Apple iPad 2 now does Garageband!

Apple has announced it’s latest iteration of its popular  iPad and the good news for musicians and  DAW users is that a Garageband app that takes full advantage of the iPad 2 upgraded  performance. Including drum pads, keyboards and guitars that can be strummed, this surely brings  the iPad to the forefront of any electronic musicians and gear junkies wish list.

The garageband app is priced at only $4.99 in the US store.

What is not appearing in the announced update is the must sought after USB port, however the iPad 2  does have a tilt sensor. We’re waiting to see what innovative music apps come out of that.

For more information check out the Apple site here.

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Filed under DAW's, Devices, GarageBand, iPad, Logic

Avid Pro users reign supremme at 53rd Grammy awards

Every year, musicians, producers and audio professionals rely on Avid’s Pro Tools® software and hardware solutions to create breakthrough music enjoyed by millions of people around the world. This year, production teams used Pro Tools systems on every project nominated for Record and Album of the Year, which include Eminem’s Recovery, Cee Lo Green’s “F*** You,” Jay Z’s The Blueprint 3, and Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs. Avid customers are also nominated for GRAMMY Awards in a range of other categories, including every recording nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal, as well as four out of five nominees for Best Pop Vocal, Best New Artist, and Best Male Pop Vocal.

Read the full post on Avids website here.

About Avid

Avid creates the digital audio and video technology used to make the most listened to, most watched and most loved media in the world—from the most prestigious and award-winning feature films, music recordings, television shows, live concert tours and news broadcasts, to music and movies made at home. Some of Avid’s most influential and pioneering solutions include Media Composer®, Pro Tools, Interplay®, ISIS®, VENUE, Oxygen 8, Sibelius®, System 5, and Pinnacle Studio™. For more information about Avid solutions and services, visit www.avid.com, del.icio.us, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube; connect with Avid on Facebook; or subscribe to Avid Industry Buzz.

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Elektron Octatrack – A Machine That Makes Music?

The Octatrack DPS-1 is an 8 track dynamic performance sampler. The Octatrack is ideal for radical audio processing and performance oriented sampling. Every track features real-time pitch scaling & time stretch and the next generation Elektron step sequencer has been designed with maximum usability and efficiency in mind.

Sampling Just Became A True Artform

All music in the film is made with an Octatrack.

Find out more about Octatrack at www.elektron.se

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Filed under Acid, Cubase, DAW's, Devices, FL Studio, GarageBand, Hardware, Live, Logic, Plugins, Pro Tools, Sonar, Studio One

UAD goes Firewire!

UAD Firewire

UAD firewire

NAMM 2011: It’s been a long time coming, but Source is incredibly excited to be able to announce that UAD Plugins are finally coming to the legion of Mac users who only have Firewire ports available. Introducing the UAD-2 Satellite…shipping in the first quarter of 2011!

Launching at NAMM 2011, the UAD-2 Satellite is Universal Audio’s answer to the long-standing request for a Firewire-based UAD Card. No longer must a customer have PCIe slots or an ExpressCard port to be able to use UAD, now anyone with a Firewire 400 or 800 port will be able to bring the class-leading family of UAD plugins to their productions, wherever they go.

The UAD-2 Satellite is a rugged metal enclosure containing either the power of a UAD Duo or UAD Quad card inside. Slim yet reassuringly solid and sporting an illuminated UA logo on the front, the UAD-2 Satellite is powered with an included adapter and provides either FW400 and FW800 connectivity. Full PCIe-equivalent performance is available via FW800, with FW400 provided for total flexibility with a trade-off made in available bandwidth. UAD-2 Satellite will share a FireWire port with an Audio Interface or Hard Drive, again for a trade-off in bandwidth. For more information please visit the Universal Audio site, linked below.

“This is a really exciting announcement, both for UA as a company, and for legions of musicians and engineers wanting to tap into UAD-2 plug-ins via Firewire,” commented Universal Audio President Matt Ward. “The UAD-2 Satellite is a sleek, high-quality product that delivers even higher quality results.”

firewire_back 001

firewire back view

“UAD-2 Satellite is the result of UA listening to our customers, and giving them a processing solution that is both elegant and powerful,” added UA Senior Product Manager Lev Perrey. “Coupled with our roadmap of exciting new plug-ins, we anticipate this product expanding our 40,000-strong UAD user base significantly in the years to come.”

Notable UAD-2 Satellite features include:

• Access the UAD Powered Plug-Ins library on select Firewire 800 and 400 equipped computers
• Compatible with a wide range of modern Intel-based iMacs and MacBook Pros
• Run larger mixes in Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, Nuendo, Performer and more — without taxing host computer CPU
• 5 models to choose from: DUO (Core); DUO Flexi (w/ $500 Plug-In Voucher); QUAD (Core), QUAD Flexi (w/ $500 Plug-In Voucher), and QUAD Omni v.5.7 (w/ 50 UAD plug-ins)

Best of all, the complete line of UAD-2 Satellite DSP Accelerators is shipping in Q1 of 2011 and the price for UAD-2 Satellite is the same as for the equivalent PCIe card!

For all details, FAQs and latest release information on the UAD-2 Satellite, visit UA’s website: http://www.uaudio.com

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Native Instruments Traktor in major new release

Native Instruments have announced a major new release of their popular DJ software:  Traktor Pro 2.

The industry-leading DJ software now comes with TRAKTOR 2 Technology Inside, offering a new level in performance and usability.

  • New: High-res colored TruWave waveforms differentiate between kicks, hi-hats and snares so you can mix your tracks visually.
  • New: redesigned, easy on the eye GUI and layouts, including Essential View for simple external mixer control.
  • New: Capture and layer loops via the Sample Decks, build your own loop libraries and flavor your mix with heavyweight effects.

Audio hardware has also been updated:

The TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 system and the X1 add-on controller provide full hands-on control, total plug & play usability and perfect software-hardware integration.

  • New: Now bundled with new TRAKTOR 2 software for enhanced power and simplicity.
  • Fluid hardware and software integration based on a protocol 30 times more detailed than MIDI ensures amazing tactility and visual feedback.
  • Robust and travel-ready hardware built with the highest-quality components, designed to excel in the toughest club environments.

TRAKTOR AUDIO interfaces are designed for pro DJs, offering additional outputs (e.g, for Sample Decks), pristine, ultra-loud sound and advanced features for mixing with TRAKTOR.

  • New: Audio chips and new drivers guarantee even better sound quality and lower latency.
  • New: Direct Thru mode means TRAKTOR AUDIO interfaces work without a computer, making DJ switchovers a breeze.
  • New: Up to 10 channels – hook up your TRAKTOR effects as a send/return effects unit or route Sample Decks to separate channels..

Download a demo of the new Traktor  Pro 2 here.

Find out more here

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Filed under DAW's, Devices, Hardware, Plugins, Pro Dj