ESI U168 XT Review
I’m excited to bring this investigative report to you. I admit that I get a little extra bit stoked when an opportunity is presented to bench-test a new piece of hardware. This is certainly one of those times. ESI is not especially well known here in Canada, or anywhere North America for that matter, but I was highly intrigued when the U168 XT press release came across my desk.
Have you seen the ESI press release on Reviewer’s News? U168 XT Press Release As it turns out, German technology builders, ESI, have decided to enter the North American audio interface fray. I’m honored that Reviewer’s Revival is one of the original six entities to have received a demo unit. At 24 bit/96kHz, there is plenty of audio resolution on tap to produce über quality recordings, but since this is a USB 2.0 device, and thus limited to USB 2.0 transfer rates, it won’t take you into the stratospheric 192+ kHz range. I suspect that if you’re using a system powerful enough to handle the incredible amounts of data storage, and CPU capacity, that ultra high resolutions demand, you’re probably using a $3000 “Antelope” HDX interface and Pro Tools HD – in an elite LA Mastering studio. *Wink. The U168 XT is an upper mid-class prosumer peripheral -- compatible with both MAC and Windows PCs. ALL the boxes are ticked with big, bold check marks: build-quality, features, speed, performance, I/O, sound quality and useful appointments. We must keep things “on-the-level”; I have a few shards of neutralizing commentary to share, but for the most part, I’m very impressed with the U168 XT.
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Softube Tape (Exciting Deep) Review
Things have progressed quite a lot since those days. Most of us have retired our old x86 Windows XP and Vista machines in favor of newer, more powerful, multi-core 64 bit designs. Many of the well-established plug-in makers have developed impressive Tape emulators and these kinds of accessories have now become a fairly common digital audio commodity.
I enjoy throwing ToneBooster’s “TB_ReelBus” on drum tracks. It sounds great, it’s easy to dial in, and it offers plenty of configuration options. What’s more, it can be had for only €20. Other times you’ll find me smiling with satisfaction at the even better executed tape emulation heard in Slate Digital’s “VTM”. That said, I was more than a little intrigued when I received the official press-release concerning Softube’s “Tape”. If “Tape” exuded the same kind of highly convincing analogue vibe that other Softube treasures do, it must be something to behold – er, listen to, rather. *Grin. Softube Tape lists for $99 (USD). I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I’m especially eager to delve into it and find out what everybody’s favorite “Rock-n-Roll Scientists” have come up with this time! AcousticSampleS B-5 V2 (Powerful) Review
I’m more than a little excited to announce that these failings are nowhere to be heard or seen in version 2. This redux sounds, plays, and operates extremely well (dare I say near perfectly?). The Leslie (rotating) cabinet emulation is very impressive. Microphone positioning and room size virtualization are superb here. Tonal balance and faithful, authentic-sounding tonewheel character are exploited to the fullest.
B-5 V2 normally lists for €99, but AcousticSampleS generously provide it au gratis as a FREE upgrade for those whom had already purchased the original version. * At the time of this publication, B-5 V2 is available for a short time at only €69! Elysia Karacter (Exciting Deep) Review
The question I immediately posed was: “Is this just another ho-hum, hum-drum distortion plug or is the name on its tin aptly deserved?” I’ve been bench-testing Karacter over a period of a few days, comparing it to other Saturation plug-ins that I have on hand, and I’ve concluded that it imparts smooth, controllable harmonic color and character – it does so very nicely indeed.
Karacter is not actually a single plug-in; herein are two iterations of the processor banded together. First, there’s the Mix variant tailored for individual track tasks. Its larger, more feature-laden compadre, Master, is geared towards BUS duties, or even full mix processing. Maybe it’s just my age showing, or perhaps it’s all the time and effort that we engineers have put into trying to “clean” things up, but me thinks that $199 (USD)** is an overly aggressive price point for a Saturation/distortion plug-in. Stick n’ stay – hang out with yours truly for a few minutes, and let’s find out if the steep MSRP price tag is merited. **Excluding Plugin-Alliances special sales and bundle offerings - which by the way, there’s a sale ongoing at the time of this publishing: Get Karacter for $129. Brainworx Rockrack_V3 Review
This is in contrast to the popular and expected methodology of granting guitarists gads of tweaking options through the inclusion of many dozens of amp models, cabinet designs and microphone options. Rockrack Pro sported three über-carefully modeled amps – with a total of five distinct channels – and four cabinet models.
The amp channels were (and still are) discreet modeling of the following: ENGL 530 (Clean and Lead); Marshall JCM800 (Clean and Crunch); and Mesa Boogie Rect-O-verb (Clean and Lead). Gratifying cabinet impulse-responses of a “Marshall 1960 TV”, a “Mesa Boogie 4x12”, an “Orange 2x12” and a “Diezel 4x12” were loaded in – with varied mic configurations. BX Rockrock Pro was capable of delivering big, shimmering cleans, authoritative crunch, and screaming higher-gain leads. It tended towards minimalism and simplicity, yet offered plenty to take its rightful place on any home recordist’s “GO TO” shelf. Fast forwarding to 2017, Brainworx unleashed the bigger, better, bad-assier BX Rockrack_V3. This grown-up, weightier, warrior of rock n’ roll marches onto your sound stage with an arsenal of EIGHT distinct amp channels and a battalion’s worth of cabinet impulses. Some pertinent good news that I’d like to highlight immediately, is the fact that BX Rockrack V3 is very light on CPU – a very welcome advantage in its favor! A second piece of welcome intel, is that V3 hosts 40+ cabinet impulses/recording chains. Stick n’ stay ! Hang out with yours truly for a few minutes, and let’s find out if the $199 (USD)** price tag is merited. **Excluding Plugin-Alliances special sales and bundle offerings. ** PS. There's a link to my full-featured video presentation of bx Rockrack V3 at the end of this article. You'll see it at the bottom of the page. ☻ SPL Attacker, DeVerb & MoVerb Microplugs Review
SPL’s “Transient Designer” and its utilitarian, little Microplug cousins have held the admiration of innumerable audio engineers for about 25 years. It’s no secret that Transient Designer more-or-less remains the de facto standard by which most nearly every other Transient-shaping dynamics tool is measured against.
