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In-depth Feature:
PowerCore
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Installation
Powercore takes the form of a full-length PCI card so installation is just a case of opening up your Mac, sticking it in an empty slot and fixing the retaining screw. Boot up the computer, stick the CD-ROM in the tray, click the installer item, tell it which folder you want your new plug-ins to be placed in and you are sorted, it's as simple as that. When you turn on your sequencer the plug-ins appear in the list for use just like all the others. As a bonus you also get an installation of SPARKle, a cut down version of TC's Spark mastering software. Powercore is not yet available for PC users, a G4 Mac is the preferred option with the minimum requirement being a 233MHz G3. Those of you still using OS 8 be warned that you will need at least 9.0.4 to get it up and running.
Software Support
Any system of this nature is going to stand or fall by the quality of the plug-ins you can use with it and TC have got things off to a good start by bundling some tasty stuff in with the package. What you get is the TC Tools 96k package featuring the TC Megareverb based on algorithms taken from the M5000 with some tail design from the M3000, a Chorus/Delay based on the 1210 Spatial expander and the EQSat which is EQ taken from the Finalizer mastering unit.
Now, the Powercore has 5 discrete processors - a PowerPC and four Motorola 56k DSP's, which computer nerds the world over will tell you is a lot of DSP power and about the equivalent of a 2.8MHz computer. What this means is that there is enough power to run the whole TC Tools package four times over at 44.1 or 48kHz and this translates into the fact that you can run eight Megareverbs (or Chorus/Delays) and four EQSats at the same time or 12 EQSats together. Running one Megareverb, one Chorus /Delay and one EQSat leaves three DSP's available for third party plug-ins as and when they become available. So far, Antares have signed up for a version of Autotune and there will be more stuff from TC Works and TC Helicon, but a check on the TC Works website reveals no other developers at present. Hopefully, that situation will change and more will come on board - there is great potential for a system like this, especially if some soft synths were available to run on it. How about it TC ?
Emagic have announced a Logic code tweak that will eliminate latency when processing audio through 3rd party DSP cards.
Check our recent story
We're still awaiting news as to if and when PowerCore will be available for PC.
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