XILS-lab announces XILS 3, a new matrix-style virtual synth based on the architecture of a classic matrix based modular synthesizer (the legendary EMS VCS3).

Features :

• Three aliasing-free oscillators: sine, ramp, square, triangle.
• One 2/4 poles low pass filter (a 3 pole self-oscillating mode is also planned).
• One envelope, based on two different designs, trapezoid and ADSR.
• One spring reverb.
• One ring modulator.
• One 128 steps sequencer.
• Two output static filters.
• One joy-stick.
• Three connection matrix.
• One input gate.
• One input envelope follower.
• One pitch tracker.
• One transient tracker.
• Mono/Unison/Polyphonic playing mode, up to 18 voices of polyphony.
• All paramete ...

AcousticsampleS announces the releases of AcademicGrand Steinway D Grand, a piano sample library.

The AcademicGrand is a 1963 Steinway D concert grand which has seen countless recitals and concerts over the years where it served as the University of Arkansas' primary concert instrument. The piano has been an inspiration to hundreds of students and visitors, and with being well-maintained and cared for, it's a wonderful instrument with a unique history and classic American Steinway sound.

- This Library is the result of a collaboration with Lance Herring
- 2,82Go sample bank, no loops
- Recorded at 24Bits/48Khz
- 4 Velocity layers for the sustain
- 4 Velocities for the release.
- Pedal Up and Pedal Down samples
- 3 release types, notes, thumps, on pedal down (3d one only in Kontakt)
- Additionnal pedal noise (up and down), automatic in kontakt version
- Advanced scripting (Kontakt)
- Really easy to play, just like a real piano, no more and no less.
- Kontakt 2 and 3 (GIGA coming soon). Easy to use Kontakt interface
- priced at €59

Visit the website for screenshots, audio and videos demos of the library.

Sterling Audio unveils the ST69, a new tube condenser microphone.

At the heart of the ST69's Class-A tube triode design is a Groove Tubes GT6205 low noise, low heat, subminiature tube which combines classic tube tone with increased transparency and reliability. The 1" double-sided multi-pattern capsule, (hand assembled and oven baked for stable long term operation), features a gold-evaporated Mylar diaphragm that is only 3 microns thick. Combined with its Disk Resonator system, this provides the ST69 with exceptionally accurate transient response and sonic detail — extending mid through high frequencies naturally in a smooth sweep. This advanced technology makes it the ideal mic for recording vocals, acoustic instruments and drums.

A sleek brushed stainless steel body complements its technical brilliance with stunning looks. Other features include Omni, Cardioid and Figure-8 patterns, selectable -10dB pad and 75Hz,12dB/octave high-pass filter, as well as a custom-wound nickel-core output transformer specifically optimized for the ST69.

The ST69 is available now and priced at $599.

Focusrite is proud to announce that the Liquid Saffire 56 is shipping and widely available in stores across the USA.

The Liquid Saffire 56 features 2 Liquid mic-pre's evolved from the original Liquid Channel. Each Liquid Pre-amp lets you choose from ten different classic pre-amp emulations including the API 3124+, Neve 1073, Pultec MB-1, Telefunken V72, Focusrite's own Red 1, and more.

In addition to 8 mic pre's, Liquid Saffire 56 includes 10 analogue outputs, 16 channels of ADAT i/o, stereo S/PDIF or AES i/o (on RCA phono), MIDI i/o, 2 virtual 'loopback' inputs, for routing digital audio between software applications, and BNC wordclock i/o. The Saffire Mix Control software provides ultra flexible control over routing and monitoring, which includes presets for immediate set up of commonly used mixing situations, and full metering across all inputs, outputs and submixes. This is just a few of the Liquid Saffire 56's many features, see product pages for full details.

The Liquid Saffire 56 is available now at a retail price of $1,299.99 / €819 (street price $999.99 / €719).

SIMS Corp is pleased to announce the release of the new Infrasonic DeuX driver v2.0, featuring an improved Control Panel with a new Graphical User Interface, combined with state of the art FREE Mixer technology.

FREE (Flexible Routing Enhanced Engine) Mixer is a cutting edge technology of Infrasonic which enables virtually limitless in/output signal configurations for DeuX.

New features :

• Supports Complex IO Configuration: Individual channels of HW, WDM and ASIO IOs
• Signal Routing by Matrix: Multiple Signal Routing available
• Cell Volume Level Control: Color coded volume level indicators for each channel, controllable directly by mouse wheel
• Individual Signal Processing View: Signal source an ...

Audio Damage announces that the product page of its upcoming reverb plug-in Eos is now live.

Eos is a smooth, modern reverb with three custom-designed algorithms, optimized for low CPU usage and ease of programming. Eos has a broad tonal palette and is capable of everything from extremely short, dense percussion room sounds on up to gargantuan halls.

Features :

• Three custom-designed algorithms: Plate 1 (mono in, stereo out), Plate 2 (true stereo), and Superhall (true stereo) built with modern production in mind.
• All standard reverb controls, including modulation rate and depth, attack, diffusion, and full control over the EQ and multipliers of the reverb tail.
• Infinite control for "freeze" effects.
• Unique visual controls designed for quick and easy programming.
• Low CPU usage compared to other algorithmic reverb plug-ins, and far lower than the average convolution 'verb.
• Full MIDI learn for hardware control of most parameters (VST only).

Eos will be available for both Mac (VST/AU) and PC (VST) with price TBA. No official release date but Analog Industries (Audio Damge's blog) bets on Friday...

Spectrasonics has announced that the release of Trilian has now been moved to 26th October 2009.

