Digital dreams

Digital recording, sampling and mixing software has revolutionised the recording industry in recent years. S&S takes a look at some of the best software packages available on the market today.

M-Audio

As sister company to Digidesign, M-Audio has quickly established itself as a leading player in the digital recording sector, leveraging its elder sibling's landmark Protools technology to carve it's own niche in this increasingly crowded sector.

Pro Tools M-Powered is a new version of Digidesign's award-winning Pro Tools software designed specifically to work with M-Audio hardware interfaces.

Pro Tools M-Powered software boasts a number of impressive technical features, including support for select M-Audio interfaces, such as Audiophile 192, Audiophile 2496, FireWire 410, FireWire 1814 and Ozonic.It also ensures seamless transitional workflow between studio, stage and home recording facilities.

The software boasts fully integrated MIDI sequencing and easily accepts ReWire output streams directly from applications like Ableton Live for additional digital mixing and processing duties.

With up to 32 simultaneous tracks of 16- or 24-bit digital audio, and support for up to 96kHz sample rates, the company claims Pro Tools M-Powered 7 is an ideal companion for its range of interfaces and audio interface keyboards, regardless of whether a user is recording solo or entire bands.

An optional music production toolkit expands Pro Tools M-Powered 7 to up to 48 mono or stereo tracks, and adds more effects and instruments. A multi-track version of Beat Detective and a Pro Tools MP3 option is also available.

The software's unique Beat Detective LE automatic groove analysis and correction tool supports Digidesign's Command|8 control surface for hands-on mixing.

A huge selection of optional plug-ins and applications are also available from Digidesign, Digidesign development partners, and M-Audio works on Windows XP and Mac OS X systems.

Middle East distributors: Alpha Audio (Egypt); Romco Trading (Kuwait); Rag Time Music Technology (Lebanon); Halwani AV (KSA); MediaCast (UAE).

Ableton - Ableton Live 7

Ableton Live 7 has emerged as one of the most popular loop-based software music sequencers on the market.

The boxed version of Ableton Live 7 includes the company's Essential Instrument Collection 2; a multi-gigabyte library of meticulously sampled instruments providing a choice selection of acoustic and electric pianos, guitars, bass, drums, orchestral strings, brass, woodwinds and more.

Ableton Live 7 sees the renewal of the core of Live, with enhancements to the audio engine including 64-bit mix summing, new and improved devices with side-chaining capability, better MIDI timing and hardware integration.

Also included in Ableton Live 7 are key features including time signature changes, video export, multiple automation lanes and more.

Version 7 of the software marks the arrival of Ableton's new Drum Rack, which streamlines beat production via an easy drag-and-drop interface and offers native sliced audio and REX file support.