SOUND ON SOUND
People keep on making 'em, people keep on buying 'em. Is there no end to the appetite for TB303 clones? Paul Nagle checks out one of the cheapest yet, and concludes that FAT is good for you after all.
One of the hit synths of 1996, Waldorf's Pulse is now available in a slightly upgraded version, incorporating an external audio input and CV/gate interface. Paul Nagle sets it, squizzing and phzweeing to find out exactly what has put the Plus in the Pulse.
A synth's filter plays a major part in defining its sound, and creates the particular character of the best-loved vintage analogue models. Courtesy of its different filter cartridges, the ATC1 aims to be able to change its sound to suit your needs. Paul Nagle plugs in.
Emu's Launch Pad provides a hardware control surface for the Orbit sound module, but can also be used with other MIDI gear. Paul Nagle finds out whether it's destined to become a springboard for many a successful mission.
One of the Mac world's sequencing front-runners, Vision has been ported to the PC, where it faces some stiff competition from the established packages. Paul Nagle goes all visionary...
Essex dance outfit The Prodigy have long outgrown their rave beginnings, and their recent number one single 'Firestarter' points the way to a newer even harder sound. Paul Nagle tackles some burning topics of modern music-making with the group's aural architect Liam Howlett...
With a front panel resembling a butchered Moog Source, and plug-in filters that claim to give you the sound of various vintage brands inside one instrument, the ATC1 is bound to excite interest. Paul Nagle changes his tune.
Modern synths are undeniably powerful, but for many users that power remains locked in by non-intuitive digital parameter access editing. Paul White and Paul Nagle check out a pair of knob-equipped hardware programmers that could reveal hidden depths for Microwave and Matrix 1000 owners.
British company Novation made their name with the BassStation synth, which offered dance music producers instantly tweakable, analogue-style synth sounds in a MIDI-controllable package. The new DrumStation applies the same formula to the de rigueur dance sounds of Roland TR 808 and TR809 drum machines. Paul Nagle moves from station to station...
It may be Swiss, but there's nothing cheesy about the idea of a synth that lets you rekindle your rusty analogue programming skills. Paul Nagle dons his boots and goes hiking through the peaks and troughs of the ProTone's analogue waveforms...