Motu debuted the Motu Ethnic Instrument, a cross-platform virtual instrument that gives users quick and easy access to an 8GB library of world/ethnic instruments, loops and phrases. With 4GB of expressive ethnic instrument sounds combined with another 4GB of authentic world music loops and phrases, Ethno Instrument delivers all of the exotic textures needed to take recordings to the four corners of the globe. Ethno Instrument can be used on the Mac as a plug-in with any compatible host application (VST, MAS, Audio Units and RTAS) or as a stand-alone application where users can load up to 64 different instruments per instance (triggered independently via 64 MIDI channels) to create ensembles of any size and scope, sub-mixed to as many as 17 independent stereo outputs.

The MOTU Ethno Instrument will ship in Q1, 2006 for a list price of $295.

We all know the DM5, that 1U rack full of drums from Alesis. Now it can be sold as the Electronic Drum Kit, which is a DM5 and all that is necessary to bang the drums : 5 playing pad, 2 motions cymbals, kick pedal, the tube structure and the cables. So Alesis proposes at last the DM5 as a complete practice solution or as a mean to capture drum parts. an entry level solution for the ones without a Ddrum?

Price and availability TBA.

The Miroslav Refills from Sonic Reality will ship in January. These Refiils are a series of dynamic orchestral sound collections featuring the symphonic samples of Miroslav Vitous in Reason 3 Refill format, and working in Reason 3 only. Six new titles will be shipping: Miroslav String Ensembles, Miroslav Solo Strings, Miroslav Brass, Miroslav Woodwinds, Miroslav Choirs and Miroslav Percussion & Keys. Each Miroslav Refill comes on a DVD and includes additional articulations, ensembles and performance elements designed for use with Reason 3's Combinator module and NN-XT sampler.

Miroslav Refill will cost $199 each.

Mackie previewed at NAMM the new Satellite FireWire Recording System. The Satellite FireWire Recording System is an innovative new approach to digital recording, featuring a two-part audio interface. The heart of the Satellite System is the Satellite Pod, a sleek, portable two-channel FireWire interface that incorporates two of Mackie's acclaimed Onyx preamps, as well as 24-bit/96kHz A/D and D/A converters. Additional Satellite Pod features include dual headphone/control room outputs with individual level controls, two inputs, two outputs, and a portable design. A compelling feature of the Satellite System is the Satellite Base Station, which the Satellite Pod snaps into to provide AC power, additional I/O, talkback and monitor switching functions. By plugging the Satellite Pod into the base station, the Satellite System becomes a two-input, six-output FireWire audio interface with professional features such as an advanced routing matrix, built-in talkback microphone, advanced monitoring functions and surround speaker control.

The new Mackie Satellite FireWire Recording System will be available Q2 2006.

Prosoniq today announces that their future Mac OS X product line will be developed, tested and adapted to the Intel-powered Macs by their new contractor OSXTools.com. Led by former Prosoniq CTO Stephan Bernsee, OSXTools.com is an independent R&D group specializing on MacOS X software development. This five-year cooperation agreement not only ensures timely Intel-compatibility of Prosoniq's Mac OS X product line including TimeFactory and many new applications, it also provides Prosoniq with access to the latest in DSP technology via OSXTools' signal processing department at The DSP Dimension.