Musikmesse 2012: Friday round-up

Day three of Musikmesse continued in the same form as its opening two days, with plenty of new releases to get excited about.
Whilst Wednesday was all about new instruments, yesterday saw music software and accessories take the stand.
Here are just some of the highlights from Frankfurt.
Steinberg goes live
Steinberg has been selling its post-production software Nuendo for some time, but it is now going live. Nuendo Live is specifically designed for live recording. It has a clutter-free user interface, dedicated live tools and an unlimited number of recording channels. Steinberg Audio Engine is used to give the software premium sound quality.
VOX amp and Guitar XTraktion combine for new app
Guitarists can use this new app using the best of VOX amp and effect modelling with advanced Guitar XTraktion technology for the new JamVOX III. It has a large selection of guitar amps and effects and you can remove the guitar track from songs to jam along by taking the place of the original guitar track. The stand-alone software apparently has hugely evolved features and a more sophisticated GXT function, with a better user interface too.
Use the iPad for music production?
Alesis has released a four-channel mixer for the iPad, the iO Mix as a nifty portable studio. You can record multiple mics or instruments onto compatible Core Audio apps like GarageBand. It also has video output and can be used for presentations and meetings.
Carlsbro breaks into musical instrument market
The British guitar amp maker has dipped its toes in the music instrument market by unveiling an electronic drum kit. With the catchy name ADD501, the kit has highly-responsive pads, crash and snare, rides, toms, hi-hat and bass pads with pedals. It has 627 percussion voices, 40 preset kits, 40 demo songs and ten kits that can be user-defined. The kit also has USB and MIDI interfaces.
But that’s not all. Not to shy away from home, Carlsbro also re-issued its 50 Top head tube head and cab and TC series. Brand new from the manufacturer is the VAC series, a high performance and affordable amp range.
Yamaha keeps it coming
Fresh after a big launch on day one, Yamaha has unveiled an affordable keyboard, the EZ-220, which guides players with lighted keys and has wireless connectivity for iPad users to download the really handy Page Turner app.
Apps are actually a big venture for Yamaha, which showed off the new E3 Controller, for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, where users can control Disklavier performance functions like playback and transposition over Wi-Fi.
The Piano Diary app helps to improve practice schedules and performances and is compatible with any MIDI instrument.