Requirements: 600MHz G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2.6 or later, 256MB RAM, QuickTime 6.4 or later, Apple GarageBand
Got GarageBand? Want some cool, retro, analog synth loops to use in your projects? Want them for free? You got it! This chunky 48MB package contains 20 loops that were all generated by Access Music’s phat Virus C synthesizer. You get funky bass grooves, edgy lead parts, fat filter sounds, punchy arpeggiated patterns, cool pad sounds, and more. Best of all, these loops are all royalty-free, so feel free to use them whenever you want—even in commercial projects. Though you need GarageBand to take full advantage of this collection, these AIFF loops can be played on any Mac with QuickTime installed (requirements listed are for GarageBand incorporation).
AmpliTube Live 1.0.1—Demo
IK Multimedia, info@ikmultimedia.com, http://www.ikmultimedia.com
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS 10.2 or later, 64MB RAM, audio input (instrument in highly recommended)
Sometimes software comes along and changes everything. Such is the case with AmpliTube Live—a complete guitar amp and effects emulator that can crank out tone just like the real deal. Just load it on your Mac, plug in your axe, and rock out through your choice of a Vox AC-30 top Boost, a Marshall JCM800, or a Fender Solid State combo amp (a loud PA system is our preferred method of assault, but headphones or a pair of cranked up speakers will do the trick, too).
AmpliTube X 1.2—Demo
IK Multimedia, info@ikmultimedia.com, http://www.ikmultimedia.com
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2 or later, 128MB RAM, host app (HTDM, RTAS, VST, or AU)
You idolized Eric Clapton’s melodically mellow Fender tweed sound in the 70s. In the 80s, it was all about Eddie Van Halen’s screaming Marshall tone and The Edge’s unique Vox stylings, until Joe Satriani came along with his Peavey Classic. In the 90s, John Petrucci’s and Kurt Cobain’s Mesa Boogie work caught your ear. Today, all you want is a Line 6 POD. But even if you’re still playing through your cheap old Crate amp, you can have all these amps and a helluva lot more with this awesome audio plug-in (for RTAS, HTDM, VST, and AU host apps). The full package features 1,260 possible amp, preamp, and cabinet combinations that instantly gives you every tone imaginable, from crunch to clean and from vintage to modern, in your recordings, all in one box—no amp needed. You can also customize your tone with effects and EQ.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.1 or later
Wanna make music but don’t want to drop a dime on some fancy shmancy audio recording program? This may be the ticket. This free, multitrack audio recorder and editor lets you record audio, edit waveforms, mix tracks together, apply sound effects, and export your music as a WAV, AIFF, OGG, or MP3 file. It features a built-in amplitude envelope editor; a gain and pan control for every track; a customizable spectrogram mode; a frequency analysis window; bass boost, wahwah, and noise removal filters; and supports VST plug-ins too. Do note that this version currently does not support G5 Macs yet.
Requirements: 600MHz G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2.6 or later, 256MB RAM, QuickTime 6.4 or later, Apple GarageBand
If you’ve been GarageBanding it for the last couple of months, here’s a 41-loop collection that’ll inspire even more hours of creation. If dance music is your forte, this package contains some great electro/breakbeat drum and synth loops created by Bitshift’s beat guru, Art Gillespie (aka bitshift) from his forthcoming Apple Loops CD, bitshift’s bangin’ beats. Though the loops can be used freely to generate your own musical entertainment, some of the loop names alone are highly entertaining in their own right. Though you need GarageBand to take full advantage of this collection, these AIFF loops can be played on any Mac with QuickTime installed (requirements listed are for GarageBand incorporation).
