PSU Music Technology
Recommended Applications
(click on app name to link to app site)
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Audio/MIDI |
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Digital Performer
DP does both midi sequencing and audio recording/editing. It is made by Mark of the Unicorn, who also makes some great audio hardware. DP is only available for Mac. DP is considered one of the top three or four apps of its kind, and is the main sequencing application used in the PSU Music Technology Lab. |
PT is the premiere audio editing and mixing application. It also has some MIDI sequencing capability. You will find PT in many professional studios. PT is made by Digidesign, and you need Digidesign or M-Audio hardware to run it. PT is cross-platform (it will run on both Macs and PC's) and is available in the PSU Music Technology Lab. |
Peak is a 2-track editing/mastering tool for Mac. It is spendy, but does everything you need it to and more. You can download a free full-featured 14-day demo. |
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A wonderful FREE app for making file format conversions, also applying special effects. Did we mention it's free? |
Sound Studio is a Mac application for working with digital audio. You could think of it as a sort of "ProTools lite." From their site: "Digitize vinyl records and tapes, record live performances, create your own mixes with crossfades, tweak the levels and EQ, apply digital effects, and save in several file formats." Cost is modest. |
A FREE audio editing app that will edit many audio formats including mp3. The beta version will work with OSX with a couple of limitations. |
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Amadeus Pro is a very powerful sound editor for Macintosh (the previous version, Amadeus II won't work with newer operating systems). In addition to basic editing, it also has powerful analysis tools and will work with MP3's. Cost is modest. |
Soundflower is a dandy little FREE tool that allows any two applications that support AU's to send audio in and out. Typical use: recording the output of iTunes into Digital Performer. |
A very good and inexpensive batch converter for audio formats. |
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Sound Byte is a computerized cart machine for the Macintosh. It is very similar to the so-called cart machines used at radio stations in the past. Each recording - a jingle, advertisement, etc, was on a cartidge, which could be quickly selected and played. |
A great app for slowing music down without changing pitch. Cost is modest. |
Similar toTranscribe, a tool for slowing music down without changing pitch. |
Reaper |
Audio Hijack Pro |
Ardour Ardour is a free (contribution requested) Digital Audio Sequencer. Seems to be fairly high-featured especially for the price. |
Music Sharing |
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Reverb Nation "is a web site, launched in 2006, that focuses on the independent music industry. It aims to provide a central site for musicians, producers, and venues to collaborate and communicate"
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Soundcloud "s an online audio distribution platform which allows collaboration, promotion and distribution of audio recordings" |
Ourstage "is a web and mobile-based music community offering free music streaming, discovery, and editorial content. holds monthly sponsored competitions for artists to compete, win prizes, and publicize themselves." |
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Virtual Instruments |
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Crystal is a very nice, FREE softsynth for use as a plug-in, either in VST or AU. In other words, you can use it within either Cubase (via VST) or any sequencer capable of dealing with Core Audio (including Digital Performer). |
VSamp is an inexpensive sample editor/player that does just it needs to do. Support AU's so you can use it as a plug in most pro sequencers. |
IK Multimedia makes lots of good virtual instruments of various kinds. Sampletank is their flagship sample player. Not cheap, but good and fairly stable. |
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Native Instruments is one of the largest maker of high quality virtual instruments. Kontakt is their main sample editor and player, and is a "must-have" for professional studios. Absynth is a very high quality synthesizer. You can get all their instruments in one package called Komplete. |
Mach5, EX4, and other MOTU Instruments I am a fan of Mark of the Unicorn software and hardware. I like MOTU instruments, partlyy because they work so well with Digital Performer, my sequencer of choice. Mach 5 is the equivalent of Kontakt, and I recommend it. MX$ is a good synth, comparable to Absynth. Check out their other instruments too, comparitively moderate in price. |
Garritan Personal Orchestra and other Instruments GPO is a good, moderately priced, orchestra instrument. Garritan also makes some very fine larger scale instruments, highly recommended. |
Training
A good set of videos here including some training for DP and Cubase. There's a FREE update for DP4 here.
Training in lots of apps including DP and Pro Tools. There's a DP4 vid here.
Samples
Some excellent woodwind samples for Gigasampler.
Also a page of FREE samples.
