NEW PRODUCTS
Jul 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Doug Eisengrein
M-AUDIO TRIGGER FINGER
USB SOFTWARE CONTROL SURFACE
For the past several years, control surfaces with MIDI-assignable faders and knobs have been all the rage, but if you were looking for a controller with drum pads, the pickings have been pretty slim. Fortunately, M-Audio has stepped up to the plate, and then some, with its new Trigger Finger ($249.95), a USB-based, bus-powered control surface that features 16 velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads as well as eight knobs and four faders that are all user-assignable to any MIDI parameter. The Trigger Finger includes preprogrammed maps for common software packages like Propellerhead Reason and Ableton Live as well as established formats such as GM Drum, XG Drum and iDrum. The unit can store a max of 16 presets onboard, and the cross-platform Enigma software allows users to create and store a potentially unlimited custom collection. Users can assign the drum pads to trigger drums, launch loops or even control video samples.
M-Audio;
www.m-audio.com
MACKIE D.2
DJ MIXER
It's sort of like the eighth wonder that Greg Mackie didn't do this sooner, but his company, best known for its venerable mixing consoles, has decided to turn its attention to turntable maestros with the first Mackie DJ mixer, the d.2 (price TBA). As with the company's Onyx mixers, the d.2 is the product of two years of research and development, including input from several notable DJs. The d.2 features a few industry firsts, including an optional FireWire card for receiving audio from or sending mixes to the computer and a contact-free, 45mm digital crossfader designed by Infinium Technologies. The contactless fader is built to be extra-long-lasting and provides adjustable tension and cutoff points for user-customizable feel. The 2-channel mixer features premium Mackie mic and phono preamps, professional XLR outputs that can be switched between mic and line level, spring-loaded latching Transform switch, FireWire input-select option on each channel, 3-band EQ per channel with frequency cut filters, and global power supply.
Mackie;
www.mackie.com
MICROBOARDS COPYWRITER TOWER
DVD DUPLICATOR
Microboards ups the ante for manual media duplicators with its new CopyWriter Tower ($1,995), a unit capable of recording an unprecedented 10 data-full DVDs in less than seven minutes, rendering it the speediest DVD duplicator on the market. Originally released about a year-and-a-half ago, the first round of CopyWriter Towers included 10 8×-speed bays. The newly released version features the same drive-bay configuration in a 16×-speed unit. Ease of use is the name of the game with the CopyWriter Tower; it sports a simple two-button user interface that, in addition to providing instantaneous duplication control, provides users with advanced control such as track extraction, image archival, speed selection and verification modes. Each CopyWriter Tower includes a limited two-year warranty and, best of all, unlimited telephone support. Smaller drive-bay configurations, as well as versions with built-in storage hard drives, are also available.
Microboards;
www.microboards.com
SENNHEISER HD 215
STEREO HEADPHONES
Drawing the curtain on its latest in “entry-high-end,” Sennheiser releases the HD 215 ($149.95) dynamic closed-back headphones. The HD 215s feature a superextended frequency response of 12 Hz (dubbed “infra-bass”) to 22 kHz, reaching outside the human ear's audible range on both ends. The headphones can handle a max SPL rating of 112 dB and offer over-the-ear rotatable ear cups for maximum comfort, making them a good choice for club and radio-station jocks. The HD 215s also boast a robust, kink-resistant cable that is retrofitted with an ⅛-inch (3.5mm) plug; a ¼-inch (6.3mm) stereo adapter is included with the package. Sennheiser typically offers good guarantees on its wares, and the HD 215's two-year warranty is no exception.
Sennheiser;
www.sennheiserusa.com
TC ELECTRONIC POWERCORE PCI MKII
PCI DSP CARD/PLUG-IN BUNDLE
Despite the raw power of the newest CPUs on the market, new plug-ins just keep getting better, bigger and more hungry for DSP. Thus, products such as TC Electronic's PowerCore PCI mkII ($1,495) are still showing up on the scene. The 4×150MHz DSP-horsepower PCI card is bundled with 14 top-notch TC processing plug-ins that are compatible with VST, Audio Units or RTAS hosts. Other optional plug-ins can utilize the mkII's horsepower and include all current and future PowerCore plug-ins. Included plug-ins comprise some classic favorites, such as Vintage CL, Master X3 and DeNoise. The plug-in suite is the same as that which comes with PowerCore FireWire, and the card performs on par with its FireWire-based sibling. The new card can be differentiated from the older PowerCore PCI by its blue color and smaller size, which makes it suitable for the newer, shorter computers on the market today.
