Controllers

There are dedicated (and expensive) control surfaces for Logic, Pro Tools and Cubase... so why not an affordable one for Apple's semi-free entry-level application Garage Band? M-Audio must have thought exactly the same thing...

Hardware control surfaces promise to make working with a software DAW more intuitive and 'hands on'. Tascam's new offering has more knobs and faders than most, but also keeps things deliberately simple. Is it an essential accessory, or an expensive gadget?

Note: this is a genuine product, not an April Fool hoax!

The Trigger Finger is clearly intended for those of us who prefer hitting to clicking when it comes to percussion, but, as we discover, there's much more to it than that...

The price of controller keyboards has fallen sharply over the past few years, but whoever thought that we would see an 88-note weighted-action keyboard with aftertouch for under £500? Enter CME's UF8...

M-Audio have been producing impressive, inexpensive controller keyboards for some time, and have recently moved seriously into Firewire interfacing. The new Ozonic seeks to combine both capabilities in one product — and all for less money than you'd think...

Not content with acting as a high-spec control surface and Firewire audio interface for your studio computer, this new high resolution console seems determined to outshine it with its slick touchscreen graphical interface and onboard VST plug-in hosting.

Frontier Design's Tranzport might not be the most comprehensive control surface around, but it has one huge advantage — wireless operation means it's not tied to your computer.

Korg's Microkontrol was a highly versatile, yet compact MIDI controller — but perhaps, with its three octaves of miniature keys, it was too compact. The Kontrol 49 looks set to put that right with its four-octave, full-size keyboard.

Joining the growing market for one-box devices that combine audio and MIDI interfacing with control-surface functionality, Tascam's latest Firewire unit might be all you need for multitrack recording and mixing.

No-one can doubt Fatar's long-established record for making quality MIDI controller keyboards, but that market has become highly competitive over the past couple of years. Can the VMK188 hold its own against all the budget alternatives?

If you pined for the innovative Neuron in 2003, but couldn't afford the £3500 price tag, check out Neuron VS; it packs most of the original synth engine into a £500 software instrument and throws in a distinctive hardware controller.

Even the best weighted keyboards and sample libraries offer only an approximation to the feel and sound of an old-fashioned piano. So what if you just can't do without the real thing, but need to have your notes output as MIDI? Enter the Piano Bar from synth pioneers Bob Moog and Don Buchla...

Thin is clearly 'in' amongst manufacturers of keyboard controllers. Mere months after the arrival of Edirol's slender PCR1, M-Audio weigh in with the equally waif-like O2. But is it slim and trim, or just a lightweight?

It sounds like an amazing deal — endless-rotary and (even more incredibly) moving-fader controllers for well under 200 GBP each. But have Behringer gone a price-cut too far this time?

Roland's affordable new guitar synth incorporates improved pitch-tracking, and comes bundled with the latest GK-series pickup as standard.