ChocolateAudio has released the Bonzo drum kit which is a sampled rendition of a Ludwig VistaLite drum kit with Paiste cymbals. The kit configuration is similar to one of the drum setups used by John Bonham of Led Zeppelin during the '70s.

Bonzo kit drum list :

- Ludwig Vistalite Kit (26" BD, 14", 16" and 18" Tom Toms)
- Ludwig 14"x6.5" Supraphonic Snare drum
- Paiste 15" HH signature
- Paiste 20" Ride signature
- Paiste Splashes 8" and 10"
- Paiste Crashes 14", 16" and 18"
- Paiste China 18"
- 2 LP Cowbells

These drums make up for 711 unique stereo samples of which up to 32 samples are dedicated to each drum technique with 223 samples allocated to snare techniques, 172 to the hi-hat, 64 to the ride cymbals, 32 to the bass drum and 96 to the Toms. ...

Prosoniq has released version 2 of TimeFactory, their stand alone time and pitch manipulation software. TimeFactory 2 comes as native Universal Binary optimized for both PowerPC and Intel Mac models (MacOS X 10.4.9 or better). It supports multiple file formats and sample rates up to 384kHz and contains Prosoniq's legacy TimeFactory I MPEX2 time stretching, as well as the newer MPEX3, ClearScale and DIRAC algorithms which are used in all major high-end audio editing programs on the market.

For more information, please visit their web site.

Percussa unveils AudioCubes, a new musical interface for controlling music/audio software and MIDI gear.

The AudioCubes are a collection of cubes capable of detecting each other's position and orientation, and of displaying full RGB colours (4096 combinations!). They generate two types of information: triggers and continuous controllers, which can be sent to any MIDI compatible software or device. The location and orientation of a cube generates different trigger info (for example, cube on the left = drums, cube on the right = synth bass, etc). On top of that, you can use your hand with a cube (or 2 cubes) and send distance to any MIDI controller, for adjusting filter cutoff, etc. MIDI Controllers can also be sent to the cubes to display colour patterns synchronized to your music. For ...

Last week Ohm Force has finally released Ohmicide:Melohman but the plug was only Intel Mac compatible. Now with version 1.0.1 PPC Mac owners can also have fun with this awesome distortion factory.

Mireth Technology Corp. has released a new version of Music Man, its Mac OS X ripper, converter, burner, player digital music software. Version 2.1 of Music Man adds an automatic MP3 Clip making feature. It also addresses a problem that prevented some users from burning MP3 CDs and MP3 DVDs.

Music Man v2.1 is available for immediate download, or on CD-ROM, starting at $19.95. Registered users of previous versions of Music Man can take advantage of upgrade pricing by contacting them. Educational pricing and volume discounts are available.

When version 4.1 of Tassman came out, AAS announced the compability of all the plug-ins with Intel processors as well as with the RTAS format. The update also fixes some bugs. Note that demo versions are available on their web site as VST, AU and RTAS.

Native Instruments has released Elektrik Piano v1.5, which includes Universal Binary support on Mac OS X. Now based on the Kontakt 2 engine, this version 1.5 features greater stability, much faster loading times, host automation capacity, an improved voice allocation algorithm, thoroughly reworked 'authentic' patches, and numerous other small improvements from version 1.

New features :

- new instruments (16 new "Authentic Instruments" presets, four for each piano)
- new impulse-response room and cabinet simulations
- new effects (the A200, MK1 and MK2 instruments include a tremolo effect, the E7 instruments include a Wah-Wah effect, etc...)
- new options for setting the dynamic range and random values for velocity, volume, and pitch
- redesigned voice allocation algorithm which ...