John Bowen has announced that the first production of its long-awaited Solaris is now planned for late September 2008, with delivery shortly thereafter.

The Solaris is a 5 octaves DSP keyboard, with plenty of knobs to chew on (40), 5 value displays plus a graphic one. The internals are based on SHARC CPU and a 96 kHz audio engine where new algorithms can be feed, as available thru software updates and expansion packs.

Features :

- 4 Oscillators, each with several types available: MultiMode, WaveTable, CEM, WAV (sample playback), VS (single cycle waves), SuperSaw
- 4 Filters, each with a dedicated Mixer. Filter types are: Ladder Lowpass, 24, 12, 6, dB, Highpass 24, 12, 6 dB, Bandpass 24 dB, Comb (2 types), State Variable 12 dB LP, HP, BP, and Notch
- 2 Vector Mixers, 2 Rotors (special 4-step waveshape sequences), 2 AM sections (includes Ring Mod)
- 6 DADSRs, 2 8-stage loopable envelopes
- 4 free LFOs, 1 Vibrato LFO. Each has delayed start, fade in, and fade out times, key sync and Phase control
- Phaser, Chorus, Flanger, Delay, Overdrive, 3-band EQ effects

Pre-orders for the second series of production are available now. For more information, please visit the link below.

MOTU unveils the UltraLite-mk3, the third version of MOTU's most compact and portable FireWire audio interface, featuring convenient bus powered operation and on-board mixing and effects.

Housed in a rugged, compact enclosure you can take anywhere, the UltraLite-mk3 is equally well-suited for studio and stage, with or without a computer. It provides flexible and mobile bus-powered operation, professional audio quality at samples rates up to 192 kHz and plenty of I/O, including two mic/instrument inputs, six line-level analog inputs, ten channels of analog output, stereo S/PDIF and a discrete stereo headphone output.

Features :

- 10 inputs / 14 outputs FireWire audio interface
- Two combo jacks provide hi-Z 1/4" guitar input or low-Z XLR mic input with phantom power, pad and gain
- Eight 24-bit 192kHz analog inputs and outputs on balanced/unbalanced 1/4" TRS jacks
- Precision Digital Trim - Digitally controlled analog trim on all analog inputs
- Stereo 24-bit 96kHz S/PDIF in/out
- CueMix FX - flexible 10 input/14 bus mixer with on-board DSP effects, including reverb with sends/returns, plus EQ and compression on every input and output
- Front panel headphone jack with volume control
- Bus-powered
- Stand-alone operation
- Includes drivers for Mac & PC, including ASIO, WDM, Wave, GSIF, Core Audio, and Core MIDI. Supports all popular Mac and Windows audio software

Pricing and availability to be announced.

MixMeister Technology announces that MixMeister Scratch, the first DJ program for iPhone and iPod Touch, is available as a free download from the iTunes Store. MixMeister Scratch enables users to scratch anywhere, anytime, regardless of DJ experience or technique. The program is easy-to-use and fun for DJs of all levels.

Users can scratch on top of any song in their iPhone, iPhone 3G or iPod Touch mobile digital devices. A collection of vinyl scratch sounds is included so users can select the ideal scratch to stylistically suit their imagination and creativity. DJs can adjust the volume level of the music in real time using the touch interface.

The application has been fully approved by Apple for use with iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch.

RojectSAM has announced the full details, pricing and availability of its new Kontakt Player 2-based orchestral sample library, Symphobia.

Key features :

- Live recordings of orchestral full-ensemble multi-samples captured in a beautiful concert hall environment.
- Vast library of orchestral clusters, rips and other instantly inspiring cinematic effects.
- Lots of additional cinematic content including Dystopia II and ethnic flute phrases.
- Two mic sets available: Concert Stage and Close mic.
- Orchestral sections recorded as full-range ensembles, pre-seated on the stage.
- Custom Kontakt scripting and interface offering repetition, simulated legato, octaver and more.
- Approx. 18 GB library pool in 44.1 kHz 24-bit.
- NI Kontakt Player 2 included.
- Mapping/programming unlocked, audio/scripting locked

Symphobia is expected to begin shipping in August 2008. It will have an MSRP of €999 / $1499 but it is currently available for the introductory pre-order price of €899 / $1349. For more information and a new set of music demos, please visit their web site.

The d16 Group unveils Fazortan, the next release in their "Silver Line" of effects plug-ins.

Basically Fazortan is a controllable space phaser based on a retro phaser from the 70s but it has been expanded to take advantage of the flexibility software can provide.

Features :

- True emulation of classic analog all-pass phase shifter.
- 2 full controllable LFOs.
- Unique sound different from the others digital phasers.
- Presets organised into groups.
- MIDI learn function.
- 64-bit internal processing.
- No harmonic distortions at output.

Fazortan will be available at the end of this month for both PC and Mac in VST and VST/AU formats respectively. It is currently available for pre-order priced at €29. Note that audio examples are available.