The Top 10 Music Technology Websites On The Web

1.  SOUND ON SOUND

http://www.soundonsound.com/

SOUND ON SOUND has consistently remained at the forefront of music technology since it was launched on Channel 4 TV’s The Tube in 1985 by the visionary SOS Publications Group, championing the convergence of MIDI, computer technology and recording equipment that continues to revolutionise the music production industry today.

The magazine is excellent and the website is no exception!

2. YOU TUBE

Youtube can teach you lots of useless and wondeful things, music technology and software is no exception. If you have query or a problem simply ask yOUTUBE and chances are 14YRD old from  Milwaukee will tell you eveything you need to know!2 Audio tuts+

3. Audio Tuts+

Audiotuts+ is an in depth blog for musicians, producers and audio junkies! It features tutorials on the tools and techniques to record, produce, mix and master tracks. Audiotuts+ also features weekly articles for the music obsessive. Our commisisoned tutorials are written by industry experts and professionals, but anyone with an awesome skill to showcase can contribute a post and  pay $150 if we publish it.

4. MUSIC RADAR

Like a few of the sites who are on this list, Musicradar.com is not exclusively about guitars, but a good amount of their features, including news, reviews and tutorials focus on guitars and are all of excellent quality, making this another essential stop. And their lists of the most outrageous guitars are simply hilarious…check them out!

5. REMIX MAG

Endles resource of information. Remix educates DJs, engineers, producers, and performers of electronic music about the latest applications and new products specific to the electronic and urban music markets. Remix is the premier consumer magazine in North America dedicated 100 percent to the tools, techniques, and production syles of electronic and urban artists

6. HARMONY CENTRAL

Harmony Central is generally a great place for anyone interested in any sort of musical gear info: tons of resources including news, reviews and forums about synths, souncards, software and much more. Great user reviews section!

7. SYNTHTOPIA

Synthtopia is a portal devoted to electronic music.There are lots of electronica sites, but they all seem to cover one tiny aspect of electronica: trance, classical electronic music, dance, or synthesizers. Synthtopia covers it all.

8.  eMUSICIAN

EM is the premiere resource for musicians interested in personal-music production. EM consistently publishes the most “how-to” applications and reviews-a real benefit for the recording musician. Our editors react quickly to changes in the industry to deliver the in-depth technical expertise and tools necessary to successfully use new concepts and technology.Being an American publication  this could be the first place you hear news!4 http://www.kaosaudio.com

Kaos Audio is a huge database of audio software and news, books, synth presets, samples and loops libraries, video software, links, interesting free soft and much more for all the audiophiles out there.

9. KAOSS AUDIO

Kaos Audio is a huge database of audio software and news, books, synth presets, samples and loops libraries, video software, links, interesting free soft and much more for all the audiophiles out there.

10. COMPUTER MUSIC

CM and its similar sites (Futuremusic etc) have  vast array of reviews articles and good image content

The Top 6 New Features of Cubase 5

The new version of Cubase has landed with some pretty impressive new features that will be interesting to both new and seasoned users alike. Let’s take a look at a few ground-breaking features the new version has to offer and see if these latest additions keep Cubase up there with the other big guns.

Step 1 – Loopmash

There are three new rhythm based devices included with Cubase 5 which hugely expand the application’s potential when it comes to constructing your own beats. Two of these instruments are drum programming tools and another is a loop manipulation plug-in.

First we’ll look at ‘Loopmash’ which is obviously the loop based instrument out of the three. Steinberg claim this is a ‘first of its kind, interactive loop synthesizer’. A quick glance at the interface will certainly confirm that Steinberg are trying to introduce a new element into Cubase.

The GUI style is similar to some of the newer instruments and plug-ins we saw introduced in Cubase 4. On loading Loopmash you are presented with eight ‘tracks’, the slots within these tracks are designed to represent slices of loops you load into them.

Loopmash

You can load loops into Loopmash in a few different ways. The instrument supports drag and drop, so samples can simply be dropped onto its interface from either the media bay, the project window or from your system’s desktop or finder. This appears to work very well and load times are quick.

Once multiple loops are loaded, Loopmash will give you an alternative take on your audio by switching different slices from various parts of each loop. Loopmash looks for slices with similar dynamic signatures and plays them in place of others. The result is a brand new groove with endless variation.

