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A few topics today... 1) The new DigiFreq logo! I've designed a new logo for DigiFreq, and I'd like your opinion on it. Click here to let me know what you think. Thanks! 2) Selling CDs Online: A Three-Pronged Approach. Click here to read this new MusicDish article. 3) New announcements from Sonic Foundry and Electronisounds in News. Have a great weekend! |
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Independent Musicfest 2002 "Music! Music! Music! Like a little of this style and a lot of that? We have it all as the Tennessee State Fairgrounds come alive once again with Independent MusicFest 2002 to be held in Nashville, TN June 12-15." Click here for more info. And check out the new announcements from FXpansion and Kenfen in News. |
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Free Harmonica Lessons "Harmonica Lessons.com - the complete online instruction manual - benefits harmonica players of all ages, levels, and styles. The site is especially geared toward beginning harmonica players, with emphasis on harmonica selection, basic playing techniques, and step-by-step instruction for advancement. Even beginners can learn to play like their favorites: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, John Popper (Blues Traveler), Paul Butterfield, Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Sonny Boy Williamson, James Cotton, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, or Bruce Springsteen." |
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BMG Music Search "BMG Music Publishing has launched BMG MusicSearch, the first global online search engine for both popular and production music designed for the film, television, advertising and multimedia professional. The revolutionary search utility and license request tool is located at BMG MusicSearch." Also, new product announcements from Sonic Implants, NTONYX, and PG Music in News. |
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"Windrift Songwriting Competition 2002 Who can enter? Aspiring or proficient songwriters (self-published or unpublished) who are looking for a chance to get their material recorded and/or published. Send a cassette/CD of one (1) song, including typed lyric sheet, along with the completed entry form to Windrift Music." Also, new announcements from Emagic, SonicEmulations, Code Audio, Spectrasonics, Applied Acoustics, and MusicLab in News. |
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Hey, I just found a deal that many of you may be interested in... Sonic Foundry's ACID Latin 2.0 for Windows has been discontinued, but Mars Music still has some units in stock. So, they are blowing them out for a mere $0.99. Yes, that 99 cents! If you want to get going with loop composing, this might be a good place to start. I think their supply is limited, although I don't know by how much. In any case, you can find more info on the deal by clicking here. Also, check out the new announcements from Applied Acoustics Systems and TC Works in News. |
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I finished sending out issue 13 today. If you didn't receive your copy, the problem could be one of two things: 1) Your e-mail inbox was full, in which case I couldn't send you any messages. But not to worry, you can go to the Issues section of the site, and download the issue manually. 2) You have a musician.net e-mail address. Musician's Friend owns the musician.net e-mail service, and it seems they are not allowing me to send e-mail to anyone on their service. I have no idea why. I have never sent spam to anyone, and I never will. So basically, if you have one of these e-mail addresses, you didn't get your copy of the DigiFreq newsletter. It also means that Musician's Friend is censoring/filtering your e-mail without you knowing it! I would drop them like a hot potato if I were you, and get yourself a different e-mail address. That's all I have to say about that. |
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Issue 13 has been published! Here's what you'll find in this issue: 1. Scott's Notes - DigiFreq Discussions 2. DFreqCONTEST - Pluck (guitar sample loops) 3. DFreqDEALS - iZotope Ozone Mastering Software 4. DFreqNEWS - The Grand, Cool Edit Pro 2, Samplitude 6, and more 5. DFreqDISCUSS - Sorting Data in the Event List View? 6. DFreqFEATURE - Get the Most from General MIDI 7. DFreqSHAREWARE - MP3 Workshop and Awave Studio 8. DFreqFREEWARE - Finale NotePad and PSP VintageMeter 9. DFreqBUYWARE - Magix Sound Pool Collection 5 10. DFreqREVIEWS - Ozone, Pluck, REAKTOR 3 11. DFreqTIP - Setting the Sound Blaster SoundFont Cache 12. DFreqFUN - GetMusic Karaoke 13. DFreqNEXT - Optimizing your Audio PC To read this issue, you need to be a subscriber. If you're not already, just fill in the subscription form at the top of this page. It's free! |
| "When you listen to a song on the radio, you know it’s been mastered in a professional studio. But because of cost, that is not a viable alternative for most independent musicians. Instead, many musicians try to do their own mastering but with mixed results. That’s where a tool like Ozone from Izotope may be able to help." Read my write-up of Ozone in Reviews. |
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"Submissions are currently being sought for this years ASCAP Foundation Extended East Coast Songwriters' Workshop. Each applicant must send a tape or CD containing two original songs with typed or neatly written lyric sheets, along with a brief resume or bio along with a statement explaining as to why he or she would like to participate in the Workshop. Send to: ASCAP, Extended Songwriters Workshop, One Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY 10023. Deadline for submissions is March 15, 2002. For further information on the Songwriters Workshop, please call (212) 621-6416." Also, new announcements from NoteHeads, MAGIX, Steinberg, and Syntrillium in News. |
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"Nero Puts 'Speed' Back into Burning Following the quality and success of Nero CD Recording software, the Nero Toolkit promises to continue that tradition with a complete suite of utilities comprising four different applications: Nero CD Speed, Nero DVD Speed, Nero Drive Speed, and the latest addition, the Nero Info Tool. Nero Toolkit is an indispensable utility suite used by everyone from CD/CDR/DVD drive manufactures to the average PC user. It is available free of charge for download from www.cdspeed2000.com." And more announcements from Iomega, Syntrillium, ProMusic Press, crusherX, and Symbolic Sound in News. |
