Antares announces AVOX, an interesting new vocal processor. Antares has combined five vocal processing modules : THROAT Physical Modeling Vocal Designer, CHOIR Vocal Multiplier, PUNCH Vocal Impact Enhancer, DUO Vocal Modeling Auto-Doubler and SYBIL Variable Frequency De-Esser.

AVOX will be available this fall in RTAS, VST and Audio Units versions.

That's a good news if you're a M-Audio hardware user. Divers for Ozone, MobilePre USB, Omnistudio USB, Quattro USB and Sonica Theater audio interfaces are now compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

These updates are free and are available in the MacMusic Software section.

At Summer NAMM, Tascam debuts DP-01FX/CD digital portastudio. This new portastudio features a built-in CD burner for under. Based on the best-selling DP-01 and DP-01FX, the new DP-01FX/CD makes CD recording simple. Like the DP-01FX, it features eight tracks, two XLR inputs with phantom power, a pair of digital effects processors, eight 45mm Faders plus a dedicated Master fader, S/PDIF Digital Optical output, USB 2.0 port for computer backup and a simple-to-use interface. It also adds a Built-in 40GB hard drive

The Tascam DP-01FX/CD ships at $799.

Digidesign has updated its Pro-Tools M-Powered, which now adds Mac OS X 10.4 "aka Tiger" compatibility. Qualification of Pro Tools M-Powered software on Mac OS X 10.4.x has taken much longer than anticipated due to unforeseen technical issues. Please note that this new 6.8r2 version is not "bug free". The fully qualified version of Pro Tools M-Powered is anticipated for release within a few weeks

Today is a very special day for all musicians. The summer NAMM '05 has just started in Indianapolis, USA. With around 500 exhibitors and lots of events, this fair is going to last three days. As usual, the whole MacMusic team and myself are on the alert to keep you up-to-date. You can read about the NAMM either in this special report or in the daily news section.