'Andy's OSX Music Software' has released an enhanced version of GRBand Assistant. It now includes the GB DrumLoops package. GRBand Assistant is a collection of software utilities designed to enhance the functionality of Apple's GarageBand product. There are three software titles in this suite:

Filipe Barroso has released MacTermen version 1.5 for Mac OS X. This monophonic sound generator allows the user to control the sound's color and tone by simply moving the mouse. Version 1.5 adds MIDI handling, for control of the main parameters (stereo image, vibrato speed, etc.) by the Mac's keyboard or an external MIDI keyboard.

MacTermen 1.5 is US$10 shareware; a fully-functional demo version is available for download.

The latest from Europe: while Apple is still negotiating licensing to open their iTunes Music Store for Europe, Virgin yesterday launched their Windows-only "Virgin Music Online Store." 300,000 songs would be available at 0,99 or 1,1 Euros/song. The site requires Windows and Microsoft's WMA format, so means little for us Mac users, but it's a blow for Apple as Cupertino tries to fight the onslaught of inferior stores running proprietary Microsoft audio technology. We'll keep you posted regarding a Windows-compatible store.

Clouvel and pesji contributed to this report from MacMusic's ubiquitous Paris Bureau. -PK

The Vanguard ReFX plugin (previously VST-only) is a synth featuring 13 filters including dual mode filters, delay and reverb settings, an arpeggiator and a trancegate to build rythmic loops (16-position), plus 3 LFOs and 2 ADSR envelopes. ReFX is now available in AudioUnit format (a free update for registered users). By the end of this year the entire Vanguard line should be available as AU.

Ed: ReFX is a very cool plugin in terms of the whopping amount of stuff they've built into a compact little package.

Word of warning: I've run a bit behind editing news translated from the French side so we're not quite as close to "breaking news" as possible - my apologies. Stay tuned for more news from the densely-packed beginning of May! -PK

MOTU has released updates for MOTU Audio System (MAS) and MAS AudioUnit (AU) support for Digital Performer 4.12, its flagship Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software. This downloadable upgrade improve MAS and AU support, disk I/O performance on single- and dual-processor G5 Power Macs, compatibility with the Tascam 1884 Firewire audio interface in 18-channel mode, and compatibility with Native Instruments Reaktor (version 4.1 and higher).

This upgrade requires an authorized and installed copy of DP 4.12 on your Mac.

Ed: Just to clarify, DP 4.12, some will remember, was released in January. This installer updates the audio system support in DP. If you haven't upgraded to 4.12, you need to do that first. We've included a direct download link below. -PK