Like the Windows version, this initial launch of Song Surgeon for Mac does not contain two PRO features:  Music Pad functionality and Footpedal integration. I anticipate that in the next 1-2 weeks we’ll begin working on these and within a 2 month period should be able to complete these and deliver them to Mac Version 3 Pro users.  At that point, both the Mac and Win versions will be at similar stages of development.

We still have excellent prices for both Win and Mac users on Standard and Pro models.  These prices will expire at the end of this month, at which point we’ll return to our normal pricing for these products.  If you are thinking of buying, don’t wait too much longer or you’ll miss this launch specials.

You can still grab the Standard version for the lowest price we’ve ever offered of $39.  And if your looking at the Pro version you can save $15 off the price it’ll be selling for once this sale ends.  Here is the link below.  And remember, existing customers get an ADDITIONAL 35% off when they upgrade from an older to the new version.

http://songsurgeon.com/page.c5.163.html

Q1.  I  need to reinstall Song Surgeon, how do I do this?
A1.  The current version of Song Surgeon (and all of our software) can be found in the “Downloads Section” of the Help Desk.  You don’t need anything from use to reinstall, simply grab the copy of the version of the software you were running, download it, reinstall it, and then re-register it to unlock and activate it.   Here is the link to the download section:

http://www.guitar-leads.com/supportGL/index.php?_m=downloads&_a=view

Q2.  I need my Song Surgeon Key so I can install on a new machine, where do I find this?
A2.  Song Surgeon doesn’t use public keys.  Our systems requires you to register the software on first use. This registration activates and unlocks the software. If you have a new computer or are simply reinstalling on an old computer, please download the product form the download section of the Help Desk, install the product and on first run, follow the on-screen prompts to register.

The bottom line is we want to begin working on development of a version 4 in the near future.  

Probably as soon as next week I will be asking your input on this new version.  I will be creating a survey and asking you to rate the new features being considered.  This will help us decide which new features to include and which ones to omit.  The input we receive from you will have a big impact in our final decision on what to include in this new product.  Please take the time to participate in this survey when it is released. to enter this contest.

Until Next Week,

If you are interested in purchasing the product, see the section just below on our ongoing launch special offer.

If you purchased this product as part of the pre-release sale over the past month, you can now download it using the link that we provided to you in your original order confirmation. Some additional instructions follow:

To Begin Using the Product

After you install the product, on first run, you will be prompted to register the product. The registration process activates and unlocks the software.

The Help Button on the software has links to the Quick Start Guide, which gives you a basic
overview of the software and what each button does.  In addition, this Help Button also contains a link to the training videos which I strongly recommend.  These videos walk you thru each of the functionalities found in the software and show you how to use them — it is as if someone were sitting beside you and showing you how to do this on your computer.

Help Desk

Lastly, if you have questions or find bugs or issues, please use the HELP DESK Support Ticket system to contact us. The Help Desk ticket system is the best avenue of assistance because it logs each and every back and forth correspondence so the entire history of your correspondence with us is in one spot. You can access this via the Help button on the software.

Post Launch Updates

As with all new software there will undoubtedly be issues that are discovered as we expand the pool of users from a few dozen beta testers to hundreds of users.   As we find and fix issues, we will issue new releases or builds.  These will of course be free to you.  They will be announced in our weekly newsletters, on our blog, and on the News Section of the Help Desk.  When it comes to accessing or downloading these new versions, you can ALWAYS find the most recent version of the software in the Downloads Section of the Help Desk.

New Home Page and Other Resources

We have update our home page, in conjunction with the launch of Song Surgeon Version 3 for Mac.  It has an entirely new look with new information and a new introductory video.

