COOLEST STUDIO KIT: KORG MR-2000S
What? Ultra-hi-res 1-bit DSD recorder with 80GB hard drive and balanced line inputs.
Why? DSD is the best format in the universe for mixdown and sending your stuff to serious mastering engineers.
Whoa! We saw four of ’em synced to create the ultimate eight-track deck.
$1,999 list, www.korg.com
COOLEST EFFECT PLUG-IN: LINE 6 POD FARM PLATINUM
What? Every amp model ever heard in Line 6 software or Pod hardware.
Why? The stuff sounds amazing, and the iPhone-like flipping graphic carousel to select amps and processors is effin’ brilliant.
$419.99 list/$299 street, www.line6.com
COOLEST LITTLE SPEAKERS: ADAM A5
What? High-end active multimedia monitors.
Why? Either you need a great active-listening system for your “other” computer, or just want to get into ADAMs at the lowest price yet.
$799/pair in matte black; $879 in gloss white or gloss black, www.adam-audio.com
COOLEST LIVE MONITOR: JBL EON 515
What? Two-way, 450W powered speaker with 15" woofer.
Why? It sounds a lot heavier than it weighs: under 33 pounds!
$TBD, www.jblpro.com
Video: JBL EON 515
COOLEST ACOUSTIC TREATMENT: PRIMACOUSTIC FLEXIBOOTH
What? A hang-on-the-wall “vocal booth” that folds like a three-way dressing room mirror.
Why? Because you need to record vocals in limited space. We tested it on the noisy exhibit hall floor, and it isolated our voices to an amazing degree.
$400 list, www.primacoustic.com
COOLEST CONNECTOR: NEUTRIK CONVERTCON
What? Trans-gender XLR connectors.
Why? No more “Dammit, it’s the wrong end!” Just slide the barrel to change this XLR Jack to an XLR Jill.
Where? On some cable brands, in custom-wired rigs, and at electronics stores so you can roll your own cables.
$17 list, each, www.neutrikusa.com
ANAMOD AMEQP
What? Modeling hardware that imitates the classic (and very expensive, if you can find one) Pultec EQP-1A equalizer.
Why? It fits in an 500 series “lunchbox” type rack (e.g. Purple Audio Sweet Ten)
How much? $TBA.
www.anamodaudio.com
APOGEE SYMPHONY 64
What? PCI-express card providing up to 64 channels of input from your choice of Apogee A/D converter boxes, into your G5 or Intel Mac.
Why? When it comes to audio inputs, sometimes more is more.
How much? $995 list.
www.apogeedigital.com
ARTURIA ORIGIN
What? The first hardware synth from Arturia, modeling all their much-loved virtual analog synth plug-ins.
Why? It’s monstrously powerful, and lets you create hybrid synths by combining modules from, say, Jupiters, Prophets, and Moogs — oh my!
When? Now! It’s in this report because it’s finally shipping.
How much? $2,690 list.
www.arturia.com
AUDIO-TECHNICA BP4025 & AT8022 STEREO CONDENSER MICS
BP4025.jpg
What? Compact, lightweight, stereo condenser mics.
Why? Flexible capsule options, camera-mountable, tough construction, good for field or studio recording.
AT8022, $499 list; BP4025, $749 list. www. audio-technica.com
CAKEWALK BY ROLAND V-STUDIO 700
SWEET SONAR SYSTEM
THE PITCH You get Sonar 8. You get a control surface with motorized faders. You get a honkin’ I/O box. You add a PC (or Intel Mac running Windows XP/Vista under Boot Camp or Parallels), and you have a turnkey music production studio.
THE BIG DEAL Controller is super-integrated with Sonar, and looks like the weapons console from the Death Star. T-shaped “wiper” defaults to fading plug-in windows up and down, but you can set it for anything — imagine riding automation with this baby. I/O box has eight mic inputs, ADAT lightpipe, a Roland Fantom-G sound engine in it that takes one ARX sound expansion board, and you can chain two boxes together.
ALTERNATIVE TO Putting together some DAW software, a control surface, and an audio interface piecemeal.
