SOUND ON SOUND
Steinberg's new Houston hardware controller certainly looks space-age, but is it a small step or a giant leap for the 21st-century computer musician? Martin Walker takes his protein pills and puts his helmet on...
Soundcraft's new Spirit M-series mixers combine analogue simplicity with a useful digital output. Paul White puts the M8 to the test.
Lexicon's new multi-effects unit offers the classy sound quality of the MPX500 at an even more affordable price point.
All sorts of weird and wonderful instruments have been recreated in software, but IK Multimedia's Sampletank is the first serious attempt to make a high-quality workhorse sound module available in virtual form.
Marantz's dual-deck CD writer uniquely allows the creation of a Red Book CD from a CD-R recorded in Track-at-once mode. Paul White finds out if you really can compile masters in the studio without a hard disk recorder.
The new compressor in Focusrite's Platinum Range offers pre-programmed settings for ease of use, whilst still incorporating extensive manual parameter control. Paul White gets to grips with the Penta.
Yamaha's PLG-series synth expansion cards have proved hugely popular among owners of their synths and soundcards, but a new product from Kenton allows up to four of them to be used independently - and with improved sound quality. Martin Walker checks out the Plugstation.
The new third-generation RADAR hard disk recorder is the most affordable version yet, and offers 24-bit recording over 24 tracks at sampling rates of up to 192kHz. Hugh Robjohns puts it through its paces.
The growth of the project studio has been one of the major changes in the recording industry over the last 15 or so years....
If you thought you couldn't afford audio test equipment, then think again!
In these days of flash-upgradeable operating systems, it's easy to forget that a free OS tweak can give your synth completely new features.
Paul White explores the dark side of effects processing with this innovative software from Native Instruments.
Aphex have provided an elegant way to avoid the detrimental effects of long cable runs on delicate mic signals. Hugh Robjohns evaluates the Model 1788.
Paul White tests two new models which make large-diaphragm capacitor and valve microphone sounds more affordable than ever.
It can be useful to measure how resistant a given CD player is to errors in the playback data stream, which is where the CD‑Check comes in...
