SONiVOX has released a new Grand Piano Virtual Instrument called Eighty Eight.

Conceived and designed as an exceptional virtual embodiment of a Steinway CD 327 grand, Eighty Eight affords piano and keyboard players alike the opportunity to experience a world-class grand piano from the relative comfort and proximity of their digital audio workstation.

Exhaustively sampled and expertly voiced, Eighty Eight was recorded within the same acoustic confines as the SONiVOX Symphonic Collection, utilizing the same recording philosophy of the simplest signal chain with the highest quality A/D converters and mic pre's.

The Eighty Eight package also provides a wealth of additional instruments, pads, and textures which, when taken as a whole, supply the composer a considerable arsenal of tools ...

Shuriken has released BitTest, a free bitcrusher VST effect plug-in for Mac OS X.

BitTest converts your data to 8 bits, then you can turn the bits off (the top row) or invert them (the bottom row) individually. That is you can individually flip and invert the bits.

BitTest is available for free at :

MXL Microphones will display their new Cube microphone at this year's Muskimesse (booth B47, hall 5.1). This mic caters to musicians who want a tool for recording drums and percussions.

Features :

• Gold sputtered, 6-micron diaphragm
• FET balanced output
• Cardioid
• Small size, low-profile
• Supplied with mic clip (optional shockmount available)

The MXL Cube is now shipping with an MSRP $159.95.

SoundToys has announced the release of the SoundToys V4 bundle, offering two new plug-ins, a new built-in preset management system and an exclusive V4 set of presets. The new plug-ins are the much anticipated Decapitator analog saturation modeler and the PanMan rhythmic auto-panner.

Existing customers can upgrade for $199 for SoundToys TDM Effects or $99 for SoundToys Native Effects. V4 upgrades for single plug-ins also available. New customers can purchase the bundle for $1195 (TDM) / $495 (Native).

SoundToys is now offering individual plug-ins in native formats for $179 per plug-in, with support for RTAS, VST and Audio Units. For Pro Tools HD users, single TDM plug-ins are still available for $349 each.

Waves Audio unveils the Chris Lord-Alge Artist Signature Collection, developed in collaboration with GRAMMY®-winning mixing engineer Chris Lord-Alge (CLA).

For over 20 years, Lord-Alge has been the mixer of choice for rock-and-roll royalty, with credits including Green Day, U2, Nickelback, Foo Fighters, Bon Jovi, Pink, Alanis Morissette, Dave Matthews Band, The All-American Rejects, and countless others. Created from CLA's custom processing chains, the Waves' Chris Lord-Alge Artist Signature Collection gives users an all-access pass to Lord-Alge's hard-hitting, radio-ready sound. Included are six application-specific plug-ins with dedicated tools for bass (CLA Bass), drums (CLA Drums), effects (CLA Effects), vocals (CLA Vocals) guitars (CLA Guitars), and acoustic instruments (CLA Unplugged).

CLA Bass
Designed to help users lay down a solid foundation for any song, CLA Bass offers six essential effects: bass, treble, compression, sub, distortion and chorus/flange. Notes Lord-Alge, "From sub-shaking smooth sounds to Mr. Buzzsaw, CLA Bass is just what the doctor ordered. Whether you want it to rip, roar, growl, bark or cut, CLA Bass delivers."

CLA Drums
When creating the CLA Drums plug-in, Lord-Alge had one thing in mind: that anyone who uses it could get a great drum sound for any song or mix and just have fun. There are six different modes: Kick, Snare, Toms, Overheads, Room and, CLA's personal favorite, Cowbell. There are three color-coded presets for bass EQ, treble EQ, compression, and reverb, plus a noise gate to get rid of leakage. Faders let users control the amount of each effect, and a phase switch is included so anyone can find the best setting for the kit, which Lord-Alge points out is "especially important for drums."