We talked about Zebra in October but now shipping is imminent: a near-final release was presented at the Musik Messe conference and the commercial release should be available in the next days.

Zebra is a virtual synthetizer plugin that combines subtractive/additive synthesis with a powerful modulation engine. Version 1.5 features infinite variations of synthesizer circuits, four oscillators, four multimode filters, a noise generator, mixing units, delay effects and waveshapers.

A beta version is already available. The AU version for OS X will be listed at US$199 for new users; the update will be free for registered users.

ApulSoft releases apTrigga, a Mac OS X VST Effect plugin that generates a trigger signal from an audio source. This signal is used to trigger mono Samples (AIFF & WAV), which can be dropped directly onto the plugin interface. apTrigga features an extensive filter section to extract specific frequencies from the source material. Velocity and a 4-pole low-pass filter can be modulated by the trigger intensity.

apTrigga can be used to replace recorded drum instruments with sampled drums, to extract rhythm elements from drumloops or to spice up drum mixes with short attack-samples. Due to its zero sample latency apTrigga works great for live drum triggering.

Main Features:
- Triggers mono samples by an audio signal.
- ZERO samples trigger latency.
- Output can be modulated by level and a lowpass filter.
- Drag 'n' drop support for AIFF and WAV sample files.

apTrigga is available for $30 USD

NAB 2004 - Solid State Logic announces a new recording and mixing system, the AWS 900 Analogue Workstation System. The system combines the dual benefits of SuperAnalogue processing and sophisticated digital control to provide a complete solution to the use of Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) in professional audio applications.

Solid State Logic mixing systems are the de facto standard in audio production, valued for their unrivalled audio quality and control ergonomics. SSL was the first company to integrate automation and machine control into the mixing console, and it pioneered surround mixing. The new AWS 900 delivers the same powerful integration benefits to DAW users, who face similar challenges with an array of equipment (Mic Amps, Effects, Controllers etc.) to produce professional results from a modern DAW.

Ever want to get a song off your iPod? AudioFinder can now help you with that. New in this release:

Added "Scan iPod" to the Scanner menu. AudioFinder can now find, play and copy sounds off your iPod.
Increased the range of "Show Guides" to 64 measures.
Added an Add ("+") to the Tools Palette.
In the Scanner changed the "Search Within Results" checkbox to a "Refine" button for ease of use.
Improved Scanner display by adding a "Folder" column.
Added "Add Sounds Manually" to the Scanner Menu, along with an Add ("+") to the Scanner to allow manual control over scan contents.
Added ID3 Tag display
Made Preferences, Tools Setup and Organizer Setup panels into sheets.

Trillium Lane Labs has announced TL Space, a new reverb plug-in for Pro Tools. The developer claims TL Space combines the best offerings of convolution reverb with the traditional controls of synthetic reverbs. It is the first Pro Tools plug-in to deliver a number of technical breakthroughs that unleash the full power of the Pro Tools HD platform and erase the difference that previously existed between high end reverb hardware units and software reverb processing. Finally, the promise of convolution reverb processing is available directly inside Pro Tools with no compromises.

Recent advances in reverb processing technology for digital audio have come with strings attached. Although convolution reverb offers excellent realism by sampling real reverb spaces, the downside of limited control of reverb parameters and heavy CPU overheads have slowed adoption. In addition, users of convolution reverbs have found library formats incompatible, restricting their ability to mix and match impulses between reverbs. Finally, the heavy CPU overhead of native convolution reverbs has made their use in live sessions difficult due to high latency.