Robin Schmidt’s Music Engineering Tools has released a public beta version a new free synth VST for Windows, Straightline.
Description:
Straightliner is a straight-lined subtractive synthesizer in a modern guise. You will find the well known building blocks of classic analog synthesizers (4 oscillators, a filter, 2 envelope generators) patched together in the traditional way.
Now you […]

This gets my vote for the coolest thing you’ll see this weekend.
It’s a live performance using the Hobnox AudioTool - the new browser-based virtual studio - using a MIDI controller and Percussa AudioCubes.
See the tutorial at the Hobnox site, too!
Joa Ebert & Kai-Phillip, via David

If you check out one thing this weekend, check out Hobnox AudioTool.
It’s like Reason for your Web browser - a collection of Web-based audio tools that you can patch together in play, including a TB303, TR808, TR909 and a variety of effects pedals.
It’s just a demo, but I’m impressed. Let me know what you think!

Samplemodeling has introduced The Trumpet - a modeled virtual trumpet that sounds amazingly realistic. 
This is not a sample library. The Trumpet is a Kontakt Player 2 Virtual Instrument, working either standalone, or as a plugin (VST or RTAS for the PC) and VSR, RTAS or AU for Mac. A master keyboard with some configurable MIDI […]

 

 Physically modeled trumpet [0:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

iZotope has released iDrum 1.6, a Windows XP/Vista compatible version of its iDrum virtual drum machine software. The update is free for registered iDrum customers.
iDrum turns a Mac or PC into a virtual drum machine. iDrum can utilize users’ customized samples or those from professionally produced libraries. Beats in iDrum can be created from its […]

AudioWarrior has released a free virtual instrument, Free Djembe for Kontakt
Free Djembe is a studio-quality 24-bit instrument that allows you play your keyboard like a hand drum.
Free Djembe was designed using Kontakt and works best with an unweighted MIDI controller, such as the Oxygen 8. The instrument is mapped with 10 velocity layers with samples […]

 

 Free djembe virtual instrument [0:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Inspiration Sounds has released Dobro - a new collection of 515MB of dobro licks and slides performed by Bob Dixon, who has been active on the country music scene for 35 years.
Inspiration Sounds recommends Dobro for Music, TV, Film and Multimedia producers. However, the content can be used in a wide variety of other genres […]

2008 Winter NAMM Show Update: EastWest introduced Chris Hein Bass - 12.7 GB of bass sounds, some of which feature the powerful tones of a Music Man StingRay electric-bass-both picked and slapped; a LeFay fretless bass as well as the sounds of a unique upright bass.
For variety, the upright bass is played with three […]

Steinberg has announced the release of the Software Development Kit (SDK) for VST3, the latest generation of its VST platform.
VST3 offers new capabilities to developers of host applications, audio plug-ins and virtual instruments. The SDK can be used under free license, and is available for download at the Steinberg website.
“VST3 opens up new possibilities for […]

BigFishAudio has introduced Liquid Percussion, a new sample library that provides percussion grooves, loops and single samples.
Description:
Create complex percussion tracks, or just add a percussion pattern to your arrangement for a live and dynamic touch. With Liquid’s integrated Melodyne technology engine you are able to quantize, re-groove, timestretch and pitch every single loop and pattern […]

TP Works has released Drumhound, a VST instrument for Windows that offers 128 drumkits with 2048 sounds sampled from a huge range of vintage machines.
Features:

16 voices
16 Stereo drumchannels
Extensive filtering options
Over 2.000 drumsounds included
Range of controls on every channel:

Gain [Volume adjust]
Release [Release time]
Tune [Tune the sound one whole note up or down]
Peg Decay
Peg Env [Amount, to […]

Vir2 have announced syntAX, a Kontakt Player 2 based virtual instrument described as ‘part synth, part interactive sonic revolution’.
The core of syntAX is a 2000+ patch synth library covering an immense amount of synth territory, including soaring leads, evolving pads, thick basses, harsh distortions, unusual textures, other-worldly atmospheres, FX, hits, blips, and more.
Then syntAX blazes […]

Image-Line have released a VSTi version of DrumSynth Live.
DrumSynth Live is an updated version of the DrumSynth standalone created by Maxim Digital Audio. DrumSynth Live features simultaneous support for 24 programmable real-time drum patches, each assigned to a separate key (C4 to B5).Sound is created by two noise generators and filtered by bandpass filters […]

Audiorealism has announced that their new uber-drum machine, Audiorealism Drum Machine (ADM) , is now available for Mac and PC.
Sounds
ADM contains three classic vintage drum machines from that era rolled into one, combined with a 32-step internal sequencer and pattern controlled fx (PCF). Get all your patterns into ADM via the Import Rebirth function or […]

 

 Tweaked drums [0:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Model switching [0:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download