With just one main scrollable page that shows the foot controller at the top and the rack below it, StompBox is easy to use and has 12 available banks of six patches. Four banks are loaded with factory presets, some of which we found to be instantly usable, others just a wall of noise.

Not to worry though - the noisy presets just need the gain knobs on some of the components turned down, plus you can easily put your own rack together and create your own patches, all quickly recalled with the virtual foot controller, which also lets you enable and disable individual effects.

To accompany the single preamp you can choose from 17 effect modules which cover all the popular guitar effects and have many adjustable parameters, allowing the possibility of dialling in a wide range of playable tones.

While the distortion sounds can get a wee bit fizzy at times, there are some sounds here that work just fine in a practice situation. And, combined with the song playback, phrase-training and recording facilities, StompBox provides a very useful guitar resource for iPad owners.

Oh, how we marvelled at its sleek design, ease of use and jaw dropping ability to listen to all of your strings at once. Then came the iPhone app and we began to wonder how TC could evolve further.

The answer recently arrived on our desk. Still with the wouldn't-look-out-of-place-in-the-Apple-Store design, the PolyTune Mini features the same polyphonic tuning as its bigger brother, plus the recently introduced Capo and Drop-D modes.

The main difference is that it's about 20 per cent smaller, measuring 51mm wide by 93mm front-to-back. Of course, there are a few other limitations: you can't update the Mini over USB and it will only run from a power supply (no battery).

The Mini has different modes, depending how you tune, all of which can be selected by pressing the small button on the side of the pedal. You can go for standard, dropped tunings (with standard intervals up to five semitones) or tell the pedal you're using a capo (up to the seventh fret).

It works exactly as before: plug in, strum your strings and the pedal's six LED 'columns' (one for each string) detect your tuning. Green is in tune, above is sharp, below is flat.

TC has also introduced the Drop-D tuning mode for the Mini. This calibrates the pedal for the 'tone-down' interval on your low string. It's accessed by holding down the stomp switch for a couple of seconds and can work in combination with the other dropped modes for achieving, say, drop B tuning.

All of this talk of polyphony might feel as though you're reading a keyboard mag, and if tuning up one string at a time is more your thing you can still do it. The PolyTune Mini jumps seamlessly between the two modes.

When it senses only one note has been played, the display reacts like a traditional chromatic tuner with a virtual needle. Simply strumming two or more strings together kicks it back into polyphonic mode again.

TC Electronic has clearly worked hard to push things forward of late. While the mini didn't leave our jaws dropped like the original, it's still the cutest, best value tuner we can think of for the price.

Yes it has some shortcomings when compared to its big brother: the PSU only (not included) operation and the lack of a daisy-chain power output and USB socket. The fact that it can't be updated shouldn't be a problem - we're buying it for what it is, not what it could be - plus the range of tuning options available is more than enough.

If you want all of those extras, they're available for a bit more cash. Otherwise, you'll save pedal board space, and money, with the PolyTune Mini.

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 the Custom Shop. This time there are four new amps, one cab and two microphones.

Sounds

Jet City is the latest company to license models for AmpliTube, offering the JCA20H and JCA100H, both with a nice line in Soldano-designed overdrive. For metallers the German Gain model is based on the Engl Fireball and has a massive array of controls that can conjure up powerful leads as well as heavy rhythms. IK has also filled a gap in its vintage Brit kit list with the HiAmp, based on the HiWatt DR103.

Finally, a couple of high-end valve condensers (modelled on the Neumann CMV563 and Brauner VM1) bring a touch of class to the selection, offering more options for tailoring your end sound if you feel the need.

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 the ability to link to your computer using the Fender Fuse software to give access to unlimited preset storage and online patch swapping.

"The level of output means it's ideal for practice and even small gigs, but the Bronco has far more use as a studio combo where you can take full benefit of all the onboard facilities."

Presented in smart black livery with a metal mesh grille, metal corner protectors and a single strap handle, this is well built and easily transportable. It has a 10-inch bass speaker making the whole thing compact and lightweight so absolutely ideal for home practice or more intimate rehearsal sessions and gigs.

Equipped with a clearly defined control panel that makes navigation both straightforward and logical it doesn't take long to get to grips with how everything works. The 24 amp models run in three banks of eight and are colour coded by yellow, green and red LEDs, so recalling or trying a new setting is easily achieved.

Every setting you change can be stored and recaptured, and you can reverse your decision before committing it to memory. Rotary controls are supplied for compression ratio and for the choice of effects, and with so many sound options at your fingertips, rehearsals are going to become a lot more fun.

