JMG Sound’s WideFire is FREE until March 19 at United Plugins
WideFire from the developer JMG Sound is now free for a limited time at United Plugins. Some of you may be familiar with the DarkFire analog-style saturation plugin from JMG Sound. If you are, you might be one of the users who asked for a streamlined plugin providing the core features of DarkFire. JMG Sound [...]
View post: JMG Sound’s WideFire is FREE until March 19 at United Plugins

Manus probably isn’t China’s second ‘DeepSeek moment’Manus, an “agentic” AI platform that launched in preview last week, is generating more hype than a Taylor Swift concert. The head of product at Hugging Face called Manus “the most impressive AI tool I’ve ever tried.” AI policy researcher Dean Ball described Manus as the “most sophisticated computer using AI.” The official Discord server […]
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Deep Drawing with UltrasonicsSmall cylindrical parts are often formed through deep drawing — a process by which a punch forms the finished piece from a flat sheet of metal using a forming die. If it sounds like that stresses the metal, it does. But researchers at Fraunhofer have found a way to reduce friction protecting both the material and the tools that do the forming. The process — known as VibroDraw — uses ultrasonic vibrations at around 500 Hz.
Researchers claim a 20% reduction in friction now, and it may be possible to go even further. With less friction, it is possible to do a deeper draw in a single stage. It also creates less heat which is good for tool life and prevents overheating lubricant. The process has a patent if you want more details. You might need to brush up on your German, though. Unsurprisingly, the vibrations are from a piezoelectric transducer.
Copper is soft enough to use 3D printed dies. We don’t know if this technique would help with that or not. Then there’s hydroforming. If you have any results using ultrasonics with these or any other techniques, be sure to let us know.

Sottovoce DSP SpeedShift Drone StretchSpeedShift Drone Stretch is a plugin which stretches audio to such an extreme that it can turn your favourite song into an dark and ambient pad. The effect is most notably used in the film Inception... Read More

DIY and Independent Musician News Last WeekLast week's DIY and Independent Musician News covered a SXSW preview, how to promote music with short-form video, single release strategies, a ROSTR update and more...
The post DIY and Independent Musician News Last Week appeared first on Hypebot.

Last Week’s Top Music Business NewsA busy week by any definition, the music business news was no exception, with copyright lawsuits, music docs booming, and more...
The post Last Week’s Top Music Business News appeared first on Hypebot.

Spitfire Audio reveal The Albions: Orchestral Selects The Albions: Orchestral Selects promises to provide composers with a comprehensive selection of string, brass, woodwind and percussion samples that offer a wide range of expressive possibilities. 

Apple to introduce new ambient music feature with iOS 18.4With the upcoming version of iOS, Apple is set to offer ambient music playlists from directly within the Control Center, each curated for a different mood. By default, it will give access to four categories – productivity, wellbeing, chill, and sleep – but users can customise this to allow access to any playlist from Apple Music.
For those with an Apple Music subscription, this feature will come with additional benefits. Subscribers will have full control over the tracks played, enabling them to skip songs, choose specific tracks, and save their favourite songs into custom playlists.

READ MORE: “This just looks like another wild scam”: Billy McFarland claps back at Mexican tourism board for claiming it has “no knowledge” of Fyre 2 – but people aren’t buying it

However, even without a subscription, users can still enjoy the feature, with Apple’s algorithms selecting and playing the most fitting tracks based on the chosen mood.
Currently, this feature is available in Beta mode, allowing users to test out its functionality and offer feedback before its full release. It’s expected to be officially rolled out in April 2025 with the release of iOS 18.4.
This update is set to include some other major changes to Apple devices, several of which involve new features for Apple Intelligence. For example, Apple Intelligence will now be able to determine which notifications are the most important and display these in a separate section of the lock screen, so only the most relevant notifications get through.
Apple also recently released the new Powerbeats Pro 2, following their first-generation release in 2019. These sporty headphones are designed to offer ten hours of battery life and have active noise cancellation. They are also the first Apple headphones able to monitor the wearer’s heart rate, a useful feature for any sportsperson wanting to keep track of their progress.
Learn more about iOS 18 at Apple.
The post Apple to introduce new ambient music feature with iOS 18.4 appeared first on MusicTech.

