New Products, September 2008
Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Asher Fulero
ROLAND JUNO-STAGE
PERFORMANCE SYNTH WITH SONG PLAYER
Continuing the ongoing rebirth of Juno synthesizers, Roland's Juno-Stage ($1,599; www.roland.com) brings the critical elements to the foreground with an aim to improve playability and minimize access time. It sports the same patch set as the Juno G (including the flagship stereo acoustic piano from the Fantom), and the sounds are expandable with optional SRX wave expansion boards. New Favorite buttons access banks of needed sounds and setups superquickly, and patches can now be recalled using a Roland FS-6 Dual Footswitch for hands-free changes. Losing the complex multitrack editor from the Juno G, the Stage instead has a USB port for connecting flash drives and a Song Player that can read MP3, WAV, AIFF or SMF audio files with Playlisting and front-panel access. An easy MIDI Controller mode transforms the thing into a full-featured MIDI keyboard. A phantom-powered XLR mic input is great for driving the included vocoder or singing along, and the unit also features a Click output and an external input for patching in an iPod or MP3 player.
CYCLING '74 MAX/MSP/JITTER 5
OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING ENVIRONMENT
Used heavily in programmer and geeky creative-type circles for more than 20 years, Cycling '74's object-oriented programming environment suite known as Max/MSP/Jitter has enabled many a brilliant musical mind to create things that the average DAW user could only dream of. Now released as Max/MSP/Jitter 5 ($699 or $495 for Max/MSP only; www.cycling74.com), much of the program has been rewritten from the ground up. Still completely backward-compatible, version 5 delivers three key new elements (among a vast number of smaller changes). First, in an effort to make the user interface less cluttered, Max/MSP now features the Presentation View, which will hide all the cables for a less visually hectic experience. Second, Cycling '74 wanted to simplify some of the more common tasks for experienced users, such as patch debugging and file searching/adding, both of which are greatly simplified. Finally, timing synchronization has been improved, and all devices can now operate/sync to metric time (for bpm syncing) and milliseconds. Newly written documentation and “vignettes” that appear as you work speed up and simplify the process while retaining the same flexibility and power.
NEUMANN TLM 67
LARGE-DIAPHRAGM MICROPHONE
Adding to its TLM (Transformer-Less Microphone) line of reimagined classics, legendary German mic designer Neumann celebrates its 80th anniversary with the TLM 67 ($3,459; www.neumann.com). Based on the classic U 67 design and engineered to have the nearly identical tone but without use of tubes, the TLM concept definitely worked for Neumann with the TLM 49, and to bring back this '60s workhorse design without the tube was surely a challenging task. This versatile new design has three polar patterns — omni, cardioid and figure-8 — a selectable 10 dB “pre-attenuation” and a highpass filter. With a cool dual-color design and a raised metal emblem of founder Georg Neumann, the mic looks good as well. The TLM 67 is a great way to get ultrapro microphone tone without shelling out the huge bucks for the rare original.
STEINBERG MR816 CSX
FIREWIRE AUDIO INTERFACE WITH DSP
Designed with help from Yamaha to integrate beautifully with Cubase, the Steinberg MR816 CSX ($TBA; www.steinberg.net) rackmount FireWire interface supports eight channels of onboard DSP effects at a time, available as VST3 effects within Cubase. The effects include Yamaha's classic REV-X reverb and the Sweet Spot Morphing Channel Strip plug-in, which contains compression and EQ. (Steinberg will also make an MR816 X without the channel strip plug-in.)
The interface includes eight discrete proprietary D-Pre Class A mic preamps with XLR/TRS combo analog inputs and True Integrated Monitoring for a claim of no latency. Digital ADAT and S/PDIF I/O are also provided. Steinberg's goal is true plug-and-play integration with Cubase, including 1:1 hardware/software mirroring for all controls and instant routing of inputs to Cubase channels.
ALESIS PROTRACK
HANDHELD DIGITAL RECORDER FOR IPOD
Letting iPod users in on the handheld portable digital recorder craze, the Alesis ProTrack ($399; www.alesis.com) fits your iPod (Classic and 5G) or iPod Nano (2G or 3G) like a glove and lets you record 16-bit, 44.1 kHz or 22 kHz audio with your iPod's Voice Memo feature. These recordings can be transferred to and from your computer when the iPod is connected. Offering two ¼-inch/XLR combo inputs and an 1/8-inch stereo output, the ProTrack even includes 48V phantom power for using high-quality external microphones and a switchable limiter to stop those pesky spikes that can ruin a capture. You can also use the built-in stereo condenser mics in XY configuration to capture anything you hear, and because it can run using the included AC adapter or the four AAA batteries, you can record anywhere.
YAMAHA MM8
MUSIC PRODUCTION SYNTH WITH HAMMER ACTION
Like a big brother to the popular MM6 Mini-Mo, the Yamaha MM8 ($1,299; www.yamaha.com) also takes its sounds from the Motif series and includes much of the same functionality. The big difference is the MM8's high-quality 88-key Yamaha GHS (Graded Hammer Standard) action keyboard bed that gives truly expressive dynamic control for players who want the best of both worlds. Complete with patterns and grooves for instrumental backing, Performance Memory for instant full-panel parameter changes, song recording with eight tracks and a detailed arpeggiator section, the MM8 is ready to bring keyboardists the whole package at a much lower price than its larger cousin. The Motif's Quick Edit knobs are here too, and with a USB connection to a host computer, the MM8 can interface nicely with your favorite DAW (or the included Cubase AI software), operating as both a sound source and a flexible MIDI controller.
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