NEW PRODUCTS
Jan 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By Markkus Rovito
PCV-175 PROFESSIONAL MIXING CONTROLLER
The reincarnation of Vestax's popular PMC-170A mixer, the PCV-175 ($480) features the new durable Plastic Conductive Volume (PCV) fader. Vestax claims to have tested the fader with 2 million passes without audible loss of sound quality, whereas lesser faders can decline after 100,000 passes. The PCV-175's faders are user-replaceable with other faders or rotary input dials. New circuitry inside the PCV-175 supplies 3-band EQ per channel, with each band providing +6/-24 dB of boost and cut and featuring its own cut switch. The unit features three phono inputs, five stereo line inputs, four ¼-inch front-panel mic inputs, and an effects send/return. Each channel strip and the mic inputs have an effects on/off switch, and there are master knobs for the effects-send and -return levels. Three of the mic ins are routed to a 2-band, ±12 dB EQ, and the main mic input goes to the Sub channel for full EQing.
Vestax; tel. (562) 623-9881; Web
www.vestaxdj.com
MFC42 ANALOG MIDI FILTER CONTROLLER
Although the Akai MFC42 ($579) filter module is tailor-made for an Akai MPC2000XL, MPC2000, MPC3000, or MPC60, it can be used to filter any analog source, including a turntable. The MFC42 offers two independent channels — one stereo and one mono — for applications such as running a stereo drum loop and a mono bass line from an MPC into the processor. Four filter types are available: lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and notch, and toggle switches let you change the filter type immediately. Both channels offer 2-and 4-pole curves, and the mono channel features an additional 8-pole curve. Dedicated cutoff and resonance knobs allow you to shape the tone in real time, and the unit's envelope generator and LFO can sync to an external MIDI clock. The MFC42 also includes distortion, a stereo analog phaser, and EQ. An optional filtermount kit ($49.95) positions the filter above an MPC2000 or 2000XL.
Akai; tel. (817) 831-9203; Web
www.akaipro.com
PROTEUS 2500 COMMAND MODULE
E-mu's new flagship synth module, the Proteus 2500 ($1,695) provides three times the processing power of the Proteus 2000 in addition to a built-in 16-track sequencer, a USB connection for direct linking to a computer, 24-bit analog and digital outputs, and 16 real-time, MIDI-transmitting parameter-control knobs. The 32 MB sound set can be expanded to 128 MB with any 3 of the 11 available Proteus Expansion ROMs. The sequencer performs either real-time, grid, or step recording, and the unit stores 100 preset MIDI sequences. The Proteus 2500 operates with 32 MIDI channels, and the USB connection facilitates easy transfer of MIDI files or loading of the latest OS version. The Proteus 2500 includes onboard effects and knob-controlled features such as filter cutoff, resonance, envelope, amp envelope, LFO amount, LFO rate, and more.
E-mu; tel. (831) 438-1921; Web
www.emu.com
OZONE DIRECTX MASTERING SYSTEM
Ozone ($199) is a DirectX plug-in mastering suite that provides DSP algorithms and visual meter displays to make mastering easy. The 64-bit analog-modeled program offers four bands of compression, expansion, and limiting; harmonic excitation based on analog tube saturation models; multiband parametric EQ with “soft saturation” modeling overlaid on an ultrafast spectrum display; studio-quality reverb with control of room size; frequency cutoff, damping, and more; stereo-imaging control; customizable signal-flow interface; and spectrum analyzer. According to iZotope, Ozone is not a collection of plug-ins but rather a single system combining all the required processing for mastering.
iZotope; e-mail
izotope@izotope.com; Web
www.izotope.com
MATRIX 3 PERFORMANCE MIXER
Designed with scratch DJs in mind, the Numark Matrix 3 ($429) mixer is styled to match the company's new Axis series of scratchable DJ CD players. Three phono and six line inputs are spread across three channels, each with a gain control, a level meter, and a 3-band rotary EQ with -40 dB kill toggle switches for each frequency band. Above each channel's level fader is a replaceable, eight-position rotating input toggle. There is also a mic input with 2-band EQ. The fader section includes Numark's Omega crossfader with an extrawide knob, selectable punch in/out transform buttons, and ¼-inch and ⅛-inch headphone jacks with split or blend cueing. An effects send with effects mix control covers all channels, and the available output signals are Master, Zone, Record, and Fader Start.
Numark; tel. (401) 295-9000; Web
www.numark.com
RM III RHYTHM SAMPLER VST PLUG-IN
LinPlug's RM III ($59), a third-generation PC-only VST 2.0 Instrument, is a software sampler designed for rhythm programming. The graphic interface features 18 velocity-sensitive instrument pads that can store as many as 32 samples each for a total of 576 samples, all of which can be triggered individually. Each sample pad includes tuning (±2 octaves), volume and pan controls, mute and solo switches, and choke options. All of those parameters can be controlled from external MIDI hardware. Maximum polyphony is 24 notes, depending on the computer's CPU power. RM III imports both WAV and AIFF files of as high as 32-bit, 96 kHz quality, and samples can be arranged in a maximum of 32 layers and 32 velocity zones. The software also imports complete drum kits of RM2, LM-4, and LM-9 formats, and 30 drum kits come bundled with the program. Four separate effects processors offer distortion, compressor, Crusher, and Vel-Sim, a simulation of velocity multisampling using lowpass filtering. The program is available from LinPlug's Web site or as an upgrade ($14) for registered RM2 users.
LinPlug; e-mail
peter@linplug.com; Web
www.linplug.com
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