SM Pro Audio demonstrates three new products at the MusikMesse, the V-Box, V-Rack, and V-Pedal which are stand-alone VST plug-in compatible hardware units .

Based around the recently developed 'Powered by VFX' hardware platform, VST and VSTi plug-ins can be loaded directly into the V-Box, V-Pedal, or V-Rack which all offer VST/VSTi plug-in compatibility in stand-alone hardware units without the need for a standard PC/Mac computer.

V-Box
The V-Box is a compact VST/VSTi hardware playback module built for performance keyboard players and DJ's. It allows you to take your plug-ins on the road or into the studio and access them live without a computer. Multiple plug-ins can be pre-loaded into bank/preset memories for immediate access. You can combine VST and VSTi plug-ins into chai ...

Ambrosia Software, Inc. has announced the release of WireTap Studio 1.0.5. This updated version, which is free to all registered users of WireTap Studio 1.0.x, provides custom genre tag support, improved iPhone export support, along with many other fixes and enhancements.

Changes / Enhancements :

- Switched to ID3v2 tags, custom genres now supported
- WAVE and AIFF files can now be up to 4GB in length
- Added 24kHz, 64kHz, and 192kHz support to AIFF and AIFC
- Various other fixes and enhancements

This updated version, which is free to all registered users of WireTap Studio 1.0.x, may be downloaded at :

Celemony introduces Direct Note Access for Melodyne at the Frankfurt Musikmesse, heralding a whole new age in audio editing. With Direct Note Access it is possible for the first time to edit individual notes within polyphonic audio material. Possible applications range from the simple correction of errors to the complete refashioning of harmonies and timing.

With Direct Note Access, polyphonic audio material is 'exploded' in the Melodyne Editor's display, so that the user can see the individual notes of a chord displayed at their various pitches and edit them individually using the familiar Melodyne tools. As parameters, you therefore have access to the pitch, position in time and duration of each note as well as its vibrato, pitch drift and formant spectrum – you can also change the volume and even the internal evolution of each note.

The first product to feature the revolutionary Direct Note Access will be Melodyne plugin 2, which is due for release in late summer as a VST, AU and RTAS plug-in. The full version will cost 349 €/399 US$; the update from Version 1 will cost 129 €/129 US$. Customers purchasing Melodyne plugin after the 12th March 2008 will receive the update free of charge. The update will also be free of charge for the version of Melodyne plugin included with Melodyne studio provided the purchase was made after the 12th March 2008.

Developed together by Steinberg and Yamaha and manufactured by Yamaha, here comes the CC121 Advanced Integration Controller.

Offering dedicated maximum-quality hardware controllers and an innovative and flexible new controller concept, CC121 provides full Cubase 4 integration and control.

Features :

- Ultra-precision Advanced Integration controller knob with 'point and control' support: controls any visual Cubase 4 parameter, internal FX setting or VSTi parameter using mouse pointer selection
- Instant plug and play with 'Cubase Ready' LED – no additional setup or parameter assigning required
- One motorized 100mm touch-sensitive fader
- Dedicated control of Cubase channel settings including solo/mute, record arm, 'e' settings button, automation read/write, pan and VSTi editor
- Full Cubase EQ section in hardware with 12 dedicated rotary encoders, with mode selection and bypass switches
- User-assignable section with Cubase-integrated presets for Control Room studio sends and monitoring setup.

CC121 will support Windows XP Windows Vista and Mac OS X, and will be available in Q3 2008 with price TBA.

MusikMesse sees Thermionic Culture announcing the Fat Bustard Valve Mixer.

Previewed at the last AES NYC show, the Fat Bustard has a total of 12 inputs arranged as 4x stereo pairs and 4x mono with pan controls, all with toggle mute switches. The simple but amazing Bass and Treble EQ has 0.5dB stepped Lift controls while there are 6 way stepped Bass & Treble Cut controls. This unit also includes a really sweet and effective stereo width control, a little reminiscent of some vinyl lathe cutting EQ's. Four valves are used on the master buss, a pair of 5965 double triodes, the first half of which is pre-amp/eq, the second half is gain makeup in conjunction with the dedicated 'Attitude' feedback control which determines the amount of THD. The Attitude control can yield a clean signal or add gain and some "valvy" 2nd harmonic distortion. The other pair of valves is the larger 6SN7 double triode connected in parallel to give massive headroom cleanly (approaching +30 dBm).

Additional pair of AUX inputs is also provided for future channel expansion by adding the optional Little Bustard 16 channel expander, which will be due later this year.

Retail will be approximately £2800.00 ex VAT.