WireTap Studio 1.0.4 - Ambrosia Software

If your Internet radio programmes are often interrupted by family obligations, or you want to record an incoming Skype phone call - with the other party's permission, of course - then WireTap Studio ought to be welcome relief in the face of distraction... read more at MacUserUK

Sibelius 5 - Sibelius

When most people think of the intersection of Macs and music, they think of synthesizers, MIDI, and apps like Logic Pro. But some musicians like to score their music the old-fashioned way—on paper, with musical notes written on a staff. And to do that on a Mac, there’s Sibelius... read more at MacLife

Ableton Live 7 - Ableton

Ableton is promoting the release of Live 7, its audio performance and recording application, as a root-and-branch overhaul of the inner workings of the program: 'renewing the core of Live... read more at MacUserUK

EastWest Fab Four - EastWest

When sample gurus EastWest first announced Fab Four, the promise of a Beatles-inspired sample library recorded on vintage instruments, played by ex-Wings personnel, routed through authentic period EMI valve mixing desks and outboard gear, engineered by a veteran of five Beatles albums, Ken Scott, and carefully assembled at the historic Cello Studios in Los Angeles, we were very excited... read more at MacUserUK

Logic Express 8 - Apple

With the launch of Logic Studio last month, and the attendant hoo-ha about all the dazzling new features therein, Logic Express 8 was always destined to lurk in its shadow, the ugly sister at Studio's coming-out ball... read more at MacUserUK

Radioshift - Rogue Amoeba

While a variety of media players provide access to radio streams, Radioshift democratises the way users find and listen to them. From its sleek home page, you can use a built-in search engine to find radio by the name of the station or the programme you're interested in. Radioshift also lets you browse by genre... read more at MacUserUK

Nuendo 4.1 - Arbiter Group

When Steinberg first introduced Nuendo in 2001, it was pitched as a superior audio-production rival to the established Pro Tools. Since then, Steinberg has been sold to first Pinnacle, then Yamaha, and Nuendo's focus has shifted towards post-production work... read more at MacUserUK

Groove Agent 3 - Arbiter Group

The world is now full of realistic, multisampled virtual drum software plug-ins. So what can Steinberg's Groove Agent 3 offer to lift it above the pack?... read more at MacUserUK

Altiverb 6 - Audio Ease

Altiverb 6 is a plug-in for music production that creates reverb based on real samples of real spaces. Put simply, you can record your mumblings and guitar noodling, then apply an effect that makes it sound like you recorded them in the Sydney Opera House. For anyone mastering music for specific settings - studio or nightclub engineers, for example - Altiverb 6 is a formidable tool to have on your Mac... read more at MacLife

WireTap Studio 1.0.1 - Ambrosia Software

After making modest efforts in the audio capture and editing arena with its WireTap Pro, Ambrosia Software has released the fuller-featured WireTap Studio, a $69 application that focuses on easily capturing audio, performing common editing tasks, and—its stand-out feature—allowing you to non-destructively edit audio and preview it in a variety of formats... read more at Macworld

Synk Audio Musicbed DV 1.6 - Synk Audio

Creating compelling, captivating musical scores for your video projects can be a daunting challenge. But with Musicbed DV, you have a truly useful tool to make royalty-free soundtracks. Perfect for commercial projects, it delivers smooth music with minimum effort... read more at MacLife

Abbey Road Keyboards - M-Audio

Released in conjunction with Abbey Road Studios, Propellerheads' latest ReFill, Abbey Road Keyboards, offers seven of the studio's most famous keyboards. It consists of Steinway and Challen upright pianos, a Hammond RT-3 organ, a Mannborg Harmonium, a Schiedmayer Celeste, a Mellotron M400 and a set of tubular bells... read more at MacUserUK

Reason 4 - M-Audio

Two-and-a-half years on from version 3, Reason 4 is finally here. Appropriately, the new version gives us four major reasons to be cheerful: an overhauled sequencer, the ReGroove 'unquantizer' mixer, the RPG-8 arpeggiator and Thor, Reason's new synth... read more at MacUserUK

Logic Studio - Apple

Finally, after three years of gossip, rumour and wild speculation, Logic Pro 8 is here. It has a new umbrella name, Logic Studio, and a couple of interesting new friends in its smart box; the debutante Mainstage and the more familiar Soundtrack Pro 2. The XSKey dongle is no longer required. And the total price has dropped by over half... read more at MacUserUK

VirSyn Reflect - VirSyn

Reverb: recordings simply don't soundfinished without it. Whether it's the natural reverberations of the space in which the recording was captured (the ambience of Abbey Road's Studio 2 is one of the reasons Beatles records sound so good) or artificial reverb overlaid from digital studio gear, it's an effect musicians can't live without... read more at MacUserUK

GarageBand '08 - Apple

With the release of GarageBand 3 (4. mice, the version included in iLife ’06), iLife’s music sketchpad application concentrated most of its efforts at incorporating podcasting capabilities. With the release of GarageBand ’08, Apple shifts its focus back to musicians... read more at MacLife

GarageBand Jam Pack Voices - Apple

After issuing add-on GarageBand loop packs based on instrument, percussion, orchestral, electronic, and world sounds, Apple believes it’s time to visit humankind’s first instrument—the human voice... read more at Macworld

Jax - AM Micro

iTunes is one of Apple's most important applications. It started life as a humble music jukebox but now it's the control centre for the iPod, Apple TV and the iPhone. It's so influential that the new operating system, Leopard, has integrated the Cover Flow technology to use in the Finder. It's no surprise then to see developers trying to extend and improve the capabilities of iTunes... read more at MacUserUK

Soundbooth CS3 - Adobe

Adobe has long been known as a graphics powerhouse, but in recent years the company has brought some audio tools home to roost. Soundbooth, an audio editor, is now included with Adobe’s Creative Suite 3 Production Premium and the CS3 Master Collection. Soundbooth’s inclusion got many production pros’ hopes up... read more at MacLife

Sequel - Steinberg

Every single review of Sequel is honour bound to mention its conceptual and cosmetic similarity to GarageBand. It's a fair cop. So with that out of the way, what else does Steinberg's consumer-friendly music-making app have to offer... read more at MacUserUK