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.