SOUND ON SOUND
Ten years after the K5, Kawai return to the technology which gave them the most successful implementation of additive synthesis ever, and include something of everything else they've learnt in the meantime. Paul Wiffen wonders if it all adds up...
Though digital technology has transformed the nature of synths, effects, and even multitracks, project studio mixers have largely remained steadfastly analogue, breaking the chain which, if complete, would allow your music to remain in the digital domain from sequencer to master.Korg's 168RC forms the heart of a system designed to all but eliminate the analogue signal path, and Paul Wiffen wonders where it's been all his life...
Paul Wiffen, a ferocious advocate of hardware sequencers for many years, takes a look at Yamaha's new flagship sequencer and finds himself reminiscing about the way things were (and could be again).
In recent years, samplers have become almost exclusively rackmount devices, widely used as production workhorses, but less so by the gigging musician. With the release of their first keyboard sampler in several years, Emu are hoping to change all that. Paul Wiffen heralds the return of the performer's sampler.
Hot on the heels of the ESI32 and EIV samplers comes Emu's latest mid-price unit. We sent Paul Wiffen to find out how the E64 differs from its siblings
Once upon a time an Emulator was all eights: 8-bit, 8-voice, 8-outs, but that was a decade ago. Ten years on and the latest Emulator has more of the 128 about it: 128 voices, up to 128Mb of RAM. Paul Wiffen finds out if everything else about the EIV is 16 times as good.
Vestax have made the 6-track format their trademark, but their new hard disk recorder range is a major step up in terms of sound quality, professional options and technical innovation. Paul Wiffen gives it the once-over and finds himself going back for more.
The S760 sampler represented excellent value for money on its release back in February this year. Now it looks even more impressive, with the arrival of the OP760/1 expansion board and the v.2.12 system software. Paul Wiffen checks them out.
As well as being an SOS contributor since the early days, Paul Wiffen is the manager of a music store specialising in hard disk recording. Eighteen months ago he previewed the Falcon 030 for SOS, and now, after a year on the market, he assesses the impact it has had and examines some of the rumours which are floating around.
Although much more widely used than ever before, the multitimbral ability of electronic instruments to produce several different sounds at the same time is still not always fully exploited. Paul Wiffen traces the evolution of this powerful feature.