The launch, which was previously planned for 29th June, has been delayed due to the sad loss of Barbara Klinger, Spectrasonics' longtime warehouse manager and launch coordinator.

Overloud has updated its TH1 Triode to version 1.1.

Light version of TH1, TH1 triode features 3 amplifiers, 6 amp channel, 12 amp modes, 9 cabinets, 22 effects, 6 microphones.

Priced at €69 (+VAT) / $99, TH1 Triode is available now in RTAS, AU, VST and Standalone formats for Mac OS X (Universal) and RTAS, VST and Standalone formats for Windows. This update is free for all regisered users.

MoReVoX has released the third version of its RetroVerb reverb impulse response library.

What's New ?

• 4 New Classic Drive Sub-Categories : Chambers , RoomyPlates, Sounding Venues, Sustained .
• 200 NEW IRs
• The Free edition now include 10 full working IRs

RetroVerb is designed for TLSpace but is full compatible with all convolution reverb plugins like Altiverb, Space Designer and other.

Prices:

• Free Edition: Free (Includes 10 Full Working IRs)
• Commercial Edition: $99.00
• Upgrade 2.x to 3.0 : $ 29.00
• Upgrade 1.x to 3.0: $59.00

Note that RetroVerb v3.0 is also available in the MoReVoX Pack 2 bundle.

CueMix FX has been updated yet again with two new visual diagnostic tools for stereo audio signals: an X-Y Plot and a Phase Analysis.

These real time displays join three other recently introduced tools (the FFT, Spectrogram and Oscilloscope) for a total of five new features now available as a free download for all owners of MOTU mk3 FireWire audio interface products. Phase and polarity are critical elements of any stereo mix or multi-mic recording session.

Find out how you can improve your sound with these advanced, yet easy-to-use tools by following the link below :

Future Audio Workshop, a.k.a. FAW, today announces the availability of new tutorials for their semi-modular software synthesizer Circle.

Mo Volans, a regular contributor to EQ, Remix and Music Tech Magazine, has devised a series of step by step tutorials for designing sounds with Circle.

Tutorials 1 to 4 are available now, with more being added in the coming weeks.

For a limited time, simply purchase any Digidesign Pro Tools LE FireWire-based system plus an M-Audio Axiom Pro 49 or Axiom Pro 61 MIDI controller and receive a Digidesign Virtual Instruments Box Set for free.

The Digidesign Virtual Instruments Box Set features five RTAS instruments : Hybrid, Strike, Structure, Velvet, and Xpand!

This offer is available until 17th June.

Schwa has announced the release of CMX Stereo Microshifter, a new plug-in which thickens and enhances monophonic audio by doubling the signal and applying small amounts of pitch shift and/or time delay to each side.

This technique is often applied to vocals or lead lines. With a light hand, CMX can add just enough fullness to give a part extra presence in a mix. With a heavier hand, CMX can create a rich and polished "expensive production" sound. The added presence is especially effective in musical styles that make minimal use of reverb.

CMX uses a new, unique pitch identification and shifting algorithm from Schwa that is designed and optimized for small, precise pitch shifts, from one cent to a quarter-tone, with perfect phase coherence and maximum smoothness. You can use CMX on exposed, high-quality vocal tracks with complete confidence.

CMX is available for Windows, Windows x64 and Mac OS X in VST and AU plug-in formats. Two license options are available :

• All hosts, commercial use license: $50.00.
• Reaper-only, personal use license: $30.00.

Air by 9 Soundware is an instrument in EXS24 format. The concept behind the sound set was to use sounds generated by air to create a transparent-sounding percussive instrument. Functionally similar to a hi-hat, the instrument was designed to add rhythmic movement to arrangements, but in a subtler manner.

The samples are of quick blasts of air created with a gas duster, a flyswatter, and a clothesline. The wind sounds, which are delicate and difficult to control, were painstakingly recorded, edited, and programmed into an EXS24 instrument with a high level of sonic detail. While minimalist in approach, the sound set features a wide range of timbres, with many variations on simple bursts to complex sounds that capture the motion of the objects.

Air includes 84 sounds (sampled at 2-21 velocities for a total of 402 samples) that are mapped across a 7 octave range in an EXS24 instrument.

The 28 MB download includes 1 .EXS file and 402 WAV files (24-bit/44.1 kHz).

Air is available now for $29.99 at :

Akai Professional announces that the APC40 Ableton Performance Controller is now available for purchase worldwide. For the record, the APC40 is a control surface developed specifically for Ableton Live software.

The ACP40 has a retail price of $599 and an estimated street price of $399.

Voxengo has updated its phase alignment plug-in PHA-979 to version 2.1.

Version 2.1 update implements a very useful feature - multi-band correlation meter that greatly simplifies phase- and time-aligning process. You may routinely use the correlation meter to configure delay and phase parameters with a highest level of precision possible. Correlometer also supports an external side-chain input.

Other changes :

• Crash problem fixed with non-center panning setting.
• Delay and phase dimming problem fixed.
• Latency change reporting fixed in AudioUnits.

The introductory price offer of US$69.95 is still effective. The offer ends on the 9th of June 2009 (less than two weeks left).

MakeMusic has released Finale 2010, the new version of their famous music notation software. Vast areas of Finale have been updated for 2010. From Percussion Notation and Chord Entry to Rehearsal Marks and Measure Numbering, common tasks have been automated and simplified to save you time and to easily make your music perfect.

Finale 2010 costs $600 for new customers and from $99.95 for existing customers (limited time pre-order pricing).