Apple has released Pro Applications Update 2008-01. This update improves reliability for Apple's professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server, Logic Studio, and Shake.

Synthogy unveils Ivory Upright Pianos. a new virtual instrument which presents the unique, intimate sound of upright pianos using Synthogy's technology and piano-building expertise.

This all new collection of Vertical Pianos consists of four complete instruments. Each piano was carefully chosen, and the vintage instruments selected after an exhaustive search among hundreds of vintage uprights. Each of these authentic pianos was recorded with Synthogy's usual meticulous attention to detail to capture the unique personalities of these instruments.

Features :

- 4 hand selected Upright Pianos including :

. Yamaha U5 Modern Upright
. 1914 A.M. Hume Vintage Upright
. Honky Tonk, Barroom Upright
. Real Tack Piano

- Comes with Ivory piano engine
- More than 50 GB Core Library
- Over 5000 Samples
- Up to 10 Velocity Layers
- Custom Upright Soundboard Emulation DSP
- Separate, selectable "creaks and clunks" layer, for added funk
- Release samples triggered by velocity and duration
- Full EQ and Effects section
- All of Ivory's Piano Specific features and controls
- Dozens of new programs and effects presets

Note that Ivory's "unified interface" feature enables you to use just a single instance, and one interface, to play and control all of Ivory's pianos, no matter how many pianos you install.

Ivory Upright Pianos will be available soon for Mac OS X and Windows in VST, AU, RTAS and Standalone versions at a retail price of $299.

Sinevibes announces the immediate availability of vastly-anticipated 5th edition of the Fantom Tweakbook, the sound design and music post-production guide for Roland Fantom-S, Fantom-X, Juno-G and SonicCell synthesizers.

This new edition is the biggest update to the Tweakbook ever: there are now 62 illustrated articles explaining the capabilities of these amazing instruments even deeper. The look and layout has been totally reworked from scratch and, in addition to the helpful synthesizer and effects parameter map, there is a little dictionary which makes it even easier to navigate and understand the book.

The Fantom Tweakbook now covers an overwhelming amount of topics, including subtractive, additive and vector synthesis, ring modulation, analog sound replication, creating complex effects on patch level, envelope, LFO and matrix modulation, using effects processors as synthesis blocks, sampling and re-sampling, advanced processing of internal and external sounds, using in conjunction with other gear and much beyond. The 5th edition comes with over 220 example patches and templates, as well as a new collection of raw sample material and rhythm kits — so you can instantly start making your own sounds and music.

The Fantom Tweakbook 5th edition is available online from our partner DontCrac[k] for $19.

Soniccouture has announced the release of Kontakt Scriptorium, a package comprising a collection of KSP Scripts, a sound library and set of Tutorial videos for Native Instruments Kontakt 2 and 3.

KSP scripts are kind of like 'plug-ins' for Kontakt. These ingenious tools open up new worlds of sonic possibility within Kontakt. KSP allows you to manipulate Kontakt parameters at a microscopic level, creating new behaviours, unique timbral characters or even generative sequences. For those who find the idea of KSP Scripts daunting, Scriptorium includes 4 tutorial videos that take the user step by step from complete beginner to more advanced sound design techniques.

The final part of the Scriptorium package is a collection of sounds for Kontakt all using the included scripts, naturally. This broad range of instruments features atmospheres, sequences, generative soundscapes, beats, leads, pads, etc...

Kontakt Scriptorium is available for download now priced at £49 / $99. Note that Kontakt 2 or 3 is required. Video and audio demos available.

Schaack Audio Technologies has just released Transient Shaper v2.0.

New features :

- 3 different Attack shapes (sharp/mid/soft).
- 3 different Release shapes (sharp/mid/soft).
- Analog saturation (for smoothly cutting off the 'head' of too sharp transients or using Transient Shaper for plain saturation).
- Smoothed parameters (to avoid zipper noise when turning the knobs).

Transient Shaper v2.0 is available now for Mac OS X and Windows in VST and AU formats at a price of €49 (+VAT).