Products of Interest

SPL Atmos 5.1/ASM 5 Surround each channel, and monitor and mas- Headphones do not enclose the ears, ter outputs. Each channel features but instead rest on the listener’s Recording System highpass filters switchable between shoulders, “surrounding” the ears 50 Hz or 100 Hz, and each can be with four close-range loudspeaker With all the interest in producing routed to the five surround output drivers (see Figure 2). The two drivers “surround sound,” it is surprising buses or the direct output bus. Lev- at the front reproduce the encoded that little attention has been paid to els can be adjusted for each input, “main front” channels, passing fre- the direct recording of multi-channel but it is also possible to place all quencies above 300 Hz. The rear driv- audio. A joint project from German five channels under a single master ers are broad-band, passing encoded audio manufacturers, SPL and Dirk control for overall adjustments that “rear” channels as well as low fre- Brauner, the Atmos 5.1/ASM 5 Sur- preserve the relationships between quency content. The optional round Recording System was created individual microphones (a critical SurrounderDSP incorporates a Dolby to enable direct “surround” record- element in capturing a balanced sur- Pro Logic decoder to enable record- ing. The package includes an array of round audio image). Mono and by- ings, DVD audio, and games to be five microphones and a rack-mount pass switches are provided to easily played back in properly spatialized recording console (see Figure 1). monitor individual microphones form. The decoder comes with 15 The microphone array is built using and to check for phasing issues. The preset “virtual-seating” options. the Brauner VM1 high-quality con- console includes both a stereo head- The Surrounder weighs approxi- denser capsules. The polar patterns phone jack and a 6-pin DIN connec- mately three pounds, and has a fre- can be adjusted from the Atmos con- tor for Sennheiser Surrounder quency response of 45 Hz–20 kHz. The sole in continuously variable configu- headphones. signal-to-noise ratio is about 85 dB, rations from figure eight to cardioid to The ASM5 array does not include with maximum SPL set at 100 dB. The omni. Based on the quasi-standardized a dedicated sub-bass element. A 130 total harmonic distortion is rated at 1 5.1 format, the front three micro- Hz lowpass filter is implemented in 0.01%. The ⁄4-inch cable connector phones (Left, Center, Right) are at- the Atmos console so that low-fre- enables the Surrounder to be used in tached to the central swivel at a quency elements on any input can conjunction with common audio distance of 17.5 cm, each able to be be routed out to become a equipment; a mini-jack adaptor would ° adjusted by as much as 90 each way subwoofer channel. The discrete need to be used for interfacing with along the horizontal axis. The other outputs are designed to be routed di- standard computer audio outputs. The two (Surround Left, Surround Right) rectly to a recorder or workstation. inputs are normalized to “line” levels. ° are 60 cm from the swivel, with a 60 No surround encoding is required. The 2 m cable bundled with the adjustment range. The microphones The Atmos 5.1/ASM 5 is priced at Surrounder is not overly generous, but can be adjusted electronically from US$ 27,990.00, and is also available longer lengths may be substituted. the console using Spread and Diver- from the distributor on a rental basis. Sennheiser Surrounder is listed for gence controls. The ASM5 array is Contact SPL Electronics GmbH, US$ 299.00. Contact Sennheiser connected via a custom multipin Sohlweg 55, D-41372 Niederkrüchten, Electronics GmbH, D-30900 snake cable that is 25 meters long Germany; telephone (+49) 2163-9834- Wedemark, Germany; electronic (longer lengths can be ordered). 0; fax (+49) 2163-9834-20; electronic mail [email protected]; World The Atmos console includes +48 mail [email protected]; Wide Web www.sennheiser.com/ VDC phantom power and triple World Wide Web mediacoustics/surmain.html. gain–stage mic preamplifiers using www.soundperformancelab.com or Lundahl input transformers. The www.g1ltd.com. multipin snake from the ASM5 ar- Alesis airFX Digital ray connects directly to the console, Signal Processor although there are separate XLR in- Sennheiser Surrounder puts that can be used for alternative Headphones The Alesis airFX is a digital signal microphone sets. There are also two processor intended primarily as a stereo auxiliary inputs, individual Sennheiser has contributed a rather performance interface. Line-level outputs (balanced XLR and unbal- unique product to the surround audio is fed into the unit via RCA 1 anced ⁄4-in), insert send/returns for sound field. The Surrounder Sound connectors, sent through 24-bit digi-

Products of Interest 89

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/014892601750302606 by guest on 02 October 2021 Figure 1. SPL Atmos 5.1/ASM 5 Sur- Figure 2. Sennheiser Surrounder round Recordering System. Headphones.