The headphone option means you can experiment to your heart's content without annoying everyone in a 50-metre radius.

Sounds

In spite of only having the one 10-inch driver, the Bronco has generous, deep bass response. As a straight-ahead combo it has lots to offer tonally, but with the added advantage of effects and eight amp models, you're spoilt for choice. Models include Fender's own 59 Bassman, Redhead (SWR) and Rockin' Peg (Ampeg SVT).

The effects include delay and an envelope filter plus a good-sounding chorus: but the quality of each effect is dependent on which model you've selected. When you find a combination that works for you, the sounds storage ability is a real blessing.

Switching between models and effects is easy and, stepping from one amp to another, the resulting changes vary from subtle to startling, so there is plenty to experiment with - all part of the learning curve.

One of the most rewarding forms of solo practice is playing along to favourite tracks, and to this end Fender has included an auxiliary input so that your mobile music player can be
fed into the mix.

Nicely presented and compact, this is an extremely versatile unit despite its size. The level of output means it's ideal for practice and even small gigs, but the Bronco has far more use as a studio combo where you can take full benefit of all the onboard facilities. And with direct computer access without the need for additional interface or microphones, this is 21st century technology working to our advantage, with a control interface that doesn't overtax the brain.

This amp will appeal to multi-instrumentalists looking for a fine sounding, easy-to-use bass amp solution, as much as it will to more seasoned bassists looking for a portable, versatile amp for when the big rig is too much. Good work once again, Fender.

The Uni-Vibe was massively popular in spite of the fact that it didn't really sound a great deal like a Leslie, but the new Ventilator pedal from Neo instruments promises a much more faithful recreation of this classic sound.

"The Ventilator may not be the most versatile unit on the market, but it does its one trick very well."

Modulation station

The distinctive modulation effect created by Leslie cabinets has been a live and studio staple for half a century. The signal is amplified, split by a crossover at 800Hz and then fed to high- and low-frequency drivers that feed into rotating horns and baffles.

The Ventilator is a digital emulation of the Leslie Model 122, but the one-knob-per-function interface gives it an immediate, analogue feel. The neatly recessed knobs are intuitively labelled, giving access to the vast majority of options via the front panel.

The Speed control governs the rate of the virtual rotors' movement, while Acceleration controls the rate at which the rotors come up to speed when switching between slow and fast modes.

Round the back, a push-button switch toggles between Keyboard and Guitar modes. The former emulates the highly coloured tone of the original 122 cabinet, while the latter offers the modulation effect without colouring the signal.

Keyboard mode will obviously appeal the most to purists, but Guitar mode may be more appropriate for electronic production as well as satisfying axe-wielding tone fiends. In action, the sound is incredibly authentic - we'd even go so far as to say it's the most realistic Leslie emulation we've ever heard, and we're sure most people wouldn't be able to tell it apart from the real thing in a mix. From subtle shimmer to more intense modulation, this is a seriously usable effect.

Drive time

The main magic happens inside the cabinet, but the rotating horns are only one part of the Leslie sound; before your signal even hits the speakers in a Leslie, it's amplified through a built-in valve amp.

The Drive control on the Ventilator recreates the effect of pushing the 122's amp hard. It's a basic tube overdrive sound, but for more extreme effects it would be easy to insert a fuzz pedal earlier in the signal chain.

Many rotary speaker simulators also overlook the fact that there's a further variable after the sound leaves the cabinet: mic placement. The Ventilator is modelled on the classic approach, emulating a stereo pair of mics for the high frequencies and a separate mono mic for the bottom end.

The Distance control allows the virtual mic placement to be adjusted. At lower settings, the amplitude modulation effect is much more pronounced, decreasing at higher distances. The Balance control varies the relative levels of the low and high signals, providing a basic but effective tone control.

The Ventilator isn't the most versatile unit on the market, but it does its one trick very well. We'd have liked an expression pedal input for speed control, and it's a shame that a run/stop button isn't included in the basic unit (a Hammond CU-1 switch or Neo's own remote foot pedal, available separately for £59.84, will add this feature), but we're struggling to come up with any major complaints.

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 CPU, has proven popular with producers the world over.

"The MXR is without question the best-sounding flanger we've heard in software form."

With the release of the latest update of UAD's software, a new plug-in joins an illustrious list: the MXR Flanger/Doubler, originally produced by Dunlop Manufacturing, which has participated fully in the creation of UAD's software emulation. Widely regarded as the best-sounding flanger/doubler ever made, it certainly comes with the pedigree to take its place in UAD's software range.

