Without fanfare (and before we even got a press release), this morning MOTU posted on its Web site details of Digital Performer 7. We at EM assumed that a new version would be announced by January’s NAMM show, and this news caught us completely by surprise.
For guitarists, the addition of modeled guitar amps and stompboxes will be particularly exciting. The Custom ’59 plug-in emulates three classic guitar amps and isn’t afraid to name names: the Fender Bassman, Marshall JTM45 and Marshall JCM800. You can even mix and match tone stacks and preamp tubes and circuitry to customize your own amp model. Modeled speaker cabinets are the domain of Live Room | G, which emulates five cabs and up to four simultaneous microphones. You also get a nice variety of virtual effects pedals, including a modeled Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer (with user-definable mods), MXR Distortion+, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff ∏, Boss Chorus Ensemble, and Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive.
In the Consolidated Window, DP7’s resizable Channel Strip displays all the mixer settings for whatever track you’re working on, and you can place inline EQ and dynamics right in the mixer channels. Other new functions include consolidated V-Racks, AU instrument sidechains, support for Pro Tools|HD hardware and the ability to print lead sheets. There’s much more to DP7 than I have space to cover here. For additional details, visit MOTU’s DP7 Web pages, where you can read more, watch video clips and listen to audio examples.
DP7 is available now for the retail price of $795, and upgrades from previous versions are $195. You can also crossgrade from other DAWs for $395. Of special note is that for an additional $99, upgrades include MX4 2.2, one of my all-time favorite soft synths, which normally sells for $295. If you don’t have MX4 already, I highly recommend it, especially at this bargain price.
A few minutes ago I learned about Moog Music’s latest product, a less expensive version of the Moog Guitar called the Model E1. Okay, a retail price of $3,495 ($200 more with a tremolo bridge) still isn’t cheap, but it costs considerably less than the only Moog Guitar available before now, the $6,495 Paul Vo Collector Edition. The new production model features the same electronics and all the same capabilities as the original and comes with chrome hardware and in your choice of three finishes. You can read more about the Model E1 here.
I’ve recently read two thought-provoking articles about how the music business has changed. One of them is about how musician Imogen Heap has harnessed the Internet, and social networking in particular, to generate enthusiastic advance publicity for her forthcoming release. The other one is about how the biggest profits in music are now being made by staging concerts rather than by selling records. The music business is in such flux, I can hardly wait to see what happens next.
This morning Apple surprised everyone by announcing major updates to Logic Studio and Final Cut Studio. None of the rumor sites had a clue the announcements were coming. Only a few development partners who were sworn to secrecy were in on it, so it appears that Apple did an especially good job of keeping their news under wraps this time around.
The new Logic Studio comprises Logic Pro 9, MainStage 2, Soundtrack Pro 3, and Compressor 3.5. Logic Pro 9 is all about enhanced workflow, new plug-ins, and new capabilities. Apple says it’s easier than ever to share setups and track content between projects. With a single command, you can now turn a selected audio region into a sampler instrument triggered by its own MIDI track. (I’ve wanted to do that for years.) Enhanced take folders let you edit take regions, color-code your takes, and punch in and out of takes without creating new lanes. With Logic Pro’s collection of Flex Time tools, you can nondestructively manipulate the timing and tempo of audio events in real time, using algorithms tailored to specific track types. Quickly quantize audio, apply varispeed, and slice drum tracks. You can even export selected audio tracks from one project to another with automatic tempo matching.
Two of Logic Pro’s new plug-ins, Amp Designer and Pedalboard, emulate real gear that includes 25 amps, 25 cabinets, 30 stompboxes, and more. One standout feature of Pedalboard is the ability to rearrange effects in any order you wish. More than 450 new impulse responses for Space Designer deliver warped effects for new audio-processing possibilities. Additional new features in Logic Pro 9 include Drum Replacer and the Voices Jam Pack, which previously was only available separately.
In MainStage 2, the new Playback plug-in plays backing tracks you can trigger while performing live. With the Loopback plug-in, you can build loop-based jams by endlessly layering your live performances. Now you can more easily record your performances and change multiple parameters with a single MIDI controller. MainStage 2 also offers full ReWire support.
