Gear Reviews

Bixonic recently released the Bixonic Expandora EXP-2000R, a reissue of the earlier EXP-2000.
The Expandora has more going for it than a great name. It’s established a reputation as a great source for a variety of distorted sounds. It’s been used by Bush, Megadeth, ZZ Top, Bootsy Collins and other artists.
The EXP-2000R retains the look of [...]

The Edirol PCR1 is an interesting addition to the world of USB MIDI controllers. It is one of a new breed of controllers optimized for mobile music making.
The PCR1 is designed to be very lightweight, and features a supermodel-thin profile. It includes a basic set of MIDI controllers, standard-width piano keys and audio I/O.
With the [...]

The Roland SP-606 sampling workstation packs a tremendous amount of power into a small package. It’s a full-featured sampling workstation; it is a USB audio/midi interface; and its a capable hardware controller.
It follows in the footsteps of other Roland/Boss samplers, like the SP-505. It boasts excellent sample tools, long sampling times, CompactFlash support, sample-chopping and [...]

Mackie recently introduced Spike, a digital recording solution that combines a high-quality USB-based audio/MIDI interface with software for sequencing and mixing. Mackie is marketing Spike with the phrase “Recording music on your computer doesn’t have to be such a pain in the ass.” We tested Spike to see if it lives up to that promise.
Spike [...]

Future Retro calls this analog beast the 777, but be warned! It should have been called the Future Retro 666, because its combination of sinful sounds and tempting knobs is highly addictive.
The 777 seems innocent enough, until you find yourself wide awake at three in the morning, tweaking the perfect bassline in a cold sweat! [...]

 

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The Korg Electribe ER-1 is an analog modeling drum synthesizer that combines great sounds, fantastic flexibility and hands-on control. Like other Electribes, the ER-1 is covered with knobs and buttons, making it easy to program rhythms and fun to tweak.
The ER-1 is one of Korg’s first generation series of Electribes. This include the Electribe EA-1, [...]

The microKontrol, from Korg, is one of a new breed of control keyboards designed for mobile electronic musicians. It combines many of the most commonly used controls from a variety of studio devices, including panners, faders, keyboard and pads, into a portable device. The flexibility of the microKontrol makes it a great controller to consider [...]

Mbox is a 2-channel USB audio that gives you high-quality sound input and outputs in a small, portable package. It works with Pro Tools-based software, including Apple iLife Garageband, and makes it easy to bring audio into your computer.
It hooks up using a USB cable, and runs off of USB power. This makes it a [...]

The Evolution UC-33e is an affordable USB hardware controller designed to be used with any computer music/MIDI setup. It gives instant access to up to 47 different parameters. It has 33 memory locations, so changing its setup is fast and easy.
In Use
The UC-33e comes with 33 pre-configured presets that support popular virtual instruments and sequencers, [...]

This 16 pad USB MIDI controller is an inexpensive way to add a ton of flexibility to your system.
The MPD16 is an MPC-style MIDI pad controller. It gives you 16 touch-sensitive pads that you can add to your computer music workstation by just hooking up a USB cable. Carrying on the style of the MPC [...]