NEW PRODUCTS
Jun 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Doug Eisengrein
TASCAM TT-M1
CD SCRATCH CONTROLLER FOR TURNTABLES
Tascam has been busy pleasantly surprising people with its latest DJ gear, and the TT-M1 ($129.99) adds one more surprise. The TT-M1 is a high-tech miniature contraption that fits onto the edge of any standard DJ turntable and hooks up to any of Tascam's own CDX-series CD players that support it. You can then scratch with any vinyl record or even just a slipmat to control the CD player — all without needles. This tiny, durable unit allows the real feel of classic vinyl scratching to be applied to CDs and requires no special audio hookups, software or wax. You can even scratch on any flat surface, without a turntable. The TT-M1 allows you to use all standard turntable controls, including the power switch, start/stop button, pitch control and the turntable platter itself. You can scratch, backspin, slow down and speed up — everything that you can do with vinyl, you can apply to CD audio with Tascam's compatible CDX DJ CD players.
Tascam; e-mail
tascam@tascam.com; Web
www.tascam.com
CROWN Xs1200
POWER AMPLIFIER
The performance and power of Crown amplifiers are rather legendary, and the most powerful amp in the company's new Xs series is the Xs1200 ($1,789), which provides a healthy 650W per channel into 8 ohms, 1,100W into 4 ohms and 1,600W into 2 ohms. Like all good road amps, the Xs1200 is built of an all-steel chassis. Forced-air cooling — along with output-current limiting, DC protection, circuit-breaker capabilities and thermal protection — keeps the Xs1200 humming along. The front face sports detented level controls for each channel; the main power switch; and LEDs for just about everything, including bridge, power, AC, temp, fault, signal present and clip for each channel. Rear-mounted connectors include Neutrik balanced XLR/¼-inch combo inputs, barrier strip inputs and male XLR outputs, as well as Speakon and Phoenix outs.
Crown; e-mail
audioinfo@crownintl.com; Web
www.crownaudio.com
STUDIOLOGIC VMK-88
MIDI KEYBOARD CONTROLLER
The past few years have brought forth a wealth of programmable MIDI-controller keyboards from various manufacturers, but one missing link has stuck out like a sore thumb: weighted keys. Here to fill that void is the Studiologic VMK-88 ($799.98). Fatar, the maker of Studiologic boards, has quietly been making weighted controllers for years, and the VMK-88 is aimed squarely at computer-based studios. It is also a studio or gigging player's board with 88 full-size, velocity-sensitive, semiweighted keys; pitch bend; aftertouch; and four pedal inputs. The VMK-88 also features 15 programmable patches, as well as program change and bank-select features. Although not a dedicated USB controller, the VMK-88 boasts dual MIDI outputs and comes with a MIDI-to-USB converter. The board weighs a moderate 14 pounds, and the included sustain pedal rounds out the picture nicely for players on the road.
Studiologic; e-mail
fatar@musicindustries.com; Web
www.studiologic.net
NUMARK 200FX
RACKMOUNT DJ MIXER WITH ALESIS EFFECTS
Refining its older CM200 mixer, Numark has released the 200FX ($349), a 19-inch rackmountable DJ rig. Stepping it up a few notches, the newest offspring boasts five fader channels with inputs that include three phono, five line and a whopping five microphone connectors — but the best parts are built-in digital reverbs and other effects from Alesis. The DSP section comprises 16 digital effects aimed mostly at vocals, and a wet/dry knob is included. The different reverbs include hall, room, plate and gated, and effects such as chorus, flange, echo, chorus/reverb and rotary are also present. All five channels sport a 3-band EQ, and the assignable crossfader not only offers fader start but also is replaceable when worn out. The output section is full-featured and includes master outputs on balanced XLR connectors, along with record and zone outputs.
Numark; e-mail
info@numark.com; Web
www.numark.com
UNIVERSAL AUDIO FAIRCHILD 670 COMPRESSOR EMULATION
CLASSIC COMPRESSOR PLUG-IN
The original Fairchild 670 tube compressor is one of the rarest and most coveted studio beasts. The guts of these monsters boast 14 transformers and 20 vacuum tubes, and a single unit weighs in at a bodacious 65 pounds. Well, Universal Audio is back with a software emulation of the same name, Fairchild 670 Compressor Emulation (price TBA). The engineers at UA went to great lengths to accurately duplicate the unique character of the original 2-channel limiter while adding a few new features. The plug-in retains much of the original look, including the oversize input gain and threshold knobs and the large VUs and metering switches. For the software version, UA has added an auxiliary panel that allows access to the rear-panel controls. The extra panel displays the sidechain link, which groups the attack and release for both channels, and DC Bias controls for compressor knee/ratio adjustment. The main panel has time-constant settings that save six unique attack and release times per channel. Added features include input and output metering, output gain and a Controls Link that groups all controls across channels. The virtual Fairchild is AU-, VST-, DX- and MAS-compatible.
