The Beatles’ discography will finally be available for on-line purchase some time in the next year, as Sir Paul McCartney recently stated on a big musical website.

The legendary band was keeping their music away from sites like Napster or iTunes until now.

According to Sir Paul, the delay was due to terms and conditions of the contract, while all included parts were contrary to on-line distribution up until today.

“You don’t want to do something that now seems good and in three years you might say, oh my God why did I do that?” Sir Paul announced at Billboard.com.

Even though the Beatles’ music is not yet available through the internet, the solo albums of each of the band members can still be found and purchased.

The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert, originally scheduled for Monday, November 26th and featuring Led Zeppelin, Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings, Paul Rogers, Paolo Nutini and Foreigner has been postponed until December 10th due to Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page fracturing his finger.
 
The injury to Page’s finger, which was sustained this past weekend, will not allow him to play guitar for 3 weeks.
 
The specialist treating Mr. Page said, “I have examined the fracture to Mr. Page’s finger, and it is my opinion that with proper rest and treatment, he will be ready to resume rehearsing in three weeks time, and thus able to perform on December 10.”
 
Jimmy Page added, “I am disappointed that we are forced to postpone the concert by two weeks.  However, Led Zeppelin have always set very high standards for ourselves, and we feel that this postponement will enable my injury to properly heal, and permit us to perform at the level that both the band and our fans have always been accustomed to.”

TICKET HOLDERS PLEASE NOTE:

All Tickets for the November 26th show will be valid for the rescheduled date.
 
Any customers who are unable to attend the rescheduled concert on the 10th December should apply for a full refund of the ticket purchase prior to midday (UK time) on November 14th 2007.   Any tickets made available as a result of refunds will be offered to ballot winners selected at random from original registrations after the 15th November 2007.

Ableton has announced that users of Live 6 LE  will be able to upgrade to the full version of Live 7 with a generous discount when it becomes available later this year. Let us remind that Live 6 LE is an easy-to-use, professional-grade music making solution - a first step into the world of computer music that anyone can afford. The boxed version will be available at retail shops across the globe and at the Ableton webshop for €329 / $389. The download version will be available at the Ableton webshop for €299 / $349. Don’t forget to take a look at the features of the upcoming Live 7, which is currently in beta testing. If you are interested, check out the beta page. Also, be sure to visit the official Ableton website.

Incorporating 24 touch-sensitive motorized faders and 16 pristine Focusrite Class A mic preamps, the Control|24 is an incredible front end to your Pro Tools system. Dedicated switches let you easily record and mix on Pro Tools, and the extensive analog routing section means this controller/ preamp/router can be the centerpiece of your Pro Tools rig. Each control strip offers exactly the functionality you would expect from Digidesign: a multi-function knob (which defaults to pan); dedicated buttons to open dynamics or EQ plug-ins assigned to that particular channel; and switches for mute, solo, record arm, etc. Even the most complex Pro Tools functions can be turned into a series of simple steps, offering incredible freedom in recording and letting those of us used to working on an analog console to concentrate on making music rather than navigating screens.

With 16 award-winning Class A discrete transistor-based preamps, the Control|24 is far more than just a world class control surface. These mic preamps are not your run of the mill inputs either, they’re Focusrite’s Platinum preamps with a reputation for smooth, flat response that sounds great on just about anything! Their gain range is 0 to +60db and the frequency response is -0 dB @10 Hz, -3 dB @200 Hz. World class control with Focusrite Platinum preamps - the Control|24 is a bargain!

Some of the features in a quick glance:

• 24 touch-sensitive motorized faders
• 16 Focusrite class A Mic Preamps
• Hands-on access to Pro Tools recording, routing, mixing and editing paramiters
• Comprehensive control room section capable of up to 5.1 surround monitoring
• Illuminated switches for mute, solo, record arm, channel selects, and automation mode on every channel
• Dedicated EQ and Dynamics switches on every channel
• 26 scribble strips provided for system feedback
• Connects to Pro Tools TDM systems VIA high-speed ethernet
• High resolution LED display for transport location at a glance
• Integrated submixer with 8 stereo inputs
• Touch-sensitive automation of plug-in parameters using faders via plug-in flip mode

Source: SweetWater, from which you can also purchase for $7.995 / €5.505 .

Also, be sure to visit GearWire for a video review of C|24. Also visit Harmony Central for an extensive analysis as well as Digidesign’s official website.

Google’s so awaited entry into the mobile phone market is finally a fact, after today’s announcement. During a press conference that took place a while ago, Google has unveiled their plan to create an open source OS for mobile phones that can be used by any company, and inserted into any number and kind of mobile phones, without any limitations.

