Straight from the new Google group set up by Peter McIlwain and crew at CEMA:

CEMA is pleased to announce that it has received additional funding to continue the development of Nodal. We are currently in the process of updating the current version, along with releasing a version that runs under Microsoft Windows. These new versions should be released around February 2009.

Further development of Nodal will continue in 2009, where we will move to charging a small fee to purchase an updated version of the software (Windows and Mac compatible). Fees collected will go back into further developments of the software. Updated versions will include technical support, a more detailed manual and tutorial guides. Please check back on this page throughout 2009 for updates.

This is exciting. I hope they figure out an easy way to sync this thing with my DAW… I highly recommend checking this out at the link below.

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• More info on Nodal is here.
• The Nodal Google Group is here.

OK. So I was, um, not thinking. If I had been, why would I make a resolution only TWO WEEKS before NAMM to NOT buy any new synth plug-ins before June 2009? I don’t even have the excuse of being hung over. Oh well…

Here are some damn interesting things announced on the first day of NAMM, several of which will migrate into my possession at some point this year. (Note that except for a short discussion of Live8, this is mostly a list with links. I’ll write more on each of these in the future.)

Ableton announces LIVE 8…

The biggest surprise to me was the announcement of Ableton Live8. Caught me completely by surprise.

First, if you have not checked out the videos on Ableton’s site, please do. Reading about the new features is not nearly as effective (IMHO) as seeing some of them in action. I’ve provided links to YouTube videos below, but better quality videos are available directly from Ableton at this link: http://www.ableton.com/home?movie=4

First up, there is an overview of Live8…

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But it gets so much more interesting. Check out “Share” for remote collaboration…

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Then there is “Extend” the integration of Max/MSP into LIVE…

Hey!

Another quick update, this time on music production and music tool tutorials.

When you post a “how-to” question about music software on some discussion boards, you can often get a “RTFM” (Read The Effin’ Manual) response. And although I essentially agree with the sentiment, I find that a) I hardly have time,** and b) the softwares we are dealing with are increasingly complex. And those two facts tend to reinforce each other.

Because of this, I think my learning style has changed. I appreciate and enjoy video tutorials. I can see and watch how something is done, and I pick it up much quicker. Of late, I’ve come across some really nice tutorials:

• Digital Performer by MacAudioLab– First up is a set of new DP6 tutorials from MacAudioLab. These were just released in the last month or so. They are the only comprehensive set of tutorials on DP6 on the market at present. (The other set of DP6 tutorials out there by TutorialDepot are decent bite-sized chunks, but I’d hardly call them comprehensive.) Some of the material is taken from their DP5 tutorials (the bits that have not changed between versions), but there is A LOT of new material including several tutorials on MOTU’s VIs (MX4, MachFive2, Ethno) plus other material.