Concussion by 9 Soundware is an instrument in EXS24 format. Based on acoustic impact sounds created entirely with found objects, the sounds contained are intended to augment or be used as an alternative to traditional drum and percussion instruments.

The instrument is constructed from samples of objects being struck, thrown, dropped, and manipulated in a variety of other ways. Among the items used in the recordings are sheet metal, furniture, auto parts, a flyswatter, chains, mousetraps, pipes, and a cardboard box. Examples include the sounds of a large piece of sheet metal being struck with a metal rod, furniture being slammed against the studio wall, a small chain being dropped onto a paint roller tray, and air produced from flinging a stick. These samples were designed to work together to form an atypical, yet versatile, rhythmic instrument.

Concussion, which features 6 sound categories (Air, Metal, Paper, Plastic, Wood, and Miscellaneous), includes 106 sounds (sampled at 1-5 velocities) that are mapped across a 9 octave range in an EXS24 instrument.

The 18 MB download includes 1 .EXS file and 194 WAV files (24-bit/44.1 kHz).

Concussion is available now for $19.99 at :

Version 1.1 of Vienna's 64-bit high-precision audio plug-in suite is now available for download.

The update is free to all existing users of Vienna Suite. For new customers, May is a good month to get all nine audio plug-ins including the brand-new Convolution Reverb at the current low price of €395. On June 1st, 2009, the price of Vienna Suite 1.1 will go up to €445.

Waldorf has just announced that its Largo Synthesizer will see the light of day within the merry month of May. The long awaited synthesizer software for Mac and PC is breathing and has already tried to jump out of its incubator. Largos sound engine was injected with all the notorious wavetables of the Microwave, the legendary Wave and also the Q series. The LFO is already rehearsing very complex steps and the filter drive screams as loud as only Waldorf's little baby can.

Check the audio demos at :

Ableton has updated Live 8 and Suite 8 to v8.0.2.

For more details upon the several bugfixes and improvements, please follow the link below :

Sweetwater Sound Inc., the third-largest music instrument and pro audio retailer in the world, has launched a donation campaign designed to provide music gear and instruments to people of limited means who have a genuine interest in music. Sweetwater regularly receives requests for donations of gear from soldiers overseas, disaster victims, foster parents, and nonprofit organizations. Named GearGift, the donation program encourages musicians from across the country to donate old instruments and recording and performance equipment. Sweetwater plans to refurbish the donated gear and ensure that it finds a new home with a deserving individual.

Those making donations to the program will be encouraged to designate the kind of recipient - a soldier, a child, a nonprofit, etc. Recipients, in turn, will be asked to respond with a thank you note and a photo or two. These responses will be forwarded to the donor.

For more information, please visit :