Akai has just announced that the LPD8 laptop pad controller and LPK25 laptop performance keyboard controller are now shipping to retailers.

The LPD8 and LPK25 are USB-MIDI controllers for musicians, producers, DJs and other music creators. Each model is less than 13 inches across and weighs less than a pound to easily fit into a laptop case, backpack or messenger bag for extreme portability.

The LPD8 is based on Akai's MPC line of iconic music product stations. While the smallest model, the MPC500 is quite portable, many producers prefer to work with software on their computer and the LPD8 gives their laptop the controls they prefer over a mouse and keyboard. The LPD8 has eight blue light-up pads that are velocity sensitive for programming rhythmic or melodic parts. The pads can also ...

Toft Audio Designs has unveiled the SA16, a brand new summing mixer.

Features :

• 16 Channels
• Fully Balanced I/O
• Aux sends
• Fader Unity switch on every channel
• LED meter on every channel
• Rack-mountable


The SA16 will cost around $3200 and should be shipping in the first quarter of 2010.

The call of the Theremin has been haunting the science fiction and horror movie genres for decades. It was there when aliens came to earth in The Day The Earth Stood Still and when monsters came to life in The Bride of Frankenstein.

Now it's your turn. Moog Music is sponsoring a Halloween Theremin Video Contest. Prizes include an MF-104Z Analog Delay and a MF-102 Ring Modulator.

To participate, grab your video camera and put together your best Halloween-themed theremin video. Prizes will be awarded based on a poll of Moog Forum members and on the highest number of YouTube views.

Here's your chance to keep us as Spellbound as Hitchcock did !

The AudioFire Pre8 offers the same high quality hardware and software found in our AudioFire line, but with the added convenience of 8 auto-sensing universal inputs featuring Echo's Brilliant preamp technology. With the AudioFire Pre8 you can record 24-bit 96 kHz audio with low latency monitoring on any Windows XP/Vista/7 or Mac OS X computer (desktop or notebook) with a FireWire port.

The AudioFire Pre8 is the perfect center for any professional studio, whether at home or on the road. In addition to the 8 universal inputs with Brilliant mic preamps, the AudioFire Pre8 features 8 balanced ¼ inch analog outputs, 2 channel inserts, phantom power, 2 stereo headphone outputs with volume knob, main output volume knob, ADAT (with S/MUX for 96 kHz support), S/PDIF and MIDI I/O. Inputs 1 and 2 feature premium preamps with options for phase reversal, low impedance, direct input, 80 Hz rolloff and pad. It is a single height, rack mountable unit. The AudioFire Pre8 supports 24/96 kHz playback and recording and ships with low-latency drivers supporting all major pro audio software. The AudioFire Pre8 is fully ASIO, WDM, WaveRT compatible with support for Windows XP/Vista/7 (both 32 bit and 64 bit versions) and Mac OS X (10.3.9 or later).

ILIO Entertainments, Applied Acoustic Systems and audioMIDI.com have teamed up to offer AAS Ultra Analog at just $15.00 (reg. MSRP $199- a staggering 92% off MSRP)

Ultra Analog is a unique and powerful 32-voice virtual analog synthesizer driven by two super rich, alias-free oscillators featuring standard waveforms, sub oscillators, hard sync, and integrated pitch envelopes. Two audacious multimode filters with distortion are then applied to shape its sonic character. Finally, carefully chosen modulation options are provided by two syncable comprehensive LFO's, four loopable velocity-sensitive ADSR envelope generators and vibrato.

audioMIDI.com's Russ Jones says, "We're pleased to keep delivering affordable "no-brainer" deals, bringing great value and introducing users to killer software as well as the audioMIDI.com brand."

Ultra Analog is available for purchase via electronic serial number at this special price until 11/30/09, exclusively from www.audioMIDI.com.