Source Distribution announced its One For The Road rebate on selected PreSonus products. The brand-new summer promotion means that any customer in the UK or Ireland purchasing from the PreSonus FireStudio range between 1 June and 31 August 2008 will be eligible to receive a PreSonus Inspire 1394 mobile recording interface (worth £119) for free.

Free FireWire Mobile recording Interface

Now customers can run one PreSonus recording set-up permanently at home, and another that they can throw in a backpack or gig bag for mixing and recording on the road.

The FireStudio range comprises the original FireStudio 2626 FireWire recording interface, the FireStudio Tube (featuring two channels of tube preamp with analogue limiters), the 24-bit/96k FireStudio Project, and the FireStudio LightPipe ADAT-to-FireWire converter. Any purchase of one of these models from an authorised dealer in the UK or Ireland during the offer period will qualify for the rebate…so check the FireStudio range at Dolphin!

The Inspire 1394 is a pro-quality 24-bit/96k mobile FireWire recording interface designed to operate seamlessly with almost all Mac- and PC-compatible recording software. The unit includes two custom-designed mic preamps with +48V phantom power, two instrument Hi-Z inputs, and a variety of common output options. The Inspire comes complete with Cubase LE4 recording software and the PreSonus ProPak suite of plug-ins, samples and loops. Above all else, the Inspire 1394 is designed to be highly mobile and can be used in almost any recording situation.

To claim their free Inspire 1394, all the FireStudio purchaser has to do is visit the Source Distribution website, download and complete the rebate form, and return it to Source Distribution with their dealer sales receipt and the UPC barcode from the FireStudio product box. Some terms & conditions apply, as detailed on the rebate form.

To download the rebate form, simply visit www.sourcedistribution.co.uk/inspire

The original EDIROL R-09 field recorder won several awards and now the new R-09HR is following in its footsteps, scooping a prestigious Best In Show award at this year’s Summer NAMM…

Edirol R-09HR...the best in show!

This year’s Summer NAMM show in Nashville turned out to be yet another glittering occasion for EDIROL, as the company’s new R-09HR recorder scooped one of the top six Best In Show awards. The annual awards are chosen by six industry experts who rate products based on several factors including innovation, design and ‘must stock’ appeal.
In total 30 products received prizes under various categories but only six made it through to Best In Show, with the R-09HR winning through because of its sound quality, features and computer connectivity.

The EDIROL R-09HR field recorder is the complete recording package and the follow up to the company’s hugely successful R-09 (which has sold well over 100,000 units, and which has also won several awards including the MIA Innovation award). It features a new and improved performance that offers recording up to 24-bit/96kHz, a lower noise
floor, plus an improved battery life. It also features brand new and better quality microphones plus a large Organic Light Emitting Diode display with a wider viewing angle than that on the R-09.

Usefully the unit also has a small speaker fitted to the back to enable personal monitoring of what you have recorded so headphones are no longer required for monitoring purposes. The design of the R-09HR has also been improved with a rubber-coated body for extra grip, improved battery housing, wireless control and a separate desktop stand.

The R-09HR is available now and retails for £247.95 at Dolphin Music.

Key Features of the R-09HR

• Superior sound quality – up to 24-bit/96kHz with lower noise 
• New, high quality microphones 
• Ultra wide view-ability on large OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display
• Preview monitor (small speaker) on the rear panel 
• Wireless Remote Controller included 
• Cakewalk Pyro Audio Creator LE software included – the ideal software for WAV/MP3 editing
• Improved design with firm battery housing and rubber-coated body for better grip
• Small desktop stand included 
• Wide variety of optional accessories provided at launch (see below)
• All R-09 Ver.1.30 features and functions available
• 8GB card compatibility and manual file split

Win 1 of 4 Sample Magic Bundles with Time+Space

And this bundle goes to...you?

To celebrate the release of Sample Magic’s sleaziest, funkiest release to date – Nu Rave – Time+Space are giving away 4 special Sample Magic bundles containing Sunset Sessions, Around the World in 80 Raves, Minimal & Tech House and, of course, Nu Rave to some lucky winners.

To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is answer a simple question - Who founded Sample Magic?

To enter visit: www.timespace.com/competitions/  

The competition is open to anyone, anywhere and the closing date for entries is 31st July. Winners will be announced on or around the 1st August.

G

ood Luck!

It’s a girl-band like no other: there are three of them, they’re called The Tenorions and the only instruments they play are – you guessed it – three Yamaha Tenori-ons!

