Univers Sons / Ultimate Sound Bank introduces a brand new UVI Soundpack : Acoustic Piano.

"Acoustic Piano features surely one of the best sounding sampled pianos in the market. True to our beliefs, we don't think it's about figures (like velocity , memory, number of mikes) but about feeling. A good sounding piano is a rare alchemy between the instrument, the acoustic in the recording studio, the microphones and above all, the engineer's taste. This piano is not our first endeavour, in fact it's the fourth, so we got the chance to see the "magic" thing happen.", said Alain Etchart, Founder and Director of Marketing at Univers Sons / Ultimate Sound Bank.

Thanks to the UVI Soundsource download concept, the price/quality ratio is unbeatable and explicit audio demos are available for users to make up their mind.

Compatible with every configuration thanks to the free UVI Workstation, Acoustic Piano is available now for $59 as digital download at :

Lexicon unveils its new IONIX U22, U42S, and U82S USB Desktop Recording Interfaces.

The I-ONIX Desktop Recording Series is designed to between your keyboard and monitor in order to bring all the monitor and input level controls at your fingertips. Each of the three models allows for a different level of recording capability. The U22 can record two channels simultaneously and includes two analog combi-jack mic/line inputs, two TRS balanced line outputs, a Hi-Z instrument input, a 1/4" high-power headphone output, and MIDI I/O. The U42S records four analog and two digital channels simultaneously, and the U82S can record eight analog and two digital channels. In addition, the U42S and U82S include four and eight analog combi-jack mic/line inputs respectively, S/PDIF I/O, two instrument inputs, and two 1/4" headphone outputs. Dedicated knobs and meters provide quick and easy access to input and output levels and locking combi-jacks make sure that a connection is not lost in the middle of a performance.

Features :

- USB 2.0 connection to the DAW, up to 480Mbps
- 44.1 to 96 kHz sample rates, 24-bit resolution
- Two, Four, or Eight analog 1/4" and XLR combi-jack mic/line inputs
- Two analog TRS (Stereo Main) outputs
- dbx high-voltage, ultra-low noise mic preamps on all analog inputs
- 48V phantom power for each input pair
- Input signal metering via 8 LED's per channel
- Signal mixing and stereo bus signal metering
- Up to two 1/4" high output headphone connections
- Up to two Hi-Z instrument inputs
- Zero latency Direct/Playback monitoring
- Low latency ASIO drivers
- Pantheon II VST/AU reverb plug-in
- Steinberg Cubase LE4 and Toontrack EZdrummer Lite software packages
- Supports Windows® and Mac® platforms

Pricing and Availability TBA.

Koblo announces the re-release of the NexSyn software synthesizer.

NexSyn, designed by Koblo Co-Founder Max Gronlund, is a Powerful Hybrid Synthesizer with a huge range of loadable oscillator types to meet the sound demands of modern musicians and composers. Now consisting of a core library of waveform sounds with additional sounds soon to be offered as expansion packs, the groundbreaking NexSyn is now a manageable 130Mb Download. The preset library has been completely refined, with Presets grouped by type and sound to make browsing quick and easy, and now includes great presets designed by Pro-Sounds sound designers Frank Genus, Torben Hansen and Bryan Lee, as well as presets by musicians DirtyHertz, brian botkiller and many others.

NexSyn is compatible with Mac (Universal Binary) and PC (Windows XP, Vista), and comes standard in RTAS, VST and AU plug-in formats, as well as a Standalone application. NexSyn is now offered at the price of $49.99 via Koblo's online store,
found at :

XLN Audio has just released its first FreePak called Woofer Wonderland, a kick-sample pack for Addictive Drums that's totally free.

Woofer Wonderland samples a DW Collectors Sub Woofer Bass Drum 22"x20". This monster kick was recorded with a woofer-extension for greater depth and punch, perfect for heavier drum tracks, but it also works great for pop, rock and funk. This FreePak comes with 30 new presets varying from small to big, from rock to funk. It also includes 170 MIDI Grooves.

Woofer Wonderland is available now for free at :

Universal Audio has also announced the release of the UAD-2 Omni, a comprehensive package including all thirty-four UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins accompanying either a Duo or more powerful Quad DSP card.

The UAD-2 Duo Omni has an MSRP of $4249 price and the UAD-2 Quad Omni has an MSRP of $4999, offering savings of up to $2,200 vs. buying the plug-ins individually. Both Duo Omni and Quad Omni are available in stores now.