SOUND ON SOUND
Descending Mosses-like from the mount, Lexicon's new dedicated reverb processor brings intelligence from the company's top-end reverbs. Paul White gets a debriefing...
When a musical giant like Yamaha start putting their name to daughter boards, you know something's up. Yet the DB50XG harnesses your PC soundcard's processing power as never before. Panicos Georghiades and Gabriel Jacobs dig the new breed...
The latest and largest addition to Roland's XP family is a strapping workstation with a monster sequencer and masses of programming muscle. Paul Nagle puts it through a complete workout...
Paul White tries out these tiny, British-built monitor speakers — and discovers that small really is beautiful.
What can you do if you've been tempted by the automation facilities offered by digital desks like Yamaha's 02R, but your finances just won't stretch that far? In the first of two reviews of affordable automation systems in this issue, Paul White considers the Soundtracs option for those who already own an IBM-compatible PC...
Although aimed primarily at Mackie owners, Ultramix is an automation system that will run on other desks too with the aid of a modestly-equipped Mac — promising the home studio everything but the motorised faders. Bernhard Speyer investigates...
Though hard disk recording offers possibilities far beyond those achievable with magnetic tape, it often sports a vastly more complex user interface, which can alienate the tape-based faithful. But Akai's new 16-track hard disk recorder seeks to meet the tape heads halfway, David Mellor plays ambassador...
Paul White ponders the benefits of a DAT recorder with a 40kHz audio bandwidth.
This month, Paul White tests out a new drive system.
Cubase, in its many guises, has established itself as an industry standard on Apple and Atari platforms, and now looks set to be the benchmark by which other PC sequencers will be judged. Kevin Pawsey investigates what Steinberg has to offer the score-producing musician.
Expandable and user-friendly, Ensoniq's new synth module favours preset sounds and effects over editing and programming options. Julian Colebeck asks how the Mr Rack stacks up.
The home and project studio mixer market is currently dominated by British and American manufacturers. With the release of the RM800 desk, Yamaha are clearly hoping that some of the success of their top-end digital mixers will percolate down to the middle market. Derek Johnson finds out whether the RM800 has what it takes.
Beethoven's amanuensis it might not be, but for dancey doodlings, you won't find a better scratchpad than the Roland MSQ700 'multitrack digital keyboard recorder'. Steve Howell reassesses the sequencer that dared not speak its name...
Following the success of their first mixer, the 8-buss Eurodesk, Behringer have scaled down the concept to take on the crowded 4-buss market. Paul White checks it out.
When your dilatory digits can't hit those chords on cue, MIDI sequencing can seem the only solution. As Paul Ward discovers, however, now you have a flexible new friend...
As an exercise in lateral thinking, re-patching your studio is a delight. As an actual prospect, it's somewhat more daunting. Paul White plugs into a programmable patchbay and lets his fingers do the walking...
This month, Paul White takes a look an intriguing solution to problematic vocal acoustics.
Paul White tests a mic that's outstanding in its field — without going out and standing in a field.
In recent years, samplers have become almost exclusively rackmount devices, widely used as production workhorses, but less so by the gigging musician. With the release of their first keyboard sampler in several years, Emu are hoping to change all that. Paul Wiffen heralds the return of the performer's sampler.
It looks like a flagship reverb, yet it checks in at the price of a jet ski. Paul White cuts a dash with Yamaha's versatile new digital reverb.