One of the new features in Soundtrack Pro 3, Voice Level Match, takes the volume data from one audio clip and applies it to another to correct mismatched volume levels. An improved File Editor lets you make changes to specific audio events without affecting simultaneous audio in other frequency ranges. Advanced Time Stretch gives you three new algorithms for stretching and compressing audio.
For thousands of Logic Studio users and for me personally, this news is particularly exciting. I look forward to getting my hands on the update and putting it through its paces. Look for a review by Len Sasso in a future issue of EM.
Like most Apple software, Logic Studio is for Mac OS X only. It’s available now for $499, and upgrades are $199. For more information, point your browser to apple.com.
As major record labels become less relevant in the face of their own greed, where do independent recording artists turn for financial backing? Yesterday’s New York Times had a fascinating article on a new company that wants “to invest a few hundred thousand dollars in new and rising artists who are not signed to record deals.” (To read the article, you may need to register for free access.)
I’m stunned at the lack of news from Summer NAMM. I was planning to go (had my hotel reservations and everything), when I noticed that very few major manufacturers would be exhibiting. I also discovered that unless they lived in Nashville, most of my friends in the audio business would be sitting this one out, too. So I decided to join the teaming masses that weren’t going and canceled my reservations. This is only the second Summer NAMM I’ve missed in more than 20 years.
Did I make the right decision? As it turns out, I think I did. We’ve gotten very few press releases announcing new products at NAMM, especially products of interest to personal studio owners. I keep waiting for new product announcements in my email inbox that never come. Sure, there are plenty of new guitar straps and strings, and even a few new guitars and amps, but that stuff just doesn’t hold my interest, certainly not for three days, and not like new software and studio gear. My only regrets are that I won’t get to catch up with my friends who will be there, and I’m sure I’ll miss some wonderful musical performances. I expect the economy to be flourishing by this time next year (I sure hope so, anyway), and if Summer NAMM itself survives this year’s disappointing numbers, I’ll be back.
Update: A couple days after the show, NAMM announced that 12,697 people were registered to attend, a 26 percent drop from last summer. I wonder how many of those, like I did, registered but didn’t actually attend. A total of 383 companies exhibited, and 145 of those were new exhibitors.
I’m the kind of guy who’s always looking for bargains, and when I find them, I just can’t wait to tell my friends about them. From what I’ve seen so far, this is fast becoming the summer of savings for musicians and recordists. Today I spotted two such bargains, and the first one is just plain unbelievable.
PSPaudioware’s Nitro has long been one of my favorite multi-effects plug-ins. It excels at sophisticated filter and modulation effects. PSP Nitro normally sells for $149, but for the next month, you can get it for $10 from online retailer audioMIDI.com. That’s right, I said $10. If you want to know more about Nitro, you can read our October 2004 review.
If hardware is more to your liking, take a look at Yamaha’s KX61 Keyboard Studio Controller. It has assignable knobs and integrates well with software instruments and DAWs. It even comes with a software suite that includes VST instruments and a collection of samples. Its retail price is $499, but while they last, Musician’s Friend is blowing them out for just $169.99.
The last time I saw Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction play on the same stage was at Lollapalooza in 1991. Now they’re touring together again for NINJA 2009. They played in Charlotte on the night before they appeared at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival 2009. Trent Reznor and company performed second in the lineup that night. I took these shots of NIN shortly after they took the stage. (Click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of each photo.)
The opening act on the NINJA 2009 tour is Street Sweeper Social Club, featuring guitarist Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, and singer/rapper Boots Riley from political rap group The Coup. Like the photos of Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction, I took these shots on June 12 in Charlotte, NC. (If you click on the thumbnails, you’ll see larger versions of each photo.)
One of the hottest tours in the U.S. this year is NINJA 2009, produced by Live Nation and featuring Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction. I attended last night’s show at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte, where I took some photos I want to share with you. Here I’m posting a few shots of Jane’s Addiction, to be followed in the next couple days by pictures of Nine Inch Nails and opening act Street Sweeper Social Club. (If you click on the thumbnails, you’ll see larger, higher-res versions of each photo.)
The Bus, EM's editorial blog, features posts from all the EM editors on topics related to gear, recording techniques and much more. It's also home to posts from a selected group of guest bloggers.
