Reviews
Cinematique Instruments – Unexpected Soundscapes
Submitted by robinv on 6 October, 2009 - 17:49
Never been that fond of sample CD's or the increasingly common sample CD released as a virtual instrument. They tend to be a bit too specific, can work well together but often it's hard to find sounds that could be used elsewhere. They can also be expensive, justified by the enormous library in which you can only find a handful of really usable sounds. So it wasn't with enormous enthusiasm that I responded to Cinematique Instruments offer to try some of their samples. Glancing at their list of instruments I was immediately roused from my apathy by the odd mix – it was a small selection but very unexpected. No less unexpected was the price – a handful of Euros for individual instruments, this is much more like it.
Lexicon U82s - A Desktop Drool of an Interface
I'm always on the look out for the perfect audio interface. Perfect for me, that is, for what I need and what I do. I've been using the M-Audio Omni I/O and Delta 44 card for about 10 years and although tempted from time to time I've yet to find anything with the right feature set that could replace it – until now. I don't need outputs as I mix everything on the computer, I don't want a rack unit as I don't have any other rack gear and they tend to be either in the way or inaccessible while at the computer, and I don't want something ugly or fiddly. Ta-da! In walks the Lexicon U82s – gleaming, understated, accessible, weighty, lovely knobs and a level of design that sets it apart from pretty much everything else out there. Oh yes, this could be the one.
Novation Nocturn - You Should Have One
Submitted by robinv on 18 July, 2009 - 22:00
Sometimes cool bits of kit sit around undiscovered for ages. The other day I was getting a bit frustrated with the Arturia Minimoog because I needed to play with the cut-off and resonance at the same time to produce the sound I was after. I was about to map the controls to some knobs on my keyboard but that means I have to turn away from the screen to operate it. I spotted the Nocturn box under a bunch of magazines, dusted it off and plugged her in. After a fair bit of faffing around downloading the software and letting Automap (whatever that is) scan and relabel all my plug-ins it was ready to go. Wow, what a revelation - loaded up the Minimoog and the Nocturn lit up like a christmas tree with the knobs mapped to exactly the controls I wanted - I didn't have to do anything!
Amplitube 2 - Review Revisited
A guitarist using software is not something you could have comfortably predicted, even a couple of years ago. As a rule the predominant guitar based creature likes to lump about big bits of gear, enjoys twiddling knobs and gets a kick from stamping on switches – and this they still do with abandon. While computers enabled the modelling of real amplifiers and created a new generation of guitar tone technology most manufacturers pumped the software back into hardware, completely underestimating the guitarist’s ability to evolve into a more virtual environment. IK Multimedia stood out from the crowd at a time when no one really considered the idea of a plug-in being something a guitarist would be interested in. Amplitube, IK’s original amp modelling and effects plug-in, was a resounding success.
Advanced Integration - Cubase 5 and the MR816 CSX
Steinberg have flirted with the idea of producing hardware for their music production software a few times in the past, often rebranding existing hardware to give the impression of assured compatibility. When Yamaha acquired Steinberg back in 2004 we assumed that rebranded Yamaha hardware would start to appear – but actually that wasn't the case. Instead they took their time to create something special, something that would bring the hardware and software closer together in more than appearance – “Advanced Integration”. Here's what Steinberg have to say about it:
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