Computer Music magazine reviews the Synful Orchestra plugin. They give it full credit for its new approach to orchestral synthesis, and say the sounds you can get from it are very good — “You can come up with realistic results in Orchestra within mninutes of firing it up.” The user interface is simple and the various parameters are preset appropriately, so “it really is very easy to use.” (more…)

E-Mu’s 1616M laptop audio interface system has received some attention recently. And with good reason, if E-Mu are to be believed — they call it “the most powerful and portable laptop audio system ever created,” with the same DSP effects, zero-latency monitoring and mastering-grade 24-bit/192kHz A/D and D/A converters as E-Mu’s high-end systems. The system consists of a PC card and a breakout box, and it also comes with E-Mu’s rather good production tools software bundle. (more…)

Listening to music is a very important part of making music, so it’s essential that your listening equipment is set up properly. Arve Bersvendsen has written an excellent tutorial on setting up your stereo system, including a downloadable Audio test CD. You can play back the test tones on your sound system to make sure that the placement of your loudspeakers within the room isn’t messing with your sound. (more…)

Steinberg’s Virtual Bassist VST instrument gets a review in Computer Music magazine, who give it an enthusiastic thumbs-up. First impressions count for a lot, and they call the Virtual Bassist user interface well-designed and clearly laid out; “The controls all hang together well, and allow you to sculpt an impressively broad range of tones.” (more…)

Steinberg will soon release Cubase SE3, the new version of its entry-level music production and sequencing software. This upgrade brings in some of the features from the professional Cubase SX3 package, such as delay compensation. Steinberg’s view is that “Cubase SE3 is ideal for anyone working on a tight budget but who can’t do without professional technologies in their home recording, project or pre-production environment.” (more…)

SampleRobot is an “automatic sampler” from German sound design people Skylife. It’s a quick way of getting all the sounds from your big clunky old synth modules into your shiny laptop studio — it actually plays your hardware snyth and records the results for playback through its software sampler. Skylife call it “the missing link between sound source and software sampler.” (more…)

Traktor DJ Studio 3 will be the next version of Native Instruments’ software DJ mixing system when it arrives in November. This version features no fewer than four virtual decks — just try that with Technics 1200s. It also has several tempo-synced effects and an emulated 4-channel mixer to put it all together. If Ableton Live feels too much like a computer program to you, try Traktor for live performance to get that old-skool vibe going. (more…)

Numark’s PT01 is a DJ turntable with the usual features including pitch control. It also has some unusual features — it’s battery powered, and small enough to fit in a record crate. And it only weighs 2kg, or 4 pounds 8 ounces as some would have it. It also has a little built-in amp and speaker for that “all-in-one” vibe. Even if you’re not planning to take your scratching skillz on the road, you still need a turntable. A lot of great music is only available on vinyl, and you’ve got to get it onto your laptop somehow. (more…)

FuzzPlus 2 is a fuzzbox plugin from Audio Damage, makers of the mighty dubonic DubStation plugin. FuzzPlus is a fuzzbox plugin with the same fun cartoon interface and very simple controls. The basis of this plugin is a transform model of “a famous vintage fuzz pedal,” though they don’t say which one. And importantly, it’s not just cheap — it’s free. (more…)

Harmony Central has a very, very long and episodic review of Ableton Live 5. It’s quite thorough — they even look at a very useful feature that doesn’t get enough attention — the tutorials. “Turns out they’re actually pretty useful and quite well done. The “Tour” loads an example file, then takes you through all the main operations: clips, scenes, mixing, and the like. If you’re new to Live, this would be extremely helpful. The Tour tutorial has 27 pages and includes a fair amount of material, but not so much as to be overwhelming.” (more…)