Figure 3. Alesis airFX Digital Signal Processor.

tal-to-analog converters, processed fects carry names such as Vinylizer by any of 50 preset programs, then (sensors control bandwidth, noise, reconverted and sent out through and scratches), Bow Wow (lowpass RCA connectors to a mixer or am- filter controlled by frequency, reso- temporarily neutralized. Bright plifier. The DSP parameters are ma- nance, and LFO rate), Liquid Metal lights and smoke may interfere with nipulated by (hand) movements (25-band phase shifter controlled by the airFX’s sensitivity. above the proprietary Axyz sensor frequency, feedback, and mix), Kung The Alesis airFX is available for dome (see Figure 3). This controller Fu Panner (panning controlled by US$ 249.99. Contact Alesis Studio uses infrared beams to detect mo- left-right movement), or Jungle Rip Electronics, Inc., 1633 26th Street, tion on three axes: left-to-right, (a synthesized bass sound controlled Santa Monica, California 90404, front-to-back, and distance (up- by waveshape, decay, and pitch). USA; telephone (800) 525-3747; down). Each program assigns differ- The only way to manipulate the electronic mail [email protected]; ent “effects” to each of the three DSP programs is with the param- World Wide Web www.alesis.com. sensors (some use only one or two). eters assigned to the sensor axes. The DSP programs are grouped The airFX can be mounted on a into five categories: Special FX 1; mic stand for performance purposes, Filters; Flange/Phase; Special FX 2; and to keep the unit away from Electroshock Records and Synth Patches. Included among other audio equipment that may New Releases these are a whole range of filters, need to be manipulated. The proces- vocoders, granulators, FM vibrato sor does include a Hold function— Electroshock Records, a label based effects, spatialization algorithms, allowing a particular setting of an in Moscow dedicated to electroa- waveshapers, pitch-shifters, and so effect to be “frozen,”—as well as a coustic music, recently announced a on. Aimed at the DJ market, the ef- Bypass—allowing the unit to be series of new releases (see Figure 4).

90 Computer Music Journal

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/014892601750302606 by guest on 02 October 2021 Figure 4. Cover from Electroacous- Figure 5. Screen image of MusicLab tic Music, Volume VI, Electroshock Rhythm’n’Chords MIDI Plug-in. Records.

These include: Electroacoustic Mu- sic, Volume IV: Archive Tapes—Syn- thesizer ANS, 1964-1971 (ELCD 011, 1999); Edward Artemiev Solaris. The Mirror. Stalker (ELCD 012, 1999); Electroacoustic Music, Volume V (ELCD 013, 2000); Artemiy Artemiev & Phillip B. Klingler Dreams in Mov- ing Space (ELCD 014, 2000); Artemiy Artemiev & Peter Frohmader Space Icon (ELCD 015, 2000); Stanislav tracks within the Cakewalk Pro Au- Multicast Technologies dio sequencing/editing environment Kreitchi Ansiana (ELCD 016, 2000); Multicast Broadcasting Network Artemiy Artemiev Forgotten Themes (initially, for Versions 8.0–8.04 and (ELCD 017, 2000); Edward Artemiev 9.0–9.03). The package is available and Internet Player A Book of Impressions (ELCD 018, only for the Windows operating sys- 2000); Anatoly Pereselegin Down- tem. The software is packaged with Multicast Technologies has an- load the God (ELCD 019, 2000); and a library of 700 rhythm-guitar pat- nounced the development of propri- Electroacoustic Music, Volume VI terns, covering a wide range of etary technology to enable multicast (ELCD 020, 2000). styles. There is also a library of 22 broadcasting over the Internet. In- Contact Electroshock Records, Ul. stroke types, including down- stead of sending the media stream Krilatskaya 31-1-321, 121614 Mos- strums, up-strums, muted, grace- from a single Internet Service Pro- cow, Russia; telephone (+95) 415- note strums, slides, plucking, and so vider (ISP), Multicast Technologies 3046; fax (+95) 415-6689; electronic on. Additional features provide con- Network (MTN) is able to send the mail [email protected]; World trol over strum velocity balance, stream out to several ISPs simulta- Wide Web www.electroshock.ru. arpeggiation time, polyphony, and neously. This enables many more more (see Figure 5). All of this infor- end users to receive the content mation is mapped onto the appli- than has previously been possible. MusicLab Rhythm’n’Chords 1.1 cable MIDI parameters. The plug-in The aim is to lower the cost of also comes with charts for choosing Internet broadcasting. MIDI Plug-in for Cakewalk chords, voicings, and progressions. MTN has been set up on the Software Rhythm’n’Chords is being offered company’s own media streaming for US$ 99.00. Contact MusicLab, site, www.On-The-I.com, which can The Moscow-based MusicLab has Inc.; electronic mail support up to 100 audio channels released new software for creating [email protected]; World Wide (available for sale to content provid- MIDI sequences of rhythm guitar Web www.musiclab.com. ers). Multicast Technologies has also