WE THINK Need to go bigger than, say, a Digi-003, but without stepping into the five-figure league? This could be the right fit. Will it convert any die-hard Mac users? Actually, maybe a few.
$4,995 list/$3,995 street, www.cakewalk.com
DAVE SMITH INSTRUMENTS MOPHO
MICRO MONO MONSTER
THE PITCH A real analog, monophonic synth with a huge sound and tiny price.
THE BIG DEAL It’s one voice of the Key Buy-winning Prophet ’08 (reviewed Nov. ’07), but it goes beyond that. Sub-oscillators make for bowel-shaking bass sounds, and an external audio input lets you run stuff through the filter. You get an arpeggiator and 16-step sequencer, too.
WHAT’S THE BIG RED BUTTON DO? It’s for when you don’t have a keyboard MIDI’d up. It can trigger a note (at a specific velocity) or a gated sequence, latch notes or sequences on and off, and manually step through a sequence.
WE THINK This is so much fun, and so affordable, it could make even a former Wall Street executive smile.
$439 list, www.davesmithinstruments.com
DIGIDESIGN PRO TOOLS 8
MIDI, MUSIC NOTATION, MORE INSTRUMENTS
THE PITCH It’s a whole new look, plus a whole lot of stuff you’ve always wanted Pro Tools to have.
LIKE WHAT? MIDI editing is light years ahead of PT 7.4. Music score editor (courtesy of Sibelius) looks gorgeous onscreen and in print, and is super-easy to use. MIDI and score editor windows are dockable in arrange window. Comping (assembling the perfect track from lots of takes) is now very intuitive thanks to a “mother” track visible above all your “daughter” tracks and quick region selection.
ANY INCLUDED SOFT SYNTHS? Five. Boom, an 808-style drum machine. DB-33, a virtual B-3 organ that kicks ass. MiniGrand, a sampled grand piano. Vacuum, a nasty (in a good way) virtual analog synth. Xpand! 2 — the do-it-all soft instrument is now polytimbral.
WE THINK No hype intended — we saw a pre-release demo at Digi HQ, and the quality of everything listed here, from MIDI editing to virtual instruments, knocked our socks off. This release brings PT into its own as a total creative environment.
www.digidesign.com
ESSENTIAL SOUND PRODUCTS MUSICCORD
What? An ultra-premium AC power cord that costs a lot less than a spa retreat for AIG execs.
Why? It’s uses top-quality copper, is built like a tank, and employs multiple conductors to give you the high current flow of thicker-gauge power cords, but without the usual impedance problems.
How much? $129.99 direct; MusicCord Pro (even beefier), $179.99 direct.
www.essentialsound.com
FOCUSRITE SAFFIRE PRO 40
What? FireWire audio interface with eight mic pres, ten analog outs, eight-channel ADAT I/O, S/PDIF, and MIDI.
Why? Though zero-latency monitoring and bundled plug-ins and software (including Ableton Live Lite) are standard-issue with most audio interfaces these days, the star of the show here is the legendary sound quality of Focusrite’s mic preamps.
How much? $TBA
www.focusrite.com
GENELEC 6010A ACTIVE MONITOR AND 5010A ACTIVE SUBWOOFER
What? Way powerful and sweet-sounding computer audio system.
Why? Surround sound, groovy looks, killer sound.
$TBD, www.genelecusa.com
Video: GENELEC 6010A
KORG M50
DON’T CALL IT “LITE”
THE PITCH The sound of Korg’s M3 in a more affordable and very giggable package.
THE BIG DEAL 256MB of sounds, including a new triple-strike grand piano with sustain resonance and new vintage electric pianos. Tons of effects: five inserts, two masters, and one global. Drum track with over 600 grooves. Editor software lets you run the M50 as a plug-in from your DAW. Polyphonic arpeggiator can kick out seriously complex patterns.
THE BIGGEST DEAL It has a touchscreen — a first in a mid-priced keyboard.
COMPETES WITH Other “entry-level” ROMpler/workstations . . . like Usain Bolt competes with other runners.
WE THINK This is some bad-ass bang for buck.
