Digidesign will unveil at Winter NAMM its new "Music Production Toolkit" dedicated to Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered users. This new tool-package features :

- increased track count (48 mono or stereo tracks up to 96 kHz) !!
- mp3 export option;
- 5 plugins : Hybrid, TL Space Native Edition, Smack! LE, SoundReplace and DINR LE;
- multi-track version of Beat Detective;
- included Pro Tools 7.1 software upgrade.

Digidesign Music Production Toolkit will be soon available for $495. A special offer will be announced soon for recent Pro Tools 7 buyers.

MakeMusic announced that its famous music notation software Finale will support new Apple Intel-based Mac computers. The next version of Finale will be available as a Universal Binary version, running natively on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.

There is no release date of this upcoming binary version.

URS announces Everything EQ Bundle v5.0. The upgraded URS EQ Bundle features two new EQ plug-ins and sonic enhancements for TDM users to the eight existing EQ's. The two new seven band fully parametric equalizer plug-ins are the A-MIX and the N-MIX. The Everything EQ Bundle v5.0 upgrade is free for all registered Everything EQ Bundle v4.0 owners. On the other hand, URS also updated Classic Console EQ Bundle to version 2.0 which now includes four plug-ins: URS A series EQ and URS N series EQ and the new URS A MIX EQ and URS N MIX EQ. Previous URS Classic Console EQ Bundle owners of the A series and N series can also upgrade to the URS Classic Console EQ Bundle v2.0 and receive the URS A-MIX and URS N-MIX EQ's for free.

The Everything Bundle v5.0 TDM version lists for $2299.99 and includes TDM, RTAS, and Audio Units and VST versions. The Everything Bundle v5.0 Native version lists for $1149.99 and includes RTAS and Audio Units and VST versions.

IK Multimedia introduces for the NAMM show 2006 the StealthPlug powered by AmpliTube, a cable-like USB audio card designed specifically for guitarists. StealthPlug provides an easy-to-use solution to plug any guitar into a computer and comes bundled with AmpliTube Live and AmpliTube LE. The StealthPlug is an in-line guitar cable that serves as a USB audio interface with 1/4" jack on one side and USB on the other side. It also includes a mini-jack stereo output, an indication LED, and volume buttons, low latency ASIO and CoreAudio drivers.

IK StealthPlug will be available in the summer of 2006.

Digidesign, Apple, Native Instruments, Ableton, Steinberg and 1,400 other exhibitors! They have come, they are all present for this new edition of the Winter Namm Show that is about to open in a few hours now in Anheim, California. As usual, it's just the perfect opportunity to come and meet the very numerous musical equipment manufacturers but also to attend the numerous shows (training courses, concerts, demonstrations) organized by the National Association of Music Manufacturers.

The whole MacMusic team is on the starting blocks to get you informed about the latest news in this "Winter NAMM special report", and in the MacMusic Daily News Section. Enjoy the NAMM, either on the spot or on the web !

UPDATE: 80 more photos in our NAMM Galery!