Universal Audio; e-mail
info@uaudio.com; Web
www.uaudio.com
OPEN LABS OPENSYNTH NEKO
SYNTH WORKSTATION
Hardware or software? Open Labs' OpenSynth neKo ($2,245 base) is the best of both worlds. It is a keyboard workstation that also uses standard motherboards and processors, enabling it to run modern computer operating systems, such as Windows XP. It can even make use of standard PC-compatible hardware and host industry-standard VST plug-ins and VSTi soft synths and samplers. Unlike standard PCs, however, the neKo boots up in seconds and uses its own proprietary interface, allowing the user's focus to be on programs and settings, not on the OS. The neKo's RAM and storage capacity can be expanded, it houses standard PCI slots that can accommodate full-size soundcards, and its fast microprocessors make for almost zero-latency performance. The unit also includes a built-in ethernet port providing direct high-speed Internet access for quick downloads. Onboard are the familiar keyboard controls, such as 61 keys and pitch/mod wheels, but the juicy stuff includes the interchangeable control modules, such as the large LCD, standard laptop-style keyboard, banks of assignable knobs and faders, x-y touch surface and even a joystick panel. This monster is sure to turn heads.
Open Labs; e-mail
info@openlabs.com; Web
www.openlabs.com
FXPANSION ADAPTERS
PLUG-IN FORMAT CONVERTER SOFTWARE
These two packages are what Digidesign Pro Tools users have been craving. FXpansion's VST-to-RTAS ($99) and VST-to-ReWire ($99) adapters allow users of Pro Tools 6.x (LE or TDM) to finally use many of the plug-ins in Steinberg's VST format in their studio sessions. The software is meant to be simple and stable while completely integrating into even the most high-end Pro Tools recording environments — sample rates as high as 192 kHz are supported. The adapters essentially create virtual RTAS and ReWire devices for VST plug-ins, which are then directly accessible to all Pro Tools environments: Pro Tools|HD, 24|Mix and LE systems. The converters provide sample-accurate timing, minimal extra CPU strain and no extra latency. VST-to-RTAS and VST-to-ReWire are compatible with most standard VST plug-ins.
Fxpansion; e-mail
info@fxpansion.com; Web
www.fxpansion.com
KRK SYSTEMS ROKIT POWERED SERIES
POWERED STUDIO MONITORS
KRK's newest offering to budget-yet-quality-minded studio owners is the Rokit Powered Series ($598-$998), which includes four powered-monitor models: the RP5, RP6, RP8 and the RP10S. Several key elements found in KRK's higher-end speakers (such as the company's signature yellow woofers made from a proprietary woven-glass composite) have been carried over to the Rokit series. As the name naturally implies, the RP5 sports a 5-inch woofer, the RP6 has a 6-inch cone and so on to the RP10S subwoofer. The woven-glass low-end drivers are complemented by 1-inch Ferro fluid-cooled neodymium soft-dome tweeters (except in the RP10S) with electronic crossovers. The 5, 6 and 8 models are biamped for efficient performance. The RP5 delivers 75W total, the RP6 drives 100W, and the RP8 sports a healthy 140W. The RP10S is custom-tailored for use with the rest of the series and delivers a frequency response of 36 to 50 Hz. The speakers provide balanced and unbalanced connections on XLR, RCA and ¼-inch TRS jacks. The cabinets feature rounded corners for reduced edge diffraction.
KRK Systems; e-mail
rruse@krksys.com; Web
www.krksys.com
ELECTRO-HARMONIX NY-2A
STEREO TUBE COMPRESSOR
Electro Harmonix has been well-known by guitar and bass players since the '60s for its top-quality stompboxes; now, the company steps into the studio arena with the NY-2A ($2,995), a classic-style vacuum-tube stereo compressor. This unit features a choice of three opto-coupler light sources (including slow incandescent, high-velocity clear LED or electro-luminescent panel) and makes use of linear, super-low-noise military-grade vacuum tubes. The cleverly named NY-2A (from another fine classic that hails from L.A. instead of N.Y.) has transformer-balanced inputs and outputs and features an open-loop design. It has the traditional minimal amount of controls — including large knobs for pre-gain, compressor and post-gain — plus an impedance-matching switch and separate bypass switches for each channel. The VU and EM80 “magic eye” output displays round out the classic picture nicely. If it lives up to the E-H name, it might just become the classic from the other coast.
Electro-Harmonix; e-mail
info@ehx.com; Web
www.ehx.com
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