New DOJ proposal still calls for Google to divest Chrome, but allows for AI investmentsThe US Department of Justice is still calling for Google to sell its web browser Chrome, according to a Friday court filing.  The DOJ first proposed that Google should sell Chrome last year, under then-President Joe Biden, but it seems to be sticking with that plan under the second Trump administration. The department is, however, […]
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OCTO8R Neuro InjectionInject a set of pure sonic unpredictability for your production. Samples are purposely NOT Key marked as they were designed for creative usage in synthesizers. This pack includes:... Read More

Expensive Camera, Cheap 3D-Printed LensIf you’re a photography enthusiast, you probably own quite a few cameras, but the chances are your “good” one will have interchangeable lenses. Once you’ve exhausted the possibilities of the kit lens, you can try different focal lengths and effects, but you’ll soon find out that good glass isn’t cheap. Can you solve this problem by making your own lenses? [Billt] has done just that.
Given some CAD skills, it’s possible to replicate the mount on an existing lens, but he takes a shortcut by using a readily available camera cap project. There are two lenses detailed in the video below the break; the first is a plastic lens from a disposable camera, while the second takes one from a Holga toy camera. The plastic lens is inserted mid-print, giving the colour aberrations and soft focus you’d expect, while the Holga lens is mounted on a slide for focusing. There may be some room for improvement there, but the result is a pair of fun lenses for experimentation for not much outlay. Given the number of broken older cameras out there, it should be relatively easy for anyone wanting to try this for themselves to have a go.
The video is below the break, but while you’re on this path, take a look at a previous project using disposable camera lenses. Or, consider printing an entire camera.

The Les Paul Recording Studio The Les Paul Recording Studio features a restored collection of Les Paul’s original gear, including his groundbreaking audio console and eight-track recording setup.