Requirements: 266MHz Power Mac or faster, Mac OS 8.6-9.x or OS X 10.1 or later, 128MB RAM
This full-featured, multitrack digital audio workstation allows you to record and process up to 64 simultaneous tracks (999 virtual tracks) without any audio hardware. Not only can it do wonders for your audio and music projects, it features the tools you need for video and film, too—spot effects, edit dialog, process soundtracks, record ADR-style voiceovers, and mix everything down to stereo or 5.1 surround sound. Be sure to visit the BIAS Web site to check for a newer version. This trial gives you full use of Deck for 14 days.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later, GarageBand or comparable app
If you’re looking for a way to import MIDI files into GarageBand, this is your ticket to success. This way cool app takes any standard MIDI file and breaks it apart by channel to generate separate files for each track. You can then import all the files into GarageBand; each MIDI channel instrument will appear in a separate track. You can then edit any track and even loop it.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.1.5 or later, 256MB RAM
Performance musicians are in for a real treat with Live 3. Already a powerhouse audio processor, version 3 takes it to the next level, letting you dig right into a sample and edit notes directly. Or edit in a more freeform style by entering Draw mode and digging right into the clip envelope, where you can graphically tweak the pitch, volume, warping, and more.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2 or later, 256MB RAM
Max/MSP is quite possibly the deepest audio software you’ll ever encounter, but don’t let that scare you. Included samples and tutorials, as well as excellent on-board help will ensure that you get up and running fairly quickly (not to mention this demo version, which gives you the full version for 30 days). So what can it do? Just about anything from simple effect processing to building synthesizers from scratch.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.1 or later
This awesome program keeps getting better and is perfect for those of you who own no musical or MIDI gear whatsoever and want to make music with realistic-sounding instruments (though we think you’ll like it even if you’re a world-class rock star). This latest version features a revamped interface, Real Singer II (a new technology that renders human voice sounds), and many more improvements and enhancements. The program integrates a digital sound database with music notation, allowing you to easily create, play, and print compositions using layers of a variety of instruments. This package also features a demo if Virtual Singer, an app that allows you to make your Mac sing any lyrics you type. Melody Assistant also allows MIDI output, and features a digital effects processor (reverb, flange, chorus, wah, overdrive, and more), multiple undos, and much more. It also allows you to export in MP3 format, add drum staves, incorporate a “Humanize” tool, add multi-instrument staves, record and edit sounds, or add your own sounds (AIFF, WAV, OGG, MOD, MIDI) and use them as instruments. Truly amazing and at only 18 bucks, a steal!
Metro SE 6—Demo
Sagan Technology, http://www.sagantech.biz
Requirements: Power Mac, Mac OS 9.1-9.x or OS X 10.2 or later, 64MB RAM (128MB for OS X)
This “lite” version of big brother Metro features all the tools you need to record and sequence audio and MIDI tracks without all the pro audio geekery fuss. Metro SE lets you group sounds into 8 sections with up to 32 tracks per section (4 tracks of real audio only), supports VST 2.0 and Audio Unit (AU) plug-ins, multitrack recording at up to 96kHz/16-bit sample rates, wave editor, MIDI editor, fader and pan automation, drum grid editor, MIDI import and export, punch and overdub capabilities, and more.
Requirements: G4 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2 or later, host app (VST, AU, or RTAS)
For all you musicians and sound engineers of the world, this is THE mother-of-all audio plug-in packages. With over 100 effects and synthesis plug-ins, Pluggo contains everything you need to finesse your audio recordings and make even ho-hum tracks sound stellar. It contains delays, filters, pitch effects, distortion, spectral effects, modulators, multi-channel effects, synthesizers, drums, reverb, dynamics, and more. This package will work under any host app that supports Audio Units, VST or RTAS plug-in formats.
If you’re a fan of Legos or Tinkertoys, you can apply the same concepts to audio—well, sort of. This synthesizer and sampler package gives you a wealth of tools to create and process sounds. It features a completely modular structure, allowing you to designate audio signal flow through the instruments, synthesis, and user interface to create your own instrument sounds, samples, and effects. It features 32-bit realtime signal processing with sample rates up to 768kHz; a huge collection of synths, surround and studio effects, live performance tools, and samplers; VST 2, Audio Units, CoreAudio, and RTAS support; and more. It can also function as a standalone app or as a plug-in.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS 9.1-9.x or OS X 10.1.5 or later, 192MB RAM
If you can differentiate between a line and a space on a staff, and know where to stick in notes to create a melody, this app is for you. Sibelius is a notation program that allows you to create compositions quickly by simply writing notes onto staves—the traditional way. The software contains a bank of high-quality instruments for playback; you can score an entire orchestral arrangement and playback each part with the intended instrument sound. It also includes publishing tools to print out your own sheet music.
Requirements: 500MHz G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.1 or later, 512MB RAM
Why clutter your small home studio with hardware samplers and synthesizers—not to mention all those tangled cords that you’ll undoubtedly trip over at some point—when you can get the same sounds from software on your Mac? If you’re familiar with BitHead’s virtual synthesizer and sampler apps (Unity AS-1 and Unity DS-1, respectively), Unity Session combines both programs and integrates them into one environment, giving you the functionality of hardware samplers, analog synthesizers, and physically modeled instruments. It also supports RTAS, VST, and AU plug-in formats. Need a wicked violin solo but don’t have the instrument or capable hands? With Session, you can modify the physical sound characteristics of a bowed string model and play it directly from the virtual keyboard. You can also create your own sounds and instruments easily. So get busy!
Volume Logic 1.0—Trial
Octiv, vlitunes@octiv.com, http://www.octiv.com
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac. Mac OS X 10.2 or later, iTunes 3 or later
Get better sound from iTunes with this audio plug-in. Volume Logic is a realtime digital remastering tool that can improve the sound quality of any audio file. It uses a 5-band dynamics processor that examines and corrects audio to raise low levels, even out loud signals to prevent distortion, boost the bass, and more. It includes 18 presets for various musical genres to get you started. This trial version lets you listen in bliss for two weeks.