In addition to our main website, please keep in mind the follow resources we have provided for your assistance

Song Surgeon Blog:          http://blog.songsurgeon.com
Song Surgeon Forum:       http://forum.songsurgeon.com
SS Training Vids:             http://www.songsurgeon.com/video/training.html
SS Quick Start Guide:      http://www.songsurgeon.com/page/quick-start-guide.html
SS on Twitter:                  https://twitter.com/#!/songsurgeon3
SS on Facebook:             http://www.facebook.com/Musicslowdown
SS Youtube Page:           http://www.youtube.com/user/toddason#g/u

When you go to the shopping cart, if you are a customer that owns a version of Song Surgeon, you will be asked to log in.  This allows our system to calculate any additional discount you might be entitled to. 

http://songsurgeon.com/v4/order/

If you have questions about our upgrade policy, please see this page for an explanation:

http://songsurgeon.com/page/upgrade_policy.html

 Answer: If you have a file that is at 90 BPM and want to adjust it to 80, calculate the percentage of the one to the other, in this case, 80/90. This means that if you set the tempo at 88.89% you will be at 80.0001 BPM. Even if a program has an interface that let's you dial up a specific BPM, in other words select 80, or 90, or 120, in reality, underneath the interface they will arrive at this setting by doing the same calculation that I just did above, and then rounding it to the nearest BPM. 

Until Next Week,

Thanks Jim.  I must say, even the demo version I have works great.

Rob S
USA

I will know more about the exact release date early next week – and I will send a note to the people on the Mac Launch list.  If you’d like to be on the list to get the most current updates and information, please use the link below to register for the notification list.

http://songsurgeon.com/cab_ss-mac.html

Pre-Release Sale  (Both Mac and Win users)

In advance of the launch of this new Mac version we have been running a pre-release sale.  This sale offers Song Surgeon at BEST-EVER pricing.  We allocated 500 copies to be sold at this special pricing and we are rapidly closely in on this number.  Thanks to all of you that have purchased and a big welcome to the many new customers we have.

At last count last night there were 100+ copies remaining. If you’d like to take advantage of these great prices don’t wait.   The details and the SPECIAL order link are available by using the URL below:

http://blog.songsurgeon.com/?=210 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mBSMEHyXY8

This is new territory for us and the learning curve is steep but we are getting there.  Please be patient. I think you’ll see something within the next month.

If you are interested in a SS mobile app, please add you name to the notification list by going here:  http://songsurgeon.com/cab_mobile-app.html

Answer: There is not a way to create a loop that plays repeatedly in a real audio file.  However, most mp3 players and iPods have a REPEAT function.  Selecting this button will  cause the file currently playing to play or loop repeatedly.

As we begin to think about Version 4, one of the things we plan to do, is to allow on EXPORT the selection of the number of times you want a loop to appear.  So, for example, if you select a number, let say 4.  Song Surgeon will place four copies of this loop, back to back in a newly created audio file. 

I want to encourage all of you, whether customers or visitors or demo users, to begin to use the forum as a way to share information about Song Surgeon and its functionalities and also as a place to discuss other related pieces of hardware and software.  The Forum URL appears below.

http://forum.songsurgeon.com

Until Next Week,

If you are a Mac user this is an exciting time.  Version 3 has completed beta testing. The results have been compiled and sent back to the developers.  They are currently working on making final changes and bug fixes. The product will be ready to download (or ship) sometime within the next 2 weeks.

Version 3 will have all of the same features found in the Windows version, which has made in the best-in-class for all audio slow down type products.  Here is just a brief listing of features that you will find in the new Mac version:

• Standard and Pro Versions
• A completely new sound engine that results in practically distortion free audio with extreme changes
• 2 audio algorithms to maximize sound quality
• Ability to save work as a project file for future use
• Ability to export changes as a new audio file, making changes permanent and portable
• Ability to reduce vocals in some music or song files
• Ability to change EQ
• Ability to create loop points for repeated playing of specific audio segments
• Ability to set multiple loop points in a single file, each with different characteristics
• Ability to edit wave form data, by deleting, inserting silence, changing the volume, fade in/fade out
• Ability to select audio segments and cut and paste them into different locations, or into a completely new file.
• Ability to open and convert amongst the most commonly used audio file types
• Ability to automatically detect audio or video playing in your browser and download and save the audio to your computer
• Ability to strip audio from video, making it useable in Song Surgeon
• Ability to rip CDs

All of the above features are found in Pro… please see the Standard vs. Pro comparison table for more details about both models.

