NEW PRODUCTS
Feb 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Asher Fulero
PRESONUS FIRESTUDIO
FIREWIRE RECORDING INTERFACE
Presonus offers a multitude of FireWire audio devices, but its flagship, the FireStudio ($799.95; www.presonus.com), is clearly the top dog. Offering 26 simultaneously available 24-bit/96 kHz inputs, it is packed with powerful features and attention to detail. Eight Class-A mic preamps, eight analog line-level inputs, two instrument-level inputs, 16 channels of ADAT I/O (eight channels at 96 kHz), S/PDIF, Word Clock and MIDI I/O make the single-rackspace FireStudio a force to be reckoned with. Class A preamps are in an “always-on” state, operating at their optimal voltage, and they have zero crossover distortion for sonics that are purer than those commonly found in class A/B designs. Presonus includes its Control Console software, a latency-free 36×36×18 mixer capable of creating as many as nine separate stereo mixes routable to any of the eight analog outputs. The optional Monitor Remote Station is a small control-room controller that connects via Cat-5 Ethernet cables offering Stereo/Surround input/monitor switching and talkback features. Also included with the FireStudio is the ProPak Software Suite, which includes 2 GB of samples and loops, virtual instruments and “Lite” versions of programs such as Ableton Live, Reason and Cubase.
KORG K61P
USB MIDI KEYBOARD WITH ONBOARD SOUNDS
Korg's latest addition to its K line of USB MIDI keyboards is designed to serve double duty. While fully equipped to serve as a controller for your MIDI work, the K61P ($450; www.korg.com) also includes onboard sounds and effects for use as a stand-alone sound source. The 24 instrument patches include a high-quality acoustic piano, as well as other pianos and electric pianos, harpsichord, jazz and church organs, clarinet, vibes, choir and strings. Four velocity curves and fixed velocity (for organ and synth), along with the pitch/mod wheels and Korg's proprietary ClickPoint interface (which can operate internally or externally as an x-y MIDI controller), make for a flexible performance unit. The K61P's assignable MIDI controls include two knobs, two switches, a slider and a footswitch jack. With Korg's included software, users can save MIDI-assignment templates for customized setups; preset templates are also included for quick use with most soft synths and DAWs. Bundled with the keyboard is Korg's M1 LE soft synth, which users can upgrade to the full Korg Legacy Edition at a discounted price.
PUREMAGNETIK ELEKTRODRUM
PERCUSSION RACKS FOR LIVE 6
Puremagnetik is definitely ahead of the curve; its subscription-based Internet service offers new soundware content to its members every month, usually with a focus on electronic styles and digital DJing. The site's newest release, Elektrodrum (part of a $60/year subscription; www.puremagnetik.com), is a collection of five powerful and detailed drum machines offered only as customized Ableton Live 6 instruments. The downloadable package includes the drum machines in Ableton Sampler versions (24 notes each) and Ableton Impulse versions (16 notes each, for those who haven't bought Sampler separately). The 24-bit kits make full use of Live 6's Instrument Racks, and each drum sound is editable and automatable. Users can fully customize the preset Macro Mappings and the powerful Morph/Stretch parameters. The kits — the vintage-style Anlg Kit, the B-Boy-inspired Retronik Kit, the '80s-vibe FM Kit, the glitchy Ingentek Kit and the world-percussion Ganik Kit — easily integrate into Live 6's sequencing and performing modes. More customized Instrument Racks are coming soon from Puremagnetik as well.
IK MULTIMEDIA STEALTHPLUG
GUITAR/BASS AUDIO INTERFACE CABLE
The StealthPlug ($129; www.ikmultimedia.com) is a cool USB audio interface disguised as a guitar cable — the very first hardware product from software maven IK Multimedia. This creative device has a ¼-inch instrument/line-level guitar cable on one end and USB on the other; the small control unit in the middle also features a stereo ⅛-inch output for headphones and simple volume up/down buttons. Operating at 16-bit/44.1 kHz, the StealthPlug works at ultralow latency with any DAW, but it is also packaged with a large software suite, including Mackie Traktion 2.1, SampleTank 2 SE, T-Racks EQ and 500 MB of loops and samples. Most important is AmpliTube 2 Live, IK Multimedia's new amp and stompbox effects emulation program that integrates naturally with the StealthPlug, offering überhip guitarists the chance to use their laptops as guitar amps.