Products of Interest 91

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/014892601750302606 by guest on 02 October 2021 released a Multicast (MCT) Player, Wide Web www.music.upm.edu.my/ is in process. The bitrate is tuned for available for free download. This techConference.html. the range of 16–128 kilobauds per sec- software features the Staggered Era- ond (kbps), but can be set as high as sure Protection that corrects for 350 kbps in mono or stereo. Like the missing data that can otherwise Cantares SSP-1 Surround MP3 format, Vorbis is “lossy,” mean- cause drop-out. The MCT Player has Sound Decoder, Stereo ing that data is not just compressed, been released under an open-source but some is discarded. It uses an alter- license, enabling other developers to Enhancer, and Subwoofer native acoustic model that, together add features. Crossover with its VBR encoding, is claimed to Contact Multicast Technologies, provide superior audio quality at simi- Inc.; electronic mail Cantares has announced the release lar rates to other methods using Con- [email protected]; World of its analog SSP-1 Surround Sound stant Bitrate encoding. The Ogg Wide Web www.multicasttech.com. Decoder, which includes a Stereo compression software can also sup- Enhancer and Subwoofer Crossover. port additional channels beyond the The SSP-1 is designed using standard mono or stereo formats. MusTech Asia 2000 Compact Ambisonic principles, and does not Vorbis is bundled with various au- Disc and Proceedings add delays or reverberation to an ex- dio players, including Sonique, isting stereo signal. Legacy and Ma- FreeAmp for Windows, and Unsanity trix formats (SQ, UHJ Ambisonic, Echo for Macintosh. It has also been Southeast Asia’s First Conference on Circle Surround) are supported, and included as part of iObjects’ Dadio Music Technology in the Third the unit can be integrated with vari- 2.0, an operating system designed for Millenium was held 16–18 March ous formations from three to six portable audio players, and is being 2000 in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, orga- loudspeakers, including 5.1 with used for Icecast audio streaming soft- nized by the Music Department of the subwoofer, and an overhead driver. ware (www.icecast.org). Universiti Putra Malaysia. The CD If used for production, B-format out- Contact Ogg Vorbis; electronic contains the following works: Asian put mode enables sound sources to mail [email protected]; World Breath by Yoshiko Aido (Kunitachi be specified within a fully three-di- Wide Web www.vorbis.com or College of Music, Japan); A Sense of mensional sound-field. www.xiph.org/ogg/vorbis/index.html. Time by Paul R. Isitt (Universiti Putra The SSP-1 is listed at US$ 1,259.00. Malaysia); academix by James Phelps Contact Michael Dunn, Cantares, 74 (Northern Illinois University, USA); George Street, Waterloo, Ontario N2J Salangay Oli by Judy Nalini Gmedia M-Tron Mellotron 1K7, Canada; telephone (519) 744- (Universiti Putra Malaysia); Babel (for Sampler 9395; fax (519) 744-7129; electronic flute, tape, and electronics) by Rodrigo mail [email protected]; World Sigal (City University of London, UK); The original Mellotron, developed Wide Web www.cantares.on.ca. Night Ascends on the Ear like a But- in the 1960s, was an early sampler terfly by Hideko Kawamoto (Texas, prototype. Each key on the keyboard USA); and El Peregrinar de la Araña triggered playback of a tape contain- by Martin Fumarola (University of Ogg Vorbis Audio ing a prerecorded sound. Each tape Cordoba, Argentina). The Proceedings Compression Format was limited to eight seconds, and it contain program notes for the compo- was not looped; when the tape fin- sitions and the papers presented at the Ogg has released the beta version of ished, it was simply rewound. (Hugh conference. its Vorbis audio compression format. Le Caine developed similar technol- The CD and Proceedings can be This software is patent- and license- ogy in the 1950s, though it was obtained for US$ 42.00 by contacting free, with the specification and Soft- never commercialized.) Professor Martha Lee, Music Depart- ware Developers Kit (SDK) placed in Gmedia has joined the rush to de- ment, Faculty of Human Ecology, the public domain under the terms of velop digital emulations of “classic” Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 the General Public License. Vorbis en- musical technology by issuing a UPM Serdang Selangor, Malaysia; fax codes audio at Variable Bitrate (VBR), software version of the Mellotron (+60) 3-9161689; electronic mail enabling the bitrate to be adjusted ac- (see Figure 6). The M-Tron Sampler [email protected]; World cording to changing needs as encoding contains 28 banks of sounds re-

