We already mentionned it here a year ago but it's getting more precise ! The USB promoter group has unvealed the new specifications of the USB 3.0, a.k.a. "SuperSpeed USB". It will be up to ten times faster than the actual USB 2.0 and will be retro compatible, the flow rate will go up to 625Mo per second.

However before the introduction of this standard in our machines it will passed a bit of time and the first products including these new connections should'nt come sooner as middle 2009 at best.

This leads some space for an evolution of the Firewire connections...

Markbass, an Italian bass amp manufacturer, introduces Mark Studio 1 plug-in.

Based on three Markbass amp heads and six Markbass cabinets, this plug-in incorporates six different microphone choices, plus control over compression, mic position, tweeter level, room ambience, and more. The amps featured are the all-tube Classic 300, the tube-preamp R 500, and the solid state (with tube compressor) TA 501. The cabinets modeled in the plugin are the Standard 151HR (rear-ported 1x15"), Standard 152HR (rear-ported 2x15"), Standard 104HR (rear-ported 4x10"), Standard 104HF (front-ported 4x10"), Standard 106HF (front-ported 6x10") and Classic 108 (sealed 8x10").

Pricing and Availability : TBA.

The d16 Group unveils the Classic Boxes Collection, a software bundle which contains the emulations of the famous classic boxes :

- Phoscyon, an emulation of the classic analogue sound of the legendary 303 silver box.
- Drumazon which emulates the famous 909 drum machine.
- Nepheton, a virtual 808 drum machine.

The Classic Boxes Collection is available now for Mac OS X and Windows in VST format at a retail price of €255. Note that a Group Buy is also available until 10.12.2008.

Sontronics has just announced the release of Sonora, a dual-channel preamp / DI-box with two discrete solid-state channels.

Featuring a proprietary vintage circuit design engineered to recreate a classic sonic character while using modern manufacturing techniques, Sonora provides a very linear response with a variance of just ±0.1dB from 20 Hz to 40 kHz. Both channels are identical, each with a 12-step 'click' level control which makes a simple task of matching levels in stereo applications. Each channel has its own 75Hz high-pass filter, -20dB attenuation and +48 Volt phantom power switches, plus independent Signal & Clip LEDs.

The electronically-balanced inputs will match seamlessly with your favourite mics, guitars and synths while the electronically-balanced outputs ensure that your signal is delivered to your recording or PA system with perfect integrity.

An external mains power supply ensures that the integrity of your audio signal stays free from electrical inductance, plus it is voltage-switchable for use around the world.

Sonora is 100% made in Europe, having been conceived and designed in the UK, and developed and manufactured in Portugal. It costs £399 including VAT in the UK and $699 in the USA.

Sonic Reality unveils a new expandable studio instrument plug-in : Infinite Player. Powered by Native Instruments' Kontakt Player, this new plug-in and stand-alone music software is made to be infinitely expandable with fresh new sample content from Sonic Reality including the Studio ProFiles series multi-track drum kit and groove collections.

Infinite Player features high resolution 24 bit fidelity, virtually unlimited polyphony, up to 64-part multi-timbrality, advanced surround capabilities and integrated effects including convolution and master effects. It also has the unique ability to read Sonic Reality's proprietary multi-channel Rex 2 files which are mapped across the keyboard in Kontakt's Beat Mode which offers for the first time real audio drum grooves with both the ability to lock to your host's tempo and also the ability to mix the discrete mics of the recorded drums. Users of Kontakt software can also read Infinite Player libraries inside full Kontakt and the individual rex grooves can also be read by any software that supports Rex 2 files such as ProTools, Cubase, Logic, Stylus RMX, Reason, Project 5 and more.

Infinite Player will be available world-wide as a download before the end of the month, it can be purchased in combination with Sonic Reality sound collections such as the Studio ProFiles Drum Masters Silver, Gold and Platinum packages and others at a variety of prices ranging from $199 to $995.

To celebrate Christmas, Ableton has announced a 25% discount for anyone purchasing Live 7, Live 7 LE or Suite before the 31st December 2008.

The 25% off deal also applies to users who wish to upgrade to the full version from Lite or LE versions of the software.