Ed: Melenko has pointed us to free plugins for RTAS, AU, VST, OS 9 and OS X. Inspector is a mastering plugin for spectrum analysis with peak and RMS meters. Free demos are also available for some of the other plugins, as well. These plugins are new to us here, so hit that link, give them a spin, and let us know what you think! Thanks, melenko. -PK

Roland has rolled out a new Fantom series with some impressive specs. The FantomX
models are shipping with your choice of 61 keys (Fantom-X6), 76 keys (Fantom-X7) or 88 keys (Fantom-X8), and boast 128-note polyphony, 1 GB of sound data, and a sampling section with up to 544MB RAM. I/O includes USB and S/PDIF digital I/O as well as the usual analog audio and tradition MIDI in/out/thru. More details below, but to sum it up in one word: drool.

clouvel and ptilou contributed to this report

Zygoat Creative has announce a 1.1 version update to Doggiebox 1.1 , its easy rhythm sequencer. The update contains bug fixes, simplified preference options, and a better song editor and better undo options. Doggiebox is a EUR39 download, free for registered users.

IK Multimedia has annouced the release of the Sampletank 2.05, a major update for stability with Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. Here are the new fixes in this 2.05 version : crash in Pro Tools OSX while changing PT tracks midi channel, crash in latest Metro, occasional system crashes when loading sounds, click at the beginning of sequence playback on certain systems...and more !!

This update is strongly recommended by IK Multimedia and is available on free download for registered users.

There still are too many problems for some FW HD with Panther. Here are a few useful tips to prevent you from going nuts when seeing 120 Go of sessions or soundbanks disappearing just like this.

These tips were taken from Joe Kissell's article, "Revisiting Panther's FireWire Data Loss Problem", available on tidbits.com and they kindly accepted that we publish it on MM.