en http://en.audiofanzine.com An online magazine for musicians (keyboard, guitar, bass, drums, DJ...) and sound engineers (home studio, DAWs, Live Sound). News, videos, MP3, tests, tutorials, tips, user reviews, classified ads and forums. 2000-2008 AudioFanzine http://en.audiofanzine.com/xtras/news_sur_site.php Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:19:22 +0200 http://en.audiofanzine.com/img/logo_rss_audiofanzine.png http://en.audiofanzine.com An online magazine for musicians (keyboard, guitar, bass, drums, DJ...) and sound engineers (home studio, DAWs, Live Sound). News, videos, MP3, tests, tutorials, tips, user reviews, classified ads and forums. Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:52:38 +0200 http://modular-sound-isolation.auralex.en.audiofanzine.com/products/user_reviews/index,idproduit,24553,review_auralex_mopad.html I have been using these for about one year. I read a little blurb about them in a magazine and was intrigued. At one of my mix stations I have to keep a small pair of monitors sitting on the desk because there isn't really enough room for speaker stands. Because of that, the bass gets all messed up, and the stereo imaging is damaged. I was skeptical because I'd tried sticking towel pieces under the speakers, and it didn't really do anything. When I eventually picked up a pair of these after hearing good things, I was very pleasantly surprised. First, they are pretty versatile. You can angle them to be flat, pointed up, and pointed down depending on where your speakers are going to be relative to your ears in your mix spot, which is very helpful because I definitely needed the speakers angled up a little bit. They are also a spaced pair per speaker, so that basically means it's going to be a one size fits all solution. In my case the speakers were pretty small, so I just used them right next to each other. Immediately after getting them all set up, there was a big difference. Bass guitars were much more clear and present. The bass just seemed much more centered and defined, whereas previously the bottom end was more of just a mushy presence of low end. In the upper end and mids, the imaging also seemed generally improved, such that I felt I could pinpoint locations more easily. I can definitely say that this is some of the best money ever spent in improving a small mix location. These pads are very cheap, and they work great. If you're desk mounting speakers or have them in some other unfortunate situation, you're going to want to pick up a pair of these. I would definitely get them again. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:16:45 +0200 http://other-misc-product.roland.en.audiofanzine.com/products/user_reviews/index,idproduit,80521,review_roland_gr_30.html I've owned this for about 7 or 8 years...basically from since it came out. The best thing about it obviously that it enables you to add sounds to your guitar that simply couldn't not imagine before...and it can be damn handy. The worst thing is that the tracking is slow and ghost notes can occur. This means that if you're not careful or you go too fast or strum too hard or not hard enough then you will get weird notes that were not quite desired. You can set the sensitivity of each string, though, to avoid this in most cases...takes some attention. This was the first MIDI guitar system i tried and it's not surprising because before this there was virtually nothing. I think there was maybe the GR-50 and GR-1, and they were slower etc. This one could have benefitted from the expression pedal...you get with the GR-20 ! But you can always add your own i think. Beware that the female output jacks are laid out & shaped in a way that will NOT let you use Neutrik jacks. You'll need something thinner! The sounds in this are quite amazing, although i wouldn't use most of this for anything else than impressing the mates... If you're careful, you can use the synth pads (which are VERY dynamic) to great effect, and if you put them through a good effects processor then you've got some fantastic sounds at your fingertips... You can also use this as a regular MIDI expander for your existing keyboard! You can have 2 layers going at the same time, which is pretty cool. I used this with my shitty PSR-90 to make it into something acceptable. If you have a Godin LGX (midi, electric and electro-acoustic separate outputs) you can have your regular electric mixed with the electro and then have a piano with strings via the GR-30. Now THAT makes a difference! Also, you can do your solo through your electric amp and have it layered with 1 or 2 wild synth sounds. Overall, i think it was a very expensive piece of equipment (i paid 4150 Francs, ie 625 €) but second hand it's probably quite a good deal now. If you use it. And put your mind to it, you really could! The piano & organ sounds are quite good, the double bass sound is not bad either, and if you stick to the middle of the range you can use strings & trumpets and even trick people into making them think they're real. Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:29:11 +0100 http://other-misc-product.yamaha.en.audiofanzine.com/products/user_reviews/index,idproduit,14341,review_yamaha_plg150an.html I use it for one year. I like the diversity of sounds but Any vsti plug-in makes better today, this card, although having returned services is exceeded. For the same price it's better to look towards good vsti... The world evolves!