NEW PRODUCTS
Mar 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Asher Fulero
MOOG LITTLE PHATTY STAGE EDITION
MONOPHONIC ANALOG SYNTHESIZER
After the death of Bob Moog, his company released the Little Phatty Tribute Edition synthesizer — a small, digitally controlled analog synth based on the final design of the legend himself. The keyboard was so popular that nearly all units produced were sold out within the first year, and with more fans clamoring to get their hands on them, Moog Music is issuing the Little Phatty Stage Edition ($1,375; www.moogmusic.com), which offers the exact same fluid interface as the Tribute Edition but with a stage-friendly rubberized charcoal siding. The software has been updated to include auto calibration, making it easy to stay in tune without turning screws. With a few other software enhancements in tow, the entire software upgrade will be made available for free to Tribute Edition owners from Moog Music's Website, lest they get jealous.
MANYTONE MUSIC MANYONE
LOW-CPU SAMPLE MODULE WITH EFFECTS RACK
Anyone who does a lot of in-the-box audio production needs quick access to good sounds; constantly creating layers and arrangements means your tools have got to be as fast as your brainstorming. Sample-based plug-in maker ManyTone has released ManyOne ($49.95; www.manytone.com), a high-quality, full-featured, easily sequenceable plug-in sampler with a skinnable interface that aims to offer every type of keyboard-related layers a producer needs. Banks include hi-res electric pianos, drawbar and transistor organs, vintage-synth waveforms and classic ensembles (Mellotron, Solina, Oberheim). Ten available effects include echo, limiter, flange, chorus, phaser, tremolo and overdrive. ManyTone also offers a space at its Website called the FreeZone where sound designers and enthusiasts post their favorite customized sounds, as well as ManyTone's own new sounds. The bustling Users Forum is also a useful resource for new sounds and ideas and offers support for new users getting into unfamiliar territory.
I/ONE CONNECTS FIREWIRE SNAKES
DIGITAL-ROUTING RACK UNIT
Most music venues, multiroom studios, places of worship and other large spaces end up dealing with massive amounts of expensive and confusing cabling to keep audio flowing from place to place. I/One Connects has introduced a compelling alternative; the new Firewire Audio Snakes ($899-1,699; www.ioneconnects.com) save lots of time, space and money by offering complete analog and digital I/O options in expandable arrays that operate from single-rackspace units using ultrafast and lightweight fiber-optic cable. Operating at a 0.35 ms overall bus latency, the system maintains that speed regardless of the number of connected devices all the way up to 500 meters/1,640 feet — all that with almost no jitter thanks to TC Applied Technologies JetPLL Jitter Elimination. Also mLan compatible for Yamaha fans, the hardware is controlled by Windows XP software and operates at 24-bit word length with sampling rates ranging from 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz.
ALLEN & HEATH XONE MIXED IN KEY
SONG-ANALYSIS SOFTWARE
One of the more annoying habits of novice DJs — and always a dead giveaway — is a badly harmonized transition. If the new track is in the wrong key, it just won't work with the old one no matter how well the beats line up, and DJs who don't pay attention to that will mess up their whole set. Fortunately, Allen & Heath has teamed with software designers Mixed In Key to create Xone Mixed In Key ($58; http://xone.mixedinkey.com), a Windows and Mac program that analyzes your sound files for root key and bpm. Its browsable, drag-and-drop Collections should be a big time-saver for veteran DJs, sound designers and anyone who works with large banks of samples. For novice DJs learning to match transitions harmonically, Xone Mixed In Key offers good, basic music-theory knowledge besides the cool analysis features. Extensive quick-search features allow for fast, on-the-fly track location by key, bpm and song name. Full drag-and-drop support for Ableton, Traktor and other DJ programs helps make the whole thing integrate into a system as the search tool of choice for laptop DJs.
QUIKQUAK RAYSPACE 2.6
SURROUND-REVERB DESIGNER
Possibly the coolest plug-in to come out in a while, the RaySpace 2.6 ($90; www.quikquak.com) from QuikQuak allows users to create and customize 5.1 surround-reverb spaces by drawing walls of any angle, shape or size. Using a supersmooth new diffusion engine and featuring easily tweakable presets, RaySpace lets you zoom and spin around inside your space with the mouse so that you can watch and listen as you adjust your space's parameters. Futuristic “ray-scattering” algorithms allow for randomization in wall reflections for really fine-tuning a space's character, and a 4-band parametric EQ allows for complete control of the final output.
