Novation upgrades their SL series with the new SL Mk II line. It has 25-, 49- and 61-key version, plus the Zero again, with no keyboard. Mechanics came from Fatar, a giant display is present (144 character), endless rotary encoders, XY pad, buttons with LED backlight, eight drum pads, and of course Automap 3, the new software system. Coming in April, check them here.

Ableton now starts to ship Live 8, the new version of their preformance DAW.

PreSonus thinks the DAW competition is still opened so their launched Studio One, a full-featured desktop workstation software. It is ASIO-based, has a lots of plugins, calculates with 64-bit precision, and all the thing work in a single window only. Accepts every VST and AU plugins, and writes Red Book-compatible master CDs, too. Click if you want to know more.

For the analogue lovers some serious news from the scene: MFB offers this new analogue drum machine, MFB-Schlagzwerg. It has bass drum, snare, hi-hat and cymbal, MIDI, and a built-in step sequencer with CV/Gate out - so it controls almost all the old analogue synth gear. It costs 680 euro, if you want to know more or order just click here.

Jomox upgrades his existing bass drum synth, Mbase01 into Mbase11. It still has the main function of producing a big, fat bass drum sound but now it has more tool to tailor with. A sophisticated LFO with eight waveforms, compressor, and the ability to produce tuned sounds within a three-octave range make it a serious weapon. It has MIDI of course, and 110 program space to store your complex bass drum sounds. Just click here if you want more of it.

Despite the terrible market situation, Frankfurt has some relevant news for the electronic musician. First, a newcomer, Teenage Engineering has this toy, OP-1, which is still not available for a while, but previewed. It is a small USB MIDI controller plus a modeilng synthesizer and a sampler in one. It even has an FM radio built-in, and line input+microphone to use it as a mobile recorder. Check here its website, a betatesting program is just starting now.

Clavia showed a new modeled organ, C2, which has more organ models, better keyboard, bass pedal, new stand and a lot more. Synthtopia has some more info.

Cakewalk announced a few new toys like this V-Studio 100, a complex gear with USB sound card (24/96 quality), MIDI controller functions, plus mobile recording (media: SD card). An extensive web project tells everything about it.

Also from Cakewalk is an upcoming line of cheap USB interfaces - unfortunately only the biggest one provides audio in-out (stereo, analog and digital, 24/96), called UA-1G.  The rest of the three gadgets provide MIDI in-out.

RME announces a new, quality FireWire interface, the Fireface 400. It has the smallest latency ever: 48 samples under Vista, and 14 samples under OS X. It has 8 analogue inputs, ADAT in-out, MIDI, S/PDIF and a bombastic mixing console software. Maximum available quality is 24/192. Click if you want to know more.

Native Instruments makes a DJ life cheaper with Traktor Duo and Traktor Scratch Duo. They are 2-deck software instead of the ordinary 4-deck versions hat are already available, with a more pleasant price. Products' website can be found here.

Alesis concentrates on the drummer: at first, a completely new professional kit is out now, DM6. Its brain plays 108 different sounds, connects via USB, and the pad set is physically advanced, made completely of aluminium. All the pads has a more natural feel than ever, snare has two zones, and Surge cymbals can be inserted safely into the systems if needed. Product's page is here.

To monitor what you plays you need a decent monitoring - Transactive Drummer is a specially designed piece for drummers, with an iPod docking facility - check it here.

E-Practice Pad is highly recommended for the beginner having 65 different drum sounds, metronome, and pedal inputs for bass drum and hi-hat. Look it here.

Non-drummer new products from Alesis are AM3, a stereo, handheld microphone with USB (16/48 quality A/D converters inside), and a pro studio monitoring system with USB, also: M1Active 520 USB.

LaborOsc from NekroBat is a real programmer's choice with the ability of producing long, evolving sounds. It has three oscillators, multi-mode filter, two LFOs, delay and chorus, with eight simultanous voices. It has only 20 presets so you can tweak your own, no matter. You have to download it, just believe in me.

This fantastic software instrument is a modeled epiano from Devine Machine, OTR-88. It is only ten megabytes long, has no any sample, you can edit its sounds per key, and has vintage analog effect pedals, modeled, too. If you don't want to invest the horrible price of 229 euro at the first time, you can pay it in six or twelve months, too. A free version, OT-32 is also available, with 32 modeled keys in the bass range, and no effects. Check the website for more.

Prosoniq abandons support and sales for all their Windows software titles. They will still update them til the end of the year but, again, no sales can be taken. A Windows-to-Mac switch is freely available at the company's website.

Prosoniq's CEO, Mr. Bouche said PC had a very small share within their sales which is probably cauised by piracy therefore this step doen't affect their business plans too deeply.

Livid's Ohm was the most elegant controller around the world, but now they topped it with Ohm64, a slightly advanced version of the predecessor. It has more knobs and buttons, and an even more elegant design that makes your heart moving faster. Check here the details.

Doepfer is proudly premiering their new analogue, monophonic hardware synth in Frankfurt, next week. We assume it easily can be the only new hardware instrument reaching the audience there so it is quite a brave thing to do. Dark Energy, the synth is fully analogue with MIDI and USB, receives CV/Gate also, and comes in tabletop format (you see it on the rendered picture) and in an A-100 module-sized version. Thx for Synthtopia.

Wacom worked a million year for the visual market producing high-quality input devices such as tablets, lightpens an so on. Now they want to renew the DJ's input possibilities with this new product, nextbeat NXT-1000. It is a very small gadget, and has a very new approach just check its product page for the details.

