Pelonis Model 42 Monitors

Acoustic designer Chris Pelonis has begun shipping his highly anticipated Model 42 professional monitoring system. Designed from the ground up to reflect the exacting performance standards associated with the Pelonis name, the Model 42 delivers incredibly accurate detail and imaging along with an amazingly musical sonic signature at a price point accessible to engineers, producers and music lovers at all levels ($999 MAP).

The ported cabinets feature a striking, innovative rhomboid shape that allows for effortless comprehensive placement, as the inward angle of the front face ensures that the drivers are aimed correctly – they can even be angled up or down! The state of the art concentric 100mm (4”) multi-fiber woofer encircling a 19mm (0.75”) titanium dome tweeter assures the most accurate time domain response of any design, providing a frequency response of 75 Hz-35kHz (±3dB). The bi-amplified system is powered by four 100w amplifiers specifically designed for the Model 42, which are housed in an external module along with audiophile grade active crossovers.

Free software allows for the system to be fine tuned via USB for optimum performance in any environment. A matching subwoofer system designed to flawlessly extend the Model 42’s bass response will be available before the end of 2011.

With over a quarter century of experience and a list of high profile clients a mile long, Pelonis Sound and Acoustics is a full service company dedicated to excellence in the field of studio design and consultation, acoustic analysis and measurement, construction and installation solutions for recording studios, multimedia production facilities, performance venues, places of worship and theaters.

iPad 2 Issues: Backlight Bleeding, Dead Pixels, Yellow Tinting

Some iPad 2 owners have reported receiving new units with backlight issues, dead pixels and yellow tinting in LCD or backlight bleeding. These problems are being reported from various news and websites. A slight yellow discoloration of the iPad 2′s screen the same issues was affected with the iPhone 4 early on in production.

Some users are also reported that a dark image on loaded, and this leaking around the edges of the screen. The light leakage can be stopped by lowering the brightness of the display but this is not a perfect way to fix this problem. That not means its okay for Apple to ship faulty products in the first place.

While yellow tinting is normal and will dissipate as the glue from the factory dries, those dead pixels aren’t going to disappear over a certain time period.

Early experienced with products iPhone 4 units have same problem then the bonding agent Apple uses called Organofunctional Silane Z-6011 to bond the layers of glass. Apple has stated that “after one or two days of use, especially with the screen, and will complete the evaporation process and the yellow “blotches” will disappear.”

Japan lays power cable in race to stop radiation; survivor found

Exhausted engineers attached a power cable to the outside of Japan's tsunami-crippled nuclear plant on Saturday in a desperate attempt to get water pumps going that would cool down overheated fuel rods and prevent the deadly spread of radiation.

In a rare bit of good news, a young man was pulled alive from the rubble eight days after a massive earthquake set off a 10-meter high tsunami that ripped through northeast Japan killing thousands and triggered the growing crisis at a nuclear power plan north of Tokyo.

Beleaguered Prime Minister Naoto Kan sounded out the opposition, which only hours before the quake struck had been trying to oust him from office, about establishing a government of national unity to deal with a crisis that has shattered Japan and sent a shock through global financial markets, with major economies joining forces to calm the Japanese yen.

It has also stirred unhappy memories of Japan's past nuclear nightmare -- the U.S. atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Japan is the only country to have been hit by an atomic bomb.

Further cabling inside was under way before an attempt to restart water pumps needed to cool overheated nuclear fuel rods at the six-reactor Fukushima plant in northeastern Japan, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

Working inside a 20 km (12 miles) evacuation zone at Fukushima, nearly 300 engineers were focused on trying to find a solution by restoring power to pumps in four of the reactors.

They managed to restart a diesel pump which they were using to cool reactor No. 5, the nuclear safety agency said.

"TEPCO has connected the external transmission line with the receiving point of the plant and confirmed that electricity can be supplied," the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, said in a statement.

Another 1,480 meters (5,000 feet) of cable are being laid inside the complex before engineers try to crank up the coolers at reactor No.2, followed by numbers 1, 3 and 4 this weekend, company officials said.

"If they are successful in getting the cooling infrastructure up and running, that will be a significant step forward in establishing stability," said Eric Moore, a nuclear power expert at U.S.-based FocalPoint Consulting Group.

If that fails, one option under consideration is to bury the sprawling 40-year-old plant in sand and concrete to prevent a catastrophic radiation release.

That method was used to seal huge leakages from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the world's worst nuclear reactor disaster.

"Power supply is an absolute necessity," said Michio Ishikawa, former president of the Japan Nuclear Technology Institute. "It will take at least one week for things to stabilize and real stability will take much more time."

Jiji news agency reported the TEPCO had begun using a water pump at reactor No.5.

Underlining authorities' desperation, fire trucks sprayed water overnight in a crude tactic to cool reactor No.3, considered the most critical because of its use of mixed oxides, or mox, containing both uranium and highly toxic plutonium.

"I humbly apologize to the public for causing such trouble. Although it was due to natural disaster, I am extremely regretful," the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper quoted TEPCO CEO Masataka Shimizu as saying in a statement.

