Announced by Ueberschall, the Elastik 2 engine has received its first major update to version 2.0.4. The 2.0.4 update provides the Elastik engine with a significant new feature and some minor bugfixes. Current users may download the update by visiting Ueberschall's Web site.

Elastik is Ueberschall's flagship engine that powers the Elastik Player sample player. It offers a unique "Loop Eye" that provides waveform representation of the loop from start to end, along with controls that make it easy to create new variations of a loop. With the Elastik Player, all Ueberschall libraries or soundbanks can be managed from the same player. Check out the rest of Elastik's features:

• Loop Eye functions
• Fast browser features (multiple filter search, tagging)
• Pre-listen in sync
• Sequence mode (loads of edtiting features per slice)
• Random sound replacement
• Parameter automation
• Real-time sync to host
• Bounce of original and modified loops
• Resizeable window format
• Mutiple soundbank management
• Timestretch and pitchshift in best quality

Elastik 2.0.4 now lets you choose between three algorithms. When it comes to pitch shifting and time stretching, says Ueberschall, each audio material wants to be treated differently, whether the focus is on transients or on your CPU usage. For that reason, Elastik now provides three different algorithms: Pro, Efficient, and Transient.

Pro delivers the best result out of the material, while Efficient offers an in-between solution that hovers between a good result and a CPU friendly solution. The Transient algorithm focuses on peaks and would work well with percussive material.

The bugfixes resolve these problems: AU validation crashes in Logic, no RTAS plugin in Pro Tools 7, and soundbanks that cannot be loaded. All of these problems have been fixed with version 2.0.4.

Version 2.0.4 of Elastik is now available as a free download for Elastik users. To update your copy of Elastik, visit the company's Web site at ueberschall.com.