SOUND ON SOUND
Paul White turns on the juice and finds it a perfect excuse to get in his monthly 15 minutes of guitar practice.
Pro quality at an affordable price? Hugh Robjohns inspects a preamp with a prestigious name.
Is it a hi-tech bathroom scale? Is it a 21st-century computer game? Is it Darth Vader's toilet seat? No, it's an innovative LED-laden MIDI step sequencer, with the power to wring new life from your old synths. Paul Nagle pulses and flashes with excitement.
Yamaha brought the price of an automated digital mixer crashing to below £2000 with the release of the ProMix 01. They then followed up with the fully-featured 02R, but at over £7000, it wasn't cheap. Now there's the 03D, which seeks to combine the features of the 02R with the amazing value of the 01. Hugh Robjohns checks out the 03D's zeros and ones...
Paul White tries out Roland's MBD1 Bass and Drums Sound Expansion module and discovers a wealth of really useable off-the-peg sounds.
The first in Drawmer's new budget range of processors aims to give you high-quality gain reduction at a compressed price. Paul White comes to the conclusion that they've got the balance right.
Mike Collins investigates the versatile AardVerter — a 16-bit converter packed with features.
The Dimension Beam translates physical movement into MIDI data, offering theremin-style control over your keyboard rack. Dominic Hawken explores this new device.
When it comes to cloning people, or even sheep, there's always an outcry, but where do you stand on the issue of plug-in card that effectively turns your Lexicon PCM90 into two Lexicon PCM90s? Paul White feels that first in the queue would be the appropriate location!
With S+S instruments giving way to the new wave of physical modelling synths, does Alesis' new 'QS-in-a-box' still have what it takes to turn heads? Paul White tunes in, turns on and finds out...
This mid-priced DAT shares some rather higher-class innards with its more expensive siblings, and is also equipped with Sony's Super Bit Mapping technology for improved noise performance. Hugh Robjohns checks it out.
Emu's latest swingbeat sample player is home to a colony of wicked sounds for hip-hop, trip-hop and acid jazz fans. Dominic Hawken puts on his space suit to explore this strange new world.
Integrating old synths into a modern MIDI-based system can be a pain. Paul Ward finds out if Kenton's Pro 2000 interface can kiss it better...
The Native Power Pack from DSP software specialists Waves gathers together several plug-ins previously only available for Mac-based TDM systems, and makes them available at a Knock-down price, instantly widening the appeal of software based processing. Janet Harniman-Cook plugs in.
Chris Carter looks at a new dedicated drum machine which could be the best 909 alternative yet.
Paul White revs up his valves and zooms off to see the big Squeeze.
Hugh Robjohns checks out a range of keenly-priced condenser mics from over there that look set to do rather well over here...
Take an Atari Falcon, strip away the outer casing, add some major circuitry and a host of external connections and package in a sturdy rackmount box. Stir in a copy of Cubase Audio, connect up a CD recorder, and the result is the new Sunrise Audio Workstation. Dominic Hawken checks out this unique new recipe.
All the warmth of valve circuitry, and it's shiny on every surface too. Paul White tries out a hot piece of kit with tubes that groove.
Few electronic instruments are still as desirable, 16 years after their launch, as the 808, and even fewer become famous enough to have a band named after them. Chris Carter hits the perfect beat.