Japan has raised the severity rating of the nuclear crisis to level 5 from 4 on the seven-level INES international scale, putting it on a par with the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, although some experts say it is more serious. Chernobyl, in Ukraine, was a 7 on that scale.

SURVIVOR PULLED FROM RUBBLE

The operation to avert large-scale radiation has overshadowed the humanitarian aftermath of the 9.0-magnitude quake and 10-meter (33-foot) tsunami that struck on March 11.

The survivor, a young man, was pulled from the rubble in the city of Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture, which was one of the hardest-hit regions, the military said. He was in shock and unable to speak.

Nearly 7,000 people have been confirmed killed in the double natural disaster, which turned whole towns into waterlogged and debris-shrouded wastelands.

Another 10,700 people are missing with many feared dead.

Some 390,000 people, including many among Japan's aging population, are homeless and battling near-freezing temperatures in shelters in northeastern coastal areas.

Food, water, medicine and heating fuel are in short supply and a Worm Moon, when the full moon is at its closest to Earth, may bring floods to devastated areas where the geography has been changed by the disaster.

"Everything is gone, including money," said Tsukasa Sato, a 74-year-old barber with a heart condition, as he warmed his hands in front of a stove at a shelter for the homeless.

Health officials and the U.N. atomic watchdog have said radiation levels in the capital Tokyo were not harmful. But the city has seen an exodus of tourists, expatriates and many Japanese, who fear a blast of radioactive material.

"I'm leaving because my parents are terrified. I personally think this will turn out to be the biggest paper tiger the world has ever seen," said Luke Ridley, 23, from London as he sat at Narita international airport using his laptop.

"I'll probably come back in about a month."

Though there has been alarm around the world, experts have been warning there is little risk of radiation at dangerous levels spreading to other nations.

The U.S. government said "minuscule" amounts of radiation were detected in California consistent with a release from Japan's damaged facility, but there were no levels of concern.

Amid their distress, Japanese were proud of the 279 nuclear plant workers toiling in the wreckage, wearing masks, goggles and protective suits sealed by duct tape.

"My eyes well with tears at the thought of the work they are doing," Kazuya Aoki, a safety official at Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, told Reuters.

The plight of the homeless worsened following a cold snap that brought heavy snow to the worst-affected areas.

Nearly 290,000 households in the north were still without electricity, officials said, and the government said about 940,000 households lacked running water.

Aid groups say most victims are getting help, but there are pockets of acute suffering.

"We've seen children suffering with the cold, and lacking really basic items like food and clean water," Stephen McDonald of Save the Children said in a statement.

(Additional reporting by Linda Sieg, Nathan Layne, Elaine Lies, Leika Kihara, Nick Macfie, Jon Herskovitz, Joseph Radford and Chris Gallagher in Japan; Fiona Ortiz in Madrid and; Scott DiSavino in New York; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Get Your FREE Devil-Loc Plug-In from SoundToys

The Devil-Loc

Essentially a distorting compressor but so much more, it's really quite simple but also a bit supernatural. Because the release time of the compression is effected by the input level (like the Level-Loc) it's a bit hard to predict exactly what will happen the first time you work with it. Luckily with just two knobs, you can find the magic spot for your track fairly quickly and you'll be going for that sound more and more. Don't be fooled by it's simple front panel, this plug-in has a lot more cool sounds than you'd expect out of two knobs. Get crushing kick drums, to almost rhythmic level sweeps with the crazing sucking compression, to blitzed out blasting beat loops. Drive it hard and you get straight hardware sounding break-up and drive.

Go here for your free code https://www.soundtoys.com/sxswpromo/&rc=311-0817-299

Lindell Audio 17X Compressor/Limiter

The Seventeen X is a one channel transformer coupled compressor/limiter. It's a FET (field effect transistor) design that incorporate some new and exclusive features such as "High Pass Sidechain Filter", "Mix Knob" mix between dry and wet signal (parallel compression), "Signal High Pass and Low Pass Filters" smooth 6db/oct filters that colors the sound nicely.

The 17X uses the absolute best parts available: Alps pots, Carnhill Transformers, Wima Caps, Sifam Vintage VU, Original Fender Super Switches, Gold plated XLR's, etc.

The 17X is our take on the classic "1176 Sound". It can be smooth or it can be a rock'n'roll monster when using ratio 100:1 (all in). Please have listen to the sound examples below.

The 17X is a joint venture between producer Tobias Lindell (Lindell Audio, Studio Bohus) and IGS Audio.

• FET Style Compressor
• Variable Mix Control For Precise Parallel Compression
• 5 Step Switched Attack Times 20ms to 800ms
• 5 Step Switched Release Times 50ms to 0,8sec
• 5 Step Switched High Pass Sidechain Filter. Off, 100Hz, 200Hz, 300Hz, 600Hz
• 5 Step Swithced Ratio 4:1, 8:1, 12:1, 20:1, 100:1
• Signal High Pass Filter 6db/Oct @ 80Hz
• Signal Low Pass Filter 6db/Oct @ 12kHz
• True Hardware Bypass
• Carnhill I/O Transformers
• Switchable Vintage Sifam Meter To Show Input-Gain Reduction-Output
• Price €2150 Euro/$3,049.13 USD

Petition to pull “gay cure” app hits 20,000 signatures

An online petition to pull an app from iTunes targeted at “homosexual strugglers” has reached 20,000 signatures.

