We just released a new version of our popular MacMusic Widget. Our widget prints the latest news, software updates and articles publisehd on MacMusic.org in Dashboard (Tiger required).

This new 1.2 version adds the following changes:
- Use the new RSS 2.0 feeds
- Parse 20 items
- Bigger item text size
- Back panel now shows the version number

Please note that the 1.0 version will no longer work. You have to replace it with the new 1.2 version.

Mackie announces the release of six new free plugins for its Tracktion 2 software. This free bundle includes :

- MRVB-1 Studio Reverb
- SP-1 Stereo Panner Plus
- CM-1 & CS-1 Mono & Stereo Compressors
- EQ6M & EQ6S 6-Band Mono & Stereo Multi-Mode EQ

The Mackie Mixing Tools is available for free for all Tracktion 2 Boxed Version owners.

Little Labs LMNOPRE microphone preamplifier features include: a fully discrete gain stage with up to 68dB of clean, quiet, gain with a maximum level out of 32dB; completely differential circuit topology from input to output; low frequency resonance control (passive circuit topology) for a controlled proximity effect without being close to the microphone as well as allowing controlled transformer saturation ; selectable fully variable phase alignment (same circuit topology as the Little Labs IBP phase alignment tool).

Motu unveiled Digital Performer 5, a major upgrade that includes six new virtual instrument plug-ins, track folders, a flexible Meter Bridge feature, new audio editing tools, a multitude of new film scoring features, new input monitoring modes, clip-based volume automation and many other feature additions and enhancements. DP5 includes six new, easy to use, CPU-efficient virtual instrument plug-ins (BassLine, PolySynth, Modulo, Nanosynth, Model 12, and Proton). In all windows that display tracks, such as the Sequence Editor, users can now organize their lengthy track lists into folders and sub-folders, much like the list view in the Mac OS X Finder. The Meter Bridge is a new window that is dedicated to monitoring all signal paths in the Digital Performer mixing environment. The tool bar now contains four new audio editing tools: Trim, Slip, Slide and Roll.

Digital Performer 5 will ship in Q1, 2006 for $795. Existing registered DP users will be offered an upgrade path.

Mopis is a new virtual synthesizer in VST format, soon to become AU too. It is both a virtual analogue with the usual tricks (filters and so on) and a resynthesizer, that is a mean to analyze a sample and create an oscillator based on the properties of the sample. It is not a sample player as you'll see the result can be very different. Here are some of the tricks it does:

- Adjust the pitch of a sample without changing its speed or getting the "chipmunk effect"
- Adjust the speed without changing the pitch
- Move freely back and forth through a sample Loop samples quickly