MXR essentials

As ever, the plug-in can be evaluated during a free, fully functioning 14-day demo period for all UAD-2 users; to activate MXR; you'll simply need to download the V6.1 software and click the Activate Demo option within the UAD control panel. Then, as is customary for new UAD plug-ins, you'll be greeted with a GUI that looks a spitting image of the original hardware on first glance, only to reveal some unique, bespoke features upon closer inspection.

The dials and buttons are largely self-explanatory, with a Flanging/Doubling toggle button on the far left flanked by the first 'custom' option in the form of a UAD-added Dual (stereo)/Single (mono) button. The Manual dial selects the depth of the effect, while Sweep controls come in the form of Width and Speed, the latter offering a range between .03 and 20 cycles per second. A Mix dial controls the balance between Dry and Delayed signals, and the final dial controls Regeneration.

The customised Mono/Stereo option mentioned above has the capacity to 'reverse', in that there's a Mono Summing button to squash a stereo-based process into mono. Another button enables you to invert the processed signal with a single push, and there's a Sync button for the MXR's internal LFO so that the effect can either be left to run 'unclocked' or instantly locked to a quantise value to sync to your track.

So flanging good

Flanging/doubling isn't an essential process for everyone, but if you're someone who relies heavily on instrument, audio or whole-track processing of this kind, the MXR is without question the best-sounding flanger we've heard in software form. It's capable of a great range of flavours, from subtle to chaotic, and the options to widen mono material or take super-stereo effects back into mono enable you to keep phasing problems to a minimum.

Most importantly though, the richness the MXR can add to sounds is wonderful, from warmer, subtle treatments on bass sounds to full-on craziness on drum, vocal or synth parts. It's possibly not a standout 'name' processor to encourage new users to leap to the UAD-2 platform in their droves, but as a further complement to UAD's software collection it's a thoroughly welcome addition.

If you're the proud owner of a UAD-2 card, we guarantee you'll be pleased.

This brings us to the new, and even more numerically potent Studio One 2. As before, the single screen focus remains - the designers' intention being that you should be able to access most features from the main window. On first glance we still had the impression, visually at least, of viewing a Logic/Cubase hybrid, though perhaps now with an added dose of Reason 6 - incidentally none of this is meant in a bad way!

"Melodyne opens within Studio One 2 and updates instantaneously… this is a marriage made in heaven."

The headline news regarding Studio One 2 (for the sake of sanity lets call it SO2 from now on) is the inclusion of 'Integrated Melodyne Pitch Correction' processing - which we'll explore shortly - though there are a quite a large number of other significant feature additions (and many minor ones).

The daddy of this range remains SO2 Professional, though the 'Artist' version has been joined by the intermediate SO2 Producer. It should also be noted that SO2 has come down in price a little since version 1, but 'Artist' has plummeted from £199 to £82.

Fresh install

This time round we received our Studio One license online, and as such had to download it from the internet (as well as all additional content). Installation was quick and easy, with a simple online registration process, and no dongles in sight.

Adding content is very straightforward; SO2 asks what you wish to download and install automatically on first running the program. As well as wide selection presets for the built-in SO2 instruments, you may install a number of loop collections and third-party samples, including some new V2 additions.

The extras this time also feature Native Instruments Komplete Elements 7 (replacing the NI Kore Player from before), but there's no EZ Drummer Lite or Guitar Rig LE this time. The other important component is Melodyne Essential, which needs to be installed in order to enable the integrated Melodyne features in SO2.

Incidentally, Studio One didn't come with a manual even in its earlier incarnations, so the only thing missing from the downloaded product is the physical installation media. It's up to you to decide if they are worth the additional cost (£30).

Making tracks

Getting stuck into SO2, you're likely to receall how easy the original Studio One was to use, and there is nothing radically different on the visual front to change this. Recording audio and MIDI is easy to set up, and logical in use.

Incidentally, SO2 is one of only a few DAWs that enable you to make edits to existing tracks while recording new ones. The new Comping features using Layers makes assembling takes very easy. Folders facilitate bundling tracks together for convenience.

Much like Cubase 6, folders can also be used to group tracks together for editing, making multi-track comping a piece of cake. A quick key press away is Melodyne time and pitch editing, and unlike many other similar solutions, no pre-processing audio transfer is required.

The Melodyne window opens within SO2 and updates any audio tweaking instantaneously. While Steinberg may have got here first with VariAudio (integrated into Cubase 5), this is a marriage made in heaven, and will surely be the envy of many other DAW users. In fact, if you own the full version of Melodyne Editor (not the cut-down 'Essential' version included here) you will even have integrated access to its polyphonic 'DNA' algorithm.