The open source platform called Android will allow manufacturers to create interesting applications and services that every company can combine with new hardware features. For this reason, an alliance of 34 companies has been formed in order to extend Android’s abilities so they can compete Nokia and Microsoft, both of them on the top of the mobile OS charts with their own “closed platforms”, Symbian OS and Windows Mobile respectively. The alliance will be named OHA, which stands for Open Handset Alliance. Some of the biggest companies in the world will support the alliance like Motorola, LG, Samsung and HTC.

Android is based on Linux of course, and it has been under development for the last three years. All companies supporting the OHA will have access and usability rights of the platform without any further economic responsibilites towards Google, completely differentiating the policy that Nokia, Microsoft, Palm and RIA Blackberry follow on their own systems. Most of Google’s already widely known services are expected to be found on the new platform like AdSense, Gmail and Calendar.

At November 12th, a first version of the Android SDK will be released at the OHA website. This will result in the development of the first applications, so that we can get a first taste of what new is going to be brought by Google to the mobile phone market, which actively sypports 3 billion users. The first devices are expected to be presented at the second half of 2008. After repeatedly being asked about this, Google’s president Eric Schmidt has made clear that his company today announces Android and nothing more, while if there is to be a Gmobile in the future, it will be running this platform.

Finally, he has added that the user interface is very impressive, while the browser included has full HTML capabilites, like iPhone’s Safari. Furthermore, OpenSocial API applications which were announced last week will be running with no problems on Android.

Apple has silently released a new series of MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops, with more advanced tech features. Still, the rumours about a new, thinner appearance were not confirmed.

Specifically, Apple withdraws the old models and swaps them with the new ones, which utilise the all new laptop architecture called Santa Rosa by Intel. Among others, Santa Rosa includes a powerful graphics subsystem named GMA X3100. The prices for the new hardware are:

White 13.3″:

$1099/€760 2.0GHz/1GB RAM/80GB/Combo/GMA X3100
$1299/€899 2.2GHz/1GB RAM/120GB/SD-DL/GMA X3100

Black 13.3″:

$1499/€1037 2.2GHz/1GB RAM/160GB/SD-DL/GMA X3100

Apple also offers the possibility of upgrading the MacBook Pro CPU with a Core 2 Duo @ 2.6 GΗz. Optionally, you could also upgrade it with a 250 GB hard disk as well.

Check it out at MacRumors.

In case you never heard, Radiohead recently made a brave step towards the fight against piracy. By taking over the whole production without cooperating with any recording label, they released their latest album called “In Rainbows” at their website only. No CD version will probably ever exist. The DRM-free MP3 tracks can be downloaded for free, and it is at the buyer’s discretion whether he would like to donate an amount to the artists or not. It appears that this method has proven more than successful, since Gigwise reported early this month that more than 1,2 million pieces have been sold in the first 24 hours, and although no official announcement was made, some of the best estimates report that the band’s income from the album has reached 6 to 10 million dollars, since the average user willingly payed $5 to $8. Check this one out here.

Enough of Radiohead though, what’s important is that Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails has announced that he will follow the same tactic on Saul Williams’ new album, which he will be producing. “The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!” -as the new album is titled- will be released through the internet for free (with a suggested artist donation of $5), but nevertheless the tracks will be DRM-free and anyone who feels like donating more (or less) than the suggested price is welcome to do so. It is true that this album’s success or failure might be a major indicator of how the future of music distribution will turn out to be. Read more about it at Epitunes.

Westgate studios has launched a new sound library module called Timpani. As the name states, it is full of 44.1 KHz, 24-bit, stereo recordings of orchestral timpani samples for GigaStudio 3 and Kontact 2. Although I’m a big fan of orchestral additions in my tracks, I haven’t had the chance to get a hands-on so that I can test it thoroughly. If I do, I promise to post an extensive review.

To cut to the chase, first of all we have the single hits patches which include left and right hand samples in 8 velocity layers, which make 16 samples per note. Keep in mind that the length of the release trail can be controlled by the mod wheel. Additionally you’ll find long sampled rolls in both looped and unlooped variations with specially edited release samples that allow you to end the roll at any time. And of course the long roll samples wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of mod wheel controlled crossfades. You’ll find three variations with 5, 3 and 2 dynamic layers to fit your polyphony demands. There are also fixed length crescendos and diminuendos in 2, 4 and 8 second options. You will also find effect samples such as single hit glissandos, glissando rolls and rolls with a suspended cymbal on the drum.

