Synesthesia Corporation has launched a new website for the Mandala 2.0 High-Def Drum & Synthesizer and announced that it is now taking orders for the new product.

Mandala 2.0 is the new version of Synesthesia’s high-def drum and synthesizer, co-developed with professional drummer Danny Carey of the progressive rock band Tool. The company announced the new product in October, and will begin shipping in early December.

Now a computer peripheral—its USB cable plugs into PC or Mac—the Mandala 2.0 emulates an acoustic drum. It offers drummers and musical explorers a drum pad that “knows” exactly where it’s hit and how hard, across seven assignable zones—with an immediate trigger delivering the fastest-traveling sound possible.A new kind of synthesizer, the Mandala 2.0 offers players the top of the line, most accurate model of a physical drum (via 3,000 professionally created, proprietary samples of the Black Beauty Snare Drum)—along with a library of sounds derived from more than 100 other instruments. In all, the Mandala 2.0 features four gigabytes of sound samples. It’s a synthesizer with drumsticks, with a drum pad so sensitive it responds even to a fingertip touch.

“We’ve been working around the clock to get the Mandala 2.0 into the hands of those who’ve been anxiously awaiting its arrival,” said Vince De Franco, Synesthesia founder and CEO, and inventor of the Mandala. “We’re on track to start shipping December 1. We appreciate all the enthusiasm directed our way after unveiling the new Mandala 2.0. We think it’s a huge leap forward in harnessing technology to enable virtually unlimited potential for creating music.”

The Mandala 2.0 retails for $349. Each Mandala is hand-crafted and thoroughly tested before it is shipped. Expect two-week delivery. Synesthesia is offering eligible 1.0 customers $50 off any Mandala 2.0 drum they buy before May 31, 2008.