Controllers

The so-called guitarist's dream has failed to deliver on so many occasions that many guitar players now seem sceptical about the whole concept of MIDI guitars. Does the Yamaha G50 give us cause to rethink our prejudices, or does it simply reinforce them? Paul White finds out.

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.

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.