If you are a current Song Surgeon for Mac customer you are going to WANT this new version. It is a must have. In fact one of our customers who is an IT Manager said: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a software application make such a dramatic improvement in just one upgrade”.

The training videos and the Quick Start Guide (QSG) for the Mac version are available, if you’d like more details.

QSG – http://songsurgeon.com/page.c5.161.html
Training Vids – http://songsurgeon.com/page.c5.162.html

Song Surgeon Pro                 $69
Song Surgeon Standard        $39
Upgrade to Pro                      $35

*The above sale will run through the first 500 purchases.  After that the sale will end. We’ll still be offering launch deals and specials, but nothing quite as good as this. ALSO… these are the sale prices. If you are a customer you will get an ADDITIONAL discount on top of these best-ever prices. Keep reading to learn more about this customer discount.

Why 500?

Well the logic is pretty simple.  We are a small company.  Many of you know me because I answer my own phone and I assist at the Help Desk.  In short, as a small business owner I wear many hats and do what needs to be done.  And, like many small businesses, we don’t have lines of credit or extra cash lying around like larger companies.

The development of this product has taken 9 months, more than 2X longer than estimated, and the bills are coming due.  I need cash to pay these bills. My back-of-the- envelope estimate is that if I sell 450 units I should have enough cash to cover the bills from this project that are coming due within the next 60 days.  The extra 50 units was just a round up… 500 is easier to track the 450 — so in a nutshell that’s the reasoning.

Important Ordering Details

There is a special link that must be used to get these best-ever prices during this pre-release sale.  Let me say that AGAIN. You MUST use the link provided below. If you use the one connected to the main home page it will cause headaches for both you and me.(i.e. you WON’T get the customer discounts)

http://songsurgeon.com/page.c5.163.html

The new shopping cart from the above link has a login functionality built into it.  If you are an existing customer you should login because the cart will verify you are a customer and then calculate your existing customer discount – or – if you purchased upgrade protection, it will tell you that you get Song Surgeon free.

Important Details for Mac Customers/Users

• If you are an existing MAC customer, you will get a 35% discount.  This is a one time discount. You can use it to buy either Standard or Pro.
• If you purchased your Mac version within the last 3 months you will get the new STANDARD* version free
• If you purchased upgrade protection when you bought SS for Mac, regardless of the date, you will get the STANDARD version free.

*(The standard version is the continuation of the same basic features found in older versions)

When you purchase the Mac version, you will receive a download link for Version 3 for Mac – BUT this link will not be active until it is released.  When Version 3 for Mac is released, we will notify you by email and also via this newsletter. Once notified, you will be able to access Version 3 thru that download link, as that link will then be activated.

Important Details for Windows Customers/Users

If you are a Windows customer that has not moved up to Version 3, but are still running the older Version 1 or 2, you also are eligible for the Existing Customer discounts. Just log-in when you get to the shopping cart and we’ll tell you what discount you are eligible for.

If you are a Windows user that has been sitting on the fence waiting for a sale, now is the time to act.  You won’t see pricing like this again, possibly ever… The last time we offered something close to this was more than a year ago when we launched the Windows version.

Here is the link to the new shopping cart one more time

http://songsurgeon.com/page.c5.163.html

Rick B.

Based upon these result the programming team will make final changes and fixes.  I am hoping this can be done in about 2 weeks. That means sometime around the end of the month we should have Song Surgeon Version 3 for Mac available for sale.

We have a lot of work to do between now and then as we prepare to sell this product. One of the things I am working on now is to assemble a series of training videos.  Here is one that I recently completed on the use of the sniffer module.  The sniffer module is that function which allows Song Surgeon to detect audio or video files playing in your browser and download them to your computer. It’s a really useful tool; if you are interested please take a look

http://songsurgeon.com/cab_Mac_prelaunch.html

While you are on this page, if you are interested in the new Mac version, please complete the form toward the bottom of the page.  This will put you on the notification list.  Those people on the notification list will be the first to hear of the release of Mac version and the first to have the opportunity to use it.  Sign up if you are interested.