TC Electronic;
www.tcelectronic.com
SAMSON RESOLV 40A
DESKTOP REFERENCE MONITORS
Samson, one of the quiet yet “been around the block” names in the studio business, expands its Resolv series of active monitors with the project-studio-size Resolv 40a ($199). The two-way 40a features 1-inch silk-dome tweeters for the high end, and as the model number implies, 4-inch polypropylene cones supply the bottom end. Each speaker's port-tuned enclosure features a 50W power amp that evenly distributes 25W to both the woofer and the tweeter, and the front face of each provides a volume pot. A bass port is rear-mounted, and the tuned cabinets have rounded front edges for diffusing sound reflections. The 40a features RCA input connectors, making it compatible with DJ mixers, groove-box workstations, stereo receivers and the like. Samson's trademark blue-on-black enclosure lends a handsome look to the Resolv 40a's surrounding space.
Samson;
www.samsontech.com
CREAMWARE PROFIT-5 ASB
DESKTOP SYNTH MODULE
With all of the soft-synth emulations of classic analog noise boxes that have reared their virtual heads in the past half-decade, it's a rare delight to see someone going the extra mile with a piece of antique-inspired hardware. Included in CreamWare's new ASB (Authentic Sound Box) line is a digital emulation of a true classic: the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5. CreamWare's Profit-5 ASB ($999) includes a sound engine based on the company's SCOPE-platform, and the desktop UI is designed to mimic the controls of the real Sequential, sans keys. The Profit-5 also shares modern features such as a USB-to-host/MIDI interface with the Minimax ASB, the other member of the new ASB family. The new Profit features a six-voice architecture, 128 factory and 128 user presets, MIDI In/Out/Thru, stereo analog I/O, an external 12V power supply and remote-control software.
Creamware;
www.creamware.com
BEHRINGER C-2
MATCHED STEREO CONDENSER MIC PAIR
For a fraction of the cost that one might expect to pay for a single condenser instrument or overhead mic, Behringer offers a matched stereo pair in the form of the C-2 ($64.99). For a measly 65 bucks, these cardioid condenser mics are sold as a unit and include all the accessories you're likely to need, including fitted mic-stand adapters, windscreens and a stereo-bar, all neatly wrapped in a travel case. Each C-2 features a low-mass diaphragm, gold plating on the XLR connector, a cardioid polar pattern for good feedback avoidance, a transformerless FET input section for low self-noise and switches for both low-frequency rolloff and -10dB attenuation. Especially owing to their inconspicuous size, the C-2s are geared toward overhead use as well as instrument and piano miking and more.
Behringer;
www.behringer.com
TAPCO BLEND 16
ANALOG MIXING CONSOLE
Mackie's nom de plume from the '60s, Tapco, brings you the affordable yet future-thinking Blend 16 ($449) compact analog mixing console. The 16-channel, four-bus mixing board has the undeniable Tapco yellow graphics on its top face and features eight low-noise, high-headroom mic preamps designed by the same Mackie engineers who created the hugely successful VLZ Pro line and the new high-end Onyx mic preamps. The Blend 16 is designed to function equally well as a live or project-studio console; it also features a 20-bit digital effects processor, a 7-band master graphic EQ, a 3-band EQ on each channel, global 48V phantom power, dual aux sends, an eight-segment LED master-level meter and separate level controls for headphones and control-room outputs. The modern icing on the cake is a built-in USB connection that can feed a 24-bit, 96kHz stereo signal to or receive a 24-bit, 48kHz stereo mix from a Mac or PC.
Tapco;
www.tapcogear.com
UNIVERSAL AUDIO LA-3A
SOLID-STATE COMPRESSOR
Universal Audio has once again brought the golden age of gear to the present with the redesign and rerelease of the LA-3A ($1,499) compressor, which traces its origins back to 1969. With the exception of a few enhancements that are designed to help integrate the modern LA-3A into today's studio environment, the original classic solid-state opto-compressor has been painstakingly duplicated down to the component level. Designed by Dennis Fink, a former engineer for UREI, the new LA-3A features a Class A, discrete amplifier circuit that reaches as much as 50 dB of gain and makes use of several components provided by the same part vendors of the original UREI/Universal Audio LA-3A. The new features include IEC power to render the LA-3A compliant with international electrical standards; XLRs on the barrier strip; and a rear-mounted Gain Mod switch, which effectively includes an option that was often custom-soldered into many of the classic units.
Universal Audio;
www.uaudio.com
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