Following up the announcement of Superior 2.0, Toontrack have released Solo, a stand-alone host for users of DFH Superior and EZDrummer drum romplers. It’s a free download for registered users and allows you to run your drum instrument without needing a 3rd-party VST host application like Cubase or Logic. Solo promises lowest-possible latency when used with an appropriate ASIO soundcard. I tried it last night and managed to get down to a solid 64 sample buffer without any problems, which to me does not incur a noticeable delay at all (AMD X2 4200 / Tascam 1082). Running within Cubase I am normally limited to 128 samples without glitching - 64 is right on the limit with the odd pop and crackle. Solo should be a great tool for anyone brave enough to go out gigging with their eDrum kit, a laptop and a decent portable firewire audio/midi interface.
Archive for October, 2007
Taking it live
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007Superior 2.0 on the way
Friday, October 12th, 2007The daddy of all drum romplers is getting an overhaul in early 2008. Toontrack are arguably top of the pile when it comes to serious virtual drum instruments, and their Drums From Hell Superior is easily one of the best software purchases I’ve ever made. It’s about to get better with Superior 2.0 - The New York Studio Legacy Series. This release includes a whole new sample set, but importantly retains backwards compatibility with the samples from DFHS and Custom and Vintage add-on. Improvements include extra optimizations for e-drums (it was always the best!), quicker sample-loading and a brand new interface. Particularly exciting is the new internal mixer which features specially-developed plug-ins from Sonalksis, including eq, gates and compression. Look out for Superior 2.0 in Q1 2008, and check out all Toontrack’s products available through QuickSound here.
PowerCore X8 plus new software release
Friday, October 12th, 2007TC Electronic have announced the latest incarnation of their successful PowerCore DSP processor. The PowerCore X8 doubles the processing power of the previous PowerCore firewire unit with the addition of an extra 4 Motorola 150Mhz DSP chips, each holding 512kWords S-RAM. Also look out for a new version of the PowerCore software coming out in November. PowerCore Version 3.0 is a free update including GUI updates, new metering and several new sidechain and routing options. Check out all PowerCore products available through QuickSound here.