Signal Processors

Many musicians are familiar with the SPL Vitalizer. Now the company hope to win a space in the racks of studios world-wide with their new Optimizer. Dave Lockwood finds some unique features behind the company's unconventional approach to equaliser design.

Not only does this digital processor produce a wide range of convincing guitar tones, it can also double as a general-purpose studio effects unit. Paul White dusts off his axe and plugs in.

Using a Leslie no longer means dragging around a large wooden cabinet crammed with rotating speakers. More and more modern units and simulators are now available, and Nick Magnus dons his prog rock mantle to explain how to get the most from them.

Behringer claim that the Combinator can dramatically compress a signal without introducing any undesirable side-effects. Paul White checked it out on a mastering session.

Is this low-priced brother of the powerful TSR24 destined to find its way into the studio rack of the UK, or simply become part of the EC effects processor mountain? Derek Johnson finds out.