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MP3 Insider: Time to fight back "Many of the newer CDs being sold today feature special protection that prevents them from working with certain software, playing on computers, or sometimes being played at all. But savvy consumers are working together to let each other know which CDs include the annoying technology. Get the scoop in this edition of CNET's MP3 Insider." And more announcements for you to peruse from Steinberg, Cakewalk, Native Instruments, and Broderbund in News. |
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In case you haven't already noticed, the new DigiFreq Discussion area is now operational. It looks great. It feels great. It's just plain awesome. At least, that's what people tell me. :-) Since the new area opened, I've added a few new features... 1) the total number of topics is shown at the top of the Topic List (say that 10 times fast, if you can). 2) the total number of messages in each topic is shown beside each topic title (yet another tongue twister). 3) and best of all, there's a new search feature, so instead of having to browse through all the topics in the list, you can narrow things down a bit by typing in a keyboard or phrase. Cool, no? Go to the Discussion area and check it out. I'll see ya there! Also be sure to read the new announcements from Native Instruments, Sonic Foundry, and Synfactory in News. |
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Steinberg has released a new version of Cubase (Cubase VST PC 5.1r2PB1). Mainly there are a number of bug fixes, such as the exporting audio problem, the Mastertrack Windows sizing, auto-crossfade clicks, and more. Halion user's will also find that the Edit Audio In Cubase function now works properly. For more info and to download the update, click here. And there are lots of new announcements from Synchro Arts, Digital Innovations, Amphony, and Stomp in News. |
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What will they think of next? Check this out... "Fuji Photo Film introduced a luminous addition to its data storage product line – Glow Discs. The new discs are an expansion of Fujifilm’s existing choice of CD-Recordable media products. Offering the same reliability and quality of the original 80-minute 700-MB capacity and the 1X to 32X write speed discs, the Glow Discs offer an eye-catching alternative to storing your favorite MP3s." Just think, if you have a bad burn, you can start a collection of glow-in-the-dark cup coasters. Pretty cool. :-) Click here for more info about the Glow Discs. And check out the new announcements from Steinberg, Stomp, and Best Software Design in News. |
| A little fanfare please... the new DigiFreq Dicussion area is here! After the server crash I mentioned a few days ago, the site was back up fairly quickly but unfortunately the old discussion board was damaged beyond repair. So I decided to pull a few all nighters and get the new board up and running. You should have seen my fingers flying across the computer keyboard, spewing out programming code onto the screen like there was no tomorrow. :-) It's funny how necessity can give you a good kick in the pants. And I'm glad "she" did because the new board really turned out well, if I do say so myself. I hope you think so too. For more details, check out my Welcome message. Thanks for all your patience, and I hope you enjoy the new board! |
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I really have to apologize for the recent web site downtime. Here's what happened... late Sunday night my web host provider had a server crash. The DigiFreq site just so happened to be on that particular server, and they weren't able to get it back up and running again until late Monday afternoon. They're going to give me a credit towards my monthly service payment, but I know that doesn't make up for all the time the site was inaccessible. Believe me, I missed my daily DigiFreq fix too. :-) To make matters worse, the Discussion area is still having problems. You can read messages but you can't post messages, and the search isn't working either. They hope to have things fixed later today. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience. I'm working as fast as I can on the new Discussion area, which won't have these types of posting and searching errors. In the meantime, I have some more News for you to peruse from Roxio, LinPlug, Voyetra, and MusicLab. |
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Happy New Year! I've spent the past couple days catching up on e-mail and discussion board posts after taking some time off for the holidays, but now I'm back in action. I foresee 2002 as being a great year for DigiFreq and all the Digifreqers out there. We'll soon have a new discussion area, a links area, more DigiFreq deals, and plenty of more cool and exciting contests. Thank you all for your continued support, and here's to a great new year! The next issue of DigiFreq will be published shortly (probably sometime next week). In the meantime, for your reading pleasure, I've posted a write-up of a new guitar sample loop CD called Pluck in the Reviews section. And there are some brand spanking new announcements from PowerFX, Berklee Press, Virsonix, and Native Instruments in News. |
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I'll be away this week for the holidays, so you probably won't see much of me online. But I'll be back next week with more news, reviews, and the next issue of DigiFreq. I'll also be announcing the winners of the Plasma contest, so if you haven't signed up for your free subscription to DigiFreq yet, click here to do it now! :-) Happy Holidays! |
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"Cooch Music has launched it's third Amateur Songwriting Contest! Songwriters are now able to enter a contest that is aimed for amateurs only! Songs are to be judged on originality, lyrics, melody and composition. Quality of performance and production will not be considered. Entries must be postmarked on or before Dec 31st!" Click here for more info on how to enter. And some new announcements from Sibelius, CenDyne, SpinAudio, and Native Instruments in News. |
