SOUND ON SOUND
Gordon Reid is bitten by the memory of a brilliant, but deeply flawed trio of Italian synthesizer designs that could have been the last word in affordable analogue.
Combining the famous Lexicon reverb sound with the latest hard disk recording technology, the Lexicon Studio system should win many admirers. Martin Walker falls in love.
Paul White checks over the latest incarnation of an old friend.
Despite their success in most other areas of music technology, mixers have never been Alesis' strong suit. With their new compact model, Paul White thinks that they may just have come up trumps.
Still looking for the best mic/preamp money can buy? Hugh Robjohns unearths some real gems from the USA.
There's plenty of choice when it comes to audio cards for Windows 95/NT PCs — Janet Harniman-Cook finds out what sets the new WaveCenter from Frontier Design Group apart from the pack.
It's a MIDI patchbay! It's a MIDI data filer and player! It's a sampler playback unit! It's... impossible to sum up in a few words. Martin Russ is delighted to make the aquaintance of the grand seigneur of all MIDI file players.
The AE200S use metal-coned drivers throughout, but does this technology offer any advantages over more conventional designs? Paul White investigates.
It's true; the Minimoog's back! Manufactured in Cardiff by a new company, they're designed to resemble the original as closely as possible. Long-standing Mini owner Steve Howell attended the UK launch.
Paul White gives a new patchbay a shameless (jack) plug...
Paul White forgets his Ps and Qs to concentrate on his Ss and Ts while trying out Drawmer's new MX-series de-esser.
SPL's acclaimed Vitalizer design has always been a bit harder on the wallet than other maufacturers' models — until now. Derek Johnson plugs in their new enhancer for the rest of us...
SoundBlaster cards no longer need to rely on a complete set of GM sounds crammed into 1Mb of ROM now that SoundFonts allow up to 28Mb of RAM expansion. Martin Walker feels the quality of Time Signature's new collection.
Paul White, with a little help from Rachel Fletcher and Paul Farrer, gives a blow-by-blow account of a controller that allows MIDI modules to harness the power of wind.
It's a Focusrite, Jim, but not as we know it! Is it possible to deliver Focusrite quality at such an aggressively low price?
Paul White takes a turn on a hardware controller box which allows knobularly-challenged GS and XG synths and soundcards to join the rotary club.
Analogue modular synths in the late '90s are something like the old bus joke — none for ages, then loads all at once. Chris Carter catches the latest arrival.
In 1995, Yamaha's Promix 01 smashed everyone's preconceptions of how much a digital mixer should cost. Now the new 01V is changing the rules again, offering features more akin to those of the three-grand 03D than the Promix 01 — and it cost £500 less than the Promix did when launched!
The high quality converters and resonant filter imbue the 16-bit Emax II with a musicality and sonic character second to none.