Cubase SX 3.1 and Cubase SL 3.1 upgrades are now available from Steinberg. I said earlier that Steinberg had said the Cubase 3.1 upgrade would be released in late August. They did make it, but only just — the press release came out on the 31st.

Despite having dozens of new features, the new upgrade is free to registered Cubase users. I mentioned before that the main feature in Cubase 3.1 is improved hardware integration. The website also discusses some of the other previously-noted features:

“The 3.1 versions of Cubase SL and Cubase SX also offer a range of other new features. These include the new “Equal-Power” panner which maintains equal power across the entire panning range, while the new Mixer key commands offer full control of the entire VST mixer using customized key commands. Users of Cubase SX/SL 3.1 can also render playback parameters into MIDI data, “freezing” MIDI track play parameters quickly and permanently for project transfer to another application. Cubase SX/SL 3.1 include advanced multiprocessor support, including the latest dual-core processors from AMD and Intel, giving professional users full access to the latest high-end workstation computers with dramatic performance gain. Cubase SX3.1 now supports Steinberg’s DTS and Dolby Digital Encoder plug-ins, allowing Cubase SX users to encode to these popular industry-standard surround formats.”

The ReBirth Museum is an online homage to one of the great music software products. Propellerhead Software have discontinued ReBirth, created this website shrine to its brilliance, and — here’s the nice bit — made the software freely available from the site.

ReBirth was a landmark product in the history of software instruments. It was a perfect emulation of three classic Roland synth modules: the TB303 Bass Line and the TR808 and (on later versions) TR909 Rhythm Composers, as heard on thousands of records over the last 20 years. ReBirth was a huge success and made Propellerhead Software famous, and Reason followed in ReBirth’s wake. Now you can learn more than you ever really needed to know about ReBirth, and also get a copy for yourself.

The ReBirth Museum now has the software itself, modifications for it, forums, and thousands of downloadable songs for you to play with. At the time, the buzz was immense — as it says on the website, the whole “hardware-in-software” concept was quite futuristic a little while ago: “Propellerhead Software’s ReBirth RB-338 pioneered a new era of music instrumentation that merged the principles of “virtual reality” with historic synthesizers and drum machines. This concept seemed impossible at the time, but has since become a common trend in music software. Since its introduction in 1997, ReBirth has influenced numerous companies to take advantage of contemporary technology by incorporating computer simulation into the latest generation of products.”

Voxengo have released a new version of CurveEQ, their “WYSIWYG linear phase spline equalizer.” It lets you draw the EQ curve instead of having to use sliders, and it shows you the frequency spectrum of the input and output signal so you can fine-tune your sound. Version 2.3 has a redesigned interface and some stability and performance tweaks, but is otherwise pretty much the same as previous versions. It’s nor necessarily the only EQ you’ll need: “CurveEQ perfectly suits the needs of mastering, and in some cases CurveEQ is suitable for use as an in-track FX insert.”

It has a few other features that set it apart from a basic EQ. You can essentially copy and paste a frequency spectrum betweeen recordings — quite a nifty idea that would help you copy one track’s “sound” to another. They also emphasize the vintage processing possibilities of CurveEQ, and there’s a slightly mysterious feature called “GearMatch”, which you can read more about below.

The website contains details and specifications. They say: Voxengo CurveEQ implements SpectruMatch spectrum matching technology that allows you to perfectly transfer a spectrum’s slope from one recording to another. This allows you to `copy’ a frequency balance of existing mixes so that other mixes that are still in the works will sound better. This technology also greatly helps in music disc mastering, since using it allows you to easily lessen any dramatic differences in the area of frequency balance between various tracks.

GearMatch technology allows you to transfer impulse responses of high-end analog audio gear to your digital audio, while allowing you to adjust frequency response freely. This results in a great improvement of sonic qualities. With this technology, all your tracks will sound unbelievably professional and vintage.

CurveEQ has a Vintage Processor which allows you to polish your sounds. Just turn it on and you will get a great deal of presence effect. Also, CurveEQ includes a compressing saturator. When it is enabled, the processed sound gets an additional vintage feel. You can use the saturator to create professional sounding vocal, guitar and bass tracks. In addition, it can be used on almost any audio material, especially during the mastering process as a vintage loudness maximizer.