SOUND ON SOUND
5/5 stars ***** Based on samples taken from Ludwig and Sonor kits, Drumkit From Hell offers both the individual elements of a drum kit plus ready-made jazz and rock kits recorded to the highest audio quality.
Roland have enhanced the VGA monitor graphical interface of their flagship 24-track recording workstation to make it easier to use, and have also thrown in a few extra features for good measure.
Despite the prevalence of digital processing, stand-alone analogue filters continue to have an important part to play in modern production. It's no surprise to find Analogue Solutions releasing one - but the low price might cause a few raised eyebrows...
Although Native Instruments' Reaktor has offered sampling options for some time, it's taken the company a while to produce a dedicated software sampler: Kontakt. Can it make headway in what has become a crowded market?
*** 3/5 Stars. Pure Tabla is based on a library of rhythmic tabla loops performed by Aref Durvesh, who has recorded with artists as diverse as Sting and Jeff Beck.
Edirol's latest offering is a well-specified multi-port USB MIDI interface which claims to offer excellent timing.
Roland's new V-Bass refines the technology developed for the pioneering V-Guitar systems to meet the demands of bass players.
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.