92 Computer Music Journal

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/014892601750302606 by guest on 02 October 2021 Figure 6. Screen image of Gmedia Figure 7. Mytek D-Master 4-Chan- M-Tron Mellotron Sampler. nel Digital Recorder.

ing a seventh-order, noise-shaped delta-sigma modulator. Mytek be- lieves DSD gives higher-quality, “analog” sonic characteristics to au- dio of higher sampling rates and bit- rate resolution (such as 96 kHz/ corded from the original Mellotron cians are able to select manuscript 24-bit). tapes. They are grouped into fami- templates from 300 styles and sizes The D-Master recorder is tar- lies, including Strings, Choirs, (supporting all standard interna- geted for mixdown, mastering, Flutes, and Brass. The samples are tional paper sizes, including US for- archiving, and live tracking appli- not looped, in deference to the pecu- mats), and then customize each page cations. The goal is to provide a liarities of the original instrument. with name, title, and copyright line. digital alternative for those audio What the M-Tron does do, however, The manuscript can then be printed engineers who still prefer recording is add onscreen and MIDI control out on any printer. to analog tape. over volume, tone, pitch, and ampli- This useful service is enhanced Contact Mytek Digital, Inc., 142 tude envelope (attack and release). with the addition of an on screen East 27th Street, Suite 6A, New The M-Tron Sampler runs on both guide to musical instruments (in- York, New York 10016, USA; tele- Macintosh and Windows-based cluding ranges, transpositions, and phone (212) 245-7880; fax (212) 245- computers, though it requires a VST other information), and a searchable 8636; electronic mail 2.0 host application in order to oper- database of musical terms. The CD- [email protected]; World ate. The Macintosh version runs on ROM can be run on Macintosh or Wide Web www.mytekdigital.com/ a PowerMac (minimum 200 MHz, Windows-based computers. dmaster.htm. 128 Mbyte RAM) with MacOS 8.5 The CD-ROM Manuscript Kit or later. The Windows version re- sells for US$ 22.00. Contact Boosey quires a Pentium II (minimum 300 and Hawkes, Inc.; fax (212) 358-5303 iQrom Solutions CD-U MHz, 96 Mbyte RAM). or (+44) 20-7291-7199; electronic M-Tron sells for UK£ 44.95 or US$ mail [email protected] or Updateable Business Card 69.95. Contact Gmedia Technology, [email protected]; World Wide and Sports Card Thames View, Newtown Road, Web www.boosey.com/publishing/ Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire manuscript. iQrom Solutions, Inc., has entered RG9 1HG, UK; or Gmedia Technol- the growing field of multimedia con- ogy, 2973 Harbor Boulevard #352, tent providers with its updateable Costa Mesa, California 92626, USA; Mytek D-Master 4-Channel CD-ROM products. The CD-U Busi- telephone (+44) 1491-571100 or (888) Digital Recorder ness Card stores up to 35 MB of 767-4963; fax (+44) 1491- 576161 or data. Typically, in the commercial (888) 793-3658; electronic mail Mytek Digital has developed a Digi- music market, the disc will contain [email protected]; World Wide Web tal Master Recorder based on the music tracks, an Electronic Music www.gmedia.com/gforce. Direct Stream Digital (DSD) conver- Kit (EMK), video clips, photos, other sion process engineered by Sony (see audio tracks (e.g., interviews), and Figure 7). The D-Master recorder links to related Web sites. The larger Boosey and Hawkes CD-ROM contains four channels and can CD-U Sports Card might feature an Manuscript Kit record to any standard SCSI media EMK, video clips, photos, audio, and (DVD-RAM, hard disk, tape other information relating to par- Boosey and Hawkes has released a backup). The DSD converters run at ticular athletes or teams. The abil- Manuscript Kit on CD-ROM. Musi- 64 or 128 times “oversampling,” us- ity to link these CD-ROMs to Web