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Personally, I like working with my PC to create and record music. Some people, however, like to work with dedicated digital audio workstation products. If this is your preference, and you're on the lookout for a new DAW, you may want to check out the DAW Buyer's Guide. This site provides information about the whole range of digital audio workstations, including turnkey systems, card and/or software packages, disk-based multitracks and tapeless recorders. And I've posted some more announcements from Tascam, MusicLab, Sound Quest, MOTU, and Electronisounds in News. |
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"CNET reviews 7 CD-creation apps. Whether you're an amateur mix master or a self-promoting musician, these seven apps claim to make it easy to burn music, video, or data to your own CDs. But although their prices are similar, their functionality differs widely. Read on to find the answers to your burning questions..." Click here. And, read the new announcements from D-Link, Sounds Logical, Arboretum, and M-Audio in News. |
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"What gives? All you want is a spindle of CD-Rs, but as soon as you walk into a store, you're confronted with an aisle full of different types of CD-Rs. There's an endless variety--silver, gold, 8X, 16X, certified, noncertified, cheap, expensive--and the list goes on." Click here to find out what the differences are between them (and why you should care) in CNET's CD-R media feature. Also, check out the new announcements from Event Electronics, Digigram, Mackie, and Sonic Foundry in News. |
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"Now in its sixth year, NEMO Music Showcase & Conference attracts thousands of participants from all sectors of the music industry who converge on Boston to network and exchange information about today's new music and the current issues facing the music industry. NEMO hosts two days and three nights of events, including panels, clinics, workshops, mentor sessions, a Trade Show exhibition area, and more than 200 artist showcases." For more information about submitting your music for showcase consideration, click here. Also, see the new announcements from Echo Audio, Wave Digital, eMedia, Tascam, and Earthworks in News. |
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"The 2002 USA Songwriting Competition is currently accepting entries. Win great prizes such as Guitars, Mixers, Audio/MIDI software, and microphones. Also, winning songs will be featured on a nationally syndicated radio program serving over 60 cities in the US and Canada, courtesy of Acoustic Café. Click here to obtain an entry form. And be sure to check out the new announcements from e.Digital, M-Audio, Native Instruments, LinPlug, and TC Works in News. |
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If you're using Cubase 5 and you recently downloaded the new 5.1 update, you may be wondering where to find the documentation that covers the new features. It wasn't included in the upgrade download, so you have to download it separately from the Steinberg FTP site. And if you're into software synthesis, then you'll definitely want to check out my write-up of REAKTOR 3 in Reviews. Finally, be sure to read the new announcements from PG Music, Hudson Music, TC Works, and Symbolic Sound in News. |
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I won't have a chance to attend this event, but I figured you might want to know about it... "The Audio Engineering Society is proud to present the 111th Convention in New York City. Join us at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, November 30 - December 3, where we will celebrate the spirit that continues to drive our industry ahead into the future! The largest exhibit of professional audio equipment in the world
we are especially pleased to present more than 300 manufacturers at this year's convention. Don't miss your chance to see the latest in today's cutting edge audio technology and network with thousands of today's leading audio professionals." Click here for more information. And I've posted some new announcements from Bantam, Native Instruments, Sonic Reality, SpinAudio, and Pocket Fuel in News. |
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For those of you that celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you had a nice holiday. Now it's time to get back to making music. :-) Speaking of which... "Neuroscientists often study how we hear and play music because it is one of the few activities that use many functions of the brain, including memory, learning, motor control, emotion, hearing and creativity, said Dr. Robert Zatorre of the Montreal Neurological Institute. The research offers insight into the inner workings of the brain and shows that musicians' brains are uniquely wired for sound, researchers said at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience." Click here to read the rest of the article. Also, check out the announcements from Arturia, Hal Leonard Publications, and M-Audio in News. |
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Happy Thanksgiving! I will be off for the next four days to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday here in the USA. But I won't leave you empty handed... If you're looking for sound effects for your next audio production, check out the Free Sound Effects Guide. Just be careful about using sounds that may be copyrighted. The site doesn't do a good job of stating whether or not the sounds are free for commercial purposes or only for personal use. Also check out the free sound effects section of the Media-Tracks web site. If you need to create your own CD labels, CD panel inserts, or CD inlays, check out the graphics section of the DataDisc web site. They provide free templates for download. And, check out the new announcements from DigiTech, MusicLab, Digidesign, and Sonic Foundry in News. See ya on Monday the 26th! :-) |
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Have you ever asked yourself... "How reliable my copied disks are? Will they be readable in the far future? Have I obtained the best possible results by using my existing CD recorder? Which is the best CD-R disk type I can use for obtaining the most reliable copies by using my CD recorder?" If so, then you might want to check out the CDR disc tests over at DigitalDrives. Those of you using SoundFonts are always interested in hearing about good quality Fonts, right? Especially if they're free. :-) Check out PersonalCopy.com. "You'll find quality soundfonts here, but not quantity." Also note: "These soundfonts are offered free for non-commercial use." And I've got some new announcements for you from Funkyseagull, Bias, Roxio, and Digidesign in News. |
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