Native Instruments has just released Kontakt Retro Machines, the latest addition to its Kore Soundpack range of sound libraries for Kore 2 and the free Kore Player.

Based on material from the Kontakt 3 factory library, Kontakt Retro Machines offers an essential collection of charismatic vintage instruments that were formative for many electronic music genres of the past decades. This includes various classic synthesizers as well as several sought-after drum machines, with their creative potential maximized through the powerful capabilities of the Kore platform.

Native Instruments is determined to firmly establish the Kore Soundpacks line as the most valuable, diverse and inspiring range of sound material for studio and stage, and will release a substantial number of additional libraries over the course of 2008.

Kontakt Retro Machines is now available for download purchase in the NI Online Shop for $59 / €49.

Voxengo has announced the release of Voxengo Crunchessor v2.0, a major new version of its general-purpose track compressor.

Version 2.0 features a wide range of enhancements over the previous version: namely, multi-platform support, multi-channel operation, mid-side processing, preset manager, and other additions.

New features :

- Multi-channel support.
- Multi-platform support.
- Wet/dry mix.
- Custom key filter adjustments.
- Undo/redo.
- Routing matrix.
- Mid/side processing.
- Preset manager.
- User interface coloration.
- User interface re-scaling.
- Channel grouping.
- Plug-in instance naming.
- Selectable oversampling level.
- Bypass switch.
- In Gain control removed (it is superfluous).
- Better metering.

Crunchessor 2.0 is available now in VST and AU formats for Mac OS X and Windows. One-month introductory price of $39.95 is now effective, which is 20% off the regular price of $49.95. Upgrading from the previous version costs $24.95 if previous version was purchased earlier than 90 days from now: otherwise upgrade is free during this grace period. Demo versions of Crunchessor are available.

To improve the series of Black Hole microphones and provide wider choice for customers, JZ decided to launch the third version of Black Hole with a pad of -5db and -10db options.

The new microphone under the name Black Hole PE (BH-3) has a fixed cardioid polar pattern but after numerous requests from real life engineers as addition here comes a pad with options of -5db and -10db. It is used to avoid overloading mic preamps with high output mic signals such as when recording loud guitar amplifiers or cabinets and kick drums. As capsule of the Black Hole could handle 135db SPL this mic can manage also an operatic soprano at close range. Visually it looks similar to previous two versions (BH-1 - multi pattern, BH-2 - fixed cardiod mic) only it is in dark green color.

Together with the new BH-3, JZ Microphones launches also new shock mount and pop filter system for the microphone Black Hole. The new shock mount which is made more in vintage style based on elastic rubber bands is devised to use on crazy applications where included stand holder is not enough to handle all thunderclaps. The package also includes "revolutionary pop filter, whose curved cone-shaped form in close recording applications reduce blasts and blows more than any other pop filter in the market".

The Black Hole PE has also five year warranty and the retail price of it is $1995 / €1395. The shock mount together with pop filter costs $360 / €240. The BH-3 will be presented at AES show in Amsterdam.

Prism Sound will be exhibiting at AES Amsterdam with its newly upgraded Orpheus Firewire interface, which now allows users to convert their audio inputs to ADAT outputs and vice versa. Users will be able to connect the new and improved Orpheus directly to a variety of DAWs, including Pro Tools LE.

The upgraded Orpheus units incorporate an AV/C model that behaves as ADAT Send & Return, but also works when the Firewire cable is connected. This provides users operating in DAW mode with pure audio conversion. Launched in 2007, Orpheus is a 1U, 19-inch rackmount 192kHz-capable unit, offering eight simultaneous balanced analogue inputs, four line-level jack ins and four auto-sensing mic/line Neutrik combo jacks that will accept either jack or XLR connectors. Built-in mic preamps allow the signal at the mic-level inputs to be boosted by up to 60dB (in 1dB increments), and each analogue input has its own adjustable patented Prism Sound Overkiller built in, to prevent signal overloads before the A-D conversion stage.

Ableton has just announced that its "light" version of Live 7 is finally available. Built on the same fundamental concepts as Ableton Live, this version offers most of Ableton Live 7's new features. It includes :

- Studio-quality recording up to 32-bit/192 kHz*
- Sixty-four audio tracks and unlimited MIDI tracks per project
- Powerful and creative MIDI sequencing for software instruments
- More than twenty built-in audio effects, including a host of creative delays, filters, distortions, studio compressors and EQs*
- Two software instruments &mash; Simpler for creative sample-based synthesis, and Impulse for dynamic, sampled drums*
- VST and AU effects and instruments support; automatic plug-in delay compensation*
- Real-time time-stretching and warping of AIFF, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC and MP3 files for DJing and instant remixing
- Real-time tweaking of Live's controls with any MIDI controller — just MIDI-map it or choose from a list of popular supported controllers for instant mapping
- Single-screen user interface for simple, creativity-focused operation
- Multicore and multiprocessor support

*Live LE is limited to two simultaneous stereo audio inputs and outputs, twelve built-in audio effects, eight built-in instruments, two AU/VST effects and two AU/VST instruments per project.

Live 7 LE is available as a download from the Ableton webshop for €129/$149. The boxed version is available in stores and at the Ableton webshop for €169/$199.