Synful Orchestra has been updated to version 2.3.2 for Mac OS X, which is now a Universal Binary. This version runs on both new Intel Macs and older Power PC Macs and has no new sounds or other new features compared to version 2.3.0 so the only reason to download and install this is if you want to run Synful Orchestra on a new Intel Mac.

Manytone Music has announced the release of ManyOne, a fully-featured, high-quality, sample player plug-in for Mac OS X (UB) in VST and AU formats that comes with a wide range of sounds classified in four categories: electric pianos, ensembles, organs, and waveforms (which include classic analog waves). The waveforms can be used as they come or some of the synthesis tools can be applied through the simple interface to tweak the sounds. For speed in programming, there is a Sound Wizard with a range of preset synthesizer settings for all purposes. ManyOne also includes an FX rack with ten units: Tremolo; Overdrive; Mono Phaser; Stereo Phaser; Dual Chorus; Quad Chorus; Mono Flanger; Stereo Flange; Echo (with three varieties—warm, crush and light); and an Output Limiter. Like the Sound Wizard, ...

Vir2 Instruments has released Acoustic Legends HD, a new acoustic guitar virtual instrument plugin for Windows and Mac OS X. Powered by the Kontakt Player 2 engine, Acoustic Legends HD delivers 19 gigabytes of acoustic guitar, including picked notes, finger-picked notes, natural and artificial mutes, chords, harmonics, harmonic chords, release layers, and even fret noise sampled for each guitar. It contains several different steel string guitars, nylon strings, twelve strings, acoustic bass, as well as a bonus folder featuring mandolin, ukulele, and banjo. Acoustic Legends HD features guitars from McPherson, Taylor, Gibson, Martin, and other manufacturers.
Acoustic Legends HD has an MSRP of $299.95 and is available for Windows and Mac OS X in VST, DX, AU, RTAS and standalone formats. Audio demos are available. For more detail see their web site.

SoundHack has released Spectral Shapers plugin bundle version 1.2 now compatible with Protools 7.0 and above. The new version also adds Universal Binary support to its VST, Audio Unit, and RTAS plugins, enabling them to run natively on Intel-based Macs. The four plug-ins in the Spectral Shapers bundle are filters which reshape the timbre of sound:

+spectralcompand: a spectral version of a compressor/expander which can be used for broadband noise reduction

+spectralgate: a multi-band noise gate and ducker

+morphfilter: morphs between two filter settings that can be drawn or learned

+binaural: a spatialization plug-in optimized for headphone use

Spectral Shapers 1.2 is available for $99 as an electronic download from SoundHack web site, or $150 from authorized dealers. It is a free update to registered users.

Image Line has released version 1.4 of Toxic III.

Changes

* Fixed denormals on some Intel systems.
* Removed clicks in some hosts.
* Banks are now saved in a compressed format, saving space.
* 36 new presets added.
* No more external wave files.

Note that this version will have to be registered again.