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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.
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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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Issue 12 has been published! Here's what you'll find in this issue:
1. Scott's Notes - DigiFreq Deals
2. DFreqCONTEST - Plasma
3. DFreqNEWS - Live, NTONYX, SparkME, e.Digital, Encore, and more
4. DFreqDISCUSS - Gate Effect with Trigger Input
5. DFreqFEATURE - Nix the Noise from Your Recordings
6. DFreqSHAREWARE - Pristine Sounds 2000 & AudioMulch
7. DFreqFREEWARE - DXMan & AutoTune
8. DFreqBUYWARE - Sound Forge 5
9. DFreqREVIEWS - Plasma, 3DDelays, LiveSynth, and LX6
10. DFreqTIP - Vary Your Vocals with Sound Forge
11. DFreqFUN - Dictionaraoke
12. DFreqNEXT - Getting More from General MIDI
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!
Also, check out the announcements from Dissidents and NTONYX in News.
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If you're using Steinberg's Cubase, you'll be happy to know that they've recently released the 5.1 update for all three versions: VST, VST Score, and VST/32. There are some new modules and effects, along with a number of bug fixes. You can download the free update here.
And if you're interested in Cakewalk's new Plasma software, check out the write-up I've posted in Reviews.
I've also posted some announcements from NTONYX and Vintage Audio in News.
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IK Multimedia recently released version 1.1 of the free version of their SampleTank product. As it says on their site, "SampleTank FREE is a fully working freeware version of SampleTank 1.1 offering all the advantage of the full version (including 16 channels multitimbrality, up to 128 notes polyphony, 4 effects per voice selectable from amongst 20 DSP effects, PIII and G4 optimization and multiprocessor compatibility) and it will able to play a range of free instruments which will be published and updated monthly here." Sounds pretty cool to me. I haven't actually had a chance to try it yet, but I figured you might want to know about it. You can click here to download it. Then be sure to post your thoughts in the DigiFreq Discussion board.
Also, I've posted some announcements from NTONYX and SoUnDEnGiNe.com in News.
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Hmmm... let's see. What's happening today? Oh, yeah... the new 5.0e update for Sound Forge is now available for free download! :-) It fixes a number of bugs, and adds support for ACID 3 as well as Windows XP.
Although I mentioned this yesterday, it's worth mentioning again. I've posted a review of 3DDelays from SpinAudio. It's a very cool product. Check it out.
I've also posted some announcements from TASCAM, M-Audio, Native Instruments, and TC Works in News.
Have a great weekend!
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Remember a few issues back I mentioned trying to get some discounts from manufacturers that were arranged specifically for DigiFreqers? Well, I'm proud to announce the first two DigiFreq Deals!
All DigiFreqers can now get 20% off the LiveSynth Pro DXi and 10% off the 3DDelays/Spin Audio Pro Bundle. I've posted reviews of each product, and at the bottom of each review page is a special link that will allow you to receive the special discounts. I hope you enjoy them, and there will be more to come!
Thanks for all your continued support, and for being a part of the DigiFreq family!
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Hey DigiFreqers! I've just launched my latest newsletter and web site. It's called NewTechReview. It's similar in format to DigiFreq but while DigiFreq is dedicated to covering music technology, NewTechReview covers other new technology such as computer hardware/software, high-tech gadgets, etc. I figured that since you're interested in music technology, you'd probably be interested in other technology as well. So check out the NewTechReview web site and be sure to sign-up for the free newsletter!
Also, check out the announcements I've posted from Sony, e.Digital, and Steinberg in News.
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Many people have been wondering what happened to the Cakewalk Newsgroups. They're still there and in the same place, although it may seem like you can't access them. Why? Because behind the scenes, Cakewalk moved the newsgroups to new servers, but the name of the server and the newsgroup names remain the same. So how do you access them now? You need to reset your newsgroup subscriptions. Using your newsgroup reader software, simply unsubscribe to all the Cakewalk newsgroups, and then resubscribe again. That should get you back in action.
Of course, you can also post your music technology questions in the DigiFreq Discussion area. :-) I'll see ya there.
In the meantime, there's more announcements for you from MusicLab, Steinberg, and Midiman in News.
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Hey! Are there any DigiFreqers out there living in Florida, USA that like to party? :-) If so, you might want to check out the Audio Playground Synthesizer Museum Analogue Heaven Party. They are celebrating their 10 year anniversary. The party is open to the public but it won't be happening until the 25th and 26th of May 2002 (next year). I figured you might want to know about it ahead of time though. :-) For more information, go to their site.
In the meantime, check out the new announcements from TDK, GVOX, and Bias in News.
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Another update patch has been released for Cakewalk's Sonar software. I guess the 1.3 release caused a few problems for some people. I'm glad Cakewalk was quick to release this fix. Sonar is now up to version 1.3.1. You can grab the update in the downloads section of the Cakewalk web site. This update provides the following fixes:
* "Not a Cakewalk format file" error when loading certain SONAR 1.3 projects. Users who have experienced this can open their files in 1.3.1.
* Abnormal program termination while previewing in the Loop Explorer view.
* Missing right-button context menu in the Staff View.
* Abnormal program termination when exiting the Step Record dialog box.
* Prevent negative crop duration's from being stored.
I've also got some more announcements for you from Imation, Ableton, Cakewalk, and MultiLoops in News.
Happy Halloween! :-)
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Are you using Cakewalk's PYRO software for your CD burning tasks? If so, then you should be aware that there is now a free 1.5 update available for download from their site. But it won't be free for long, so grab it now while you can. After November 5th, you will have to pay $9.95 to get the update. This update provides a number of features including:
* Supports Windows 2000, Win XP, Win ME (Pyro 1.5 does not support Win 95)
* Burns MP3 data CD's (stores files in MP3 or WMA format)
* Resizable window - great if you have a big monitor or a high screen resolution.
* Supports almost all CD-R drives with new technology
* Many bug fixes
Also, more announcements are waiting for you from TEAC, SpinAudio, PSP, Sonic Foundry, and MultiLoops in News.
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