ESI unveils the KeyControl 25 XT and the KeyControl 49 XT Controller Keyboard. Here is what they say about it :

"KeyControl 25 XT and KeyControl 49 XT have an exceptionally stylish aluminum cabinet and white solid glossy plastic side panels. They provide four fully programmable endless encoders, function buttons as well as a pitch bend and modulation slider. The keyboards work without the installation of any drivers under Windows XP, Window Vista and Windows 7 as well as Mac OS X.

KeyControl 25 XT and KeyControl 49 XT are bundled with Cubase LE 5 from Steinberg, the amazingly powerful multitrack audio & MIDI software for Mac and PC."

Thermionic Culture has presented the Freebird, a 3 Channel valve EQ.

Company director Nick Terry explains : "We've introduced a new product that can be considered as part of a modular system, in our own unique style of course. The Freebird has 3 channels of broad but versatile valve EQ. The unit is a half rack design but can be put together in a 19 inch rack case with another unit to give 6 channels of EQ.

There will be other products in this format to follow, so

Avid has announced the release of the Pro Tools Instrument Expansion Pack, featuring all five Digidesign's virtual instruments - Structure, Strike, Velvet, Transfuser and Hybrid.

This pack is available now and carries a USMSRP of $499. Upgrade options for existing customers are also available.

XLN Audio releases Ballad Grooves MIDI Pak.

Features :

• 120 MIDI Files
• 15 Grooves
• 4/4 and 6/8 Time Signatures

Light the candles, slip into something more comfortable and start producing heart breaking classics in no time with the Ballad Grooves MIDI Pak. Included are 120 MIDI files divided between 15 different Ballad Grooves in different tempos and feels, all recorded live by a drummer. Grooves in both 4/4 and 6/8 are included.

The Ballad Grooves comes with seven different variations, for example hihat, ride, sidestick, tambourine specials etc. With these grooves you will be able to create your own complete ballad drumtracks in a couple of minutes and of course you can use the grooves with any drums or presets in Addictive Drums.

Ballad Grooves is an Ad ...

Maizesoft has released Maize Sampler v2.0. For the record, Maize Sampler is a cross-platform tool for sound developers to create sample-based virtual instruments, it's a stand-alone application for Windows and Mac OS X that enables you to create VST and Audio Unit instrument plug-ins.

Feature highlights:

* Group selections by key / controller / MIDI channel.
* Disk-streaming / Memory reading mode.
* Poly / Mono / Legato voice mode with glide time.
* LFO, ADSR envelope and reverb effect.
* Round-robin / Random overlapped sample trigger.
* Load EXS24 sampler format.
* Sample loop, Choke cluster, Release trigger.
* Big sample mapping area and sample table view.
* Export .mse compact instrument file.
* Generate VST and Audio Unit plug-ins.
* User defined UI backgrou ...