Native Instruments has announced BandStand (Mac/Win; $229), a General MIDI (GM) sound library featuring 128 instruments and 9 drum kits. BandStand includes direct-from-disk playback functionality and can be used as a standalone sound module or as an instrument plug-in. All 16 instrument channels are visible simultaneously, and instruments can be assigned and replaced by dragging and dropping. The Quick Edit bar offers real-time performance functions that can be assigned to any instrument to alter its playback behavior, including Quantize, Harmonize, Scale, and Microtuning parameters.

BandStand includes an integrated MIDI-file player, which lets you bounce arrangements to disk. The instrument is equipped with a mixer section that gives you access to the volume and effect settings for every channel. The chorus and reverb effects are automatable and conform to GM effects standards. The master section includes a master EQ and limiter.

For more information, click here.