It’s little wonder that in its short life the Tenori-on has had such a profound impact on music makers the world over. Artists are already creating albums using nothing but the Tenori-on, such is the power contained within that diminutive, brushed-aluminium casing. But Jason Air is taking the Tenori-on concept to a new level. With success in the worlds of Drum & Bass and Hip Hop, his latest venture sees him as the driving force behind the world’s first band to create music exclusively with the Tenori-on. Fittingly, this trio of Oriental techno-heads goes by the name of… The Tenorions.

The band comprises core members Nynn and Cici, who write the uncompromising and driving techno tracks that have already become The Tenorions trademark sound. With increasing bookings for live gigs, third Tenorion Fiona joins them on stage to complete the trio. They’ve recently returned from a tour of Spain and Portugal and have further bookings coming in from around the world. Perhaps their strangest booking to date, but clearly the most high profile, has been a performance on the Paul O Grady Show in April of this year.

Jason puts their initial success down to the popularity of the Youtube videos he posted throughout the Spring, and as a result they’ve garnered coverage in the NME, The Independent, and dozens of tech and music blogs.

Here’s the unbelievable Tenorions appearance on daytime tv, at the Paul O’Grady show:

For Nynn, Cici and Fiona, a lifetime either studying or producing music has prepared them well for life in the Tenorions. To begin with Nynn and Cici would write the tunes, taking responsibility for melody and percussion respectively, but as time has passed they’ve both seen a natural progression towards composing complete tracks in their own right – and all, of course, within the confines of that hand-held silver box.

But just what is it about this unique instrument that’s made the Tenorions and the Tenori-on such a hit with people worldwide? It’s surely no coincidence that the girls are booked to play gigs almost for the rest of this year and into the next.

“I haven’t seen anything like it before,” Nynn tells us. “For us it shows a totally new way of creating music. And it’s so much fun to play – it’s as easy and intuitive to pick up as Nintendo, but the results… well, we’re creating art!”

But, of course, the concept of working within new boundaries comes with a lot of fresh challenges, as Jason is quick to outline.

“It’s totally changed the way we write music, for one thing. It’s nothing like writing in [Apple] Logic, you know! One aspect of Tenori-on that makes it such an instant tool for composing is that there are no filters or complicated plug-ins to program or convoluted menus to navigate. As a result it makes us think of the music in a more ‘musical’ way, if that, er… makes any sense?! It’s really easy to focus on the music and not get so caught up in the production side of making music. Ask any producer with a well-equipped modern studio and they’ll all tell you that it’s pretty easy to get side-tracked by the technology!”

“The great thing about composing with Tenori-on is that it’s all right there at your fingertips. I guess that’s the whole ethos of Tenori-on though. In Japanese it roughly translates to ‘in the palm’, and that’s exactly what the Tenori-on system gives you – a way to create melodies and program rhythms right there in the palm of your hand.”

The Tenori-On is available now

Tenorions Myspace Page

Arturia makes some fine software, and here’s great news for anyone thinking about one of their titles this month! Purchase any Arturia virtual software instrument before September 1st and download one virtual software instrument for free!

This once in a life-time offer will end on August 31st 2008. Once this deal is past, it will never come again. So don’t miss another day and treat yourself to virtual instruments that will open your sonic palette.

How does it work?

1) Purchase one Arturia virtual instrument from a dealere such as Dolphin Music.

2) On the facing of the packaging you will find a voucher holding a promotional code.

3) With this code, just go to the Arturia website and download your free product.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• All products purchased during the time of the promotion ship with a Syncrosoft key. This key is necessary to run the downloaded instrument.
• This offer cannot be combined to any other promotional offer proposed by Arturia or a partner company.

Here’s another cool new release from Numark. They’ve announced the iDEC, a professional rack-mount solution offering playback and recording for iPod.

iDEC allows DJs and musicians to integrate iPod audio and video into any 19-inch equipment rack. With high-performance digital audio and video playback, quality digital audio recording, and a convenient interface, iDEC is an ideal addition to any audio system.

iDEC’s Universal Dock for iPod permits playback of audio and video from any docking iPod through integrated outputs. It can also record incoming audio in real time at CD-quality 44.1 kHz sampling rate, directly to the docked iPod.

DJs, musicians and installation professionals servicing bars, restaurants, houses of worship and large stadiums will appreciate iDEC as the ideal pro-grade solution for audio recording and audio-video playback for iPod.

Key features of iDEC include:

• Large, easy-to-use transport controls and selection wheel 
• Universal dock for iPod syncs directly with iTunes 
• Recording inputs with clip indication make recording to iPod a breeze 
• Record directly to iPod (5th gen & Classic) and iPod nano (2nd or 3rd gen) 
• RCA line inputs (stereo pair) 
• RCA line outputs (stereo pair) 
• S-Video output 
• Composite video output 
• 2RU 19-inch rack-mountable design 
• Solid steel industrial construction

iDEC, the professional audio/video playback and recording integration solution for iPod, will be available from pro audio retailers Q3-2008.

