GoldWave, the professional digital audio editor, has been updated to version 5.24.

Changes since v5.23

• Sortable columns in File Merger tool.
• New fade curves for Crossfade.
• Click-and-drag scrolling using middle (wheel) button.
• Increased ranges in Parametric Equalizer.
• Recognition of files with ID3v4 tags.
• Replaced font in all dialogs (more readable in Vista).
• Several fixes and improvements .
• Playback cursor appearance.
• Option to hide cursor.
• Window to set cursor (Ctrl+G).
• Option to delete files in Batch Processing.
• Minimize button on Batch Processing Progress window.
• Realtime previewing of changes in Spectrum Filter.
• New keyboard commands to set cue points (Q, Shift+Q).
• “Select Between Cues” in right-click cue context menu.
• Several fixes and improvements.

GoldWave is available for Windows PC, and costs $45 USD.

Visit the GoldWave website for more information, and a link to download a fully functional evaluation version of GoldWave.

Swar Systems has released Volume 4, a sample collection of Indian instruments for use with Swar products.

Volume 4 is our latest addition of rare instruments from all regions of India. Some of them are very difficult to find nowadays.

Volume 4 adds 25 new instruments:

• Strings: Rabab, Mandolin, Tenor Banjo, Ravanhattha, Surbahar, Violin, Ektara, Swarmandal.
• Percussion: Khuang, Halgi, Pung, Manipuri Dhol, Nishan, Bihu Dhol, Daphli, Khartaal, Eddaka, Khol, Bells.
• Wind: Surnaii, Tutari, Pepa, Been, Algozay, Harmonium 3.

Volume 4 brings the number of instruments included in the Swar Systems products to 74. This volume can also be purchased as an add-on for $40 USD.

Visit Swar Systems for more information and audio demos.

MPC-Samples has released The Beat Producer Series, a collection of all 12 sample packs from their Speciality Drum section.

Inside you’ll find many drum sounds separated out into specific sound-type, such as ‘crunchy’, ‘phat’, ‘tuff’ etc, ensuring you can locate the most suitable sound for your beat quickly and easily. All packs are laid out in fast loading MPC programs and work with all MPCs.

The Beat Producer Series features

• 1674 drum and percussive samples, SND or WAV versions of all sounds (16 bit) + PGMs for loading into all MPCs.
• Compatibility: MPC1000, MPC2500, MPC500, MPC2000XL, MPC2000, MPC4000, MPC60 (OS3.1), MPC3000 (OS3.11), and any software sampler.
• Download instantly after purchase, 12 individual downloads, from 3MB to 15MB.

The Beat Producer Series is available now for 138.99 EUR, a 44.2% savings on the individual packs.

Visit MPC-Samples for more information and a free sample pack.

Inspiration Sounds recently released Pure Live Breaks Vol 1, a collection of drum grooves played by International Session Drummer, Gary Widlake.

Pure Live Breaks Vol 1 features over 270MB of rough and ready drumloops recorded at tempos from 95-130 BPM.

You get a little over 120 dry loops and the same amount of processed loops, in Acidized .wav, REX2, and Apple Loops formats.

The drum kit used for the recordings sounds nice and clear, with a thumpy kick and crunchy snare. Although the sound of the drums is identical across the various loops, there is quite a variety of grooves which fit well in pop and funk music, and can easily be used in other genres as well.

Looping live drums is always a bit tricky, dealing with cymbals and such. Inspiration Sounds has done a great job crafting loops with natural sounding starts and looping points.

The processed loops sound a little more aggressive (multi-band compression, some reverb perhaps) and are probably better suited for pop/rock or electronic music.

So what do I think?

It’s rather hard to program drums to sound live, which is good for people like Gary. I’m quite taken by the work he has done on these grooves. They are diverse and many loops can be cut up so you can improvise on them in your music. I personally like the sound of the drums a lot: tight & crunchy, though laid back & groovy.

Inspiration Sounds has put up a demo track and some free samples, so check those to see if you think these are some of the freshest and phattest drum grooves around.

Pure Live Breaks Vol 1 is available for download for £19.95 GBP (about $40 USD) from Inspiration Sounds.