Gladiator 3 - Tone 2

Often quoted as 'the only synth you will ever need' and quite justifiably so. With it's now resizable interface and a plethora of added content 'Gladiator' is now better than ever. Based around it's own concept of Advanced Harmonic Content Morphing (HCM) Synthesis.Tone2's Gladiator is real workhorse of a synth if ever there was one!

The award-winning Gladiator is a popular synthesizer, which is used for a large number of professional productions. It offers a groundbreaking approach to sound generation. It's exclusive HCM-synthesis covers a new and unique aural territory.

The update to v3.0 is a major update, which is available for free for all Gladiator2 users. It includes a larger and resizable GUI, a patch browser, enhanced sound quality, a bigger sonic range, a more user-friendly interface and many new features. Gladiator3 is downward compatible. Existing song-projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary. They will benefit from the enhanced sound quality.

New features:

Created a new interface, which is nearly twice as large
By clicking on 'EDITOR SIZE' you can select from four different interface sizes
Added a comfortable, new patch browser
New sound-quality mode 'high-end'
18 additional unison modes with a diverse selection of chords
Added context sensitive tooltips with detailed descriptions for all controls
The patches can be ranked by clicking on the stars in the patch browser
The patch rankings are stored within the file "Ranking.rnk"
6 additional lfo waveforms: "Stair 4 up","Stair 8 up","Stair 4 down","Stair 8 down","Stair 4 up/down","Stair 8 up/down"
Added manuals in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian to the new help menu
New loop mode "Noise", which jumps to a random section
New loop mode "/50%", which ping-pong-loops 50% of the spectrum
New loop mode "/25%", which ping-pong-loops 25% of the spectrum
3 additional phase-modifiers "Zzzap", which sound like a laser
3 additional phase-modifiers "Boing", which sound like a reverse laser
2 additional phase-modifiers "Odd noise" and "Even noise", which noisify the spectrum
2 additional phase-modifiers "Odd 90" and "Even 90", which sound like a sub-oscillator
Information tags about the patches are shown in the patch browser
Extended halftone-range for the arpeggiator from -23 to +23
Added cross-product-compatibility: Save->'Export...' exports the sound of osc1 as an Icarus compatible wavetable in wav format
Video tutorials can be shown from the help menu
Updates and additional sounds can be accessed directly from the help menu
176 additional patches

Enhancements in sound:

More linear frequency response for oscillators playing below 100Hz
More precise timing for all sample-rates
Replaced all micro-tuning algorithms with a better ones. The new ones are more subtle and sounds less 'detuned'.
The late-reverb-tail of 'Reverb small' sounds less detuned
The late-reverb-tail of 'Reverb large' sounds less detuned
The late-reverb-tail of 'Reverb ultra' sounds less detuned
All effects do come with default settings now and are more useable
Reworked factory patches

Enhancements for the interface:

Re-rendered the old GUI with sharper texts
The envelope's attack, decay, and release time is displayed in seconds
Registration screen is now also available in German
Renaming a preset is more straightforward
The version number now can be also shown from within help menu
The updated credits can be shown by clicking on help menu
The parameter info display is able to show longer texts now
Mousewheel support for knobs and list selectors
Double-clicking a knob or slider resets it to the default value
More detailed spectrum display
Manuals on the Mac now can be opened from within the plugin
Better init patch
Enhanced graphics
After loading patch names are derived from the fxp file name
Program name and file name are synced after saving a patch
Added messages boxes with info for some possible errors
Step speed is set to 1/1 BPM after initializing a patch
English manual has been updated
Many smaller enhancements
Patches are now in alphabetical order

Changes:

Loading and saving banks can now be accessed with a new menu called 'load' and 'save'
Renamed some parameters to be more consistent with the industry standards
The envelope's fade parameter now works as expected with long attack times
Manuals in PDF format and Gladiatorskin.txt have been moved to Gladiator3_data
On the Mac support files are now stored in /Library/Application Support/Tone2/Gladiator3_data

Updated some texts
Enhanced hardware compatibility for midi program changes
Some sound categories have been renamed

Fixes:

The timing in 44Khz and 48Khz could have been out-of-sync if large block-sizes were used
Fixed some typos
Fixed a couple of wrong pixels
Fixed a possible bug with 'static' loop mode
Compatibility fix for the 'm' key
Fixed a possible crash when the splash-screen was opened during closing

Acid Pro 8 - Magix

Acid Pro has been around for as long as i can remember and has always been a very intuitive and easy to use DAW with its paintable loops etc. It has been though,and stiil is,  left behind by far more capable DAWs such as Ableton and Stdio One. The recent update doesn't really add anything new to the table, except it's now 64 bit and cosmetic wise it is now a lot more pleasing on the eye. Still a great DAW (especially for beginners) if still  a tad dated though, compared to the competition.

