Software, instrument and audio gear tests/reviews

It's been more than a year and a half since Sonar X3 came out and, keeping up with the usual update schedule, the newest version was launched last January.

The competition in the amp-and-effects modeling market is fierce, and there is no shortage of excellent products. Positive Grid, which established itself on the iOS side with JamUp and JamUp Pro, and then moved into the Mac/PC world with Bias Desktop, now has released Bias FX, an amp and effects modeling application that has versions for both your…

When you think of spring reverb, the sound that probably comes to mind is the “boingy” one associated with guitar amps. For mixing sources like vocals, drums and pianos, you probably wouldn't consider a spring reverb. But the AKG BX 20, which was just released in Universal Audio’s UAD v8.3 software, might just change your mind.

The drum instrument market is a crowded one, and already full of excellent choices. East West, a company renowned for its high-quality instruments and sound libraries, has just thrown its hat in the ring with ProDrummer, a new MIDI drum instrument library that runs standalone or as a plug-in on the East West Play platform, and comes with 14,000 MI…

Subscription-based plans are becoming more common for music software. While presumably a good thing for the developers, they’re not necessarily so great for users, who have to pay over and over for a license, and can lose access to the software if they let the subscription lapse, or if the developer goes belly up. That said, one subscription plan …

You all know what it's like to finish a mix that sounds amazing on your headphones and then try to show it to your grandma on her hi-fi system, only to discover that it sounds terrible. The mix is completely different: It lacks lows on the chorus but has too much on the verse, the vocals can't be heard. In short, it's awful. Granny is about to dis…

A mic with a swiveling capsule is not a new concept, but it isn’t something you typically find in a mic as affordable as the Blue Hummingbird. The swiveling feature is no gimmick — it makes a big difference in mic positioning, both in terms of physically being able to place the mic where you want it, and in the ability to find the best placement f…

Imagine a MIDI-controller keyboard that lets you seamlessly switch between virtual instruments from different manufacturers, keeps all your patches together in a single browser, and automatically maps controller information to its knobs and switches.

There are lots of software solutions for live performance. Strangely enough, Sensomusic's Usine Hollyhock II doesn't come up on the radar as often as other products. And yet...

Universal Audio just released a new version of its software for Apollo and other UAD-2 devices. The release is highlighted by three new plug-ins, including spot-on emulations of the Neve 88RS Channel Strip Collection, the Tube Tech CL-1B Compressor, and the Marshall Plexi Super Lead 1959.