Products of Interest 93

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/014892601750302606 by guest on 02 October 2021 sites containing updated informa- tracks, making editing and region Rhizomatic Absynth tion is driven by the proprietary list creation much more efficient. MIDI-controlled Synthesis SoftCD software by iOra. In es- TDM systems can run both TDM sence, the amended information and Real-Time AudioSuite (RTAS) Software from updated files is compressed plugins within the same session, and posted to a server. When the and multiple plugin windows can be The field of software-based synthesiz- CD-U is placed into a CD-ROM open at the same time. In addition, ers has been growing at a rapid pace. drive on an internet-wired com- if the session is transferred to a dif- Many of these applications are de- puter, the updated information will ferent system, the software will au- signed to function as “plug-ins” for be quickly and automatically down- tomatically set up the tracks, audio editing packages. Rhizomatic loaded as if it had been written to plugins, sends, and Input/Output Software has released Absynth, a the disc. The ability to update infor- configurations so that the session stand-alone software synthesizer that mation from offsite and have it be will be identical. is fully controllable through MIDI posted to everyone running the rel- Digidesign has improved the (see Figure 8). Features include: 68- evant CD-U will be an attractive MIDI features in ProTools 5.1. A breakpoint envelope generators with feature for many applications and comprehensive MIDI Event List is looping and re-trigger modes; a operations. now provided, and MIDI tracks can graphic waveform editor allowing, For further information, contact be recorded from multiple devices. among other functions, direct editing iQrom Solutions, Inc., 3500 West The software also comes with an of the harmonic spectrum and the ap- Olive Avenue, Suite 300, Burbank, Automatic Tempo Detector, which plication of user-created waveforms to California 91505, USA; telephone integrates audio and MIDI and aids oscillators and waveshaping distortion (818) 973-2752; fax (818) 973-2753; editing, rhythm “smoothing,” and functions; as many as six oscillators World Wide Web www.iqrom.com. so forth. per voice, connected via Frequency In terms of Remote Control, Modulation and Ring Modulation ProTools now supports up to 48- modes; filter modules (up to four per Digidesign ProTools 5.1 channels through the Digidesign voice) and eight filter types; up to six ProControl unit, and other devices parallel delay lines, adjustable from Multi-track Audio Editing compatible with the Sony 9-pin con- one sample to ten seconds; three low- Software Update nector enable playback and record- frequency oscillators (LFOs) control- ing control from remote devices. lable by user-edited waveforms and a The latest version of the popular In the editing mode, ProTools sample-and-hold mode; up to 64-voice multi-track audio editing software 5.1 provides multiple levels of polyphony. The output is saved (and from Digidesign, ProTools 5.1, is Undo, and the session can be set to can be overdubbed) as Audio Inter- more than an incremental update. be saved at regular intervals. The change File Format (AIFF). Absynth The new package includes expanded Duplicate Track feature enables al- currently runs through the Sound features and many enhancements ternative mixes to be easily set, Manager on Macintosh computers, and improvements to the existing with automatic copying of plugins, and requires OMS to oversee the program. settings, and automation. Inserts MIDI interface. Probably most important are the can now be rearranged simply by Absynth can be purchased online surround-sound features. For users dragging them within the channel for US$ 150.00. Contact Rhizomatic with Pro Tools|24 MIX or MIXplus strip. If all the project files are not Software; electronic mail systems it is now possible to carry available, the session can still be [email protected]; World Wide Web out multichannel mixing, panning, opened and edited, with the miss- www.absyn.com. and processing with support for any ing audio (or video) still referenced format up to 7.1. In fact, it is pos- as regions. sible to route the audio to more Contact Digidesign, Inc., 3401-A Royer SF-12 Stereo Microphone than one destination, so a multi- Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, Califor- and SF-1 Figure-8 Ribbon channel and a stereo mix could be nia 94304-1348, USA; telephone Microphone produced simultaneously. It is also (650) 842-7900; electronic mail possible to create and work directly [email protected]; World Royer Labs has released two new rib- with stereo and multichannel audio Wide Web www.digidesign.com. bon microphones, a stereo coincident

94 Computer Music Journal

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/014892601750302606 by guest on 02 October 2021 Figure 8. Screen image of Rhizomatic Figure 9. Royer SF-12 Stereo Ribbon Absynth Synthesis Software. Microphone.

