SOUND ON SOUND
Digital audio is now very much a part of everyday studio life, but do you ever wonder how well your system is really working?
Alesis update their cost-effective nearfields.
The straightforward but effective Windows-based sequencing package Making Waves has been upgraded to include multi-channel recording, DirectX and MIDI support.
**** 4/5 stars. e-Lab set out to produce a house sample CD. All the loops are either 125 or 130bpm, thumping bass drums dominate and every other element is designed to either reinforce or unobtrusively complement that all-important rhythm.
The Buzz MIA 1.0 is designed to solve interfacing problems between unbalanced instruments and balanced recording systems.
Elevata is a 16-voice polyphonic, eight-part multitimbral modelling synth from UK innovators Red Sound. But with a number of virtual analogue synths available at the same price point, does the Elevata offer enough to distinguish itself?
*** 3/5 stars. This CD-ROM contains just over 1800 live drum loops, fills and hits for use with any sampler or MIDI + Audio sequencer that accepts WAV files.
Keyfax have been creating all kinds of musical phrases, loops and flourishes in MIDI file format for their Twiddly Bits range for as long as we can remember, but this new set represents a departure from previous trends...
From its beginnings as shareware, Syntrillium's cool Edit Pro has acquired an impressive professional user base. The new version offers more features, more power, and an updated user interface.
Phonic's new MRS1-20 brings analogue surround mixing to the project studio market for the first time.
Despite cramming 48 effects and 144 adjustable parameters into a box the size of a double CD case, Ineko is remarkably simple to use.
A heavy-duty valve preamp with variable input impedance, a unique slew-rate control, and a sublime sound.
Passive nearfields from B&W, designed to balance the needs of both project-studio and hi-fi listening.
In addition to the usual dynamics and EQ facilities, this voice channel from Dbx offers physical modelling effects in the digital domain, allowing it to simulate the performance of different types of mics and mic amps.
The Roland RS202 and Multivox MS202 are two classic string synthesizers that seem to share more than a passing physical and sonic resemblance. We investigate the machines and the myths, and solve the mystery once and for all.
Analogue sequencers may seem simple devices, especially when compared to their computer-based counterparts, but they can be put to fantastically complex uses in the right hands. We plumb the hidden depths of the new Oberkorn...
**** 4 stars. Although he's served time with vintage US rockers Aerosmith, there's more to Joey Kramer's playing than a 10-ton backbeat...
Mutronics bring a blast from the past to a rack near you.
Virtual analogue plug‑in synths are now common, and as DX‑style FM was the next great leap forward for real synths, a virtual FM synth was only a matter of time. So how does FM7 measure up to the original DX?