Article section list

Some people rage against GM food: hi-tech musicians on the other hand, rage against GM synths. But how justified is their hostility? Nicholas Rowland takes on Korg's latest black box...

John Walden examines Boss's latest entrant in the crowded guitar effects processor race and considers whether its COSM-based preamp might be just the thing to enhance his performance.

Paul White tries out a JoeMeek product that, for once, isn't entirely green — but finds there's still a lot for the competition to envy.

The updated compact mixers in Mackie's VLZ range may look the same as ever on the outside — but inside lurk new, high-grade microphone preamps. Hugh Robjohns tries out the new design.

'Digital loudspeakers' have been available in the hi-fi world for many years, but Genelec have now brought the technology to the home studio market. Hugh Robjohns tries out their new small active monitors and subwoofer.

The latest PC version of Steinberg's popular sequencing package incorporates a number of significant new features, including the long-awaited VST 2 and ASIO 2. Martin Walker checks them out.

The Quantum from Dbx is the latest entrant into the growing market for all-in-one digital mastering boxes, offering competition to the likes of TC Electronic's Finalizer and Drawmer's Masterflow. Hugh Robjohns finds out how well it stands up in this illustrious company...

As well as offering a high-quality mic preamp, equaliser, and valve compressor, the MindPrint voice channel can have digital interfacing added at a very reasonable extra cost. Hugh Robjohns does a spot of channel hopping.

An inexpensive program from MPEG software veterans Xing makes MP3 ripping and encoding quick and easy. But does it produce worthwhile results? Simon Trask has a ripping time with Audio Catalyst...

Project Hammerfall is an unusual name for a soundcard — but then RME's new card is somewhat out of the ordinary. Martin Walker enters a world of sample-accurate sync and minimal latency.

Most modern digital mixers, like Yamaha's 02R, incorporate powerful built-in effects — but they frequently do this at the expense of their ability to interface with high-quality external processors. Mike Collins explores an alternative way of adding top-notch effects to the 02R...

Novation's latest synth is a more affordable 'laptop' version of their powerful Supernova, which capitalises on its user-friendly front panel while adding the ability to process external audio signals. Simon Trask discovers new life in the synth universe...

There have been Grooveboxes and user -friendly MIDI file players, but it's been a while — nine years, in fact — since Roland last added a full-on hardware MIDI sequencer to their product line up. Now the MC80 seeks to bring the idea bang up to date. Derek Johnson & Debbie Poyser take the hard option...

Designing analogue circuitry to recreate drum sounds is nothing new, but Analogue Solutions have gone one stage further with their Concussor system — it's modular, making it probably the world's first commercially available dedicated modular percussion synth. Gordon Reid can scarcely control his voltages...

Under hypnosis, Paul Wiffen regresses to an earlier life when he was involved in the development and marketing of what is now regarded as a British classic.

BSS are well known in the live sound market, but some of their well-specified gates, EQs and compressors are equally at home in a recording environment. The DPR944, for example, has two gates and two parametric compressors, with independent ins and outs. Hugh Robjohns is impressed.

A new system from Alesis offers ADAT users the best aspects of both tape and hard disk, allowing them to copy material from an ADAT to a computer for editing, then fly it back to tape with single-sample accuracy. Paul White puts it to the test.

Paul White tries out a rather unusual effects collection from Behringer's new budget box of tricks.

High-performance digital converters are becoming more affordable every day, and this new offering from RME certainly proves that good and cheap are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Hugh Robjohns undergoes complete conversion...

Paul White highlights the major features in the new version of Emagic's Logic sequencing software.