model and a monophonic model Royer’s proprietary crossfield motor through intuitive graphical inter- sporting a figure-8 polar pattern. assembly for the ribbon transducer, faces (see Figure 10). The first one to Royer’s ribbon design eliminates au- which is built from four Neodymium be released, the Spektral Delay Pro- dible diffraction effects and cavity magnets and Permendur iron pole- cessor, divides the audio signal into resonance. The ultra low-mass ribbon pieces. The figure-8 polar pattern en- 512 frequency bands, each of which (1.8 microns) produces sharp tran- ables the recording to capture a can be manipulated in real time. sient response, and enhances high fre- well-balanced, panoramic soundfield. Each band can be delayed by means quency response. Off-axis coloration The specifications are the same as of input attenuation, feedback, and is said to be negligible, and frequency for the SF-12, though the SF-1 weighs other modulation effects. response is relatively flat (30–15,000 9.3 oz instead of 13 oz. Both models The Delay Processor provides a Hz ± 3 dB). come with a wooden case, a micro- number of editor functions. The In- The SF-12 contains two matched phone clip, and an 18-ft cable. put-Amplitude Matrix controls the microphones placed one above the The SF-12 stereo microphone sells attenuation of the incoming fre- other, aimed 45 degrees from the cen- for US$ 2,150.00; the SF-1 figure-8 quency domain, with each band able ter for effective stereo separation and monophonic microphone sells for to be adjusted along a range of >60 imaging (see Figure 9). The sensitiv- US$ 1,070.00. Contact Royer Labs; dB. The Delay Matrix and Feedback ity of the microphone is equal from telephone (818) 760-8472; electronic Matrix enable the delay times to be both front and back of the ribbons. In mail [email protected]; World adjusted along with the percentage addition, the frequency response is Wide Web www.royerlabs.com. of feedback for each frequency band. maintained regardless of source dis- A Modulation LFO is provided for tance from the microphone. The regulated control of the amplitude maximum SPL is rated at higher than Native Instruments Spektral and delay matrix parameters. 130 dB. The cable comes with a Y Delay Processor The Spektral Delay Processor is adapter that splits into separate XLR available as a stand-alone applica- connectors, with an output imped- Native Instruments has announced tion or as a VST plug-in for audio ance of 300 Ohms (nominal). a new series of real-time FFT-based applications running in both The SF-1 is designed around audio effects, manipulatable Macintosh and Windows environ-

Products of Interest 95

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/014892601750302606 by guest on 02 October 2021 Figure 10. Screen image from Na- tive Instruments Spektral Delay Processor Software.

StageSmart Professional Audio Interactive Service

StageSmart has announced its inten- tion to provide an interactive Web site listing available products from “every manufacturer on the planet.” The aim is to provide a clearing- house, directing Requests for Quotes (RFQs) from audio profes- sionals looking for gear to the rel- evant suppliers. Prices, availability, and shipping information will be sent back to the inquirer for consid- eration. For further information, contact StageSmart, 1207 Indiana Street, Suite 1A, San Francisco, California eter instructions, with no necessity 94107, USA; telephone (415) 643- ments. All parameters can be con- to use sampled audio. The Koan 7000; fax (415) 206-7370; electronic trolled via MIDI. Plugin allows the synthesizer to be mail [email protected]; World Contact Native Instruments Soft- controlled directly through the Web Wide Web StageSmart.com. ware Synthesis, GmbH, Schlesische browser. Various effects can be gen- Strasse 28, D-10997 Berlin, Ger- erated, including distortion, chorus, many; telephone (+49) 30-611-035- reverb, delay, compression, ring 30; fax (+49) 30-611-035-35; modulation, and filtering. It also in- Music Industry Web Guide electronic mail info@native- cludes tone generators, a granular instruments.de; or, Native Instru- synthesis module, a percussion syn- The Music Industry Web Guide pub- ments, USA, 6477 Almaden thesizer, and a virtual sample gen- lishes a listing of over 10,000 music Expressway, Suite D2-F8, San Jose, erator. Other modules include and audio Web sites, arranged alpha- California 95120, USA; telephone envelope generators, amplifiers, betically. The guide is updated on a (800) 665-0030; fax (408) 266-6591; panning functions, and a built-in regular basis, and all music-related electronic mail info@native- limiter, among others. sites are welcome to be submitted. instruments.com; World Wide Web The Koan Plugin itself is highly Contact Cumberland Entertain- www.native-instruments.com. programmable, with 250 parameters ment Group, Inc.; electronic mail and 100 functions. It can be used to info@ musicindustrywebguide.com; drive other processes (audio, or web World Wide Web SSEYO Koan Vector Audio animations, for example) through www.musicindustrywebguide.com. Internet Authoring Tool Javascript. The Koan tools also pro- vide for the updating of audio infor- SSEYO’s Koan Pro authoring tools mation, enabling the continual Zoom PS-02 Palmtop Studio are cross-platform and include a customization of audio environ- custom software synthesizer and ments for Web sites. The Zoom PS-02 Palmtop Studio Vector Audio. This latter is a SSEYO’s Koan Vector Audio tool seeks to provide musicians with the method for representing digital is available as part of Koan Pro, ability to record multi-track audio us- sounds in simple text format. The which can be licensed for US$ ing a unit small enough to fit into audio, taking up as little as 300 199.95. Contact SSEYO Ltd.; tele- the palm of your hand (see Figure 11). bytes, can be embedded directly into phone (+44) 1344-397-597; elec- The PS-02 provides three channels of Web pages. The Koan SoftSynth cre- tronic mail [email protected]; World audio, each capable of retaining ten ates sounds on the basis of param- Wide Web www.sseyo.com. “takes,” or virtual tracks during the