The whole thing syncs with Cubase’s master clock, so everything you do here will be locked with your project. There are a good number of presets, with audio loops included to get you started or you can use your own material if you prefer. This certainly looks promising — but is it a useful addition to Cubase or just a loop toy? You decide.

Step 2 – Groove Agent ONE

Moving on we come to ‘Groove Agent ONE’, a bit more of a traditional instrument that looks to be Steinberg’s answer to Logic’s Ultrabeat or possibly a virtual MPC. This is a drum machine with some nice editing features that loads AIF, WAV and MPC formats. Each sound loaded can be edited independently, using the device’s internal filters and other sound processing tools.

Groove Agent has a couple of really nice little tricks up its sleeve, including the ability to span samples across its pads by simply dropping grooves onto its interface. MIDI can be generated the other way too and dropped onto midi tracks in the project window.

Groove Agent ONE

Step 3 – Beat Designer

Working in conjunction with Groove Agent ONE, the new ‘Beat Designer’ is an advanced step sequencing system, allowing you to program beats in true drum machine style.

It’s pretty straightforward and transparent but definitely adds a new slant to programming your beats in Cubase. It comes with loads of preset patterns and the ability to switch between patterns easily using keys on your MIDI keyboard.

Beat Designer

Step 4 – New pitch correction and vocal tools

Most DAWs only provide pretty basic pitch correction tools as standard, if any at all. Steinberg are set to up the ante here with a couple of really tasty pitch based tools. For many this will be one of the most important updates of the lot.

One of the two pitch based updates is called ‘VariAudio’ and is going to prove extremely useful to Cubase users who work with vocals a lot. It is built right into the sample editor and allows the user to edit monophonic audio performances in a very similar way to MIDI.

Steinberg’s new VariAudio

Timing pitch and length can be easily edited by moving colored blocks. The pitch and timing of each section can be quantized as can the pitch of an entire part. Other elements such as vibrato and glide can also be transformed with a few clicks. And all this takes place with next to no artifacts, so your original audio should be left pretty much intact.

Honestly, the whole thing looks amazingly similar to the successful Melodyne products, so this may not be as ground breaking as you may think — but the fact it is built right into the audio editor is the impressive part, and this could become an essential tool for a lot of users. Now all we need is for the other DAW manufacturers to follow suit.

The second pitch based update is a new VST3 plug-in called ‘PitchCorrect’. This is not miles away from pitch correction plug-ins in other DAWs or some third party products you may already own. Saying that, it is a nice processor with a slick interface and an impressive sound. The algorithm is based on Yamaha’s ‘Pitchfix’ technology.

The new PitchCorrect plug-in

Step 5 – New Reverb Plug-in

Although the algorithm based ‘Roomworks’ plug-in was a breath of fresh air to many users, a lot of people have been in need of a high quality convolution reverb for some time. REVerence could very well be the answer to your prayers if this was on your wish-list.

REVerence boasts 70 fresh convolution impulses and realistic natural space simulation from small rooms to huge outdoor environments. This can all be done in stereo or full surround flavors. As you can see the interface is really impressive and shows a picture of the location the impulse was recorded and also gives you a read out of the waveform data.

The newly added REVerence convolution reverb

Step 6 – Automation handling and enhanced media bay

The way Cubase 5 handles automation has been updated with a new automation control panel. This allows intricate control over every aspect of your automation recordings and allows the user to lock certain parameters from being changed. This should prove to be very useful when dealing with high track counts.

The new automation panel makes it easy to home in specific automated parameters

The MediaBay section of Cubase also gets a boost with improvements to its search filter, write protection system and the way search results are displayed.

These are just some of the key elements that have been updated and there are a huge number of other improvements in Cubase 5. Some other interesting things to mention are the upcoming 64 bit version of the application for OS X, and support for Vista’s new WASAPI super low-latency audio driver technology. All of these things should certainly make Cubase 5 a contender for one of the best DAWs of 2009.

from Audiotuts+ by Mo Volans

Watch the Dolphin Music Cubase 5 Event  Here..

Cubase 5 Features Workshop with Steinberg Part 1

Cubase 5 – Advanced Music Production System

Dolphin Music recently had the opportunity of hosting the Cubase 5 tour. This evening offered  a one off workshop demonstrating the new advanced features of Cubase. Held in the sumptuous surroundings of the Leaf Cafe, Liverpool, we were one of the first to hear of all the exciting new additions to the worlds already most renowned sequencer.

