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A Penton Media Publication
December 4, 2008

Table of Contents
2008 Panels Live, 2009 Date Announced
Peruse the Listings, Get Listed!
Tascam DP-004 Digital Pocketstudio
Bigpoint Makes Move Into U.S.
Attention Game Sound Developers


Mix Nashville 2009!

2008 Panels Live, 2009 Date Announced
After an unbelievable inaugural year in ’08, we’re gearing up for another great event this year, so save the date – May 19 & 20, 2009! Mix Nashville includes two jam-packed days of expert panels, master classes, product demos and artist performances at Soundcheck Nashville – two days of studio, live sound, songwriting, networking, education and performance! For a taste of last year’s event, check out our exclusive video coverage mixonline.com/ms/nashville.


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 Education Guide Live

Peruse the Listings, Get Listed!
Mix’s annual education guide is now live and can be viewed at mixguides.com/education/directory.

New Products

Tascam DP-004 Digital Pocketstudio
The Tascam (www.tascam.com) DP-004 Digital Pocketstudio ($199) is a portable 4-track digital recorder that promises to retain the ease-of-use of its classic cassette-based 4-tracks but with CD-quality recording. The recorder uses dedicated knobs and buttons for easy operation, and features two unbalanced ¼-inch inputs accepting mic or line signals, plus a built-in stereo microphone. A stereo mixdown track is also included, and tracks or mixes can be transferred to a computer using USB 2. The DP-004 records to SD cards, and a 1GB card is included. A metronome and tuner are built-in, and input A accepts a guitar-level signal for direct recording.

Phiaton MS400 Headphones
These stylish new headphones from Phiaton (www.phiaton.com) feature 40mm electrodynamic drivers, 98dB sensitivity, 32-ohm impedance and a maximum input power of 1,000 mW. Made with carbon-graphite fiber, the lightweight (6.5-ounce) 'phones are easy to transport and have flexible joints allowing them to fold in two. The $249 price includes compact carry case and a ¼-inch gold-plated plug adapter.

SM Pro Audio V-Machine VST Player
The V-Machine ($599) from SM Pro Audio (www.smproaudio.com) is a compact VST/VSTi hardware playback module designed to take plug-ins anywhere and access them directly without a computer. Multiple plug-ins can be loaded into bank/preset memories of the V-Machine for immediate access and combined into chains, splits and layers to create rich and unique sounds. Full external MIDI controller support lets users access available parameter controls such as virtual dials, switches and faders. Features include a metal chassis, stereo I/O and headphone out with volume control. Three USB connections handle computer transfers of VST applications, streaming of sample content from external hard drives, connection of USB controllers and copy-protection dongles. The box is Mac/PC compatible and ships with IK Multimedia’s SampleTank SE and a set of sound samples.

Blue Icicle USB Microphone Preamplifier
The Icicle ($79.99) from Blue Microphones (www.bluemic.com) lets users connect any XLR mic directly to their computers via USB. This Mac/PC-compatible interface features phantom power, a fully balanced front end, analog gain control and driverless operation. Other features include a phantom-active power light and 44.1kHz/16-bit resolution. Icicle supports USB 1 or 2 on Mac OS X or PC (Windows XP Home/XP Pro or Vista).


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 News You Can Use

Bigpoint Makes Move Into U.S.
Publisher/developer of multiplayer online games Bigpoint has announced that it will incorporate its most popular games on USA Network's Character Arcade Website and SCI FI Channel's Game Center site, with other NBCU properties to come. Read more

Consumers Vote on 3-D
Meant to be Seen, a group on stereoscopic 3D (S-3D; the ability to display true volumetric 3-D content through 2-D media) gaming and home entertainment, has announced the preliminary results of the U-DECIDE Initiative, an ongoing study of what customers think of 3-D entertainment technologies and why, made possible with the assistance of AMD, iZ3D, Blitz Games Studios, The Game Creators and Guild Software. Read more

Schyman Composes 'Destroy All Humans' Third Installment
Film, television and videogame composer Garry Schyman has created the original music score for the newest installment of the Destroy All Humans! videogame series. Developed by Sandblast Games (THQ Inc.), Destroy All Humans!® Path of the Furon™ is set in the 1970s and the game’s score is inspired by music styles from that era. Schyman’s musical influences for the game include classic 70s film scores by Lalo Schifrin, Jerry Goldsmith and Roy Budd. The score was recorded with a live symphony orchestra, as well as brass band, flute soloist, saxophone soloist and wah wah guitar performed by A-list musicians in Hollywood. Read more

Games a Boon for Music Industry?
In these times of recession, nearly every industry is looking for a meal ticket and a recent New York Times "Freakanomics" blog post touched on video games' ability to keep the music biz alive and well. Guest writer David Edery, who happens to work for Xbox Live Arcade, riffed on games like "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" and the dramatic effect they've had on music consumption in the country, generating "hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for their respective publishers." Read more

TalkBack

Attention Game Sound Developers
We're guessing you didn't always work in videogames; we know a lot of you have roots in music and post. Tell us why you made the switch to the game world, and the name of the first title you worked on. E-mail us at mixeditorial@mixonline.com. Find out what others had to say at mixonline.com/TalkBack/game_sound/.

Game Audio Poll Results!
What is your game platform of choice—Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo/Wii or PC? Check out the results at mixonline.com/poll_results/?poll_id=9909334105!

Game Audio Digital Edition
Pick up your copy of the digital edition here

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