BASSBOSS Celebrates its 30th Sound Installation in Austin with Moustaches and Beer Enthusiasts, HandleBar

Austin, TX – July 26, 2016: Downtown Austin watering hole HandleBar has a lot to offer anyone who wanders inside, from live DJs five nights a week to friendly bartenders, craft cocktails, and 20 carefully selected beers on tap. But since its 2012 opening many of its patrons were skipping out on the diverse offerings of its main bar for its expansive, but limited service, roof deck. “At first we couldn’t figure out why no one wanted to hang out in the main bar, where we have all of these great drinks and amenities that aren’t available on the roof,” says owner Brett Vance. “But we were realizing that a big part of it had to do with a really bad sound system.” In May, Vance reached out to BASSBOSS president David Lee to help oversee a complete sound overhaul that would endear HandleBar’s main floor bar to patrons and also mark BASSBOSS' 30th major installation on its home turf.

Starting on the Ground Level
HandleBar’s previous aging sound system, which was cobbled together from bits and pieces of various sound equipment that had been taken out of service from other neighborhood bars, was not performing up to par. “Even when it wasn’t that loud it hurt your ears,” Vance recalls. “We’ve got concrete surfaces on all sides, so the natural acoustics certainly weren’t helping either. As a result, on a weeknight we might have 200 people upstairs but only 20 in the main bar, which was a real problem because if you passed by the bar on the street you might look in the window and think there’s nothing doing.”

For Session Guitarist Todd Lombardo, Antelope Audio's Zen Tour and Orion Studio Interfaces are Milestone Products that Inspire

Nashville, July 25, 2016 – Session guitarist and GRAMMY nominated songwriter Todd Lombardo has been on a career high, having just relocated to Nashville and playing on many current, new projects.  In addition to contributing his signature guitar work to the latest Lady Antebellum and David Nail records, he has also played an integral role in the Music Bed licensing site, for which he is a resident composer. As an artist with many concurrent projects, Lombardo's sounds are limited only to his imagination — therefore he needs a vast sonic toolkit. Recently, following a visit to Antelope Audio's booth at Summer NAMM in Nashville, he added the new Zen Tour and Orion Studio to his equipment arsenal.

With its proprietary FPGA effects engine and dozens of authentic sounding FX and amplifier simulations (also present in its bigger siblings Orion Studio and Goliath), Zen Tour — which began shipping last week — sets itself apart as the ultimate portable recording interface for guitarists. Packing (8) analog inputs and (16) analog outputs into a sharp and slender form factor, Zen Tour is a touring musician's dream and the ultimate companion for the entire music production process.

Native Instruments introduces SIERRA GROVE MASCHINE Expansion

Berlin, July 25, 2016 – Native Instruments today introduced SIERRA GROVE – a new MASCHINE Expansion combining the emotional impact of classic soul music with aggressive drums, hook-laden melodies, and the most up-to-date production techniques. The expansion is aimed at soul and R&B producers looking for contemporary sounds for their tracks, as well as hip hop producers interested in creating hybrid styles by pulling from a wider pool of influences. SIERRA GROVE runs in the latest MASCHINE software on MASCHINE STUDIO, MASCHINE, or MASCHINE MIKRO and is available exclusively at the NI Online Shop. A compact version for iMASCHINE is also available via the iMASCHINE in-app store.

SIERRA GROVE is built on a foundation of classic sampling techniques. The included sounds comprise saturated drums, funk-influenced electric keys, and a host of guitar, bass, and synth samples – a staple palette commonly found in soul music. These classic sounds are complemented with exclusive presets for NI’s renowned MONARK and MASSIVE synths and the MASCHINE Drum Synths. Additional special kits including sound effects and talkbox vocals provide the final component to an expansion rich with the textures, grooves, and melodies of 21st century soul styles.

A compact version of SIERRA GROVE is also available as an iMASCHINE Expansion, for creating beats on the go. Tracks can be exported to MASCHINE STUDIO, MASCHINE, and MASCHINE MIKRO for completion.

SIERRA GROVE is available now at the NI Online Shop for $49 / 49 € / £44 / ¥ 6,820 / AU$ 79 and runs in the MASCHINE 2 software.

The iMASCHINE expansion is available at the iMASCHINE in-app store for $0.99 / 0,89 € / £0.79 / ¥ 100 / AU$ 1.29.

Additional information on SIERRA GROVE is available at:
www.native-instruments.com/sierragrove

PR-UJAM Releases Virtual Guitarist Sparkle

Third installment of the legendary VI series brings glamorous and catchy licks to any DAW

Bremen, Germany (July 21, 2016) — The German virtual instrument pioneers behind the Virtual Guitarist series announce the release of their third Virtual Guitarist, named SPARKLE, and a bundle product of all three available Virtual Guitarists at a major discount.
 

With its glamorous and catchy licks, Virtual Guitarist SPARKLE is a virtual specialist for chords, octaves and single note riffs. Covering a wide range of sounds for popular music from clean to crunchy and from 60s twang to contemporary electronic pop, SPARKLE is a versatile tool for professional composers and producers in need for fast, reliable and authentic guitar performances outside a guitarist.
 

Virtual Guitarist SPARKLE was recorded with a customized vintage guitar featuring classic bell-like single-coil sounds. Emulations of hand-picked vintage amps and speaker cabinets were custom-built by the VG engineers to provide adequate tone and character. Professionals will appreciate the possibility to adjust the amp/cabinet/effect section separately from the selected style.

SPARKLE comes with over 3 GB of uncompressed guitar content. It offers 100 styles and over 1,000 variations that can be played in real-time – using keyboards and other controllers – and flexibly adjusted to any song. SPARKLE also allows for customizing the guitar sound dramatically with a wide range of pick-up and amplifier/cabinet combinations.

