Gear and software reviews by Synthtopia readers.
At the 2009 NAMM Show, Vir2 introduced Mojo a horn virtual instrument. Inspired by legendary groups like Tower of Power and the big bands of decades past, MOJO is designed for emulating everything from a sultry sax solo to a screaming full big band. More than a dozen articulations are instantly loaded and intelligently handled… Read More Winter NAMM Update: Mojo Horns
At the 2009 NAMM Show, Eastwest/Quantum Leap introduced Quantum Leap SILK – a virtual (software) instrument that features a collection of historic and unique string and woodwind instruments from China, Persia and India. I was able to check SILK out at NAMM, and it’s an awesome-sounding sound library that’s likely to see a lot of work on… Read More Quantum Leap Silk Virtual Instrument
2009 NAMM Show: Redmatica previewed its “next generation” sampling applications, Compendium Pro Bundle 2. The new set of applications include Keymap Pro 2, AutoSampler 2 and ProManager 3 and offers both evolutionary and revolutionary features, building over the foundation of Keymap 1.5, AutoSampler and ExsManager 2. “‘Revolutionary Evolution’ was the concept behind the entire development… Read More Redmatica Sampling Suite
At the 2009 NAMM Show, CME and WaveIdea announced NeoSynth24, a new audio/MIDI expander available as an expansion board for CME keyboards (UF and VX series). NeoSynth24 features onboard DSP for up to 124 voices of polyphony, a built-in effects engine, two sets of analog outputs as well as headphones and S/PDIF output. The unit… Read More The Neosynth24 Expansion Board
At the 2009 NAMM Show, Arturia introduced Brass 2, featuring virtual recreations of three wind instruments – a trumpet, a saxophone and a trombone. The characteristics of the real instruments have been analysed and modelled by Ircam Paris using mathematical algorithms. Here’s what’s new in Brass version 2.0: New physical modelling of the saxophone Two… Read More Arturia Brass 2.0
At the 2009 NAMM Show, CME launched a special edition of their 49 note M-Key and U-Key controller keyboards in a vibrant pink finish. It looks like CME is joining other companies trying to reproduce the hit Daisy Rock has had with its line of girly guitars. CME’s M-Key, which is already available in hushed… Read More CME Intros Extra-Girly Pink MKey/UKey Controllers
2009 NAMM Show update: CME released firmware version 2.0 for their VX and UF line of MIDI controllers. Version 2.0 firmware adds a Pro Tools mode to the U-CTRL function, improved MIDI routing and optimized keyboard sensitivity. Users can download V2.0 firmware from CME website free of charge.
At the 2009 Winter NAMM Show, Alesis introduced the M1Active 520 USB – a set of studio monitors with USB audio connectivity. M1Active 520 USB is a pair of active, bi-amplified, two-way reference monitors that are designed to reproduce frequencies from 20,000 Hz all the way down to 56 Hz, covering nearly all frequencies audible… Read More Alesis Intros M1Active USB Studio Monitors
2009 Winter NAMM Show: Moog Music introduced the Etherwave Plus – an instrument that lets you control synthesizers and effects while playing the Theremin. It’s also a stand-alone CV (Control Voltage) controller. The Etherwave Plus’ CV control signals are proportional to the pitch and volume of the Theremin’s audio signal and can be connected to… Read More The Moog Music Etherwave Plus Theremin
2009 Winter NAMM Show: Korg made it NAMM debut of the microKORG XL – an analog-modeling mini-synth with a vocoder (MKXL). The microKORG XL offers eight-voice polyphony, a 16-band vocoder, on-the-fly parameter editing and USB MIDI connectivity. The Korg microKorg is tough to get excited about. It’s got a U.S. MSRP of $750.00, which is pretty steep for a mini… Read More NAMM Update: The Korg microKorg XL
