SOUND ON SOUND
Martin Russ sidles up to an innocent-looking phone-box, receives his instructions, and sets to work decoding Yamaha's affordable new Virtual Acoustic synth. This preview will self-destruct in five seconds...
With the advent of digital portastudios, manufacturers are busily revamping their analogue machines and packaging them full of more features. Andy Davies checks out Tascam's latest cherry...
Building on their US reputation, Audix mics are now available in the UK. Paul White takes a listen.
One of the Mac world's sequencing front-runners, Vision has been ported to the PC, where it faces some stiff competition from the established packages. Paul Nagle goes all visionary...
Despite having a name that most British people associate with small, round chocolate biscuits, Viscount are gaining a reputation for affordable MIDI hardware — and the EFX10 could be their best value effects processor to date. Derek Johnson and Debbie Poyser develop a taste for it.
Axe devotees may be surprised to learn that Marshall released this little-known digital effects processor last year. Paul White gets in his annual half-hour's guitar practise, and finds an overlooked unit worthy of some consideration...
Sony's DPSV77 is like a 'best of' compilation of all the company's dedicated single effects units, with the addition of a simplified user interface and a digital I/O. Is it a smash success or a one-hit wonder? Nick Magnus goes for gold...
This is the smallest and least costly reverb unit Alesis have ever produced. Paul White finds out whether you can mind the quality and still feel the width!
Korg have added a vocal harmony generator to their i-series of intelligent arranger workstations, taking advantage of the same harmonising technology that's behind Digitech's market-leading Vocalist series. Gordon Reid finds out whether the new unit has anything surprising up its sleeve...
Is it a Filofax? Is it a Stylophone? No... it's Roland's answer to Yamaha's portable music Walkstation family. Faster than a speeding bullet, Derek Johnson and Debbie Poyser apply their X-ray vision to the new PMA5.
Famous for their Aural Exciters, Aphex continue to diversify. Paul White takes a look at the US company's new valve-based compressor.
Can Tascam's lean, mean DA38 offer musicians more functionality than the portlier DA88 without compromising on quality — and give the Alesis ADAT XT a run for its money? Paul White investigates.
Best known in the microphone world for their high-quality dynamic mics, Electrovoice are now hoping to raise their profile as a manufacturer of capacitor models with the release of three additions to their RE range. Paul White listens in.
Mackie's enormously successful 1604 and 1202 mixers have inspired a fleet of imitations, all keen to get a slice of the action. Sound Engineer Steve Brodie checks out Peavey's take on the compact mixer concept...
Paul White casts a critical ear over TL Audio's new budget dual-channel valve equalisers to see if high quality really is possible at such a relatively low price.
If you think Korg have been neglecting their Prophecy monosynth in favour of the numerous Trinity add-ons they're producing, think again. Gordon Reid heralds the arrival of two new Prophecy patch banks.
This sophisticated new digital editor is up against such established software as Sound Forge and Samplitude Studio. Janet Harniman-Cook assesses whether Steinberg have built on their status in the sequencer field with a successful PC wave editing program.
The ARP 2500 is so rare that most of the existing examples are in private collections. Though few of us will ever get to play with one, the story of this modular monster remains fascinating. Lucky 2500 owner Robert Alexander relates the tale...
The M2000 takes much of the technology behind its Danish manufacturer's professional flagship, the M5000, and re-packages it with less flexibility but a much lower price tag. Paul White finds out whether it's barking up the right tree.