Vir2 Instruments has just announced the release of World Impact: Global Percussion.

Featuring a massive collection of varied percussion samples, World Impact spans the globe featuring percussion instruments from large to small, west to east, north to south, and traditional to rare. Sampled in meticulous detail and programmed for maximum and instant musical usability, the collection includes hundreds of varied percussion instruments from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and more. A massive 4.2-gigabyte collection of Japanese Taiko drums recorded from multiple microphone positions forms a central part of the library. Each instrument has been recorded with numerous alternate takes and velocity layers, assuring realistic and dramatically expressive sonic results.

Beyond the in ...

IMSTA (the International Music Software Trade Association) has just deployed its 2009 "Let's Talk Piracy" survey, which will be active until December 31st 2009. The non-profit association aims to reduce the demand for pirated music software through campaigns that are designed to raise awareness and change user behaviour. The 2009 survey features a contest in which 10 lucky winners will receive prizes donated by IMSTA member companies.

IMSTA's goal is to collect information from software users on an annual basis, in order to identify specific trends in attitude towards the use of pirated software. The 2008 survey prompted over 3700 responses from 83 countries, with IMSTA member companies playing an active role in promoting the survey on websites, in newsletters and via e-blasts to registered users. The 2009 survey uses the same questions, enabling IMSTA to compare data year on year.

The annual survey is one of IMSTA's most valuable pieces of research. Since survey participants can choose to remain anonymous, it is believed that the responses will give an accurate picture of their views. IMSTA is hoping that the 2009 survey will attract a large number of new participants, but we'd also strongly encourage 2008 participants to come back and re-visit the questions. It may be that their views on certain issues have changed over the course of a year and this is just the kind of information IMSTA would like to have.

To take the "Let's Talk Piracy" survey, please visit the link below :

Apple has unveiled several new hardware offerings, including new Mac mini, MacBook, iMac and a curious new mouse.

The Mac mini line has been improved and a new Mac mini with Mac OS X Server bundled in is now available, more details available here.

The new MacBook ($999) now features a durable polycarbonate unibody design, a brilliant LED-backlit display, a glass Multi-Touch trackpad and Apple's innovative built-in battery for up to seven hours of battery life.

Apple has also presented

Fink Audio unveils the CS2-FA Dual Channel Strip.

The CS2-FA is a dual channel strip that features 2 channels of tube 610-style mic pre, 3 band tube Pultec-style EQ and tube 1176-style compression. Record 2 separate sources, 1 stereo source or pump your mix through it. Your choice.

Pricing and availability TBA.

Channel strip... it doesn't roll off the tongue or smack of a high fidelity recording device. Maybe thats why its taken Grace Design so long to build one. But they got over it. All labels aside, the new m103 is a powerful tracking tool for virtually any recording scenario. It starts with their m101 transformerless microphone preamplifier circuity. Headroom, detail, clarity, musicality – its all there. Complete with their exclusive ribbon mic mode, a 75Hz HPF and 48V phantom.

The 3 band EQ section is built around single stage parallel tuning architecture, which minimizes circuitry and delivers natural, musical tonal shaping at all frequencies. Controls include a fully parametric mid, with shelving and peak modes on the high and low bands.

The compressor circuit is based on an optical ...

It's at the IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) on October the 22nd, 2009 that Spectrasonics will have the world premiere of its highly anticipated new bass virtual instrument "Trilian", successor of its award-winning Trilogy Total Bass Module.

There will also be a raffle at each of the two sessions, 3pm and 6pm, where a copy of the Trilian Software will be given away free to one of the lucky attendees. Representatives from Spectrasonics will be at the event presenting the live demonstration and answering questions afterwards.

Due to limited seating, registration is required. So hurry up and visit the following link :

Ohm Force has announced that they are globally reducing their advertised prices. And it's not a promo: it's for real and forever !!

Not only the plug-ins licenses are globally much more affordable when purchased individually, the big ALL-ALL Bundle can now be grabbed by only €299 instead of €493.

Ohm Force has also unveiled a new bundle especially tailored for live performers : the ALL-Live Bundle. It contains the 3 from which features are specially suitable for live tweaking: Ohmicide:Melohman, Symptohm:Melohman and the Quad Frohmage – the three for only €199. The first two, as the Melohman part of the name suggests, have extended preset morphing capabilities: it's possible to morph from one preset on the fly to another using a midi keyboard controller, with a full set of configurable parameters. The latter is one of the most powerful filter banks out there, with an advanced XADSR module, 6 midi controlled envelope followers, 6 event generators, among many other killer features.

For more information, please visit the link below :

Wave Arts announces the 5.49 update for all Wave Arts plug-ins that are part of Power Suite 5 and Master Restoration Suite. This update features official Snow Leopard support on Mac and a number of other fixes and enhancements.


Improvements :

• (Mac) Snow Leopard compatible (fixed graphics glitch)
• fixed RTAS/AudioSuite window bugs (wrong offset, controls behaving strangely if RTAS/AS window open at same time)
• fixed problem with TrackPlug menus sometimes not visible
• fixed TrackPlug Height knob not reverting to default value properly on certain bands
• fixed Mac installer issue (running it the first time would result in Resource Not Found error)
• fixed occasional graphics glitch in MultiDyanamics in which hi/lo arrows appear above frequency display
• fixed pops in MAS versions when using pre-render mode or bouncing
• fixed issue with vintage RMS compression causing constant attenuation for thresholds below -48 dB
• added peak input/attenuation level displays in TrackPlug

Waves has unveiled LoAir, a subharmonic generator targeted at post-production engineers.

LoAir adds rumble to extant audio, perfect for accentuating ominous soundtracks or earth-quaking sound effects. Waves claims that LoAir is the first subharmonic generator for Pro Tools that can process polyphonic or 5.1 surround material.

LoAir will be available soon for both Mac and PC as a TDM plug-in. Pricing TBA.

The Grace Design m501, a 500 series module version of their m101 mic preamplifier.

While the 500 series market has plenty of colored mic preamplifier options, the natural, musical clarity of the m501 makes it a welcome addition to the field. This circuit is for engineers confident with the quality of the source, mic section and placement, and wish to capture it with as little coloration or distortion as possible.

The m501 module is a balanced, transformerles preamplifier, with 48V phantom, a 75Hz HPF and a 1/4" HI-Z instrument input. Also standard is Grace Design's exclusive ribbon mic mode, which raises the mic input impedance, bypasses the input decoupling capacitors and deactivates 48V phantom to protect delicate ribbon mics from damage.

MSRP : $625

The CMS SUB by Focal is an active subwoofer designed to extend the frequency response of the CMS studio monitors. Its very high efficiency and dynamic capabilities guarantee a perfect integration with the CMS50 & 65 monitors. The CMS SUB offers tight and controlled bass, capable of reproducing every nuance and detail. Thanks to the large front laminar port, the CMS SUB ensures a perfect reproduction regardless of the listening level, facilitating its integration into even the smallest recording studios.

Features :

• 11" Polyglass® cone woofer
The 11" Polyglass® cone woofer used in the CMS SUB is both very light and extremely rigid for a neutral and distortion-free response.

• Custom-built amplification
BASH® te ...