SOUND ON SOUND
This new Ivory-series preamp and compressor combines the ease of presets with the flexibility of manual operation.
Computer specifications have changed radically in the three years since Carillon launched their first music PCs, but the company's signature metal rackmount case and attention to detail still sets them apart. Their powerful Core 4 machine offers support for three monitors, plus a huge 400GB RAID 0 hard drive array for audio data.
The market for software that emulates guitar amplifiers is pretty crowded these days, but Native Instruments have found a new angle with a modular program that comes with a dedicated hardware controller and interface.
There has been fierce competition over the past couple of years to create the ultimate portable MIDI controller for use with laptops. Edirol's PCR1 is one of the lightest and thinnest yet seen. Is it what we have all been waiting for?
No, we haven't got that the wrong way around... it really is a CV-to-MIDI converter. But why would you want such a thing? Read on...
Extending the modelling approach they pioneered with the original Variax electric, Line 6 have now taken a shot at reproducing the sounds of different miked acoustic guitars. Almost completely immune to feedback, the Variax Acoustic will clearly be a hit in some live applications, but does it sound good enough to record?
If you are looking for effects and instruments to give your mixes a sideways slant, Cycling '74 might have just the thing...
This stylish eight-channel preamp and converter offers front-panel instrument inputs and M&S stereo decoding.
The new baby in Behringer's Truth monitor range offers great value for money and sleek good looks, but how good do they sound?
As a creative, stable and above all fun way of combining audio loops in real time, Ableton's Live has proved an ideal counterpart to Rewire-compatible applications such as Cubase. With version 4 offering a wealth of new features, including MIDI sequencing, could Live now replace traditional sequencers altogether?
It's been a long wait, but the original slice-and-dice loop editing program has finally made it to Mac OS X. Is it still an essential tool a decade after its original launch?
This striking new vintage-style mic from Oktava not only gives a great rock vocal sound, but also offers the flexibility of multiple polar patterns.
Combi jack/XLR connectors and ADAT connectivity help set this smart eight-channel preamp apart from the crowd.
These days, if your sample library is going to be a success, it seems you've got to release it with a virtual-instrument front-end. Analogue synth fanatic and long-standing sample-library producer Ian Boddy does not disappoint with his latest creation...
These days primarily a mixer manufacturer, Allen & Heath have made many different kinds of gear in their time, but none is more obscure than 1985's Inpulse One. We unearth the facts about one of music technology's most forgotten rhythm computers.
It's been an unreserved thumbs-up for Korg's bundle of software synths so far... but will the Legacy Polysix and Legacy Cell scale the same heights in the final instalment of our three-part definitive review?
Sony's Oxford digital mixers are out of many people's reach, but Pro Tools and Powercore users can now get their hands on the Oxford's sophisticated processing tools.
As well as more-or-less conventional vocoding and pitch-shifting, DelayDots' new VST plug-in offers effects so bizarre they almost defy description.
Looking to extend your sequencer's capabilities with some high-quality effects? Then you're exactly the sort of person Waves are trying to tempt with their most affordable plug-in bundle yet.