As you can see this is the NAMM time ! Digidesign, Apple, Arturia, Ableton, Korg, etc... they are all present for this new edition of the Winter Namm Show that is about to open in a few hours now in Anheim, California. As usual, it's just the perfect opportunity to come and meet the very numerous musical equipment manufacturers but also to attend the numerous shows (training courses, concerts, demonstrations) organized by the National Association of Music Manufacturers.

And don't worry if you can't go there, the whole MacMusic team is on the starting blocks to get you informed about the latest news in this "Winter NAMM special report", and in the MacMusic Daily News Section. So, as Sgt Pepper said, hope you will enjoy the Show !

Garritan has announced the Gofriller Solo Cello, a Kontakt Player 2 based virtual instrument created by the Italian team of Giorgio Tommasini and Stefano Lucato in collaboration with Gary Garritan. It expands the company's solo instrument series following the release of the Stradivari Solo Violin.

Gofriller Solo Cello is available as a VST, RTAS or Audio Units plug-in and also as a standalone instrument, it is priced at $199 and will be available shortly after the NAMM show. Audio demos are available now.

IK Multimedia has announced the AmpliTube 2 StompIO, a new USB floor controller and audio interface for the AmpliTube 2, guitar and FX modeling software.

Features :

- Controls:
* 4 digit large LED display
* 40×2 character large alphanumeric backlit display
* Volume knob
* 3 LED levels
* 4 navigation buttons
* Instant Tuner recall button
* 6 knobs with rotary encoders
* 10 floor switches
* Ability to connect 6 external controllers, with pedal/switch connections

- Connections:
* Ultra-low latency USB
* High Quality Direct Guitar IN
* Direct OUT
* Low-level STEREO OUT
* Balanced STEREO OUT
* Digital SPDIF OUT
* Headphones OUT
* MIDI IN/OUT
* 6 external controller, pedal/switch

- Audio:
* 24 bit A/D- D/A with High end stages
* 44.1 or 48 ...

Universal Audio today announced the UAD-Xpander, an ExpressCard DSP system for laptops. The UAD-Xpander will be offered in 3 versions: the UAD-Xpander Xpress (Estimated street price $999 including a UAD$500 voucher), the UAD-Xpander Xpert (Estimated street price $1399 including a UAD$1000 voucher), and the UAD-Xpander Xtreme (Estimated street price $2199 including all UAD plug-ins to v4.5 - almost $3000 value). The UAD-Xpander Xtreme will uniquely feature a highly polished chassis with custom Xpander logo. All UAD-Xpander's are expected to ship Q1 2007.

Key features :

- 44.1-192k Mac/PC DSP Audio Accelerator for laptops
- Noiseless, Fanless, Alumi-Cool chassis design
- Ultra-fast (2.5Gbps) ExpressCard 34 interface
- Includes 14 Powered Plug-ins & UAD$ voucher
- Travel-Case with compartments for all components
- Optional UAD-Xtenda kit with PCIe desktop adapter

Winter NAMM 2007 sees the unveiling of Focusrite's fourth Saffire solution, Saffire PRO 10 i/o. Featuring the same preamps, converters and monitoring control software as its larger sibling, Saffire PRO 10 i/o can allow for larger recording solutions via the option to aggregate multiple units, all controlled via the same control platform.

Main features :

- 8 channels of pre-amplification (derivative of the Green Series)
- high pass filters on every channel
- two channels with DI
- 8 balanced line outputs
- SPDIF i/o
- MIDI I/O
- two independent headphones outputs with volume control
- bus-powered or powered via an external PSU, the unit has also been designed to take full advantage of the external PSU and to maximize performance when powered in this way.
- Saffire ...