ACID Pro 8 is the creative DAW for all music producers. Behind its slick new interface lies a powerful, 64-bit music production powerhouse. It combines ACID's famous easy workflow with pro-level features, over $1000 worth of new instruments, loops and effects, and 9 GB of all-new ACIDized loops. ACID has a world-class, 20-year heritage and, with VST3 support coming soon in a free update, ACID Pro 8 is very much the creative DAW for today's forward-thinking artists

Meet your new creative partner in crime ACID Pro 8 is a powerful 64-bit DAW that has ACID's famous innovative audio looping, powerful multitrack recording and hi-end audio and MIDI features, all set within an easy-to-use interface to help artists of all levels create their dreams. With a brand new GUI, but the same, famous ACID ease of use, this is an immensely creative music production environment. ACID Pro 8 also adds 64-bit processing, no less than 16 new instruments, 13 new effect plug-ins, 9 GB of new ACIDized loops, and there's VST3 support coming soon in a free update giving you access to thousands of third party plug-ins.

New powerful 64-bit architecture
Take advantage of all the power of your 64-bit operating system for creating complex projects with tons of loops, demanding plug-ins and lots of tracks and real-time effects. Power for your music.

Refreshed User Interface
Inspired to inspire! The completely refreshed user interface is designed for the special needs of musicians. Precise mixing, creative composing or professional recording – all at lightning speed.

More instruments. More sounds. More effects.
An incredible suite of 16 instruments including the DN-e1 analogue synth and Vita Sampler. 13 stunning effects: from the Analogue Modelling Suite to Vandal guitar effects, plus an amazing 9 GB of new ACIDized content and free VST3 support coming soon!

Kontakt 6

Don't think Kontakt needs too much of an introduction and with this new updated version it seems song creation has reached an entirely new level with a wealth of deep editing and new  instruments!

With KONTAKT 6, you can sound like a snare drum, a symphony orchestra, or anything in between, from a universe of sampled instruments. It’s a simple sampler when you want it to be, and a deep sonic scripting laboratory when you need something more. The next generation of the world’s favorite sampling platform gives you new instruments and new features under the hood – so you can layer, link, stretch, and shape your sounds any way you can imagine.

What's new?
Over two decades, KONTAKT has become a highly-developed engine for creating and playing sampled instruments. KONTAKT 6 offers more for players and builders alike:

Introducing KONTAKT Play Series: Three new instruments for the KONTAKT library, offering pristine, contemporary sound in a creative and streamlined interface

Wavetable synthesis module: Build hybrid instruments for entirely new sounds

Enhanced effects: Even more effects for your creations, for greater expression and realism

Creator Tools: New standalone application dedicated to improving the library creation and editing process.

THREE NEW INSTRUMENTS
KONTAKT 6 introduces the KONTAKT Play Series: Sonically rich sample libraries that combine powerful sound design with simple playability. Each offers eight intelligently mapped macro knobs giving you a wide-sweeping, intuitive range of control. They all showcase KONTAKT’s new wavetable module, each offering two blendable sound sources and a unique take on a speciality style.

ANALOG DREAMS
Iconic 20th century hardware synthesizers captured with an intricate level of detail, and creatively processed with seminal outboard effects. This hybrid analog/digital instrument utilizes blendable sound sources to deliver a modern take on classic electro and synthwave, which have seen a resurgence in recent cinema.

ETHEREAL EARTH
Hybrid organic/electronic instrument that takes myriad acoustic instruments from around the world, and combines it with digital synthesis, organic foley layers, and effects processing. The result fuses traditional and digital, with basses, strings (bowed and plucked), wind instruments, tuned percussion, bells/metals, pads/drones, leads, and textural ambiences.

HYBRID KEYS
A contemporary, creative, and ultimately new take on keys and piano sounds. HYBRID KEYS moves away from conventional sampling processes and instead focuses on inventive techniques such as re-amping, creative mic positioning in interesting spaces, and vari-speed experiments with tape.

NEW FEATURES FOR BUILDERS
KONTAKT has long since grown beyond its origins as a software sampler, and now provides a solid foundation for building advanced sample-based instruments. We’ve been supporting this platform, and the people who use it, with continuous updates to KONTAKT 5, and KONTAKT 6 builds on this strategy with some big additions for you builders out there.

NEW EFFECTS

Replika Delay: Based on the dedicated Native Instruments plug-in REPLIKA XT, it offers multiple delay modes, each with a vastly different sound character.
Room Reverb: A new high-quality algorithmic room reverb that offers options for real time modulation.
Hall Reverb: Another high-quality algorithmic reverb, tuned for hall sounds.
Plate Reverb: Emulates a plate reverberator for for classic vintage metallic sounds.
Cry Wah: Wah-wah effect module, based on the most popular wah pedal of all time.

WAVETABLE MODULE
The latest version of KONTAKT adds wavetable synthesis to the ever expanding KONTAKT toolset. All three of the new Play Series instruments incorporate this new module, and we’re looking forward to hearing what you create with this powerful new building block.

CREATOR TOOLS
Creator Tools is a standalone application designed to improve the workflows of library builders and instrument creators. It consists of two elements: A Debugger, for identifying and fixing problems in KONTAKT script, and an Instrument Editor, which can load and run Lua scripts to automap samples, duplicate and batch rename groups, and copy settings from one part of an instrument to another.