Closely collaborating with Berlin-based Native Instruments, SPARKLE also features full integration with NI’s new NKS standard, supporting NKS hardware controllers straight out of the box, enabling the use of Virtual Guitarist with the Light Guide, Smart Play features, and the full creative potential of KOMPLETE CONTROL or MASCHINE STUDIO MK2.

Virtual Guitarist SPARKLE will be available in VST, AU, and AAX plug-in formats starting July 21, 2016.
 

Virtual Guitarist SPARKLE is instantly downloadable for €/$ 99 at www.virtualguitarist.com. Users who want to try before they buy will appreciate the fully functional 30-day trial version.
 

In parallel, the team announced a 3-in-1 bundle containing SPARKLE and two more Virtual Guitarist plug-ins (IRON – hard roaring riffs and power chords, AMBER – warm and bright acoustic steel-string strumming), available for €/$ 249 at www.virtualguitarist.com). “Now you can have a team of three pro guitarists on call 24/7 in your studio at the price of one regular virtual instrument.” Virtual Guitarist Product Manager Sebastian Bretschneider said.

For press inquiries, please contact UJAM’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing Wolfram Knelangen: wolf@ujam.com

KAGURA Now Live on Kickstarter

Visit the kickstarter page here.

KAGURA is a revolutionary digital instrument that lets you make music simply by gesturing. KAGURA is motion made music.

Woogie Weekend Makes Glorious, Splashy Return to Oak Canyon

Silverado, CA - After hosting a sold out 12th annual Lightning in a Bottle festival and a packed house at their Coachella namesake stage, reigning catalysts of creation Los Angeles’ Do LaB, ventured to Oak Canyon Park July 8-10 to transform the lush, sprawling So Cal landscape into a whimsical water wonderland in celebration of the second annual Woogie Weekend festival. Two newly reimagined stages, The Hive and Kaleidoscope, brought a stellar collection of house and techno’s finest to the forefront of an intimate, carefree playground overflowing with sublime vibes, vivacious dancing, blue skies, Slip n’ Slides, water balloon fights and even a pond complete with fish.

For a quick dip into the abstract adventure, check out the official Woogie Weekend 2016 Aftermovie!

Temperatures soared while ecstatic daytime revelers flocked to the two juxtaposing neon chromatic stages that included a jewel-toned covered honeycomb hexagon structure known as “The Hive” and an industrial-piped jungle gym complete with foliage canvas laser light show known as “Kaleidoscope”. Rejuvenating morning yoga sessions led by Gigi Snyder, Kishan Shah, Michelle Nayeli Bouvier, Shawni and Shayne Almeida transformed into two splashy daytime parties with electrifying afternoon performances from acts such as Blond:ish, FVDM, Tâches, Dena Amy and Sunday’s last minute surprise addition Lee Reynolds. Attendees had the pleasure of lounging in the grass or swaying from one of the many hammocks scattered about the grounds as they embarked on a playful, progressive auditory journey into a vibrant soundscape.

Sun chasers further exploring the grounds found themselves enshrined within Woogie Weekend’s technicolor bliss, welcomed with a plethora of activities to seize the golden rays of daylight. As frisbees punctured the skies, vendors lined the perimeter with healthy offerings that crossed the spectrum of desires - from vegan foods to healing crystals, attendees found themselves delightfully wrapped up in a trove of amazement. Los Angeles’ quirky dance and performance troupe Bijoulette returned to host the infamous slip n’ slide, encouraging any and all through means of a booming megaphone to take a trip down the rolling hillside while riding atop inflatable sprinkle donuts, slices of pizza, or life-sized sea creatures. At any given moment, those traipsing along the grounds could find themselves entangled in the midst of a hard-fought water balloon battle, or maybe catch a ride on the towering furry pink flamingo art car roaming the grounds.

Sun-drenched days became engulfed by the dazzling embrace of warm twilight nights as the sun dipped below the mountainous skyline and the evening’s talent took over. Stars lit up the skies and an illuminating disco ball fell over the crowd while artists hailing from places both near and far lit up the decks. Taking over nightfall was a delicately crafted selection of global talent featuring Do LaB’s own Jesse Wright, legendary Jon Hopkins, the elusive masked Claptone, visionary Damian Lazarus, and deep master of underground techno Oliver Huntemann. Sunday night proved to be the musical climax of the festival, encapsulating melodical magic into four hours of pure euphoria which included an ethereal performance from Kidnap Kid followed by a tantalizing DJ set from surprise addition Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs whoclosed out a fanciful weekend of epic proportions.

To stay on top with news for Woogie Weekend 2017, be sure to sign up for the official festival newsletter found on the Woogie Weekend website and like the Facebook page.  Hope to see you out there next year!

Isotonik Studios - Chaos Culture - MultiClip Editor

Sometimes an idea comes to one of the team that just has to become reality, Chaos Culture's MultiClip Editor is just one of those. Born out of the code written in his LaunchPad Lightshow creating Frame Editor  Sebastian then put his attention to creating a visible piano roll to display the contents of multiple MIDI clips at the same time....

If you can use Lives' piano rolll you'll be quick to harness the power of this utility, with the ability to interact directly with the notes across multiple clips at the same time you can transpose a bunch of clips in an instant, copy the contents from one clip to another...

With two Pencil tools that allow you to draw by clicking and dragging to create long notes or a note at each grid division and the ability to hide notes that aren't within a defined scale (a kind of Fold View upgrade) you'll find your workflow increases from your first use.

With Grid size adjustment, the ability to drag notes off the grid and CMD drag their velocity settings you'll not be missing any of the native features of Live Piano Roll, you'll be benefitting from being able to use them across all of your selected clips!

MORE DETAILS - MultiClip Editor - £17.99