Archive for January, 2012

IK Multimedia AmpliTube 3.7 & Custom Shop add-ons

IK Multimedia continually expands AmpliTube 3 and has just released version 3.7 for free download. Each upgrade may include bug fixes or add new features for all users (3.7 adds OS X Lion compatibility among others) but a big part of it is to add models that you can try out and perhaps purchase from [...]

Fender Bronco 40 Bass Combo

In the modern climate of inexpensive, feature-packed digital modelling amps for guitar players, it’s good to see bass players getting a look in too. The Fender Bronco 40 is a compact bass combo that not only possesses great sounds as it stands but also has a plethora of onboard effects and amp models. It also has [...]

Neo Instruments Ventilator

You’d be forgiven for thinking emulation effects were a modern invention. Software plug-ins and increased DSP power mean emulation is currently in vogue, but the idea itself can be traced back to 1968, when the Japanese Shin-Ei company released the Uni-Vibe, a foot pedal designed to emulate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker cabinet. The [...]

UAD-2 MXR Flanger/Doubler plug-in

UAD’s reputation as a software company dedicated to packaging up some of the most classic studio hardware products ever made and making them available as plug-ins is second to none. The combination of these plugs and the UAD-2 hardware platform, which carries out strenuous processing duties and thereby draws power away from your computer’s own [...]

PreSonus Studio One 2 Professional

Two years ago we took the PreSonus Studio One DAW for a test drive and were suitably impressed. Despite some shortcomings about the depth of features, it was clear that Studio One had the potential to become a top-flight piece of software with a little more development. This brings us to the new, and even [...]

Crane Stand Pro

Everyone loves hardwearing studio kit – but sometimes you can go too far. Take the Crane Laptop Stand for example. It feels like it’d be most comfortable propping up an armoured car, while its intended role as ‘something that holds a laptop off the desk’ seems such a waste. It’s made of aluminium, beautifully matte [...]

iLuv iSP170

The iLuv iSP170 is a pair of 7cm black shiny cubes housing a tiny 1.8watt amp and a pair of similarly ant-pleasing speakers. One speaker has a large, easily findable volume dial on the back and the second speaker plugs into this one with a simple mono RCA. While there is USB it’s power only, [...]

Ultimate Support MS-100 Speaker Stands

These distinctive and stylish stands are a game of two halves combining the MS-100B speaker stand and ‘available separately’ MS-80 desktop monitor stand together. The MS-100 hits the ground with three classic speaker spikes that can be shielded with rubber feet (supplied) and its sturdy metal construction is as solid a way to stop vibration as [...]