61 keys: $1,499 list/$1,199 street; 88 keys: $2,499 list/$1,799 street, www.korg.com
Video: Korg M50
MARANTZ PMD620
What? Super-small handheld stereo recorder saves to SD/SDHC card flash media.
Why? Skip-back recording, on-board editing, and drag-and-drop USB file transfer make this one ultra-easy to use.
$499 list, $399 street, www.d-mpro.com
Video: Marantz PMD 620
NOVATION REMOTE SL LIMITED EDITION
What? The control-covered MIDI keyboards from the ReMote SL line, with cool radioactive green graphics.
Why? Because the graphics are cool, radioactive, and green.
How much? $TBA, but we expect they’ll be roughly the same as the “regular” ReMote SL in its various keyboard lengths.
www.novationmusic.com
PETERSON BODYBEAT
What? A metronome that uses a cell phone-like vibrating pulse so you feel the click instead of hearing it.
Why? Because listening to a constant clicking or cowbell is distracts you from practicing, and can be dangerous to your ears over the long term.
Where? Placement on the body is limited only by the dictates of good taste . . . or not.
How much? $129 list/approx. $100 street.
www.petersontuners.com
RADIAL SW4
What? Manual switcher that traffic-cops four stereo inputs to main outputs.
Why? You need to juggle multiple stages and PA mixers — say, for an opening band, main act, and DJ system.
Wow! Extra stereo inputs plus a mic input allow for walkout music and announcements as the crowd leaves, letting the roadies start packing up the big mixers right away.
How much? $1,350 est. street.
www.radialeng.com
SSL MATRIX
What? A 32-channel, line-level-only SSL console that’s also a DAW control surface with motorized faders.
Why? You’re a keyboard-based project studio dweller with tons of synths, but you only need a few channels for mics, for which you’d rather mix and match your own preamps.
Wow! The routing functions are so comprehensive that you really can throw away those noisy patch bays.
How much? $26,000 period.
www.solidstatelogic.com
STEINBERG CUBASE 4.5
ONWARD, UPWARD, UPGRADE
THE PITCH Several important upgrades to Cubase 4, available as a free download for registered Cubase 4 owners.
WHAT UPGRADES? Full support for Steinberg’s MR816 audio interfaces and CC121 control surface, even tighter integration with Yamaha Motif XS keyboards, new VSTSound media database system, and 1.6GB of new instruments and loops from Sonic Reality and Big Fish Audio.
www.steinberg.net
TASCAM 2488NEO
PERSONAL PORTASTUDIO
THE PITCH 24 tracks of standalone multitrack recording, no computer needed.
THE BIG DEAL This upgraded edition of TASCAM’s easy-as-pie Portastudio adds mastering effects to give your final mix that extra edge. As before, it has eight mic inputs, an 80GB hard drive, and you can burn CDs right onboard.
BEST FOR Songwriters who want to do polished demos (or even full CDs to sell at gigs), and who are going to record all their tracks from mics or external instruments.
$1,199 list/$799 street, www.tascam.com
TC-HELICON VOICETONE HARMONY-M
What? Two parts of harmonies that blend with your own voice, wrapped up in a pedal designed for keyboardists.
Why? Notes you play on your MIDI keyboard determine the harmonies that get generated.
How much? $395 list/approx. $300 street.
www.tc-helicon.com
UNIVERSAL AUDIO MOOG MULTIMODE FILTER PLUG-IN
THE PITCH Moog doesn’t just mean synthesizers — their classic analog filter funks out anything you run through it. Now, you can do it with a UAD-1 card.
THE BIG DEAL Universal Audio knows a thing or two about making vintage analog gear in plug-in form, and they worked from original Moog schematics, with the Moog company’s blessing.
COOL SPECS Has 24dB- and 12db-per-octave modes, self-oscillation like the real thing, mono and stereo modes, sync to host tempo, and an envelope follower to make signals quack like a duck.
RUNS ON The UAD-1 “Powered Plug-Ins” card. A near-future free update will make it run on the UAD-2 (reviewed Nov. ’08).
$199, www.uaudio.com