If you don’t know what cPods are, we refer you to this explanation found on the website.

http://www.songsurgeon.com/page/cloud-pods.html

Q: Is there a way of quickly setting loops so that you can play thought them as though they are not there?

A: This is one of many planned features for Version 4.. which is probably a year down the road.

Probably the simplest thing to do at present is to edit the loop to a loop count of 0. Play the song as you’d like. And then when you’d like to have the loop(s) work again, use the Undo button and with one quick click the loop count will again be set to infinite (-1). And then again, when you want to ignore the loops hit redo and it will again set the loop count to 0.

Next week newsletter will be issued after the beta testing results are complete. I should have a better idea of how much work will be required to get the necessary changes made and when we might expect to launch the product.  Stay tuned.

Until Next Week,

Incredible program, guys! Thanks for creating something so extremely versatile for musicians of all skill levels, it should be included in every institution’s curriculum as a foundational element. I’ve only had SS a week and already I’m twice the player I was!

	|
manzeere

I have posted another video that shows you how to use Song Surgeon Pro for Mac to create a customized 3 speed lesson.  I apologize for the length of it – about 13 minutes – but I wanted to show you in detail the steps that you go thru to create such a custom lesson. 

The editing features found in SS are used prominently in this video, to cut and paste data into the wav form file to create a file that is to my exact liking. Of course, you’ll be able to use these same functions to create your own customized lessons in the same way you see me doing this on the screen.

http://songsurgeon.com/cab_Mac_prelaunch.html

If you want to be on the notification list for the Mac version, so you know as soon as it’s available, please go to the URL above and complete the comment form. That will get you on the list.

You can find it here:  http://www.songsurgeon.com/page/upgrade_policy.html

When you buy SS Mac, Pro, Standard or Upgrade to Pro, I will give you one of these MP3 players — FREE.  

This special has been running since Monday.. and we actually have something less than 50 (closer to 40) remaining… If you see the window advertising this FREE mp3 player on the shopping cart it is still available and you will get one with your order. If you don’t see it that means they are gone—sold out. 

http://songsurgeon.com/v3/order/

They will sell out, so don’t wait if you are interested.

I am excited. In my newsletter next week (2012) I will be telling you that Beta Testing is underway…

Until Next Week,

http://songsurgeon.com/cab_Mac_prelaunch.html

This page will be update at least weekly and probably more often than that with new information or videos, like then one that I have just posted there.  The video I have posted highlights Song Surgeons capabilities to create multiple looping areas and then customize these loop settings.

Our plan is to use the above page to share with you some of the features and functionalities of the Mac version over the next several weeks until launch, so check back regularly. This page also provides you with a way to leave comments if you’d like to do that.

As to the update:  As of today, December 20th, we have one major bug remaining that we are working on.  I expect to have a revised build that fixes this bug by the end of the week.  Once I confirm this bug is fixed, we’ll be ready to begin beta testing.  If all goes as planned here is a tentative schedule:

Begin Beta Testing: December 27, 2011
End Beta Testing: January 10, 2012
Beta Testing Fixes: Jan 11 – 25th.
Launch Date:  January 30, 2012

While, I will continue to give weekly updates in this newsletter, the most recent information regarding launch will now be found on the Mac Launch page listed above.

Song Surgeon works with all of the common digital audio file formats. Audio that is on vinyl or cassettes tapes is not digital so Song Surgeon can work directly with it.  What needs to be done is to digitize the audio on these media.  How do you do that?  You need a playback device – in these cases a cassette player or a turntable with an output jack.  The output doesn’t need to be digital, it just needs to be an output.  You analog audio will can be sent into your computer using this output and recorded using whatever default recording device you have installed on your computer.  Once it is recorded—and then saved, it will be converted and stored on your computer in a digital format.  Once you have it in this format, it can then be opened in Song Surgeon and used just like any other digital audio file.

Until Next Week,