Blue Microphones today introduced Icicle, an in-line USB converter and preamp. Designed with Blue's unique sense of style and commitment to quality, Icicle makes connecting XLR microphones directly to your Mac or PC simple and effective.

A key design goal of Blue is to keep technology out of the way of making music, so there are no complicated drivers, I/O boxes, or messy converters required. Icicle works with dynamic and condenser microphones, providing high quality and hassle free connectivity with Mac or PC for recording, podcasting, voiceovers and more.

Icicle features :

- Studio quality microphone preamp
- 48V phantom power
- Fully balanced low noise front end
- Analog gain control
- Plug and Play driverless operation
- 44.1 kHz, 16-bit CD quality converter
- Mac or PC operation

Icicle will be available in December 2008 for a suggested retail price of $59.99.

Infrasonic is proud to introduce the Blow4D digital/analog monitors. These monitors include onboard D/A conversion (featuring Burr Brown op amps), room compensation controls, and a low frequency response switch.

The Blow4D monitors feature on-board D/A converters (Burr Brown DSD1796). The monitors support up to a 24-bit/192kHz sample format and have a dynamic range of 123dB. The Blow4Ds can accept a wide variety of inputs including: SPDIF (RCA), AES/EBU (XLR), Balanced / Unbalanced (XLR, TRS, or TS).

In addition to the onboard D/A conversion, they provide room compensation controls and a bass response switch. The room compensation controls (accessible via a switch on the back of the unit) allow the user to alter the frequency response of the monitors to better suit any room.

The Blow4D monitors are available now at a retail price of $399.99.

Toontrack Music announces the release of the Funkmasters EZX. This is a unique and exclusive recording of two of the most important drummers in popular music. Clyde Stubblefield and John "Jab'o" Starks.

On their own or in tandem, Starks and Stubblefield were the principal drummers for the Godfather of Soul and Funk, Mr. James Brown. Fans and critics alike cite their collective era in Brown's band as the pinnacle of Funk. Their combined drumming on the classic double-album "Sex Machine" is some of the most innovative, inspired and funky playing ever recorded.

Samples and looped audio of their original beats and breaks would go on to become the foundation of Hip-Hop. Their breaks gave birth to countless genres reaching deep into the realms of underground, experimental and popular music. It is also crucial to note that the use of their breaks inspired innovation within the techniques of DJ-ing and sample based production, thus making Starks and Stubblefield the most sampled and influential drummers in modern day music.

Toontrack Music has sampled both their unique sound and grooves.

The Funkmasters EZX feature two kit interfaces, one for Clyde and one for "Jab'o". The EZX also features effects sliders in the EZmixer, a Vinyl effect created with the use of iZotopes Vinyl plug in and a large Plate reverb resampled at Toontrack Music Studios, UmeĀ, delivering all that you need to create those real sounding Funk tracks.

The Funkmasters EZX will be available through Toontrack Music distributors and retailers at the end of November.

Blue prints and photos can give an acoustician the information needed to create acoustical models of a given room, but there is no better way to gauge the acoustical problems a room faces than by obtaining acoustical measurements. Auralex Acoustics can now lend its acoustical expertise to any project through its first-to-market, new Room Analysis Plus and Room Analysis Pro programs.

Room Analysis Plus is an off-site analysis service where dealers/integrators can download an audio file featuring a swept sine signal from 20 Hz to 20 kHz at the Auralex website. Users can then record the sweep with an omni-directional measurement microphone in the location of the room in question. All files can be sent via e-mail, along with the Personalized Room Analysis Form, directly to Auralex for exami ...

TC Electronic announces that PowerCore 6000, the latest addition to the PowerCore platform, is now shipping. According to TC, by combining System 6000 algorithms with PowerCore platform users now get the ultimate studio tool for their DAWs.

PowerCore 6000 features eight FreeScale DSP engines, the same DSPs used in System 6000, and it has an SRAM memory design that supports high performance reverbs and delays. This enables users to run famous reverbs and delay-algorithms from System 6000 with popular DAWs like Logic Pro, as well as with any other VST- and Audio Units-compatible host.

PowerCore 6000 includes 7 pristine plug-in algorithms, which are ported 1:1 from System 6000 : VSS3 Stereo Source Reverb, Nonlin2, DVR 2 Digital Vintage Reverb MD3 Stereo Mastering, Brickwall Limiter, UnWrap stereo to 5.1 conversion and TapFactory.

PowerCore 6000 ships with PowerCore software 3.2 and is compatible with the latest Mac OS and Windows XP/Vista 32.

Suggested retail price : €2999