While it doesn't use convolution algorithms, RaySpace can export your rooms as stereo impulse responses for use with normal convolution reverbs. And, unlike convolution reverbs, longer reverb times in RaySpace do not mean more CPU usage, so there is almost no size limit to your spaces. Since it doesn't need massive drive space to store its files (unlike the space-eating impulse-response files), you can make as many customized rooms as your creative heart desires and still have plenty of room to record audio.
AVANT ELECTRONICS AVANTONE CV-12
LARGE-CAPSULE MULTIPATTERN MICROPHONE
The new CV-12 ($399; www.avantelectronics.com) large-capsule, multipattern tube condenser mic is part of a wave sweeping the industry of high-quality mics designed to deliver the warm, pleasing, vintage tones needed for the highest level of audio capture without the astronomical price tag. The whole thing screams style, and while the Cabernet Red finish on the machined brass is beautiful, this beauty is a beast under the hood, offering some seriously powerful options. Available patterns include not only omnidirectional, cardioid and figure-8 patterns, but also six other “in-between” settings selectable from the included power supply, which should make for some very interesting mix experiments. Avantone also goes the extra mile for creative producers by including three tubes with the CV-12, each offering different gain characteristics and tonal personalities by varying the gain before the output transformer; swapping them is fun and relatively easy. Highpass and -10 dB switches are on the mic itself, and the whole package comes complete with the power supply; a wooden box for the CV-12; a custom shockmount; special XLR cables; and a padded, metal carrying case for the entire collection.
TC ELECTRONIC CLASSIC PEDAL SERIES
STOMPBOX EFFECTS
While most companies are reissuing their old gear as plug-ins for computer producers, TC Electronic has taken a different road. Revisiting some of its most popular classic stompbox effects, it has reissued the Classic Pedal Series ($259 each; www.tcelectronic.com) from the '70s: the TC XII Phaser, the Booster+Distortion and the Sustain+Parametic EQ.
True to the original, the TC XII Phaser is a flexible unit capable of subtle to saturated sounds and features a 4, 8 or 12 kHz filter selector, as well as LFO speed control and more for carefully controlled moving tones. The Booster+Distortion is a guitarist's dream, offering tube-driven signal boost and distortion for “always-on” signal boosting and tube tone or tone changes for specific sections. The Sustain+Parametric EQ is essentially a studio compressor inside a pedal; capable of creating sustain for soloists or careful dynamics control, the pairing with the EQ makes for a powerful ability to focus in on specific elements inside complex tones for precision sound control. All three are built with a rugged metal chassis and ready for the typical road abuse.
QUIRETEC THE WALDORF EDITION
SOFTWARE SYNTHESIZER COLLECTION
Waldorf's early synthesizers were popular in the explosion of electronic-music production techniques in the early '90s; its popular line of plug-in software synths was just as futuristic sounding and aggressive. Although the original plug-ins cost $299 each, The Waldorf Synthesizer Company has decided to re-optimize and release its three most popular plug-ins together in a collection called The Waldorf Edition ($149; www.quiretec.com). Offered at a much lower price, the package is composed of the PPG Wave V2 wavetable synth (a re-creation of the '80s classic Wave 2 synth), the aptly titled Attack (a powerful '80s/'90s virtual analog drum machine with a ton of sounds) and D-Pole (a flexible and powerful filter bank capable of a maximum of +52 dB overdrive). The collection is included in VST and Audio Units versions in Universal Binary format for users of any platform.
ODYSSEY AFPCDJ1000
FACEPLATE FOR THE PIONEER CDJ1000
Today's DJs are looking for ways to distinguish themselves, and in an industry where artists often use identical gear, few things can be as meaningful as a customizable look to make your toys truly your own. Odyssey's new collection of AFPCDJ1000 faceplates ($99.99 each; www.odysseygear.com) for Pioneer's industry-standard CDJ-1000 comes in several colors including chrome, silver, gold, sexy red and the sleekly futuristic carbon-fiber finish. Offering thorough protection in addition to good looks, the faceplates are really a must-have for anyone using CDJs. If these colors don't suit your fancy, buy a couple of extra ones and paint them yourself for a truly unique look.
| Want to use this article? Click here for options! |  |
