SOUND ON SOUND
Midiman are a company devoted to producing cost-effective problem solvers, and with the Digipatch they're aiming to solve the problem of affordable digital patching. Paul White finds out how well they've succeeded.
Yamaha's new CD-ROM burner comes with the option of a cut-price copy of Toast 3.5, allowing you to create backups, burn CDs, and even make your own CD-ROMs. Paul White tries out the combination.
A good psychoacoustic enhancer can take your sound higher than you thought possible, and though there are plenty of enhancers on the market, this new Austrian model proves there's always room at the top. Paul White tries to control his excitement...
Layla, Darla and Gina are the eagerly awaited multi-channel PCI soundcards from Event Electronics, which promise a complete audio solution featuring eight independent outputs. Martin Walker interfaces with Gina — and falls in love.
Are you hanging up your stocking on the wall? Are you making your own re-recordable CD masters on a stand-alone CD writer for under £500? Paul White is...
Pioneered by Fostex, the concept of the 'personal' digital multitrack — a stand-alone digital recorder with a simple, cassette multitracker-like interface — has been around for two years now. But the new D160 is the first of the bunch to offer 16-track capabilities.
For serious sonic sculpting, you can't beat a parametric EQ, and this new contender from Seattle-based Symetrix is priced within reach of many project studio owners.
Paul White goes into overdrive with TLA's latest valve processor — the 02031.
It started in 88, dropped to 38, now rises to 98... no, it's not the chart performance of the new Spice Girls album, but Tascam's rather strange way of numbering the models in their respected DA series of digital multitrack recorders. Hugh Robjohns checks out the new flagship in the range.
Quasimidi are delivering on their promise to provide new goodies for owners of the 309 dance box. Derek Johnson raves a bit...
SPL claim to have come up with a completely new type of compressor. Paul White puts their assertions to the test.
Apart from a few MIDI-supported commands, the Doepfer MS404 is completely analogue — so there are no patch memories, no SysEx, and no storable front-panel settings. Chris Carter explains why you'd nevertheless be mad to overlook it...
For the synth afictionado, the ARP Odyssey is up there with the Minimoog in terms of its power and sonic quality. Gordon Reid explains why he loves his Ody...
Can new technology really emulate vintage equipment, or do you have to use vintage parts? Paul White test a modern compressor that claims chameleon-like abilities to emulate classic compression sounds.
Paul White listens in on the new headphone amplifier from British makers DACS Audio.
In the mid-'80s, Korg released their first sampling Grand, the SG1, a digital stage piano that doubled as a MIDI master controller keyboard. 10 years on, they've revisited the concept with the heavyweight SGproX. Paul Farrer considers whether a decade has made all the difference...
If you don't fancy struggling to get a 'PC plus soundcard' hard disk recording setup working reliably, you might be interested in a system where pre-configured external hardware shoulders all the complex processing, while your PC just stays in charge. Martin Walker explores the Soundscape solution.
With Sound Studio Gold, Evolution refuse to let budget sequencing mean budget features. Martin Walker examines a grown-up package at a baby price.
Following on from their Freebass TB303 clone, FAT's new PCP Procoder is another take on a classic instrument of the past — that mainstay of many a disco, electro, and Kraftwerk track, the analogue vocoder. Chris Carter absolutely refuses to make silly robot voices with it.