The dark veil is still down on it (been on nerves for weeks), but we have already some hints of the next clavia instrument. As its feet were betraying it, it's a live oriented keyboard. The Stage will be a piano, organ and mono-oscillator synth with an effect section, reverbs, amplificator simulation, compressor, EQ… Lots of on hands control beside the pitch stick and mod wheel familiar to Clavia users, including a switch to jump to a different panel setting.

The 6 multitimbral voices of the instruments are :
- 2 voices for the piano: Rhodes Mark I, Clavinet D6, Wurli 200A, Electric Grand model G, Yamaha C7 Acoustic Grand and an upright piano for the fun.
- 2 (one for each manual) for the organ : farfisa, vox
- 2 voices for the synth : substractive synthesis, wavetables, filter 12 and 24 dB
Now we don't know the polyphony as price and availability…

[edit: the veil is up now ;)]

After one hint on the mailing list, Elektron confirmed today that they are working on Something Else, giving no details. Daniel has been very clear it'll be shown in London at the forthcoming Sounds Expo of the 14-16 of April.

Don't ask me, I don't know either… But coming from these guys, I expect the unexpectable.

Now what can UW mean… Ûber Wavetables? mhmmm (scratching tod of head)

Guitar Combos by Native Instruments is a series of three charismatic amp emulations that combine studio-grade sound quality with maximum ease of use. The Guitar Combos series consists of the Twang Combo, the AC Box Combo and the Plexi Combo. The Twang Combo is modelled after the Fender Twin Reverb and delivers a wide range of clean and crunch tones suitable for Pop, Jazz, Blues and Country styles. The AC Box Combo is modelled after the Vox AC-30 and delivers a wide range of clean and crunch sounds that lend itself to Pop, Rock, and Alternative styles. The Plexi Combo is modelled after the Marshall JMP50 and delivers a wide range of crunch and overdrive sounds, which makes it the first choice for various flavors of Rock, Metal and Psychedelic.

Guitar Combos will be available in May 2005 for $79 for each combo. Furthermore, a bundle version with all three combos will be available for $199.

Apple has just updated its audio software Logic to version 7.1, which now features : full native plug-in delay compensation and over 70 new key commands. It provides greater facility for creating and managing Apple Loops and a convenient new method for re-ordering Channel Strip plug-in configurations. Logic Pro 7.1 further extends the creative options with 5 new plug-ins including a Bass Amp and two hybrid synthesizers. The update is rounded out by a host of optimizations and refinements that significantly improve the performance and stability of both Logic Pro and the included, updated version of Waveburner, and much more (Follow Tempo Option for Recorded Audio, Support for 9 additional Control Surfaces,...).

Logic Pro 7.1 is available to all Logic Pro users possessing an XSkey authorized for Logic Pro 7.0 and costs $19.95. ps : an update to v7.1 is available for Logic Express too

Synthetic Drums 2 is a huge new collection of drum and percussion sounds, created in cooperation with more than twenty of the world's most innovative electronic music producers and sound designers. The latest addition to the NI soundline range is loaded with 36 drum kits that offer material for all contemporary and upcoming styles of electronic music - including various flavours of techno and house,hiphop, R&B, ambient, two-step, drum&bass, tech funk, IDM, breakbeat, electro, industrial,electronica, big beat, downbeat, experimental and avantgarde.

All drum kits in Synthetic Drums 2 exist in Battery 2 and Kontakt formats, and will be soon available.