LinPlug have released CronoX Sample Synthesizer, formerly known as Omega, at only $45 this could be one of the bargains of the year! [Win]and
29th April 2001
reFX have posted an MP3 demo tune of their imminent QuadraSID 6581 VSTi, and it's already been remixed, check it out here
Sonic Syndicate have updated Scorpion VSTi to v1.1, the demo version has also been updated [Win]
2 new phat unison modes
Also, Greg Morlan has put together a cool Nord look skin for Scorpion, grab it here
rgcAudio have updated their site with details of a new VSTi to complement their free Triangle I. Square I is a Performance Oriented Polyphonic Synthesizer for Windows :
3 Oscillators, 9 Alias Free Waveforms each plus a Noise Generator
32 voice polyphonic (CPU dependant)
Individual adjustment of Level, Waveform, Mode, Phase, Fine and Coarse tune and Pitch EG Intensity for each oscillator
Random Pitch control
Low/High Pass filter with resonance
Pitch, Filter and Amplifier dedicated Envelope Generators, Keyboard tracking and Velocity control
4 LFO's, for Pitch, Filter, Amplifier and Random Wave selector, 8 waveforms each plus Random
Random Wave selector, with adjustable intensity for each oscillator
Built-in effects: AutoPan, Chorus, Stereo Delay, Stereo Spread and Two Band Equalizer, all can be disabled to save CPU
Extensive MIDI implementation: Velocity, Pitch Bend, Aftertouch, Modulation, Breath, Sustain Sw and more
Easy programming layout
Cost $59 for the first 10 days of release, rising to $69 thereafter
32 stereo voices per Volksz�mpler; multiple instances can be used at one time; the total number of achievable voices depends upon the performance of the host computer
26th April 2001
Steinberg have been busy, Cubase VST 5.0r4 Final has been released for Windows and 5.0r1 PB1 (Public Beta) has been released for MacOS!
FXpansion have released VST-DX Adapter 3.0 in both Standard and Lite versions [Win VSTi Host]
Allows VST Effects plug-ins to be used transparently as DX plug-ins in
any DX application
Allows VSTi's to be used transparently as DXi's in any DXi-enabled application, with no added latency and no loss of timing accuracy
Supports full automation via DX8 Envelopes, DXi NRPN's, and automation from external MIDI control surfaces (tweak your filters in real-time from a PC1600, PhatBoy, Drehbank etc.).
Uses almost no CPU (<0.5% for effects, 1-2% for synths depending on MIDI load, 500MHz P3)
Costs just $60.00
Lite Edition (for effects only, no DX8 automation) also available - ideal for users of Vegas, Samplitude, Cool Edit, etc.
A downloadable demo will be available soon.
21st April 2001
ppd have updated Tritium to v4.2, they've also renamed Nebulosa to Nebulosa K2 and posted lots of new info [Win]
Tritium :
New Band limited K2 Oscillator - Gives an Alias Free High Quality Sound
Unnecessary SySex messages removed
studioinabox have posted some useful video tutorials in Real Video format :
How to manually install VST Instruments (Windows)
Introduction to VST Instruments with Cubase
Selecting VST Instrument programs
20th April 2001
Sonic Syndicate have released a VSTi version of one of Orion Pro's internal synths - Plucked String [Win]
Physical modelled plucked string synth
ADR Envelope
Stereo widen mode
Costs $9.95
BitHeadz recently updated the Mac version of Retro AS-1 to v2.1.2 adding VSTi functionality!
GMedia have posted a v2.07 updated DLL for M-Tron (Windows version), which fixes the 'missing notes' problem some users have experienced!
Arturia have released Windows and Mac demo versions of the forthcoming v1.5 release of Storm, though the VST functionality's have been disabled in the demo....
17th April 2001
IK have finally released the much anticipated SampleTank Demo! It's available for both Windows & MacOS and includes 16 demo instruments. However, be prepared for a long wait if you are on a 56k connection, the downloads are over 14MB each!
