Now the Synethesia Mandala high-def drum and synthesizer is about to bust out in version 2.0, sprouting itself a USB 2.0 port that lets you hook it up to any PC or Mac. Synethesia is calling it "the only electronic drum that truly emulates an acoustic drum." It's called high-def because it has 128 concentric rings from the center of the head to the edge that can detect the exact location and force with which you hit it. This version 2.0 also includes 3000 proprietary samples of the famed Black Beauty snare drum, along with 4GB of sounds from 100 different instruments. In addition to its USB connectivity, it also has a MIDI port with a trigger that's said to be one of the world's fastest. To be available November 1, it'll retail for $349. [Synethesia Corporation, via TMCNet]

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