Cubase 5 comes with fully integrated new tools for working with loops, beats and vocals, such as LoopMash and VariAudio, combining with new composition features and the first VST3 convolution reverb to take musical creativity to new heights. With stunning innovations and additional enhancements that boost productivity and performance, Cubase 5 represents the absolute cutting edge in digital audio workstations.

New Features in Cubase 5

Cubase 5 adds even more creative possibilities and new technologies to the world’s premier music production software developed by Steinberg — providing the finest tools to producers, composers and musicians in any musical genre. VariAudio and PitchCorrect provide integrated intonation editing for monophonic vocal recordings. Groove Agent ONE and Beat Designer change the game for beat creation, while the revolutionary LoopMash seamlessly blends loops, creating unimaginable variations. VST Expression tools for composers combine with the first VST3 convolution reverb and improved automation for more dynamic mixes. And an array of additional enhancements and 64-bit technologies boost performance — all designed to inspire further musical creativity and productivity.

Beat Creation and Loop Mangling

Cubase 5 features outstanding new tools for creating beats, generating exciting new rhythms and working with loops.

Vocal Editing and Pitch Correction

Cubase 5 comes with an amazing new toolset for perhaps the most important element in any song: the vocals.

New Dimensions for Your Mix

Cubase 5 has numerous new features that will help you bring new depth to your mix — in more ways than one.

Express Creative Visions

With Cubase 5, Steinberg has innovated even further to offer even more creative compositional tools.

Next-Generation Performance and Faster Workflow

Cubase 5 also includes an array of additional new ways of working faster, with added performance that takes advantage of new technologies.

Further Improvements and Added Value

Cubase 5 comes with redesigned and enhanced features plus many new handy tools and functions, making Cubase even more intuitive to use than ever before.

Cakewalk® Announces Free SONAR 8.3 Update

Free update adds new features and continues company’s mission to provide timely updates to best support our customers…

Cakewalk has announced a free update for SONAR 8 Producer and SONAR 8 Studio. The 8.3 Update will be available in February as free a download for registered SONAR 8 customers.
The SONAR 8.3 Update adds new usability enhancements, engine optimizations, classic Roland® sample content for Dimension Pro and Dimension LE, and drum kits for Session Drummer 2. In addition, the update addresses various performance issues reported by customers after SONAR 8’s initial release.

The SONAR 8.3 update will include:

Snap Presets: SONAR has always provided flexibility in snap settings, allowing for audio and MIDI edits to specific musical or absolute times (to snap points, or by time intervals), clip events, transients, and markers. SONAR 8.3 introduces user-defined ‘Snap Presets’ that can instantly recall all of these settings in one click, providing a fast, efficient way to incorporate many edit type combinations into your workflow.

External Inserts: Allow you to insert outboard gear into your projects, while providing sample accurate delay compensation. New optimizations for SONAR 8.3: improved sync when mixing external hardware with other plug-ins that require delay compensation; multiple external inserts can be used in the same project; improved stability on multiprocessing machines; and improved sync while looping. The “ping” test has also been improved to consistently return sample accurate offsets without any further adjustments.

Optimized multiprocessor load balancing: More efficient handling of multithread processing for improved CPU utilization and better overall performance.

Aim Assist enhancements: SONAR’s visual guide for precision editing can now follow snap settings or automatically align to clip starts and ends.

Vintage synth sounds for Dimension Pro: Original samples of the legendary Roland SH-101, TB-303, and VP-330, along with classic sounds of the Arp Odyssey, Moog Minimoog and Sequential Circuits Prophet5.

Classic Drum kits for Session Drummer 2: Genre-defining original samples of the classic Roland TR-707, TR-727, TR-808, and TR-909 drum synthesizers, along with kits from Sequential Circuits Drumtraks and Linn Electronics LinnDrum.

Guitar Rig 3 LE and TruePianos Amber Module updates: Offering support for Windows Vista x64.

A comprehensive list of all feature enhancements and refinement of the user experience will be posted when the SONAR 8.3 Update is released in February, 2009. All of the new features found in the SONAR 8.3 Updates are a direct result of active dialog with our users. Cakewalk’s delivery of timely product updates is an extension of Cakewalk’s commitment in providing the very best in product support for our customers.

Availability
The 8.3 Update for Windows XP and native Vista (32-bit & 64-bit) versions of SONAR will be available as a free download to all registered SONAR 8 customers at www.cakewalk.com  February, 2009.

View Cakewalk Sonar 8 at Dolphin