The retail price of this single DVD audio library is $110/€76.5 and requires an amount of 1.98 GB of free space on your disk. You could also purchase the downloadable version which costs only $70/€49 and requires 744 MB of free space, but only includes the medium mallet samples. If you need soft or hard mallets you have no choice but to buy the complete version. Last but not least, here’s a few interesting links: the review I used as a source at Harmony Central, the WestGate Studios official website, the Timpani buy/download page, and the Modular Series collection of orchestral samples which include naturally recorded bassoons, oboes, clarinets, french horns and flutes.

The idea of an on-line music sequencer hadn’t ever even crossed my mind. That’s why when I found out about this one I was pretty surprised. I don’t know how many people will find it useful enough, but still I consider it a very clever project. Splice is an audio sequencer written in flash, with which you can make music exclusively over the web. All you need is an internet connection.

First of all, the interface consists of the main window, into which you can see the tracks you use. The control bar sits on top and on the right we can see the virtual instruments and effects available.

As you can see I made a simple track with a preset piano virtual instrument, and a simple equalizer setting from the effects section. On the control toolbar, you can change the bpm to the desired speed, but unfortunately you cannot change the tempo to anything else except the 4/4 default. There is also a main output meter for checking your levels and avoid distortion. Some very useful features were the CPU load meter on the top of the screen, the CD or Radio quality setting which you can adjust according to your PC’s capabilities, as well as the “My Soundcase” button next to the virtual instruments and effects. If you happen to listen to another user’s public track and like a specific sound, you can add it to “My Soundcase” in your profile, so that you can easily access it later when you make your own projects. Speaking of public tracks, another nice characteristic is that you can complete your songs and choose whether to save them as public (so that anyone can search, find and hear them) or private so that only by logging in your account will you be able to access them again. Last but not least, you can upload your own audio files for use, thus not being chained into utilising the sounds offered by the sequencer alone.

In a nutshell, Splice is definately NOT what a professional is looking for, but it is fun and easy to use if making a very simple track is all you are looking for. And since only an internet connection is required, it is easily accessible from almost anywhere in the world. Check out the official website or go directly to the sequencer window to start creating. Alternatively, you can open one of many already completed (by other users) songs and try to make a remix. Thanks to the Music Technology & Hard Rock Blog for the heads-up on this one.

A major update for Cubase 4 was finally released yesterday. The new, free (for all registered Cubase users) 4.1 version offers a whole lot of new additions and characteristics to Steinberg’s music production system.

Among the stuff you will find useful is a redesigned Sample Editor, side chaining for VST3 plug-ins, MusicXML support and compatibility with Sequel project import. Global Transpose Track that allows transposition of all audio and MIDI parts is also added. Also, an Arranger Track replaces the Play Order Track and the Project Logical Editor is a new project-level editing system.

More extensively, here’s a list of all the new specs:

• Redesigned Sample Editor makes editing, stretching and audio manipulation tasks faster through better accessibility with Inspector-style controls.
• Sidechaining for VST3 Plug-ins offers easy creation of sidechains in many of the outstanding VST3 effects included in Cubase 4 and Cubase Studio 4.
• MusicXML Import & Export provides exchange of musical scores with specialized score layout applications from Cubase projects, including detailed data, graphically rich layout.
• Full Sequel Project Import and complete compatibility to Sequel content allows full editing of Sequel projects and instant access to all Sequel content installed on the same system within the advanced MediaBay database.
• Free routing and recording from summing objects enhance recording and routing functionality to offer complete routing flexibility as well as lightning-fast setup for stem recording.
• Advanced MediaBay options enhance speed and efficiency working with Steinberg’s revolutionary media database system with new user options.
• Track Quick Controls with integrated MIDI Learn provide direct access to any track parameter from the Track Inspector, ideal for easy control of any setting using hardware remote controllers.
• Global Transpose Track allows transposition of all audio and MIDI parts within one easy-to-use track for quick and easy experimentation with key and chord changes.
• Arranger Track replaces and improves on the Play Order Track to extend the Cubase system for improvising and trying out new song arrangements and provides new features for using Cubase as a live performance tool.
• Project Logical Editor is an extraordinarily powerful and unique new project-level editing system that allows automated processing of whole sections and groups of objects within a project, including full mapping to key commands.

Sources: Harmony Central and MacWorld.
If you already are a Cubase 4 or Cubase 4 Studio user, get the free 4.1 updates by clicking on their respective links.

Also, let’s remind to all those who might wish to purchase Cubase 4 that the full program costs $999/€700 while the Cubase 4 Studio (lighter version) is sold for $399/€280.