Lawrence Fritts, Director of the Electronic Music Studios of the the University of Iowa has created a Musical Instrument Samples library. All instruments were recorded in the Anechoic Chamber in the Wendell Johnson Center and are posted on AIFF files. Sounds are available for free download with no restrictions on their use: only the friendly reminder that "the Iowa University music studio appreciates hearing about any research publications or works that utilize the database."

Ed: Ah, music samples with the spirit of free academic sharing -- great, right? This isn't really news, as the library has been around for a while, but worth a reminder if you haven't checked it out yet. -PK

Our colleagues at the excellent French site MacPlus have put their hands on a recently registered a patent for a "synthesizer face" registered by Apple in Europe. The Emagic look is obvious. Who knows if this patent will some day become a reality, but this highlights Apple's intentions to link with the music world, and not only the music playback / MP3 market.

English Ed: Always some interesting fodder in the patent registries. It's clearly an analog-inspired synth based on the front panel: look at the selectors for sin, square, triangle waveforms on the front! Other than that, a bit hard to tell exactly what it does, and this could be a component of something else. But nice to dream, whether or not this becomes a finished product. -PK

KavaSoft has announced iTunes Catalog 1.6 for Mac OS X. iTunes Catalog creates web catalogs of your iTunes music library, displays the cover artwork for each album, and copies album artwork into iTunes. The new version supports display of album year for release date sorting, and uses Amazon for correct release dates so that smart playlists based on years actually work. There are numerous other features, including star ratings and Finder integration for custom icons, all for US$9.99 (other currencies accepted). It's free to try out the program on part of your library.

The Focusrite Forte Suite is a channel strip TDM and RTAS plug-in for Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools LE systems based on the now legendary Focusrite Forte recording console of the mid-80's. Comprised of virtual vintage modules, Forte Suite features software models of the classic ISA 110 EQ and ISA 130 Dynamics module including compressor, de-esser, and noise gate.
Forte Suite also includes a multi-channel surround compressor as well as graphical representations of EQ, compression, and related module curves. If you're familiar with Focusrite's family of products, you'll recognize that the Forte Suite plug-in's interface components closely resemble the ISA series modules. If the sound also resembles the ISA modules, it may become a killer plug-in...