LANG Electronics Inc. introduces LANG PEQ-2 plug-inHeritage Audio® brand LANG Electronics Inc., itself a notable name in pro audio circles dating back to the Sixties, is proud to introduce its LANG PEQ-2 plug-in — an authentic emulation of its industry- shaking PEQ-2 Program Equalizer (https://heritageaudio.com/peq-2/) released to widespread critical acclaim in 2023 while effectively bringing back to life one of the most desirable equalizers of all time some six decades after the original (albeit as a brand-new piece providing problem-free access to some of the sweetest- sounding tones and textures the industry has ever heard, putting pay to the prevailing practice of overcoming inflated pricing for used units that are almost always in a questionable state of operation when seeking out original Model PEQ-2s held in high regard by many discerning artists, engineers, and producers who consider the so-called ‘LANG PROGRAM EQUALIZER’ to be better than the ubiquitous Pultec when choosing it as their secret weapon) — in both native and DSP (Digital Signal Processing) formats, as of February 24…Since successfully recreating the so-called ‘LANG PROGRAM EQUALIZER’ as the PEQ-2 Program Equalizer, it stands to reason that LANG Electronics Inc. brand owner Heritage Audio collectively considered itself as being the only company capable of translating that hardware unit’s uniqueness into a plug-in that does justice to the original. After all, Heritage Audio has a proven track record in doing just that with several of its own hardware classics — think SUCCESSOR, successfully recreating all of its namesake British Diode-bridge STEREO BUS COMPRESSOR’s features as a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) workflow-friendly plug-in with welcomed additions; SYMPH EQ — executed as a stereo mix-enhancing plug-in that readily recreates its SYMPH EQ notable namesake released in hardware form to widespread critical acclaim as a single rack space-occupying master bus-/mastering-orientated unit taking its full (STEREO ASYMPTOTIC EQUALIZER) name from the shape obtained by its shelving curves; and BritStrip, baking its BritStrip CONSOLE CHANNEL STRIP modern-day classic into a vibe-infused, all-in-one plug-in. Put it this way: with LANG PEQ-2, PEQ-2 Program Equalizer’s uniqueness ultimately now evident for all to hear after months of meticulous modelling, it is clear that time has been spent wisely on LANG Electronics Inc.’s behalf by Heritage Audio.Although the LANG PEQ-2 plug-in’s layout — effectively mirroring that of its hardware namesake — is deceptively simple, it is actually capable of some extreme processing while maintaining the musicality of the signal being processed. Thanks to its independent controls for BOOST and DROOP (cut) for both the HF (high frequency) and LF (low frequency) bands, users can quickly transform their material in interesting, creative ways that they will have almost certainly not considered before. An ability to boost and cut at the same (or similar) frequencies produces equalised response curves that are, quite simply, sure to excite — experimentation is key here, but users will soon discover just how powerful this feature can be.Lastly, LANG PEQ-2 also features a high peak boost with a completely variable HF BOOST BANDWIDTH setting that spans from SHARP to BROAD to cover anyone’s needs in a most musical-sounding manner; moreover, the range of BOOST actually varies depending on what that selected HF BOOST BANDWIDTH setting is, thereby offering a very smooth and natural response at all times — very clever indeed!Helpfully, Heritage Audio’s goal with LANG Electronics Inc.’s LANG PEQ-2 plug-in — as, indeed, is the case with its own (above-mentioned) plug-ins — is to create a tool to channel creativity and put the focus firmly back on music production, which is exactly why the vintage- sounding recording equipment developer wants to reach as many users as possible by applying a pricing scheme that is both comprehensive and fair. For instance, all owners of LANG Electronics Inc.’s PEQ-2 Program Equalizer hardware unit can complete an online form (https://heritageaudio.com/lang-peq2-owners-form/) to redeem a native version of LANG Electronics Inc.’s LANG PEQ-2 plug-in for free, while both native and DSP versions of LANG PEQ-2 are also available for free to owners of Heritage Audio’s i73® PRO family products — offering varying I/O and features as the first ever USB-C audio interfaces with built-in Class A 73-style preamps — via a firmware update (https://users.heritageaudio.com), upon completion of which they will be automatically added to their plug-in collection. Fortunately for everyone else, a no-nonsense price of €99.00 EUR/$99.00 USD is guaranteed. The native version of LANG Electronics Inc.’s LANG PEQ-2 plug-in is available to purchase — as a 64-bit AAX-, AU-, and VST3-format compatible effect plug-in for MacOS (10.15.7 and higher, with both INTEL and Native Apple Silicon M1/M2/M3 compatibility) and Windows (10 and 11) — directly from Heritage Audio here: https://users.heritageaudio.com/product/lang-peq-2/An iLok account is required for LANG PEQ-2 activation. (If running LANG PEQ-2 in trial mode, note that the trial will be fully functional for 14 days after activation.)Watch Heritage Audio’s illuminating introductory video for LANG PEQ-2 here: https://youtu.be/vKTLnsKoIdwBecome better acquainted with LANG PEQ-2 while watching Heritage Audio’s walkthrough video here:https://youtu.be/-N5-KSdfSIoThe post LANG Electronics Inc. introduces LANG PEQ-2 plug-in first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

US will use stablecoins to ensure dollar hegemony — Scott BessentPresident Trump and Scott Bessent both called for a comprehensive regulatory framework on stablecoins and a clear regulatory environment.

Microsoft reportedly ramps up AI efforts to compete with OpenAIMicrosoft is accelerating its push to compete with OpenAI, its longtime collaborator, by developing its own powerful AI models and exploring alternatives to power products like Microsoft’s Copilot bot. Microsoft has developed its own AI “reasoning” models comparable to models like OpenAI’s o1 and o3-mini, the The Information reports. OpenAI is said to have refused […]
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