IK Multimedia and NOTION Music announced at Musikmesse that they'll be teaming up IK's AmpliTube 2 DUO and NOTION's Progression composition software. Progression is aimed at guitar composition specifically, so the inclusion of DUO [which is not available on its own] makes for a perfect fit.

Now Progression users can add tone modeling to the software's features which already include music creation, education and distribution. Even current users can upgrade to the version with AmpliTube 2 DUO for free.

DUO features:

• Four Modules: Tuner, Stomp, Amp, Cabinet+Microphone
• Two Pre-Amp and two EQ models
• Two Power-Amp models
• Two Cabinet models
• 16 Amp combinations x rig
• Two Microphone models
• Two Stomp Effect models (Wah + Overdrive) + Spring Reverb + Gate
• High-precision Tuner
• Two Guitar rig chains
• 30 Presets
• All Presets can be read by AmpliTube 2
• Plug-In and Standalone version with SpeedTrainer
• New AmpliTube 2 DSM technology (Dynamic Saturation Modeling)
• Compatible with all the most recent OS, including MacTel and Windows Vista

Concurrently, NOTION is also having a YouTube contest centering around their Progression software. To enter, download backing tracks from the official Progression MySpace site. Shoot a video of yourself live, playing along with the track you selected and submit that video on the Progression YouTube page by sending them a message with a description of the performance, your name and email and the video included as an attachment.

You better bring your A-game, too, because my video will take YouTube by storm and piledrive it onto its head. Check out the grand prize that I'm going to win and the consolation prizes for the distant competition. Four first place winners? Please! That's numerically illogical.

PRIZES:

• GRAND PRIZE (One winner, picked from any backing track): Endorsement deal with NOTION Music. Over $1000 of software: NOTION 2.0, all NOTION Sound Expansion Kits, PROGRESSION, and a year subscription to Guitar Player Magazine
• FIRST PLACE PRIZE (Four winners, one for each backing track): One copy of NOTION 2.0 and PROGRESSION.
• RUNNERS UP PRIZE (Four winners, one for each backing track): One copy of PROGRESSION.