96 Computer Music Journal

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/014892601750302606 by guest on 02 October 2021 Figure 11. Zoom PS-02 Palmtop Studio.

The audio is recorded onto Cycling ’74 Updates SmartMedia cards. At 32 MHz (the for Max and MSP maximum sampling rate), up to 17 minutes of stereo audio can be re- Cycling ’74 has released significant corded onto a 64 MB card. The con- updates to its two flagship pro- verters are 20-bit (64-times grams, Max and MSP. Max 4.0 in- oversampling for analog-to-digital, cludes an improved scheduler, and 8-times for digital-to-analog), keeping timing information in float- while the signal processing is car- ing-point format for sample-accu- ried out at 24-bit resolution. The rate event scheduling. MIDI timing unit can be powered by batteries (4 can be set as priority over audio pro- AAA-size) or the AC Adaptor. cessing. One of the important The Zoom PS-02 Palmtop Studio changes from earlier versions is the is listed at US$ 624.99. Contact replacement of the “Get Info” func- Samson Technologies Corp., P.O. tion by customizable patchers. Con- Bos 9031, Syosset, New York 11791- trol-click on an object, patch cord, 9031, USA; electronic mail or patcher to bring up a contextual [email protected]; World Wide recording process. Utilities (panning menu to set properties such as Web www.samsontech.com/zoom/ and effects processing) are provided to color, layer, and visibility. Objects personal.html or www.zoom.co.jp. bounce these channels down to a can also be moved into the back- buffer, enabling additional tracks to ground and/or hidden in order to be added. The unit comes with a make editing and programming built-in dynamic microphone, but ZY Computing MP3 CD Maker easier. Simple scripting commands also contains an Input and Auxiliary can be used to create, connect, Input for recording audio from exter- ZY Computing, Inc., has released CD- move, hide, or delete objects in a nal microphones, electronic instru- burning software that automatically patcher. A number of new objects ments, CD players, etc. (rated at converts MP3 audio files to WAV for- have been added, including a collec- guitar levels, –10/–16 dBm, or micro- mat for recording onto CD-ROM. The tion that allows for greater phone levels, –40/–50 dBm). Propri- MP3 CD Maker also normalizes the customization of object presenta- etary VAMS technology provides files, provides a utility for creating tion within a patch. similar processing as the GM-200 the jewel-case liner, and will burn the New features for MSP 2.0 include Guitar Amp Modeler, along with a files to 74- or 80-minute discs, on ei- expanded support for audio drivers, number of other effects (there are 50 ther Read-only (CD-R) or Read/Write such as ASIO, DirectConnect, in total, with 120 memory slots for (CD-RW) media. The software is ReWire, VST plugins, and Sound creating additional presets). Mixes packaged with its own MP3 player, Manager. MSP is now capable of in- and effects presented to the Output, and is available with “skins” opti- teracting via 512 virtual Input/Out- the PS-02 can be used as a real-time mized for English, French, German, put channels, which can be effects processor for live performance. Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese dynamically remapped to audio de- In addition to its recording capa- traditional, and Chinese simplified. vice channels. The “DSP Status” has bilities, the PS-02 also contains two MP3 CD Maker runs on Pentium been turned into a patcher, which internal tracks of drums and percus- computers (100 MHz minimum, 16 can be customized to control various sion, and an additional track of bass MB RAM) using Windows. audio parameters. The “buffer~” ob- sounds, pre-sequenced with 256 pat- The CD Maker software (Version ject can read/write WAV, com- terns. If desired, newly recorded au- 1.3) costs US$ 29.95 and can be pur- pressed AIFF, AU, and raw data dio can be mixed with the bass and chased online. Contact ZY Comput- audio files (8–64 bits). “Sfplay~” can drum sounds/patterns, and these se- ing, Inc., 111 North Market Street, also read multiple file formats and quences can be output for live per- Suite 600, San Jose, California bit depths, up to 16 channels. No- formance as well. New sounds and 95113, USA; electronic mail table among the new objects is patterns will be available from the [email protected]; World “poly~,” which is a polyphony man- Zoom website. Wide Web www.zy2000.com. ager. This will allow more than one

