Article section list

The Monome may appear to be simple, but hidden beneath its minimalist exterior are practically limitless computer control possibilities...

Love or hate the Yamaha NS10, this unassuming little speaker has found a place in the studios of many of the world's top producers. We trace its history, and investigate why a monitor whose sound has been described as "horrible" became an industry standard.

Making your mic stand out from the crowd these days is difficult — so Latvian company Violet have used their head...

The new Virus is one of the most affordable ever and currently the cheapest way to get a slice of Access' Total Integration technology — but does cheaper mean compromised?

• IK Multimedia X-Gear & Amplitube Metal • Studio Devil Virtual Guitar Amp

There may not be many new features, but MaxMSP 5 benefits from a fundamental overhaul that brings Cycling 74's open-ended media programming toolkit into the modern world of multi-processing and slick interface design.

With a new synthesis engine, some new ideas about interface design and 50GB of novel samples ranging from lightbulbs to burning pianos, Omnisphere will be Spectrasonics biggest soft synth yet. Its creator, Eric Persing, gives us a sneak preview.

The market for mastering limiters is crowded, but PSP's new plug-in claims to offer higher levels of naturalness and transparency.

Many companies make multicore cables, but Planet Waves have come up with a simple modular system that covers most eventualities without the store needing to stock dozens of different configurations.

• Zero-G Vocaloid 2 Prima • Loopmasters Harley & Muscle • Zero-G Urban Ammunition

If you've not yet built up much of a microphone collection, a dedicated drum-mic kit can be a sensible investment — and the price of this one puts it within reach of even entry-level users.

The Nocturn uses Novation's sophisticated Automap technology to give you integrated, hands-on control of your software — and all for an almost unbelievably low price.

Under the hood of this affordable new Alesis compact mixer lurks an 18-in/two-out audio interface. Is it too good to be true?

• Chandler EMI TG Mastering Pack Formats: Mac & PC TDM & RTAS • SIR2 Formats: PC VST • Tritone Digital ColorTone-Pro Formats: Mac AU, RTAS, VST; PC RTAS, VST • Leslie Sanford Cobalt Formats: PC VST SSL X-EQ Formats: Mac/PC Duende

Edirol have enhanced their popular stereo recorder in the face of growing competition. How does it measure up?

The latest incarnation of Tascam's Gigastudio introduces support for 64-bit operating systems and the ability to address up to 128GB of RAM. Are there any catches? Let's find out...

You can get a lot of audio interface for your money these days. The latest from ESI offers 18 ins and eight outs for a very reasonable price, and could be ideal if you need to record lots of sources simultaneously.

Art Vista's new sampled piano won't break the bank or send you running out to buy a new hard drive — and it's still a sophisticated and versatile instrument.

SampleTron gives you the sound of the Mellotron and many of its more obscure cousins, not to mention some serious potential for sonic malarkey, courtesey of IK's SampleTank player...

Can a single hardware unit really meet all your compression needs? It would certainly take something a bit special...