house-style loops, phrases, and
sounds (16 MB in 16-bit linear format). The card provides 255 new
waveforms, including drum and percussion patterns; piano, vocal,
and guitar phrases; and bass, brass, strings, and vocal hit
waveforms selected from Ueberschall's Houseworx and
Jam Box sample CDs. The various sounds are arranged into
256 patches and eight drum kits. The SR JV80-19 board is
user-installable and compatible with expandable Roland XV, XP, and
JV synthesizers.
Roland; tel. (323) 890-3700; Web
www.rolandus.com
airSynth EFFECTS SYNTHESIZER
Alesis's airSynth ($249) is the second product in the
company's line of Axyz controller products. Like the airFX, the
first Axyz product, the airSynth features a 3-D infrared light beam
controller that responds to hand movement to implement sound
changes, allowing users to manipulate the pitch and inflection of
any one of 50 preprogrammed staccato, legato, percussive, and
nature-emulation synth sounds. All audio output goes through RCA
stereo outs with 24-bit fidelity. No MIDI connectivity is
available, but two RCA inputs allow an additional audio signal to
pass through the airSynth. The unit also includes a threaded base
for mounting a microphone stand.
Alesis; tel. (310) 255-3400; Web
www.alesis.com
Sonar PROFESSIONAL DAW SOFTWARE
Cakewalk's Sonar is a MIDI audio recording software
package for professionals. Sonar ($479) and Sonar
XL ($739) both offer unlimited audio and MIDI tracks coupled
with Acid-like loop previewing and time-stretch functions.
Optimized for Windows 2000/ME/98SE systems, Sonar supports
DXi soft synths, fully automatable DirectX 8.0 audio effects,
multiple processors, and dual monitors. Sonar can import
and synchronize AVI movies and images to audio tracks as well as
frame-accurate SMPTE, film, and video hookup. Other key
Sonar features include nondestructive audio and MIDI
editing, real-time MIDI effects plug-ins, and live input monitoring
of real-time effects. Sonar audio is 24-bit, 96 kHz, and
the package supports multiple file formats, including WAV, Acid,
AIFF, MPEG, MP3, MP2, AU, and SND. Sonar XL also comes
with Applied Acoustic Systems' Tassman DXi soft synth,
Alien Connections' ReValver SE amp simulator, sound fonts
from Sonic Implants, and much more.
Cakewalk; tel. (617) 441-7870; Web
www.cakewalk.com
MP 44 DJ MIXER
Rane's MP 44 ($1,999) is a 4-bus, fader-style DJ mixer
designed for club installation and professional DJ applications.
Each of the four input buses on the MP 44 provides a three-way
A-side/B-side/Post-crossfader assign switch, phono-CD and line
inputs, a gain trim (±12 dB), an overload indicator, and
3-band full-cut accelerated-slope tone controls. The mixer also
includes two mic preamps with independent EQ and effects loops.
Other key features of the MP 44 are a high-performance master
limiter on the booth and master outputs, two automatic crossfader
CD triggers, and an optional remote control for DC master level
volume.
Rane; tel. (425) 355-6000; Web
www.rane.com
Halion SOFTWARE SAMPLER
Steinberg's Halion VST software sampler ($399) streams
samples directly from the hard disk, eliminating the memory
limitations of RAM-based systems. Built for smooth integration with
the company's Cubase and Nuendo software,
Halion supports a variety of file formats, including WAV,
AIFF, Akai, E-mu, SF2, and LM-4 script import. It comes with an
embedded loop editor, a drag-and-drop key zone editor, and a
virtual keyboard for triggering and auditioning samples.
Halion also allows users to nondestructively edit loop
points, real-time effects, and MIDI events. Sample filtering
algorithms include notch, highpass, lowpass, bandpass, and a
fatness function. The program's 12 virtual outputs can transmit
sound with up to 32-bit resolution.
Steinberg; tel. (516) 333-9100; Web
www.steinberg.net
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