Apple has not commented publicly on whether it intends to pull the app from Christian group Exodus International and did not return Cult of Mac’s request for comment.

Last November, Apple removed an app called the Manhattan Declaration from the iTunes store after outcry and over  7,000 signatures on an online poll that the content was an anti-gay and hate-mongering. The app makers asked to have it re-instated to no avail.

The group behind the latest petition, Truth Wins Out, has also asked Apple to intervene but received no response. Signers of the petition more than tripled since our last post on the Exodus app.

They issued the following statement: “If Apple continues to bury its head in the sand, we will hold a press conference in front of their offices featuring sexual and spiritual abuse victims of “ex-gay” programs.”

Guitar Amp Simulation in Reason 5

Yes, Reason really can do guitar amp/cabinet simulation

by Craig Anderton

Because Reason doesn’t accept external plug-ins, you can’t use conventional guitar amp simulation software within Reason. However, Reason is sufficiently flexible that you can construct a guitar amp/cabinet simulator using only two of its available processing modules - here's how.

1. Go to the Create menu, and select Dr. Octo Rex Loop Player.

2. Click on the Dr. Octo Rex folder button (Browse Patch), then choose a dry guitar as a signal source for testing the amp sim we’re about to create. A good choice is the ElGt_Faith_G_085.rx2 guitar loop. To find it, navigate to the Reason Factory Sound Bank, then go Dr. Rex Instrument Loops > Guitar Loops > Telecaster Rhythm 085 BPM.

3. Make sure Enable Loop Playback is on.

4. Go Create > Scream 4 Distortion, then go Create > MClass Equalizer.

5. Hit Tab, then verify the patching on the back: The Dr. Octo Rex outs go to Scream 4, and its outs go to the MClass Equalizer. The MClass Equalizer outs go to your mixer or output.

6. Hit Tab again to return to the front panel. Click on the Dr. Octo Rex “Run” button so you can hear the loop play.

7. Guitar cabinets don’t have much highs over 5kHz. Enable the MClass EQ high shelf, set Frequency to around 5kHz, and to add a little resonance, set Q around 1. Set Gain to minimum. This rolls off the highs and produces a little “bump” around 2kHz.

8. In Scream 4, enable “Body.” Types A, B, and C are different guitar cabinet types; Scale chooses the size, with clockwise settings giving smaller cabs. For now, set Type = C, Reso and Auto = 0, and Scale between 100 and 127. Note that in the Body section, the Auto parameter adds an envelope follower effect. While it doesn’t contribute to a more realistic guitar amp sound, it can provide some cool effects if you’re not concerned about “authenticity.”

9. In Scream 4, enable “Damage” and choose the type of distortion characteristics you want. The Damage Control parameter has a huge effect on the sound, so experiment; the settings shown in the screen shot give a strong overdrive sound, but also try the Distortion, Fuzz, and Tube algorithms—varying P1 and P2 to optimize—for more distorted effects.

After choosing your distortion algorithm, re-visit step 8. Changing the Type, Scale, and Reso parameters let you “customize” your cabinet for the chosen type of distortion.

And that’s all there is to it - aside from tweaking it to optimize the sound to your liking. Enjoy your amp sim!

KS DIgital C88 3-Way Coaxial Studio Monitor

C88-Coax

	3-Way Coaxial Studio Monitor For its use as a main monitor, also in near field range, the C88 Coax presents itself as an outstanding full range loudspeaker. The com-bination of an 8” coaxial chassis with an integrated 1.45” fabric tweeter and an 8” bass chassis results in a main monitor with full control down to the deepest frequencies.With exceptionally powerful and effortless sound across the full frequency range, the C88 Coax is convincing as a point sound source even in smaller production rooms with reduced listening distances. The 8” coax chassis, which we designed ourselves, uses carbon fibre offering an optimal combination of stiffness with minimal weight. This material allows a strong, dry bass on one hand and a mid range free of distortion and partial oscillations on the other. The shape of the membrane for the bass/mid range drivers forms a wave-guide for the tweeter cone, thereby directing the sound evenly to the listening position. In this way, the individual room acoustics are neutralised which is a great advantage in unfavourable monitoring situations.

The Summit Audio TLA-100 works great on bass & vocals

Summit Audio TLA-100 Tube Leveling Amplifier

The Summit Audio TLA-100A Tube Leveling Amplifier is a classic design with a technological hybrid of vacuum tube and solid state devices. The harmonious blend of old and new technologies produces the incredibly warm and smooth sound of vacuum tubes in a compression device that does not have the inherent disadvantages of older designs. Summit Audio has been making the TLA-100A for over 20 years and produces a sound that remains a much sought after quality that is used on literally thousands of records and in live sound venues across the world.

Fairlight App for iPhone & iPad