Retro AS-1 Reaches Version 2.0
March 10, 2000 BitHeadz Inc. announced Retro AS-1 2.0
digital synthesizer for Mac and Windows 95/98. The highly acclaimed Retro
AS-1 software synthesizer, used by professional musicians world wide on
stage and in the studio, now has long list of exciting new features,
including a new UI, better support for 3rd party developers, and powerful
new audio processing functions.
Retro AS-1 v. 2.0 now has up to sixty-four stereo voices, three stereo
oscillators, two stereo filters and two stereo insert effects! An
external audio input function has also been included which will process
vocals or any other acoustic signal through Retro's synth engine. There
is also an all new ring modulator, degrade effect, pitch shifting, and a
multitap chorus, as well as new filters and waveforms.
Retro AS-1 2.0 is also among the first to implement support for the new
Apple G4 processor. "We have made this project a high priority and are
very impressed with the results." says BitHeadz CEO Steve O'Connell,
"With the G4 optimization to our code we are seeing up to 4X improvement
in performance, which translates into over twice the polyphony. The new
Velocity Engine allows us to perform four 32 bit operations in parallel
which will give us the ability to provide more sophisticated playback
algorithms, higher resolution effects, and lots of additional voices."
There is now DirectConnect support for use with Digidesign Pro Tools Mix
and Mix Plus systems which routes up to 34 streams of digital audio to
the TDM bus. DirectConnect^Á support for Digidesign's Pro Tools LE
software should be available in April 2000.
New FreeMIDI, OMS, and Pro Tools patch names support is also included to
automate the process of updating patch names to make using Retro with
your sequencer easier than ever!
Version 2.0 of Retro AS-1 now has a new and friendlier user interface and
that means creating custom sounds has never been easier! Version 2.0 will
also include a completely revised soundset which includes over 400 new
presets for a total of over 1,400 patches!
Audio outputs can also be redirected using a new matrix for Direct I/O
and ASIO, and a controller mapper allows you to assign any 8 controllers
to any 8 Retro parameters. Control strip access to global effects, record
to disk, and voices/CPU % are also included for Macintosh users.
Retro 2.0 will be available in Q1, 2000 for $259.00, $99.00 upgrade for
registered Retro owners.
For more information, visit BitHeadz on the web at www.bitheadz.com. | 
