Focusrite launches the online 'Liquid Mix Challenge'. This challenge provides ten different excerpts; each features a dry sample, followed by two processed samples, A and B. One of these is processed through the original vintage or classic hardware, the other through a Liquid Mix emulation of the same unit. The question is, 'which is which?'

For each excerpt, the user must decide which sample has been processed through the Liquid Mix, as well as decide which sample they liked the most. Your score is displayed at the end of the short test, alongside an aggregate of the world's scores to date.

Fancy yourself as a bit of an audiophile? Think you can you hear the difference? Then take the online 'Liquid Mix Challenge' now and have a chance to win a new Liquid 4PRE.

Spectrasonics has released Stylus RMX Xpanded, which includes Stylus RMX with all five S.A.G.E. Xpanders: Backbeat, Retro Funk, Metamorphosis, Burning Grooves and Liquid Grooves.
This new package is priced at $399US/349Euro and offers a saving of almost $400US off the combined price. The Xpanders libraries will add 5.5 GB of grooves and sounds to the current Stylus RMX's 7.4 GB remix-oriented core library.

Fully compatible with PPC and Intel Macs, and Windows PC (including Vista).

Addictive Drums is updated to v1.1, thus allowing use of multiple outputs in Logic8, offering selectable backdrops, fixing minor bugs and above all adding support for ADpaks.
Users have been waiting for some sound extensions, and here is the first : Retro. It features three classic Ludwig kits from the 60s and 70s, with cymbals from Paiste and Sabian. It also includes cowbells, tambourines and hand claps.
1300 MIDI loops and 70 presets will "get you groovin' in Motown, banging your head to booming heavy Rock, and tunin' out to psychedelic Rock'n'Roll" as claimed by the editor.

Update already available, Retro will be from mid-december.

Today Jazzmutant announces Dual Mode capability for their multi-touch controllers Lemur and Dexter.

Jazzmutant's hands-on, multi-touch controllers have revolutionized the way we interface with our computers, putting stylish, futuristic and – most importantly – ultimate functional control into creative environments everywhere.

But which controller is right for you? The Lemur, perhaps, that can be set up exactly to suit your needs, allowing for intuitive multi-touch control of instrument and effect parameters, mixer channels or anything else you need critical hands-on control of? Or perhaps Dexter is for you, hard-wir ...

Current versions of the PLAY-powered collections (Gypsy, Ministry Of Rock, Fab Four and Voices Of Passion) can be upgraded to include RTAS support through a free update posted on the company's website.
This software update (v1.0.035) is available for Mac platforms in both standalone and plug-in versions.
Other Play instruments, SD2-The Next Generation and Quantum Leap Pianos, are not currently available.
You can click on the thumbnail if you want to have a good look on another forthcoming instrument, eagerly awaited by Mac Intel users (and PPC too...), Symphonic Orchestra.