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Author Archive
![The Redesigned Xciter Pedal from Aphex]()
Aphex has done a recent redesign of their guitar pedals, streamlining their Bass, Acoustic, and Guitar Xciter pedals into one unit – now simply called the Xciter (MSRP $249). Designed to add clarity and tightness to your guitar sound without altering the tone, the Xciter acts as more of an enhancement than an effect. The pedal uses technology from the Aural Exciter rack unit, which has been around for over 30 years, and can be found in countless recording studios today. The Aural Exciter is used to add punch, presence, and intelligibility to audio signals: it works by adding even order harmonics to a filtered split of the original signal, and mixing that back into the unprocessed signal. A Big Bottom circuit was later added to the unit, which increased the perceived loudness of bass frequencies without significantly boosting the overall level of the audio. The Xciter pedal combines over three decades of refinements to its namesake into one package that features a few easy-to-use controls. A harmonics control switches between suggested settings for bass, guitar, and acoustic guitar – tailoring the behavior of the pedal to the type of instrument you’re playing. The Lo Freq knob lets you select […]... Click on the title for more
![Jam: Guitar Input for iPad, iPhone and Mac]()
Apogee is introducing a high quality guitar interface for Apple devices, providing another option for guitar players who want a quick and easy way to record at home or on the move. Jam ($99) features a 1/4″ input and gain control, and it connects via USB to your iPad, iPod or Mac. Simply plug in your guitar or bass and hit record to get started – a status LED on Jam turns green when it’s connected properly, and red if your levels are too hot. Jam is designed to be plug-and-play, and works with Garageband, Logic, MainStage, and any other application that runs on Core Audio. It’s powered through USB, and provides 40dB of gain and 44.1kHz/24bit audio conversion. Apogee touts Jam as a high quality alternative to similar products like the iRig or AmpKit Link, and it’s the only one available that doubles as an interface for Mac computers in addition to portable devices. Jam is available March 31st, check out www.apogeedigital.com for more info. -Mike Bauer... Click on the title for more
![Hardwire TR-7 Tremolo/Rotary pedal]()
The Hardwire TR-7 Tremolo/Rotary pedal ($139 street) is a remarkably versatile—and in many ways ingenious—sound modulation tool. Tremolo is, of course, one of the classic guitar effects and was once a standard feature on tube amps. The TR-7 provides a basic tremolo effect, but also models vintage Fender and Vox tremolos, a Leslie rotary speaker cabinet, a UniVibe effect, a dual tremolo and a panning stereo version called VibroPan. The basic tremolo modulation is inspiringly warm and initially the most compelling sound. It’s hard not to feel like a Nick Cave sideman strumming surly, warbling chords. The Opto (Fender) and Bias (Vox) modes are a revelation, too. They take a little longer to get a feel for, but once their sound clicks, you won’t want to turn them off again. The other modes are a little more esoteric, but a lot of fun to play with. The stereo input and output offers the user a lot of different options for routing dual signals in and routing them to different sources. VibroPan especially benefits from being plugged into two amps, as does the rotary function. And yes, the TR-7 has tap tempo. The ingenious element of this pedal is the “modify” […]... Click on the title for more
![Steinberg Cubase 6 Overview]()
Cubase has fueled my musical creativity and assisted my recording sessions for 20+ years, while anticipating many trends and creating industry standards like the VST and ReWire systems. It’s been an exciting and jaw dropping experience to see it grow from a rather simple MIDI sequencer to the current fully featured Digital Audio Workstation. As expected, the new Cubase 6 supports an unlimited number of tracks up to 192 kHz, 5.1 surround, and offers flexible routing and full automatic delay compensation. One really exciting feature of this new version is the new toolset for multi-track editing, which will make life much easier for all those who record (and spend hours editing) multi-track performances of drums, guitars and/or even vocals. This new feature not only offers multi-tracktransient, tempo detection and drum replacement functions, but also multi-track phase-accurate audio quantization – and you should know by now how crucial phase is in the recording realm. Also, the new take-comping system provides a fast and effective way to paste together the best parts from various takes and effortlessly build the perfect one. For extra audio editing options, the AudioWarp system allows time-stretching and pitch-shifting in real time, including automatic tempo detection, and VariAudio […]... Click on the title for more
![10 New Pedals from Akai]()
Akai is taking a big step into the guitar effects pedal market with the announcement of their Analog Custom Shop line: a collection of 10 pedals that aim for ’boutique’ sound at an affordable price. Building on the success of the E2 Head Rush delay, the Analog Custom Shop pedals feature true-bypass switching and mirror-polished metal chassis at a price range from $100-$200. The lineup includes some of the usual suspects: Compressor, Chorus, Flanger, Analog Delay, Blues Overdrive, and Phase Shifter. However, Akai has done a bit of tweaking to add extra versatility to the Tri-Mode Overdrive, Deluxe Distortion, Tri-Mode Fuzz, and Tri-Mode Distortion. The ‘Tri-Mode’ pedals have a three-way switch that allow you choose which distortion circuit to use: flick the switch up for a diode circuit, down for an LED circuit, and the center position will give you a combo of the two. The Deluxe Distortion (pictured below) gives you additional tonal variety with a three-way EQ toggle, in addition to the adjustable frequency knobs, that shapes the input to the distortion circuit. Expect to see all 10 of these all-analog pedals available soon. –Mike Bauer... Click on the title for more
![A Pocket-Sized Listening Environment]()
Focusrite has paired their VRM (Virtual Reference Monitoring) technology with a simple headphone interface, giving you multiple references for your mix and simulating high quality listening environments and speakers through your headphones. The VRM Box ($99) uses impulse responses of 10 professional studio monitors, combined with mathematical models of 3 room types to recreate an array of different listening scenarios on your headphones. The room choices include Professional Studio, Living Room, and Bedroom Studio, and you can adjust the listening position in each room in and around the sweet spot. The professional monitor selection includes Auratones, Genelecs, Yamaha NS-10s, KRKs and ADAMs, among other industry-standard models. There are also VRM models of 5 consumer and hi-fi speakers, so you can hear what your mix sounds like on a flat-screen television, or computer desktop speakers. Note that the VRM technology cannot make your iPod earbuds sound just like Genelec 1031’s – the better quality headphones you use, the more accurate the reproduction of the speaker model and room type will be. The box itself connects through USB and features a large volume control, 1/4″ TRS headphone output, and an LED that indicates whether the signal processing is bypassed or not. While […]... Click on the title for more
![Moogify your iPhone with Filtatron]()
Moog Music brings high quality sound-shaping to Apple devices with the Filtatron – a real-time audio effects app that’s easy to have fun with and comes packed with features. While it’s not a synth, the Filtatron combines filtering and effects to manipulate the sound from the on-board oscillator, sampler, or line/microphone input. The interface has input knobs for each of these sources, allowing the use any combination of the three at once. You can import any song or sound file into the sampler, and record audio of unlimited file size at 16bit, 44.1kHz quality – then transfer your files between the Filtatron and your computer, or with other compatible apps. The Filtatron is driven by the Moog Ladder Filter, “the same filter that gives Moog instruments their warm, thick character.” In addition to a number of controls for this filter such as resonance, cutoff, and lowpass/highpass, you can modulate it with an LFO featuring five waveforms or an Envelope Follower (the image below shows the main Filtatron controls). You can also add overdrive, feedback, or tape-style delay to your sounds using the Amp and Delay effects modules included in the app, and control them in real time using X/Y pads. The […]... Click on the title for more
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