Another addition in the audio editing stakes are event-based effects. Each event is give its own insert rack for adding effects. This is a great feature and enables you to create some incredibly detailed, or even downright crazy, effects treatments.

The new Track Transform option - a form of freezing/rendering - extends to the Instruments Tracks and even these new Event Effects. Incidentally, these newly 'frozen' tracks can be edited at the audio level - unlike some DAWs.

Bend me, shape me

We tested the new transient detection features by attempting to quantise an imported drum loop. In fact, this was only a few simple mouse-clicks away.

The Audio Bend features expand on this, and enable you to stretch and squeeze your audio to fit all manner of scenarios, much like the 'Flex' features of Logic or 'Warping' in Cubase (in fact the same superb zplane algorithms are used here).

We also really liked the Groove Extraction tools on offer, which simplify the process to such a degree - 'drag', 'drop' and 'click' - that they make experimentation quite painless and a lot of fun

Navigating a project has been made even easier, with the addition of the Track List, though even without this Studio One was clear and easily navigable DAW. This is especially noticeable when it comes to the way in which the Mastering facilities are integrated into a Project - the Project in this instance being a collection of Songs.

Studio One automatically manages revised Song mixes and updates them in any Project that uses them. SO2 includes some new mastering options, including DDP Export support, PQ editing and better sample-rate conversion. Add the expanded SoundCloud features (now integrated directly into the Browser) and you have some serious post-production delivery functions.

In the air tonight

Alongside a number of smaller effect tweaks and additions, we also have OpenAIR, a convolution reverb. This is a form of processing that utilises 'captured' impulse responses (IRs).

IRs are usually created by playing a short noise burst or full-range sine wave sweep into the space to be captured. This is then recorded and processed so that it may loaded into OpenAIR or other similar convolution-based effect.

This process is a great way of distilling the reverberation charact-eristics of a real space into a digital plug-in, but can also be used to steal the sonics of hardware processors (as PreSonus has done with some of its OpenAIR presets). In fact Studio One 2 comes with its own utility for generating and capturing your own impulse responses that makes the process very easy. Not only can this be used for generating OpenAIR ambience presets, but also for capturing the sound of guitar cabinets for use with Ampire XT.

It should also be noted that OpenAIR, in common with other IR-based reverbs, only allows for limited tweaking. If you want lots of parameters to play with, then you will need to turn to an algorithmic reverb such as SO2's 'MixVerb' or 'Room Reverb'.

A convolution reverb is only as good as it impulse responses (captured reverb settings), and OpenAIR comes with some fantastic examples. They extend from great-sounding rooms to some classic hardware presets as well as special effects. This is a strong addition to SO2's effect stable.

If this weren't enough the new IR Maker utility enables you to capture your own ambient spaces. Incidentally, the Ampire guitar-amp modeller has a convolution-based cab section.

Conclusion

We were impressed with Studio One in its original form (though more as a 'work in progress'); this time around it's a real killer. Coming as it does from the hands of ex-Steinberg programmers, for Cubase users it perhaps doesn't quite offer all the functionality that one would expect to see in a well-rounded DAW at this price point.

The holes in its audio editing functionality have been plugged (the pitch and time manipulation features are now very strong, and comping generally works a treat). SO2 offers some of the most powerful project management and integration features going, and the mastering and CD preparation facilities are very strong.

The additional content provided with SO2 enables you to get up and running straight out of the box, and makes the DAW relatively self-contained, though it is perhaps weakest in the area of sophisticated home-grown synthesis - we would like to have seen a built-in polyphonic subtractive synth to complement that simple-but-effective Mojito.

We also feel that a little more use could have been made of colour variation throughout the interface, though there is a general trend away from overuse of colour these days.

PreSonus has, so far, been able to expand this DAW's feature set without distilling the design and usability ethos established early on. All things considered, SO2 now feels like it can take on the 'giant killer' role to which it aspires. Give it a go: you could well be very impressed.

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 painted and its simple stiff fixtures and fittings are military in specification. There's lots of macho visible welding and the ability to set an angle at two points mean that there are height, angle and reach options.

At full stretch your laptop will be 12" aloft and the large shelf lip and rubber bumpers mean that - short of a direct impact from a flailing clubber - it's going nowhere. The Crane is also strong enough to hold controllers, iPads, CDJs - though given the stand's choice of welds and use of gravity defying clamps, we'd resist putting anything too 'motif' on there.