SOUND ON SOUND
Concrete FX's plug-ins incline towards the less well-trodden areas of sound generation, and their latest is a wavetable synthesizer that recalls the Waldorf Microwave.
The new baby of the Blue Sky range brings their design philosophy to the small computer studio. But will the 'satellite plus subwoofer' configuration and closed-box speaker loading work as well on a small scale as it does in the company's larger systems?
With its clever reversible analogue I/O section plus comprehensive, multi-client driver support, ESI's Julia is not your average stereo soundcard.
Less really is more — the 'smaller' name suggests a cut-down follow-up to 2003's Ion synth, but in fact the Micron includes most of the spec of its predecessor, and has added effects and a built-in sequencer too.
Three new mics from CAD offer impressive mounting hardware and audio specifications specially tailored to recording drums.
Version 3 of Gigastudio has taken a long time to arrive, and plenty of other software samplers have come along during the wait. Does it still have what it takes to see off the competition?
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?
Yamaha's list of mLAN products continues to grow, and their rackmounting i88X offers high-quality mic preamps, analogue, digital and MIDI I/O in a 1U rack unit.
This new mic preamp and equaliser unit uses 1960s EMI designs to recreate some of the classic sounds.
Echo's range of computer hardware has always been popular with musicians, and the company have now launched the third generation of their Layla and Gina multi-channel audio and MIDI interfaces.
MOTU's software sampler seeks to be accessible to everyone, irrespective of preferred platform, sequencer or sample format. Can Mach Five really be all things to all people?
The latest addition to TC's Powercore range offers the convenience of Firewire connection at a bargain price, with some serious new plug-ins included.
It's back! And it's deadlier than ever! We get a first look preview of the next-generation Virus...
This low-cost mic combines smart styling with a solid, neutral sound.
If you are the kind of person who likes to accentuate the transients in their pitch-shifted recordings, before vocoding them and auto-doubling the results, Waves have the perfect plug-in bundle for you...
AMD's Opteron range of CPUs are popular with musicians and ready for 64-bit computing — so how does Inta Audio's Opteron PC compare with typical Intel machines?
Reviews/appraisals of the latest sample CDs: VSL Woodwind Ensembles 6* • VSL Epic Horns 6* • Loopmasters Percussionism 6* • PMI Baroque Organ 5*
The new version 7 of Logic is a huge upgrade which sees the program assimilated even further into Apple's product range, and adds some intriguing new instruments and networking features. Following last month's preview, here's the full lowdown...
2002 saw the release of the Evolver, a quirky hybrid analogue/digital synth and sequencer from Sequential synth pioneer Dave Smith. Now he continues his renaissance with a four-voice polyphonic version that integrates neatly with the original.
