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Firepod has new lower price ($399)

Read the P.R. here: http://www.presonus.com/firepod.html.

That’s pretty nice considering you get Cubase LE with it.

Sonic State reviews the Presonus Firebox

If you’re thinking of purchasing a Presonus Firebox, You might want to check out Albert Potts review over at Sonic State. You can find it here: http://www.sonicstate.com/articles/article.cfm?id=131&page=1

Digidesign releases the Mbox 2 Mini

Mbox 2 MiniThe smallest and least expensive Pro Tools LE system.

· 24-bit/48 kHz audio resolution
· USB connectivity
· USB-powered

(MSRP $329.00, Street: $299.00)

http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?langid=100&navid=114&itemid=4962

MXL releases the MXL.006 USB microphone

The MSRP is US$169.95, although the street price runs from $85.13 to $134.99.

The speal with this thing is it plugs straight into your computer via USB. That means no mixer, no preamp.

Product page

Line 6 spruces things up

Line 6 is now shipping the TonePort KB37. The MSRP price is $414.99 and the street price is about $299.

In addition to recently adding the KB37 to its lineup, Line 6 updated their Gearbox software to version 3. (See release notes here) Gearbox will work with the following Line 6 hardware: GuitarPort, PODxt, PODxt Pro, PODxt Live, TonePort UX1, TonePort UX2, TonePort KB37, TonePort DI-Silver, TonePort DI-Gold.

Cubase 4 will offer competitive upgrade program

New Features in Cubase Studio 4

New Features in Cubase 4. Street Price is around US$799. This is an increase from SX3 pricing.

There is a feature comparison betweeen the two versions.

Steinberg is offering a crossgrade for around US$439, which includes the following competitive products:
- Adobe Audition, US $349
- Apple Logic, US$999
- Cakewalk Sonar
- MOTU Digital Performer
- Sony Vegas
- Sony Vegas + DVD US $524.96, Acid Pro
- Pro Tools
- Magix Samplitude; Classic: $299.99, Master: $499.99, Professional: $999.99
- Sequoia
- Ableton Live (Full Version Only) Box: USD 599.00, Download: US$499.00
- Propellerheads Reason (Full Version Only)
- Sibelius
- Coda Finale (Full Version Only)
- Tracktion (Full Version Only) US$149.99

M-Audio intros Session

This new software, which is aimed at casual musicians, taughts ease of use.  It offers both loop-based composition (includes 2GB) as well as the ability to record music directly to your computer.  Session software is included with M-Audio’s Fast Track USB.  The company plans to include Session with other products as well.

For more: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Session-main.html 

Digital audio workstations compared

The Digital Music Doctor made a handy  chart  comparing 7 different DAW applications.

Here are their final product ratings:

PRODUCT (RATING)
Cubase SX 3 (4.6)
Sonar 5 Producer (4.4)
Cubase SL 3 (4.0)
Sonar 5 Studio (3.9)
Acid Pro 6 (3.6)
Pro Tools 7 LE (3.2)
Pro Tools 7 MP (3.1)

To check out their full summary go here: http://www.digitalmusicdoctor.com/shootout/shootout_summary.htm

Pro Tools Custom Keyboards now available

Digidesign recently released this nifty looking keyboard with text and icons for your favorite Pro Tools commands. Provided you’re not pink-phobic this could get you zooming around in Pro Tools in no time.

The press release states the MSRP to be $119.00 US for the Mac version, and $105.00 US for the Windows version. This is a big drop from their previous offerings which had a US List Price of $250.

For more go here.

Acon Digital Media releases Studio Clean 1.5

For those of you not familiar with this bundle here’s the lineup: StudioDenoiser, StudioDeclicker, StudioDeclipper, and StudioRebirth.

You can order the bundle online for $69. It also appears to be downloadable as a free trial of some sort.
Here’s what their site says:
“The latest release of our Studio Clean plug-in suite now supports VST hosts. Owners of previous versions of Studio Clean can upgrade for free and use their original license key.”
— http://www.acondigital.com/