The free Soundflower audio routing utility for OS X is just updated. It now works with a new application called Soundflowerbed that allows you to choose any connection and send it to your audio output.

Source code is also available.

Hartmann the infamous guys behind the Neuron, one of the very few breaktrough in synthesis since VA came on earth, is releasing anytime soon a virtual instrument based on the Neuron technology. The Neuron VS will come:

- with a little USB knob box (which is the dongle in case you wonder…)
- a dongle with a joystick and 4 knobs for a change;
- 250 models to use on the…
- 2 resynators (each with 3 spheres and 3 scapes levels);
- 8 blender types to blend these;
- a multimode filter (24dB lowpass, 12dB lowpass, 6dB lowpass, 6dB highpass, bandpass);
- 7 enveloppes (2 per resynator, 2 freely assignable, one for the filter);
- a Frequency FX Module (EQ / Compressor, Distortion, Ring Modulator, Decimator and SP Warp);
- a Time FX Module (Stereo Spread, Left/Right Delay, Flanger, Phaser and Chorus);
- a Slicer module for "multidimensional" (whatever it is) modulation (12 waveforms), and a LFO;
- if you're the lazy type, there's 300 sounds already programmed,
- and YES the joystick is recorded and automated (nice touch).
For the ones who would have like to twiddle a neuron here is at least a less (compared to the price of the full Neuron) expensive way to do so.

The plug-in is VST and AU compatible, price is set at about 700 € and the dong…controler is called the nuke!

SoundEngine just announced a new collection of keyboards patches for the Korg Triton, "101 Keys" which includes 101 Acoustic Pianos, Electric Pianos and Organs. Theses patches are also available in SoundDiver, Unisyn, and MIDIQuest formats.

101 Keys for Triton costs $29.95.

We open the english book and documentation section on macmusic.org with "Mixing with your Mind" from Michael Paul Stavrou.

Well, you know on MM we not only comment books but we read them ! It's the truth! Mixing with your Mind is an encounter with tips and techniques comming from Michael Stavrous engineering experiences. And this man has done a lot. The purpose of this book is not to teach the basics, but to make you award of how your ears and your magnificent right brain can make a huge difference in dealing with sound recording and mixing. Let the tech specs on the side and try to do like Michael does, you shall be a winner. You will discover what a speaker "flame" is, how to avoid ribbon effects between 2 speakers, how to go on advanced microphone techniques (the drum and piano section is really usefull), get the best of lead vocals, find the secret combination of compressors, and finally get immerged in the best part revealed : the Mix process. Did you ever know that mixing is a real kind of meditation state ? Learn how to communicate with the gohsts beetween the speakers. A very intersting book, easy to read and usefull for all kind of composers.

SoundShuttle by PowerFX is now available as RTAS plugin for Mac OS X. Made for ProTools based systems, SoundShuttle allows users to search for sounds and preview them. More than 40,000 sounds in the PowerFX database can be previewed and downloaded directly.

SoundShuttle is compatible with Pro Tools 6.4 and costs $19.95, including ten free sound from PowerFX website.