XLN Audio has announced the release of Modern Jazz - Sticks, a brand new ADpak for Addictive Drums.

Modern Jazz — Sticks features a beautiful Premier Gen-X kit with a Ludwig Acrolite snare along with cymbals and percussion from Sabian, Meinl and Paiste. The drums have been tuned up slightly for a modern jazz sound.

Get instant access to production styles typical for modern jazz. Tune the kit up or down, go fat or thin, stay really close or spread out with lots of ambience. Control each mic separately and combine them for your perfect sound.

Over 300 live recorded grooves and fills are included in a large range of tempos, styles and different lengths for natural variation. Use them for inspiration or to build complete tracks in minutes.

* 12 Piece Jazz Kit, Played With Sticks
* 300 Live Recorded Rhythms
* 30 Crisp Production Presets

Modern Jazz — Sticks is available in music stores worldwide and in XLN Audio's webshop. The price is set at €59/$59.

String by 9 Soundware is a collection of presets for the Sculpture synthesizer within Apple Logic Pro. Harnessing the complex, yet powerful, architecture of the instrument, these sounds explore the possibilities offered by the fusion of naturalistic digital synthesis and highly flexible modulation tools.

The 150 sounds are organized in two main groups. The "Abstract" group, which consists of 120 sounds, features two categories, "Inharmonic" and "Tuned", both of which contain subcategories "Sustaining" and "Non-sustaining". The "Simulations" group features 30 sounds that draw on Sculpture's unique capabilities to emulate musical instruments.

Sculpture's extraordinary capabilities allow for a range of sounds typically not possible to achieve with a single instrument. Examples include e ...

Airwindows has just announced the release of Pop, an universal binary Audio Unit compressor plug-in designed to create "extraordinary pop vocals".

"Inspired by radio-friendly Genesis, Pop puts every detail in your lap- the reason it exists is, I was listening to 'Mama' and other songs off the eponymous Genesis album, and couldn't believe how overwhelming Hugh Padgham had Phil Collins' vocal sounding. It reached out and grabbed and defined every detail so aggressively- I needed to make a special compressor that could deliver a sound like that, because nothing I had was designed for such aggressive behavior."

Pop is available now for Mac OS X as an Audio Unit plug-in. It costs $59.99. Note that a demo version is also available.

Les Paul, acclaimed guitar player, entertainer and inventor, passed away yesterday from complications of severe pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York, surrounded by family and loved ones. He was 94.

One of the foremost influences on 20th century sound and responsible for the world's most famous guitar, the Les Paul model, Les Paul's prestigious career in music and invention spans from the 1930s to the present. Though he's indisputably one of America's most popular, influential, and accomplished electric guitarists, Les Paul is best known as an early innovator in the development of the solid body guitar. His groundbreaking design would become the template for Gibson's best-selling electric, the Les Paul model, introduced in 1952. Today, countless musical legends still consider Paul's iconic guitar unmatched in sound and prowess. Among Paul's most enduring contributions are those in the technological realm, including ingenious developments in multi-track recording, guitar effects, and the mechanics of sound in general.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Les Paul Foundation, 236 West 30th Street, 7th Floor, New York, New York 10001.

For the first time since the start of the company Toontrack Music have agreed to allow a 3rd party producer to independently produce and sell an audio expansion for a Toontrack software platform.

Platinum Samples are one of the worlds leading producers of sampled drums, and quoting Toontrack Music CEO Andreas Sundgren, "Their products are cutting edge recordings. We are excited about and are looking forward to a long term collaboration with Platinum Samples"

Platinum Samples owner, Shivaun OʼBrien says "The symbiotic relationship of our samples with Toontracksʼ drum software is very exciting and weʼre honored.

This collaboration is a natural extension of both Toontrack Music and Platinum Samplesʼ product lines, and we look forward to a long and rewarding relationship."

The first joint release, planned for Q4 2009, is the well-known title "Joe Barresi Evil Drums" as an SDX expansion pack for Superior Drummer 2.0.