IK Multimedia is proud to announce the release of the Total Guitar & Bass Gear Bundle, IK’s definitive collection of award-winning “Powered by AmpliTube” products with 5 analog-modelled Amp and FX plug-ins: AmpliTube 2, Ampeg® SVX, AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix™, AmpliTube Metal and AmpliTube X-GEAR, bundled together into the ultimate guitar and bass gear collection for both studio and live use.

A massive collection of superior-sounding models with more gear than any other package, giving musicians and producers convenient access to the widest range of guitar and bass amp and FX models on the market: 150 ultra-realistic gear models, 51 stomp-boxes, 26 Preamp and EQ models, 11 Power amps, 33 cabinets, 11 mics and 23 rack effects to create their dream tones.

5 products that work together as the ultimate software/plug-in modular amp and FX system. For the first time, thanks to AmpliTube X-GEAR, all of the supplied “Powered by AmpliTube” products can be opened together in a single software/plug-in environment, so you can mix and match elements from all of the gear models to build a true, custom mega-rig. The Total Guitar & Bass Gear Bundle offers a degree of flexibility and variety in a modular system that’s completely unmatched by any other product today, and which also allows for expandability with future products making a system that will grow over time.

A suite of guitar and bass amps and FX software at home both in the studio and live on stage. Not only is this suite of products perfect for the producer looking for the ultimate gear collection for his studio, but thanks to StompIO (IK’s revolutionary new USB floor controller/audio interface), the software can be totally controlled live with the same feeling as using an advanced multi-FX system, allowing you to have the features of a high-end custom pedal board and much more.

Portability, expandability and ease of use make this combination of software and hardware the most advanced guitar and bass amp and FX system to date for stage use. For less demanding live applications, there’s also built-in MIDI control of all software parameters, allowing you to use any traditional MIDI controller with easy set up thanks to the built-in MIDI learn feature. 

Total Guitar & Bass Gear Bundle includes:

• Over 150 ultra-realistic gear models: 51 stomp-boxes, 26 preamp and EQ models, 11 Power amps, 33 cabinets, 11 mics, 23 rack effects, plus digital tuner
• 5 separate modules: tuner, configurable Stomp pedal board, Amp head, Cabinet + Mic, and Rack Effects
• 2 fully configurable rigs with up to 32 simultaneous effects
• Custom Amp Building – mix and match preamp, EQ & power amp stages to create over 180,00 hybrid amps
• Stand-alone and VST/AU/RTAS plug-in for all popular DAWs
• Includes SpeedTrainer™ for playing along with your favourite recordings
• Powered by AmpliTube® with exclusive DSM™ (Dynamic Saturation Modelling) technology for award-winning sound & realistic feel
• Easy Integration with StompIO, IK’s floor controller/audio interface for the ultimate live multi-FX system or traditional MIDI controllers
• Mac OS X (including Leopard) and XP/Vista compatible

The Bundle is Available now from all the best dealers, including Dolphin Music - view page.

ULTIMATE CONTROL FOR A COMPLETE EXPERIENCE
Without Mackie Control Universal Pro, your music production software just isn’t complete. MCU Pro rounds out your software’s functionality to deliver the ultimate in hands-on command. In fact, your software was designed with MCU Pro in mind. Developers access the MCU Pro via its unique communication protocol — pioneered by Mackie — and determine precisely how MCU Pro works for you. That means MCU Pro integrates with your software like no other hardware controller.

Say goodbye to sub-par responsiveness to your mix adjustments, trying to remember which knobs are assigned to which parameter, and the tedious process of MIDI mapping. With MCU Pro, you get deep, intuitive control of mix and plug-in parameters, real-time visual feedback and set up is plug and play — without any MIDI mapping whatsoever!

And MCU Pro goes far beyond simple faders and transport controls — it gives you the most comprehensive feature set on the market. With nine 100mm Penny + Giles optical touch-sensitive faders, a full-sized backlit LCD and V-Pots for fast tweaking, MCU Pro is the only desktop control surface that can truly make your music production experience complete.

With optional expandability via Mackie Control Extender Pro ender Pro and Mackie Control C4 Pro, MCU Pro is also the only software control surface that can grow with your studio.