STEINBERG WAVELAB STUDIO 6
AUDIO EDITING AND MASTERING SUITE
Steinberg's Wavelab Studio 6 ($399; www.steinberg.net) makes the power of its popular and powerful Wavelab 6 audio-editing/mastering program available to project studios and those with smaller budgets without sacrificing flexibility. Operating with the same 32-bit floating-point precision as the original (at a maximum of 192 kHz), the Studio version offers the entire spectrum of Red Book-compatible mastering options and Wavelab 6's full accoutrement of resampling, de-noise/de-click and EQ plug-ins, as well as Steinberg's custom DIRAC time/pitch algorithms. Integrating real-time clip-based, track-based and global effects into the monitoring makes checking out your edits fast and easy with no rendering. Batch processing, detailed scripting options and more high-level workflow options make it possible to complete a professional-level master accurately without using an expensive mastering facility — assuming you have the ears and know-how to master correctly, of course.
M-AUDIO MIDAIR 37 AND MIDAIR SYSTEM
WIRELESS USB MIDI SYSTEMS
Completing its small wireless MIDI family, M-Audio has added the MidAir 37 ($299.95; www.m-audio.com) wireless MIDI controller and MidAir ($149.95) wireless MIDI system to its growing list of must-have gear. Including the smaller 25-key controller, the MidAir family frees things up for anyone who performs or records with MIDI. The keyboards operate on battery power or from an included 9V adapter and are designed after M-Audio's classic Oxygen/Ozone line (except in a cool black shell). The MidAir 37 has nine sliders, eight knobs, pitch/mod wheels and two pedal inputs that use the same simple assignment interface that users of M-Audio gear already know.
The MidAir transmitter and receiver system uses 2.4 GHz wireless technology from Frontier Design Group. The transmitter connects via MIDI to whatever device you'd like to send from, and the receiver can route the incoming signal through either a MIDI output or a USB output that appears on any Mac or Windows computer as a class-compliant 1×1 MIDI device. The boxes themselves are not much bigger than a deck of cards, so hiding them is easy. They operate in range of about 30 feet, in which MIDI timing and feel should be as fast and accurate as a wired connection. Now you can control a stage full of gear without having the gear fill the stage. Very confident cats may also strap on a controller keytar-style, which is…entertaining.
L-ACOUSTICS SB15P
COMPACT POWERED SUBWOOFER
Designed as a companion to its new P-Series of self-powered loudspeakers, the L-Acoustics SB15P compact powered subwoofer ($2,795; www.l-acoustics.com) offers quality low-end reproduction for portable sound reinforcement, stage monitoring or even studio work. Its 1,000W Class D amplifier and onboard DSP drive a front-loaded 15-inch transducer. Optimized tuning and high sound-pressure levels make the SB15P able to deliver clear, articulate low frequencies. Its compact size (roughly 20 inches cubed) makes it flexible in usage and placement, and a polemount socket lets you raise it off the ground. Two parallel XLR inputs and four buttons for choosing DSP settings make setup easy, and the vibration-controlled housing is sturdy; the entire package weighs in at just less than 80 lb.
ELYSIA ALPHA COMPRESSOR
TWO-RACKSPACE HARDWARE DYNAMICS PROCESSOR
Elysia's large mastering-level dynamics tool, the Alpha Compressor ($TBA; www.elysia.com), offers several powerful features, completely redesigned circuitry and the highest level of sonic fidelity. Designed to achieve complicated mastering tasks that often require outboard gear, its creative applications are also exciting. The switchable MS (Middle/Side) Matrix translates your left and right signals into middle and side signals and back for optimizing dynamics on center-leaning elements (such as vocals or kick drum) without affecting the overall stereo image. An Auto-Fast compressor attack option automatically adjusts the attack time depending on the input; it might increase its speed as the drums rise, but it returns to its normal settings as the transients die back down. Feedback and feed-forward modes offer more options, and the detailed sidechain and audio filters allow for all kinds of frequency-specific compression techniques. The very cool mix controller allows the uncompressed and compressed signals to be balanced manually, another task the Alpha Compressor achieves internally that normally requires outboard gear. Hats off to Elysia for pushing the boundaries of the hardware compressor.
DIGIDESIGN MBOX 2 MINI
PORTABLE PRO TOOLS AUDIO INTERFACE
The full power of Pro Tools LE is now available for even less. Digidesign's Mbox 2 Mini ($329; www.digidesign.com) packs the punch of its larger brothers, the Mbox 2 and Mbox 2 Pro, but in a smaller package. Operating on a simple USB 1.1 connection, the Mini offers a single XLR input with 48V phantom power for a microphone and stereo ¼-inch inputs at line or instrument levels for connecting guitars, keyboards, etc. Zero-latency monitoring makes tracking nice, and analog-monitor outputs and a stereo-headphone output offer the necessary output paths. The monitor-mute switch and master-output volume knob are useful additions, completing an offering that contains all the basic necessities for portable Pro Tools use. For novices looking to learn the program at a low price or seasoned Pro Tools professionals on the go, the Mbox 2 Mini will certainly be a welcome addition.
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