Native Instruments launches a 50% off special on Soniccouture instruments

Berlin, July 8, 2016 – In partnership with Soniccouture, Native Instruments today launched a special limited-time offer – for 16 days , 20 innovative Soniccouture instruments are available for half price from the NI Online Shop. The offer includes the standout collections Box of Tricks, The Conservatoire Collection, and The Attic, as well as unique instruments like Geosonics, Pan Drums, Ondioline, and many more. All instruments on offer are compatible with Native Kontrol Standard (NKS) – the extended plug-in format that allows deep level integration with Native Instruments’ KOMPLETE KONTROL S-Series and MASCHINE hardware.

“Soniccouture’s relationship with Native Instruments goes back to 2005 when we helped to create the ‘KONTAKT Experience’ product for NI,” says James Thompson, Co-Founder of Soniccouture. “The direct result of this was that Dan and I decided to start releasing KONTAKT libraries because of the exciting possibilities offered by the new KSP programming language. Eleven years later, the evolution of that process sees our 20 virtual instruments fully integrated into NI’s NKS protocol, offering the musician not just sonic sophistication but also simplicity. We are thrilled to have come so far on this journey together, and excited by the possibilities the future holds.”

Native Kontrol Standard® (NKS) is NI’s extended plug-in format that allows third-party instrument developers to directly address hardware features in KOMPLETE KONTROL S-Series and in MASCHINE. NKS instruments organically appear in the Native Browser with all presets readily tagged, offer sensible parameter assignments via Native Map, and make use of the Light Guide to display key switches and sample assignments. NKS also brings Smart Play features to third-party instruments, allowing detailed access to the S-Series’ touch strips, scale mapping, Chord Sets, and the powerful arpeggiator. The list of partners supporting NKS with free updates for their instruments is constantly expanding.

This special offer on 20 Soniccouture instruments is available from July 7 until July 24, 2016, at the NI Online Shop exclusively:
www.native-instruments.com/soniccouture

GameSoundCon Adds Virtual Reality Day for 2016 Conference

Seattle, WA (July 11, 2016) - GameSoundCon, the premier conference for video game music and sound design, has expanded its 2016 offer with a full day dedicated to Audio for Virtual Reality and another full day on academic and research topics. Sound designers of all levels will come together on Sept 27-28 in Los Angeles for two days packed with sessions, networking opportunities, and hands-on workshops focused on all aspects of game audio, including Virtual Reality in videogames.

                                          

Brian Schmidt, Executive Director of GameSoundCon, sees exciting opportunities for game composers and sound designers in the new field of Virtual Reality and its close cousin Augmented Reality. 

"Virtual Reality is not only taking the game industry by storm, but most other forms of media and entertainment as well. Along with Augmented Reality, VR presents a whole new set of challenges and opportunities for composers and sound designers," says Schmidt. "Due to the inherently interactive nature of VR and AR, those who are familiar with interactive audio tools such as game composers and sound designers will definitely have a leg-up over those who have only worked in traditional media."

 

Because they work in the field, Schmidt and the impressive line-up of speakers at GameSoundCon pride themselves of being up-to-date on current trends as well as new developments in the industry. To that end, one of the speakers at this year's GameSoundCon will be Scott Gershin, Technicolor's Director of Sound Editorial. Gershin has worked on over 100 films and received 26 industry award nominations, including a BAFTA Award for his work on American Beauty, Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim and Dan Gilroy's Nightcrawler. He brings theatrical sound quality standards to bear on a wide range of consumer experiences - from apps and software to blockbuster game titles like Resident Evil, Plants vs. Zombies, Gears of War, Fable, and most recently id Sofware's Doom. At GameSoundCon, he and Technicolor Sound Supervisor, Viktor Phoenix, will cover advanced techniques and best practices for implementing 3D audio for Virtual Reality.