One of the more exciting introductions at NAMM came from a small company exhibiting in Hall E -- the basement hall that houses smaller manufacturers showing off their equipment.

JoeCo -- a small start-up from the UK -- has introduced the BlackBox, a 24-bit, 96kHz 24-track recorder. What makes the BlackBox special is it's combination of touch-sensitive menus and controls (no movable parts), alongside no built-in storage, instead allowing users to attach their own USB2-compatible storage in whatever size they want.

I've posted a preview with more information about the BlackBox, which is due out this spring. End-user price will be around $2000.

Last year, microphone technology took a huge leap in the price vs. performance category. This year, it's looking like more companies are coming out with affordable, high-quality microphone preamps to match the new, exciting microphones coming onto the market.

While it's not a new product per se, M-Audio has released an updated version of it's DMP3 dual-channel microphone preamp. Updating the looks, and, as I'm told, some tweaks for extended frequency response and lower noise floor, the new DMP3 will hit stores soon with an MSRP of $199. Boasting two channels of analog metering, 67 dB of clean gain, and a remarkable 20Hz - 80 kHz frequency response, the DMP3 is a great replacement for lower-quality built-in preamps, and a fantastic addition to any project studio.

Every engineer I know uses Shure microphones to some extent; they offer great value, great sound quality, and their build quality is legendary! Now, Shure has announced several new microphones as well as their first venture into direct-to-USB recording.

Check out this full-featured preview of Shure's brand new products, including the X2u XLR-to-USB adapter, the SM27 and SM137, and the PG42 and PG27 microphones, live from NAMM 2009!

Some very exciting news from our friends at Digidesign: two new packages of Pro Tools LE equipment have been announced, both offering powerful Pro Tools LE performance for those working on a budget.

Digidesign is now offering the Factory Complete and 003 Rack Factory Complete packages. Both are based around Digidesign 003 hardware interfaces with the new Complete Production Toolkit - the powerful new expansion option for Pro Tools LE systems that combines a variety of plug-ins for both music and post production applications. The bundles offer up to nearly $500 in savings from standalone purchases.

According to Digidesign, the Complete Production Toolkit, made available with the release of Pro Tools 8 last month, dramatically expands the creative and production power of Pro Tools LE 8 by adding full 7.1 surround mixing, and support for up to 128 simultaneous audio tracks to any Pro Tools LE 8 based system. You also get access to Beat Detective -- previously reserved for higher-end HD systems -- as well as updated versions of DigiTranslator and DigiBase File Management.

This bundle includes Digidesign virtual instruments and professional plug-ins valued at $2,650 including: Eleven LE classic guitar amp emulator, Structure LE advanced sample player, Hybrid 1.5 high-definition synthesizer, Smack! LE compressor, DINR noise reduction, TL Space Native Edition convolution reverb, X-Form, a time compressor/expansion and pitch shifter, and Neyrinck SoundCode Stereo surround-to-stereo down mixer.

Pricing is set at $3995 for the Digi 003 Factory Bundle, and $2995 for the Digi 003 Rack bundle.