There are 3 versions available to buy :
SampleTank DJ - $249
- 200 top-quality sounds
- 2 CDs - 880 MB of samples
- 24 loop banks (more than 500 loops)
- 143 synth and electronic sounds
- 35 acoustic and electric sounds
- Plays only the included sounds
SampleTank L - $249
- 200 top-quality sounds
- 2 CDs - 1.1 GB of samples
- 42 orchestral sounds
- 40 electric sounds
- 54 acoustic sounds
- 65 electronic synth sounds and loops
- Plays only the included sounds
SampleTank XL - $499
- More than 450 top-quality sounds
- 4 CDs - 2.5 GB of samples + AKAI® converter
- 82 orchestral sounds
- 77 electric sounds
- 96 acoustic sounds
- 199 electronic sounds
- Plays all native and converted sounds
Psycle has been updated to v1.5 beta 2 r3 with a whole raft of fixes and new features including MIDI Input - Check out the full list and download it HERE [Win Host]
14th April 2001
rgcAudio have entered the VSTi arena with the release of Triangle I, a free Performance Oriented Monophonic Synth VSTi for Windows. Their web site doesn't contain any info about Triangle I yet, this will be updated in the next few days, until then you can download it directly HERE
2 Oscillators with multiple waveforms
Pitch, Filter and Amp envelope generators with velocity, scaling and amplitude controls
3 LFOs
Portamento
Multi-mode filter with resonance
Noise generator
Oscillators, filter and amplifier controllable by Aftertouch, mod wheel and velocity
Stereo spread
Echo
Extensive MIDI implementation: Portamento on/off, time, volume, Aftertouch, sustain switch, modulation, pitchbend, breath, velocity, cutoff, resonance, detune, transpose, osc1wave, osc2wave, delay level and a lot more
Three keying modes: Fingered, High note priority legato, Full legato
If you have had trouble downloading from the JXPlugins site, the problem
has now been fixed. The new demo, update and sound banks should all be
available, and expect some new sound banks to be added in the next few
days!
10th April 2001
Zerodecibel has posted a whopping 42MB LM-4 Drum Kit (25MB ZIPed)!! Get it HERE
Fixed compatibility problem with VSamp VST and Logic under Mac OS 9.1
Fixed problem whereby VSamp VST window expands after registration dialogue
JXPlugins have updated JXSynth to v1.2 and given their site a makeover with a new user area for sound banks and demo songs [PC]
Full Anti-Aliasing Oscillators
Setup Control
DeadZone (Control centring)
7th April 2001
The winning name in the reFX Name SID competition is QuadraSID 6581, suggested by Guido Ranft and Evan. Guido got there first and wins a copy of reFX's TBL and of course QuadraSID itself, Evan also gets a QuadraSID! [PC]
We've got lots of new banks to post, thanks to everyone who's sent them in over the last few weeks, they'll be posted in the coming week, workload permitting ;)
6th April 2001
LinPlug have updated their Omega public beta to v0.96
5th April 2001
Freebase VST is a new open source VSTi Sequencer project for Windows, created by ArGuru. Version 1.0 is available for download and the full source code is also available for anyone interested in getting involved with improving and adding to the feature set [Win Host]
Open Source Sequencer project - feature development and modification encouraged
Full source code available for download
Supports VSTi only - no audio or external MIDI tracks
Supports VST FX
mda have released the Mac version of mda Piano! The Windows version has also been updated to v1.1 fixing Windows 2000 compatibility [Mac & Win]
Waldorf have started shipping Attack, their new VSTi Percussion Synth. It's initially available in Germany for €152.88(Euro) with the US, and presumably everyone else, following in a couple of weeks!
BombThatBeat has been updated again to v1.04.04 fixing a bug that mainly occurs in Nuendo [Win]
Fixed - When moving parts in an arrangement while BombThatBeat was playing, Nuendo crashes.
1st April 2001
Here's news of yet another new VSTi, this time Organ One from Bojo software, which is, unsurprisingly, an Organ [Win]
Interpolation of Waves (Anti-Aliasing) when transposing
Preset handling
Pre-listening/Auditioning
Crossfades between steps and patterns (Eliminating clicks)
More realistic scratch function
Due to hosting problems reFX have relocated to a new URL - www.refx.net, though the old URL, www.refx.de, will still work for now, the new one should be used and all email should be directed to the .net address.
Cakewalk/12 Tone's new flagship audio workstation software Sonar is now shipping [Win DXi Host]
Live Update have launched a new site to promote Live Synth Pro DXi, a time limited demo of which is included with Sonar [Win]