Cygnus came from Krakli Software, and generates even crazier, longer ambient noises than you got probably used to in the category. Dealing with its unusual parameters isn't a too simple task but you will receive 384 extraordinary pathes to start with. Everybody needs this toy, download it here.

This strange acoustic instrument, waterphone is sampled by Sample Logic - the package is available from 1st, April. While the release date is suspicious, it should be real; the instrument is very popular in Hollywood, most horror and thriller productions use its very unique sound. The name of the game will be Waterharp, will cost 50 USD, and come in Kontakt format, here.

Web 2.0 occupied an other territory: Noteflight.com is a free online score editing and sharing application. After a beta period now it is fully functional and official - you can write and edit scores right in your browser. Its business model is simple: all the editing and sharing function is completely free, and additionally, you can pay something for a score and music learning service.

Audio Damage has seriously upgraded their step filter into a full-featured effect sequencer. BigSeq2 plays six effect at a time, and all the effect blocks have an own analogue-style sequencer, plus a gate sequencer for switching on and off. The surface is very clean and straightforward, and the sound is extremely terrible, just listen to the demos here. All this wonder costs 49 USD only.

The world of electronic music instruments suffers the lack of news since months - as you probably noticed in this blog, too. Leading synth blogs are switching to retro mode, showing vintage gear mostly, with explanations and in-action videos.

Retro Thing - a blog that is not dedicated to musical instruments exclusively - apparently started a blogpost wave with publishing an article of the world's first music system based on cheap home computers: Muzix81. This product family was the sensation of the early 80s, in a time just around the birth of the MIDI standard.

MFB will ship this wonderful analogue drum machine, MFB-522 in May. It has nine fully analogue sound generator, driven by a 16-note sequencer with 72 patterns and 8 songs. Tweak your very own sounds with the TR-style knobs, and a MIDI In connector is also available to receive Note On and Clock signals to synchronise. The price is a fine 280 euro, click here for more details.

A milestone in platform exchange: SM Pro Audio, a company that was previously known from their hardware-based VST synth, released a beta-phase software product, VFX, that runs Windows/VST format software synths on Macs. Beta testing is public and free, click here to get the official product page.

With iPhone's microphone, we already saw an instrument that works by blowing it. Wallander Instruments now rises the stake: their software performs fifteen different instruments. Horns, saxes, trumpets, flutes and so on, quality is acceptable - especially if you consider that it runs on a mobile phone. The price is horrible in the iPhone context: 10 USD - check it here.

During March, you can buy all software product of Sony with a 35% discount. ACID Pro, Vegas Pro, Sound Forge, CD and DVD Architect and so on. Hurry up.

Hungary's proudly presented refill king, Reasonbanks.com made a huge new product, the same like Komplete from Native: Big Bundle 3 contains all the refills the site ever had. With a huge array of sample material (12 gigabytes) cleverly organised into countless refills, this package plays basicly everything a synthesizer can. Analogue Monsters, Cybervox, Deepflight, Matrix, Orange, proVitamin, Quicksilver and Virology are all legendary materials in the Reason family, and now you can get all for 198 euros, here.

AmpliTube Fender now out in the shop spaces, thanks to IK Multimedia. Their modeling software's special edition was prepared with cooperation of the Fender staff, and consists of emulation of not less than 45 different Fender units (12 amp boxes among them). The price of the full version is 169 euro - or you can choose the restricted package with less models, for 110 euro. Click here to know more.

Hard to believe: we have the perfect air guitar for iPhone, iShred. It models a true six-string electric guitar, plus a number of effect stomp boxes to create a full, warm rock/jazz guitar sound. Pay happily 5 USD for this wonder, but before it, check the details here.

Sample Logic has packed 30 programs from their great packages, AIR, Elements and Synergy, and set it freely downloadable. TryPack - that's what they call it - consists of 500 megabytes of sample material, download it quickly.

The modeling piano synth is quickly rising: now version three is on the display. It has a seriously advanced acoustic model that even determines the radiated sound waves inside the cabinet. Upgrade is free for the registered user, and a second sales point: you will have 5 different, freely repositionable microphones inside all the models - and a small mixer module sets the sound ratio between their signals. Two new models incorporated - a classical type called Grand C3, and a rock/jazz oriented called Grand M3. Click here to know more about Pianoteq 3.

The new package will feature a demo version of two new, upcoming electric piano models that are separately on sale for 49 euro. Guess what types: yes, a Rhodes and a Wurlitzer...

IK Multimedia announced Amplitube Fender, a special edition of the company's modeling guitar processor. Software developers worked together with Fender's engineers to recreate not less than 45 pieces of legendary vintage equipment. All this cost 169 euro - or you can choose the smaller, Studio version with significantly less models, for 110 euro. Read more here.

While still not in release phase, Celemony's unbelievable polyphonic audio editor, the new Melodyne version got a competitor: an independent developer did roughly the same. VisualVox is still in beta, too, but you can try it for 25 USD. It has some shortcomings but basicly it does what it should be. Works on Mac with VST environment still, check it here.

H. G. Fortune did this mad softsynth, Atonoise which is a real master of industrial and ambient noises. It has no tuned oscillator, no filter but some extraordinary processing elements which work intuitively. Listen the demo here, and download it free - it needs payment only when you want the Pro version with VST effect capabilities.