Muse Research and Development has announced an agreement with Ultimate Sound Bank to provide sounds for the upcoming MuseBox, the versatile Musical Instrument and Effects Box, being co-developed between Muse Research and Peavey Electronics. Ultimate Sound Bank will provide the core, pre-installed sound set for the device that includes all the essential keyboard sounds required by the gigging musician, as well as expansion sound sets that will be sold to customers both on-line and at retail. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

UVI Engine chosen for quality and efficiency
Muse Research evaluated several different sound engines for use as the built-in sound engine and factory sound set for MuseBox, and determined that the UVI engine was the best suited for the task. The UVI engine has created a respected name in the music industry, powering multiple virtual instruments from MOTU and Spectrasonics as well as the impressive UVI Workstation and UVI Soundcard line from Ultimate Sound Bank.

MuseBox to ship with a comprehensive essentials sound set
MuseBox, currently under development by Muse Research and Peavey Electronics and winner of a Mix Magazine Pick Hit Award at the 2010 NAMM show where it debuted, will ship with a comprehensive sound set that includes acoustic pianos, electric pianos, organs, plus synth leads and pads – all the essentials required by the gigging keyboardist. It is expected that the core sound set will approach 4GB in size, drawing from the extensive Ultimate Sound Bank library.

"We're really excited to have the team at Ultimate Sound Bank on board to supply the core sounds for MuseBox," commented Bryan Lanser, VP of Product Development at Muse Research. "Ultimate Sound Bank has created some incredible virtual instruments, and the UVI engine powers virtual instruments that are used by the top bands and performing artists around the world. We are very happy to announce this association, and look forward to making a great product with them," he added.

"The MuseBox is certainly one of the most exciting pieces of hardware I've seen for a long time, and it's an honour for us to power the MuseBox with the UVI Engine and provide the most playable soundset from our collection," said Alain Etchart, Founder and Director of Marketing at Ultimate Sound Bank.

The 21st century guitar processor
MuseBox also comes with Peavey's award-winning ReValver, the amplifier modeling software VST effect that captures the true characteristics of vacuum tubes while allowing users control over their tonality and gain structures. In addition to keyboard sounds, MuseBox works as a standard effects processor providing reverb, chorus, compressors – all the essentials for great sound.

What's that little slot in the back?
The MuseBox will ship with a CF card reader built-in, so by simply plugging in a CF data card into the back of the unit, a MuseBox owner can add new virtual instruments and effects, plus sound and effects libraries. And these cards are NOT data cards with presets like a typical synthesizer – they have completely new instruments, sounds sets and presets, and can range from 2GB to 64GB in size.

Convenience and versatility is the name of the game
MuseBox's SoundFinder preset architecture makes it easy to quickly sort through thousands of presets from a variety of different libraries to find the perfect choice. Sounds on the MuseBox are "tagged" and organized by category, or by user-created tags for different gigs, or bands, or styles of music. This makes it incredibly easy to find that "just right" sound for any musical situation. And since MuseBox is also a vocal processor, drum module, guitar processor, and a synth/sampler/sound module, it is perhaps the most versatile device ever to grace your rack.