Today VirSyn releases a new plug-in : Bark - The Multiband Filter.

Bark takes the approach to match the reception characteristic of the final destination of all sound: the ear. The ear behaves as if it contains a bank of filters, each filter passing frequencies within the critical band. Two tones separated by more than a critical bandwidth are received by the ear independently. For this reason Bark contains a filter bank with 27 bandpass filters matching the critical bandwidth.

In fact, the human ear have also its own built in compression system which are based on the critical bands. Consequently Bark incorporates an independent compression algorithm for each of it's 27 bands.

Features :

- 27 Bark band Equalizer/Compressor
- Linear phase precision filters for maximal transparency
- +24 / -48 dB gain change rate per band
- Surround operation with channel link/unlink*
- Minimized latency ( 12 ms )
- Real time pre/post processing spectrum display
- Compression parameters overall and per band.

*only available for AU / RTAS / VST3 version.

Bark is available in VST, AU and RTAS versions for Mac OS X, VST and RTAS for Windows. From now till June 30st, 2008 you can buy Bark for €99.- instead of €169.-

Do you remember those curious things called AudioCubes ? Well, today Propellerhead has launched a new contest for Reason version 4 owner with first prize consisting in one set of Percussa's Audio Cubes + one Reason 15" Laptop Bag.

You're a Reason 4 owner ? Wanna enter this contest ? Please visit the link below :

XLN Audio has just announced the availability of a demo version of its "Complete Drum Production Studio" Addictive Drums.

The good news is that this demo version is a fully functional software which is not time limited ! You can load and save presets, get a taste of the Beats and Fills (Midi Library) and tweak away on the built in insert effects and reverbs etc. It includes some tasty presets that give you a good idea of what AD is capable off.

Limitations :

- Only 1 Kick, 1 snare, 1 Hihat and 1 Crash is provided.
- The real version ships with lots of different drums, cowbells and cymbals.
- A very limited "taste" of the rhythms in the AD Midi Library is provided.
- The real version has over 3000 Midi files.

QuikQuak has released Crowd Chamber, an audio plug-in that layers multiple variations of a signal to create a crowd simulation. Up to almost 2,000,000 layers can be produced enabling simple chorusing effects, small crowds and stadiums, on to impossible situations and effects.

When each voice is mixed, it is altered in varying time and spectral content, making unique versions of itself to create the illusion of different sources. This effect can be fed back onto itself to create many thousands of voices in real-time.

Once the concept had been created it became clear that Crowd Chamber could create far more than simple crowd scenes. Because of the feedback, wave cancellations, and, simply, the thousands of layers, it is the perfect tool for creating strange and twisted effects.
Crowd ...

Heavyocity Media has announced the release of Evolve, a new virtual instrument that "supercharges creativity and streamlines productivity for modern composers and sound designers".

Created by the TV and video game composers from Heavy Melody Music & Sound Design, Evolve is a virtual instrument powered by Native Instruments' Kontakt 2 Player. With an emphasis on the dramatic, it is geared toward film and game audio, as well as artist production and live performance. Sonically, Evolve doesn't just contain the typical sounds that form the foundation of most composers' setups. Instead, it accentuates them with a powerful combination of diverse percussion, massive stings/transitions and evocative tonalities in ways that have "never been heard before".

Evolve's signature collection feature ...