MOTU has unveiled Version 2.0 for its instrument plug-ins MachFive, which now features : stand-alone operation, unlimited parts, full-screen preset browser, enhanced Giga and EXS24 library support, expanded envelope editor, expanded sample editor, built-in mixer, new LoopLab function and real-time time stretching.

MachFive 2.0 is of course not available now, but will ship in second quarter 2005 and should cost $395.

Alesis announces the IO|2 USB, a 2 channel portable 24-bit-96k USB interface with mic-pres, phantom power. Channel inserts are provided for outboard processing. The unit even has 2 XLR plus 2 1/4" balanced line inputs, MIDI input/output and S/PDIF I/O, and is USB bus powered.

The IO|2 USB will be available first quarter of 2005.

You all know (who doesn't in this world ?) our famous software section. This true Alladdin's cave for MacMacmusicians contains thousands of treasures, updates, freewares, sharewares where you can navigate, thanks to the famous tracker. And yet in a cave, as it is the case in any house, the paintwork has to be redone at times. It's done! From now on, the software section allows you to find the history of all the versions of a software, to have access to a complete list of software by the same manufacturer, to read all the news linked with this manufacturer, or else for plugins you'll be able to move from VST version to Audio Units version for example, in absolute comfort.

In the part of Aladdin, it's our friend June Bug who proposes these improvements and whose daily and titanic work allows us all, MacMusiciens, to have this softwares database : unique and essential.

Anwida Soft announces a new VST Pack for MacOS X, which contains 5 VST audio plug-ins in a bundle : CX1V compressor/expander, L1V limiter/maximizer, GEQ15V - 15 band 2/3 octave graphic equalizer, GEQ31V - 31 band 1/3 octave graphic equalizer and PEQ1V - parametric equalizer.

VST Pack costs $199.

IK Multimedia has announced their studio instrument workstation Studiophonik. This plugin station is designed to control the sound of a band in a studio and allows user to create a virtual band. Studiophonik offers a huge variety of different vintage and custom brand instruments and comes with 2 DVD of 7 GB sound sets.

Studiophonik will be be available from Spring 2005 at 399 euros.