Nord Stage 2 OS updated to version 1.4
October 7, 2011
Nord has released the latest operating system upgrade for its Stage 2 series keyboards, encompassing both a range of new features as well as bug fixes.
The Sound Menu now includes separate settings for the Rotary’s horn and rotor speed, and acceleration/retardation time. The new version allows you to store the settings of the Synth Glide, Voice Mode, Unison and Vibrato parameters in the Synth Sound memory.
The Mono feature now works globally on all instruments and when storing a program it’s now possible to browse for a suitable location and listen to the program stored there before overwriting anything. The sustain pedal interaction in the Piano Section has gone through a major overhaul, resulting in a much smoother behaviour during performances with plenty of pedal action.
The OS update can be downloaded from the Nord Stage 2 web page.
Reason 6: Name Your Upgrade Price
September 30, 2011
Today’s the day Reason and Record users can elect to upgrade to the new Reason 6 for whatever they think it’s worth.
A number of musicians, authors and others have already adopted the “pay what you want” model for their albums, books and other merchandise, so it’s not surprising that Propellerhead — creators of the Reason software — are electing to do the same.
The offer’s only good for today and the month of October, after which Reason & Record users will have to pay the standard upgrade price that owners of a single software package do.
It’s a great way to get the updated version into the hands of many. Here’s Propellerhead’s synopsis of what you get in this upgrade:
To owners of both Reason and Record, the Reason 6 upgrade adds Pulveriser, a sound crushing effect with crunchy compression, dirty distortion and flexible modulation; The Echo, advanced stereo echo with modern, analog and tape delay emulation; and Alligator, a three band pattern gate for complex rhythmic texturing. Interface enhancements, high definition audio transpose, a massively expanded sound bank and true 64-bit compatibility are just the icing on the cake. Want to see the new effect devices in action before you decide? Check out these videos below for detailed looks at their capabilities
You can find out much more about it at the Reason: Pay What You Want web site.
So, what’s Reason 6 worth to you?
Sponsored Review: Virtual Sheet – Sheet Music Downloads Membership web site
October 17, 2008
This is a review of an online sheet music web site which also serves up MIDI and MP3 audio tracks of the available music.
Finding affordable and high-quality transcripts of classical music for a variety of instruments can be difficult, and buying individual pieces can get expensive.
The Virtual Sheet site aims to offer a wide variety of music for a low subscription. For $37.75 per year (around three dollars a month), the site offers virtually unlimited access to over 6,000 single sheets and collections. Non-subscribers can also download music on a pay-per-use basis.
Although I didn’t sign up for the complete service, the site helpfully allows some single page previews of the music to be viewed. Taking a look at some of Chopin’s work, for example, the print quality is of a high standard. Of course, it will depend on how good your printer and paper is as to how good the finished output is, but for home use, even a cheap inkjet printer should yield good results.
The range of music is fairly impressive, with plenty of music from well-known classical composers (Albinoni, Bach, Beeethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Elgar, Grieg, Handel, Mendelssohn, Strauss, Verdi, to name but a few) and for a variety of instruments.
Of course, I was most concerned with the availability of music for piano. A search shows that there are currently 237 piano solo items, 736 piano solo with other instrument items (many of these can still be played alone), and eight “piano for four hands” pieces. There are even 28 pieces for organ solo.
If you’re after high-quality, legally available printable manuscripts for classical music, with the inclusion of audio files so you can hear how it sounds, this may be a good site to try out.
