Our friends from Hardmac/Macbidouille announced a "little" change in the MacBook Pro which is of huge interest for us musicians. Apple has changed the Main Logic Board of MacBooks Pro coming from repairs and maybe in the line coming to shops now. The change affects the tension regulator (the source of noise some mac users complained a lot and for a reason), so no noise hopefully now at last. Next, this MLB change may be the sign of the future availability of Merom or Core 2 Duo CPUs in the MacBook Pro line… Great, isn't it?

This new MLB starts up with OS X 10.4.6 and higher, no more in in 10.4.5.

Focusrite announces that LiquidMix is now shiping worldwide. LiquidMix is a new multi-channel Firewire Mix Processor. Liquid Mix's onboard DSP hosts 32 classic EQs and 32 vintage compressors simultaneously in the mix. Each of Liquid Mix's 32 channels provides Compressor and EQ emulations selected from a huge pool of high-quality vintage and modern day classics. 40 Compressors and 20 EQs are available straight out of the box, with an expanding library online. Furthermore, a totally unique hybrid 7-band 'super EQ' can be built out of separate classic EQ sections in every one of the 32 channels. Each channel appears as a separate VST/AU/RTAS effect within the sequencer and will work within all major applications, including Pro Tools. Liquid Mix's DSP is housed within a desktop control solution and connects to the computer via Firewire, which also provides bus-powering. An optional expansion card is available for Liquid Mix, allowing users to increase the number of available channels at higher sample rates. Liquid Mix is bundled with a VST to RTAS wrapper, allowing it to work with Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE.

Focusrite Liquid Mix ships for $799.

LUNA Free and LUNA Unlimited are now available as prerelease verion 2, featuring MacIntel support, new audio mixing desk, improved editors and new plugin manager. Luna is an alternative, ultra-light virtual music studio, designed to compose & perform music of different styles and flavors. It features : Audio Recording & Playback, MIDI Recording & Playback, Composition & Sequence Editing, Effect & Instrument VST Plugins, Powerful Audio Mixing Desk, Audio Engine using 32 bit floats, almost any sample rate, and Sample accurate sequencing.

Luna Unlimited costs 29 euros and Luna Free is… free.

Novation unveils the XioSynth, a new compact audio interface, synth and controler. It features a USB port, MIDI ports, microphone input (phantom powered), Novation-class synthesis, 32-step sequencer X-Gator, and standalone synth mode. The XioSynth is available with 25 keys (330 euros) or 49 keys (430 euros).

Please also note that the X-Station and ReMOTE keyboard ranges now support Intel Mac, with Universal Binary, Core Audio and MIDI drivers for intel and Power PC Macs now available.

Digidesign released a new version for Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered.

Pro Tools LE 7.1.1cs1 fixes :

- Pro Tools Always Overwrites Automation in Existing Playlists When Using "Import (Session Data) - Overlay New on Existing Playlists."
- Volumes With Japanese Naming Will Not Mount In DigiBase
- Opening or Importing an OMF With AIFF Media Would Result In An Error
- When Using CoreAudio Input To Record With Third Party Applications, Digital Noise Would Result
- Some Automation Moves Could Be Written Incorrectly When Writing Immediately After A "Play" Command

Pro Tools M-Powered Pro Tools M-Powered 7.1.1cs1 fixes :

- Volumes With Japanese Naming Will Not Mount In DigiBase
- Some Automation Moves Could Be Written Incorrectly When Writing Immediately After A "Play" Command.

These updates are available for download in the MacMusic Software section.