DISPLAY FOR DAYS

A control surface isn’t much good if you have to keep looking up at your computer monitor to see the parameters you’re tweaking. That’s why we equipped the Mackie Control Universal Pro with a generous two-line, 55-character backlit LCD to display parameters like track name, channel metering, I/O assignments, plug-ins, EQ, dynamics or anything our various software partners want you to see. Without dividing your attention between control surface and computer monitor, your mixing speed, efficiency and creative control are all distraction-free. And since it’s always a good idea to know where you are in your program material, MCU Pro also sports a big, seven-segment LED timecode display bright enough to jam enemy radar.

Each fader channel also has a genuine Mackie rotary V-Pot, surrounded by an LED collar to indicate the current value, and dedicated buttons for record ready, solo, mute, channel select, and signal present LED. In addition, the master section includes buttons for navigating channels — individually or in banks of eight — as well as for software specific controls like assigning I/O, sends, EQ, dynamics, and plug-ins to name a few.

MASTER OF YOUR APPLICATION
We know it doesn’t matter to you how many applications the Mackie Control Universal Pro works with — what matters is that it works with yours. While MCU Pro is compatible with all major music production software, it is also designed to specifically work with your application — just access your software’s parameters in the master section and you can get right down to action. We even supply pre-labeled Lexan overlays for your application so it not only functions like the MCU Pro was designed for your software alone, it looks that way, too.

MORE OF A GOOD THING: MACKIE CONTROL EXTENDER PRO
The Mackie Control Extender Pro is an eight-channel control surface extender Pro ension for MCU Pro. Slightly narrower than a MCU Pro, the Extender Pro ender Pro has all the channel strip features of the MCU Pro — without the master section. Depending on your music production software support, multiple EExtender Pro ender Pro units can be used together with a MCU Pro to emulate a large-scale control surface with as many faders and pots as desired.

COMPLETELY COMPLETE YOUR CONTROL
The Mackie Control C4 Pro is a plug-in and virtual instrument controller that allows you to take precise control of up to 32 channel, plug-in or virtual instrument and eExtender Pro ernal MIDI hardware parameters simultaneously. C4 Pro operates in standalone mode, or you can easily connect to the MCU Pro via the master module’s onboard USB MIDI interface for complete command of all your software parameters. The included C4 Commander Pro software lets you take control of MIDI hardware such as synthesizers, effects and amp modeling processors, all without leaving the mixing sweet spot

FOR MORE INFO ON THE PRODUCTS FOLLOW LINKS:

Mackie MCU Pro

Mackie Control C4 Pro

Mackie Control Extender Pro

Rack-mountable 8 x 8 USB 2.0 interface brings full-featured studio solution to Fast Track product family

“The Fast Track Ultra is bringing innovative new functionality to users who record in personal studios or on the go,” said Adam Castillo, M-Audio’s marketing director. “The Fast Track Ultra 8R builds on this power and functionality with four additional preamps in a rack-mountable metal chassis, making it ideal for demanding projects. By adding the Fast Track Ultra 8R to the line, M-Audio delivers a Fast Track solution for every recordist, from the professional producer to the entry-level singer/songwriter.”

12 Students, 12,000 Miles and 1 Waste Veggie Oil Powered Bus on a Mission for a Greener Tomorrow. Of course, having a great message to put across is not enough - you gotta say it loud! Here’s the story of the Green Bus and what they brought along to make themselves heard…

Lofty goal? The 12 Dartmouth students who are living and touring on The Big Green Bus would probably agree. However, the intended message is rather simple—educate Americans about climate change and its relationship to energy issues.

This year marks the fourth summer road trip of The Big Green Bus, a green 27’ long 1996 International school bus which has been lovingly converted to run on WVO (waste veggie oil - view diagram). As they traverse the country, the students stop at any place where they can educate people. From festivals and block parties to wind farms and city council meetings, The Big Green Bus is a focal point for promoting high-profile media attention in the communities visited in an effort to spark a national dialogue. So…start talking people!

Mackie believes in the cause and wanted to provide some gear to help spread the message. Two SRM350v2’s and a 1202-VLZ3 enable the students to be heard during presentations and interactions. Bus-rider Trey Roy had the following to say, “We will be heard loud and clear with the two portable Mackie loudspeakers and compact mixer to run our presentations through.”

This setup is really good for those who want a powerful but compact P.A. system. If you’d like more info on this gear visit:

Mackie 1202-VLZ3 page

Mackie SRM350v2 page

a

Visit www.thebiggreenbus.org  to learn more about this inspiring project. You can follow the bus as it travels the country and read the blog, highlighting the progress as the bus rolls on. There’s also some great video content on YouTube. So check it all out and learn what you can do to be a part of the solution.

Hopefully we’ll see more gear manufacturers acting positively to help the planet! Well done, Mackie…