Review of the Novation Zero SL Mk II - Novation Remote Zero SL MKII
Written testWhen Novation announced Automap Universal at the 2007 NAMM many were instantly intrigued by the concept. Many producers and long time fans of MIDI control were eager to get this revolutionary product…
EQ and Compression Techniques Pt.2: Drums - EQ and Compression Techniques Pt.2: Drums
LearningDespite the preponderance of exceptional drum samples and loops on the market, for certain genres of music (notably country and rock) there is no substitute for a great session drummer playing on a w…
Introduction - Spectrasonics Omnisphere: Omnipotent & Omnificent ?
Written testAfter many years of development, Spectrasonics has released their new flagship virtual instrument, Omnisphere, which has been heralded as a completely new ground-breaking hybrid virtual instrument in…
Introduction - Steinberg Cubase 5: Take Five
Written testCubase, one of the titans of the sequencer pantheon, has come out with an attractive looking 5th version, at a time when the sequencer wars are raging more than ever. Let's take a look...
Waves Tony Maserati Collection: The Test - Waves & Maserati - All Revved Up and Ready to Go!...
Written testThe Tony Maserati collection represents a meeting of industry titans. Waves, one of the earliest and most enduring audio plug-ins companies, has made its reputation on quality bundles of their own pl…
Ableton Live 8: The Test - Live 8: Long Live Ableton
Written testAbleton's Live has been with us for some time now and since it’s initial release in 2001 it has proudly sported a simple one window interface and transparent ’no frills’ operation. This simplicity…
Percussa Audiocubes: The Test - Audio Cubism
Written testOut of the blue, it just appeared in my office, like the megalith from Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. A cube: 7.5 cm long, as white and smooth as paraffin, with a pair of LEDs on four of its six…
Universal Audio - Moog Multimode Filter: The Test - Moog Multimode Filter: Mojo Filter
Written testWhile there is a huge choice of filter effects available on the market today, it could be argued that many of them lack the character and warmth of some of their hardware counterparts and while so…
Line 6 POD Studio UX2: The Test - Back in Black
Written testWell known for its guitar amp simulators, Line 6 has recently updated its Toneport range of audio interfaces, and renamed it POD Studio while they were at it. Let's take a look at the new UX2 and se…
Sonic Charge Synplant: The Test - The Secret Sound of Plants
Written testSince the dawn of synthesizers, there have been many types of synthesis to emerge. But the same can not be said about their approaches to work flow or interfaces. With Synplant, Sonic Charge has take…
Digidesign Transfuser: The Test - Sample Transfusion
Written testA.I.R., Digidesign’s virtual instrument division, continues to provide creative tools for users of their Pro Tools software. This time, it’s a sequencer within a sequencer, dedicated to loops of all…
Universal Audio UAD-2: The Test - WMD: Weapon of Mass DSPs
Written testUniversal Audio continues its arms race against other DSP card manufacturers, like TC Electronic (PowerCore) and SSL (Duende), by releasing the UAD-2, which comes in three models that dwarf the origi…
Pro Tools 8: The Test - The Return of the King?
Written testThe new Pro Tools has arrived armed with a bunch of new features: Elastic Pitch, thirty new plugins, five new virtual instruments - Boom (drum machine), Mini Grand (piano), DB-33 (tonewheel organ), V…
Zoom Stack Package: The Test - Tube or not tube
Written testThough the concept may not be original, Zoom has come out with an interesting interface that provides guitarists and bassists with an intuitive software/hardware setup, but with a twist: an integrate…
Peak Pro 6 XT: The Test - BIAS at their Peak
Written testThough there are many audio editors for PC, the Mac world looks mainly to DSP Quattro, soundBlade, Audacity, WaveBurner or Peak (a non-exhaustive list), whose features range from "very basic" to "ver…
M-Audio Profire 2626: The Test - M-Audio Strikes Again
Written testBest Product awardWith no fewer than 26 inputs, 26 outputs, 8 integrated Octane microphone preamps, and ProTools M-Powered compatibility, the latest interface from M-Audio aims to find its niche in the category of int…
Software Comparison - Time Stretching & Pitch Shifting: Comparison Part I
LearningOK, here we go! This is the first of our comparative software tests on time-stretching and pitch-shifting. The competitors: 26 Mac and PC programs, from big sequencers to small applications, plug-ins…
Novation's Nocturn: The Test - Night Controller
Written testNovation is well known for quality keyboards, MIDI controllers and synthesizers, whether it be hardware or software. Does Nocturn, the newest member of the Novation controller family, featuring the A…
M-Audio's Fast Track Ultra: The Test - Ultra affordable
Written testM-Audio recently presented their latest addition to the Fast Track family: the Ultra, a USB audio interface with 4 Octane preamps, integrated effects, and advanced routing. Is it a worthy successor …
Wallander Instruments' WIVI Player: The Test - What's a WIVI?
Written testWhile certain sound libraries have been waging a gigabyte war, others have taken the synthesis route, such as the Wallander WIVI, who with only its few hundred megabytes takes on the sample library t…
GM, GS & XG: A Little History - MIDI: The GM Standard and its Extensions
LearningMany sound cards and synthesizers, as well as most audio software, are compatible with one of the three midi norms (GM, GS, XG). Though MIDI has long since proven its utility, the existence of differ…
Arturia's Analog Factory Experience: The Test - The Arturia Experience
Written testArturia has been showing more and more interest in software/hardware solutions, as can be seen with some of their top of the line projects, such as Origin. The editor also offers a more affordable so…
Digidesign's Velvet: The Test - Tines in Velvet wrapping
Written testElectric Pianos never seem to go out of style; and because they’ve now gone virtual, Digidesign has decided to come out with their own version of these timeless instruments.
The Test of QuikQuak's RaySpace - Reverb Construction Kit
Written testThere’s such a plethora of software reverbs, that an editor who wants to be a cut above the rest has to rely on originality. By allowing you to create any reverberating space you’d like, and to preci…
E-MU's Tracker Pre - The Test - E-MU Tracker Pre USB 2.0
Written testIn a world of myriad low-cost audio interfaces, E-MU has made a bold move with it’s new Tracker Pre USB 2.0. Though somewhat similar to it’s predecessor, the 0202 USB 2.0, the Tracker Pre has created…