Products of Interest 97

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/014892601750302606 by guest on 02 October 2021 Figure 12. Screen image of Waves Renaissance Reverberation Soft- ware.

copy of an audio patcher to be The CD8-mLAN enables Yamaha loaded, and provides for dynamic digital consoles (O2R, O3D) to be con- voice assignment and loading, DSP nected to an mLAN network. resource management, and more. These mLAN products all come The “waveform~” object displays with Patch Bay connection manage- buffered audio in graphic form. Also ment software, a mixer control ap- of interest is the spectral-processing plication, and drivers for ASIO and manager, “pfft~,” that does OMS standards. Yamaha is cur- windowing, overlap, and Fourier rently negotiating licensing agree- Transforms. Users who have up- Waves packages are available for ments with a range of audio dated their hardware will be happy both Macintosh (OS 8.5 or higher, hardware manufacturers. Contact to note that MSP has now been opti- PowerPC 200 MHz/96 MB RAM Yamaha Corporation of America, mized for the G4 Velocity Engine. minimum) or Windows (95, 98, or Pro Audio Division, P.O. Box 6600, The Max/MSP package is avail- NT, minimum Pentium 266 MHz/ Buena Park, California 90622, USA; able for US$ 495.00, with Max 4.0 64 MB RAM) computers. The Gold telephone (714) 522-9011; electronic issued separately for US$ 395.00 and TDM Bundle sells for US$ 2,600.00; [email protected]; World Wide Web MSP 2.0 for US$ 295.00. Current the Gold Native Bundle for US$ www.yamaha.com/proaudio. owners may update existing soft- 1,300.00. Contact Waves, 306 West ware for US$ 100.00. Contact Cy- Depot, Suite 100, Knoxville, Ten- cling ’74, 1186 Folsom Street, San nessee 37917, USA; telephone (865) Francisco, California 94103, USA; 546-6115; fax (865) 546-8445; elec- telephone (415) 621-5743; fax (415) tronic mail [email protected]; World 621-6563; electronic mail Wide Web www.waves.com. [email protected]; World Wide Web www.cycling74.com. Yamaha mLAN FireWire Technology Waves Audio Processing Software Version 3 Yamaha has begun marketing its new interface protocol, mLAN, Waves has updated its comprehen- which incorporates the FireWire sive collection of audio processing (IEEE 1394) standard. The ultimate plugins. The new Version 3 packages aim is to enable any audio, video, have been issued in “native” (for MIDI, or computer equipment to be CPU processing, including connected through a single cable. AudioSuite, Realtime AudioSuite, The protocol is designed to operate VST, and Mark Of The Unicorn pro- at a speed of 200 Mbps, and can sup- tocols) or TDM (for Digidesign’s pro- port sampling rates of 44.1/48 kHz prietary digital signal processors) and 16- or 24-bit resolution. formats. Processors have been re- Yamaha recently unveiled three tooled to 48-bit precision and 88.2/96 mLAN products. The mLAN-8P Au- kHz capability. The interfaces have dio/MIDI Processor is capable of 8 au- also been revised, enabling detailed dio inputs/outputs, one-in/two-out graphical control over many of the MIDI. It also contains internal mixing filters. A new Reverberator has been capability (the unit includes a stereo added to the Renaissance collection master output) and digital effects pro- (see Figure 12); the Gold Bundle com- cessing. The mLAN-8E is an expan- prises the entire range of 19 Waves sion board that supports a variety of processors, now including the C4 Yamaha digital musical instruments Multiband Parametric Processor. (S-80, CS6X, CS6R, A4000, A5000).

98 Computer Music Journal

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