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Notation
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Always the premiere notation application, in use by most professional engravers. Hard to learn and klunky operate, it is very powerful, meaning you can probably do most everything you need to do. An advantage to using Finale is that you can exchange files with other Finale users. Hard, but highly recommended. |
Sibelius is high quality software which has earned the reputation as a somewhat-easier-to-operate alternative to Finale. Also, a lot of online notation files are posted in a Siblelius-friendly format. Power users may sometimes find it limiting, but still highly recommended. |
This is intersting software, an online music notation application. Think Google Apps for music. You can sign up for a free account. Worth checking out even if it is not your primary go-to notation application. |
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Utilities
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A wonderful FREE app for making file format conversions, also applying special effect. This app should be on every computer that deals with audio. |
Soundflower is a dandy little FREE tool that allows any two applications that support AU's to send audio in and out. Typical use: recording the output of iTunes into Digital Performer. |
A very good and inexpensive batch converter for audio formats. |
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Allows you to play MIDI with the computer keyboard. |
Allows you to send audio over TCP/IP |
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Macro software that allows you to do several actions with one keystroke. |
WireTap is a FREE product for MacOS X that allows you to record any audio playing on your Mac, saving it to a file for later listening or processing. |
Handy Utility for taking advanced screen shots and also videos of screen tasks. Video can include audio for narrating tutorials. |
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FileType
FileType is an application to change the file types (type- and creator-codes) of files. You can save the file types you frequently use in a database so you don't have to remember them. It's very easy to use. |
Good app for incremental backup. You can schedule Retrospect to automatically back up only files that have changed, and to either CD/DVD or to a remote hard drive. |
Audio Hijack Low cost app that allows you to record off an internet streaming site. |
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Cinematize
Relatively cheap app that will let you extract video and audio from DVD's. |
TOKI TC
A cheap app that will burn a SMPTE time code window into a Quicktime move. |
Black Cat Systems
This company makes several inexpensive audio utilities, including Audiocorder, Audio Toolbox, along with some otther fun apps. |
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Jack connects any number of different applications to a single hardware audio device; it also allows applications to send and receive audio to and from each other. |
fmpegX is a Mac OS X GUI to ffmpeg the "hyper fast video and audio encoder" |
Send as many 1 GB files as you like, free. Files don't need to be stuffed. |
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Disk copying program It can make a straight copy, or "clone" -- useful when you want to move all your data from one machine to another, or do a simple backup. |
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Information
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Website that posts latest versions of most every notable application. |
Online resource for Mac compatible software. |
Online resource for Mac compatible software. |
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FTP
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Fetch is an easy-to-use, full-featured FTP and SFTP client for the Apple Macintosh. |
Simple, powerful FTP Client. Fugu without the bugs. |
Cyberduck is an open source FTP and SFTP (SSH Secure File Transfer) browser licenced under the GPL with an easy to use interface, integration with external editors and support for many Mac OS X system technologies such as Spotlight, Bonjour, the Keychain and AppleScript. |
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Suppliers/Repair
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TBA |
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Click on Academic Sales |
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Sheet Music
Company Links
Ableton
http://www.ableton.com
Antares Technologies
http://www.antarestech.com
Arbiter Fuzz Face
http://www.wavedistribution.com
Arboretum Systems
http://www.arboretum.com
AudioEase
http://www.audioease.com
Audix
http://www.audixusa.com
Auralex
http://auralex.com
Bittree, Inc.
http://www.bittree.com
B.L.U.E. Microphones
http://www.bluemic.com
CLM Dynamics
http://www.clmdynamics.com
Dangerous Music
http://www.dangerousmusic.com
Dynaudio Acoustics
http://www.dynaudioacoustics.dk
Echo
http://www.echoaudio.com
Electrix
http://www.electrixpro.com
Empirical Labs
http://www.empiricallabs.com
Eventide Inc.
http://www.eventide.com
Fxpansion
http://www.fxpansion.com
Glaresoft
http://www.glaresoft.com
Glyph Technologies
http://www.GlyphTech.com
iZotope
http://www.izotope.com
LipinskiSound
http://lipinskisound.com
M-Audio
http://M-Audio.com
Magma Chassis
http://www.magma.com
Marathon Computer
http://www.marathoncomputer.com
Melodyne
http://www.celemony.com
Metric Halo
http://www.mhlabs.com
McDSP
http://www.mcdsp.com
Milab Microphones
http://www.milabmic.com
Millennia Media
http://www.mil-media.com
MEG/MusikElectronic-Geithein
http://www.me-geithain.de
Mytek Digital
http://www.mytekdigital.com
PSPaudioware
http://www.PSPaudioware.com
PreSonus
http://www.presonus.com/
Primacoustic
http://www.primacoustic.com
Radial Enginieering
http://www.radialeng.com
Radikal Technologies
http://www.radikaltechnologies.com
Reel Drums
http://www.reeldrums.com
Requisite Audio Engineering
http://www.requisiteaudio.com
Royer Labs
http://www.royerlabs.com
Serato
http://www.serato.com
SoundToys
http://www.soundtoys.com
SRS Labs Circle Surround
http://www.srslabs.com
Telefunken USA
http://www.telefunkenusa.com
TC Electronic
http://www.tcelectronic.com
TC Helicon
http://www.tc-helicon.com
Tech21NYC
http://www.tech21nyc.com
ToneBone
http://www.tonebone.com
Tonelux
http://www.tonelux.com
Tube-Tech
http://www.tcelectronic.com
Ultrasone Headphones
http://ultrasoneusa.com
URS (Unique Recording Software)
http://www.ursplugins.com
Universal Audio
http://www.uaudio.com
Waves
http://www.waves.com
Wizoo
http://www.wizoo.com
ZebraCase
http://www.zebracase.com