I won’t bother you with rhetoric and pointless word-count, reiterating what is considered common knowledge. Suffice it to say that SPL’s original hardware units, and their precisely-modeled plug-in counterparts, don’t raise the bar – they *ARE the bar. As first-time purchases, each of the Microplugs requires a healthy bit of weight in your piggy bank – Attacker Plus rings in at $99 (USD) with Mo-Verb and De-Verb closely taking up the rear at $79 bucks apiece. If you own licenses for the original versions, and are expecting enticing upgrade prices, Plugin-Alliance have slashed those amounts in half for you. NetLimiter 4 Review
You get the idea. Unless you are a single person, living in a single-occupant dwelling, you’ve most likely had to deal with the oft times frustrating dirge of communal internet bandwidth sharing. Let’s face it – we love our wives n’ kids, right? Right? We don’t want to unnecessarily tie up the entire household’s networkable bandwidth, just because we have to download a 20GB sample library. Well, maybe some of us don’t care, but we *should care.
On the other side of the equation, neither ought a 14 year old, baggy-pants teenager be permitted to ravenously gobble up all available family WAN access with his gaming, Netflix, YouTube and such. . . .Or non baggy-pants teens either, for that matter. *Grin. Fortunately, there is a remedy at hand for those of us using Windows PCs – NetLimiter 4 Pro. For only $29 (USD) (*Single user license) you can save yourself, or perhaps your entire household, from a truckload of bandwidth woes. If per chance you’ll need more than one license, a small discount is offered. To illustrate, (3) single licenses can be had for $74.85 and $99 would cover (4) PCs. The software does not expire once it’s been authorized, and minor revisions/upgrades are FREE. There are “Site” and “Enterprise” licenses on offer as well, costing $1500 to $4000 respectively. Softube Volume 1 Review
In a manner of speaking, there are 16 of Softube’s most coveted plug-ins crammed into this collection. The mix and producing gamut is amply covered with kit pieces dedicated to Compression, EQ, Limiting, Summing, Amp simulation, Reverb, Delay, Echo, Flanging and Doubling/Chorus.
If that weren’t enough, Softube’s “Heartbeat” is an innovative, virtual drum machine that can handle most nearly any beat-making situation imaginable. Last, but far from least, the deluxe, expandable synthesizer, aptly named, “Modular”, attends a dizzying spectrum of flexible synthesis. Purchased separately, all the included accessories would set you back a little over $2000 (MSRP)! Thankfully, a perpetual (lifetime) license for this crate-load of plug-in glory can be had for a reasonable $499 (USD). Monthly and yearly subscriptions are also available - $20/month and $200/yearly respectively. TAL U-NO-LX Review
Many of us are thankful for Switzerland’s Patrick Kunz and his full line of TAL (Togo Audio Line) virtual synths and plug-ins.
Very thankful. Many DAWs have been blessed with TAL audio products over the past 6 years. There has been the illustrious TAL-chorus, the reliable, ear-pleasing Tal-Reverb (II and III), the fluid, silky TAL DUB-Delays, and the easy-to-dial in TAL Effects.
While we’re listing the wealth of products that TAL have blessed us with, let’s not omit the worthy VA synths, TAL-Elec7ro, TAL-NoiseMaker and the perennial U-NO-60.
After years of giving his hard work and exemplary programming efforts away for free, Mr. Kunz now offers the FINEST “Roland Juno 60” emulation that has ever been heard ‘In The Box’ for both MAC and PC. Originally slated for a MSRP of $70, TAL made U-NO-LX available for a paltry $17 as a pre-release offer. At present, the RRP is only $60 (USD). I strongly recommend that interested parties hurry over to the developer’s web site to grab this VSTi now! Once the news gets out about just how “good” this TRUE-modelled VA synth is, I suspect that there will be a whole new generation of synth players who will consider the $70 price tag a small amount to pay. Arturia Producer Pack 61 – Part III: Mini V Review
** VOTRE ATTENTION, S'il Vous Plait!
This review is lengthy and quite broad in scope. The Producer Pack 61 has so much "packed" into it that in order to do it justice, our report is split into four individual segments.
Cresting the ‘Everest’ of popularity resultant from their industry-changing virtual analog emulations of the Moog “Modular” and the prolific Yamaha “CS-80”, Arturia brazenly undertook the impossible – incredulously, they accurately modeled the Minimoog! Furthermore, Arturia not only veraciously cast the original instrument’s circuitry, filter modes, tonal characteristics, and etcetera, but they expanded the feature-set and value of their digital emulation exponentially.
Arturia’s (Officially Moog-licensed) digital reproduction encapsulates the breadth of “Minimoog Model D” greatness. They’ve also revived the time-honored classic to be a modern, powerful appliance of synthesizer enormity, capable of maintaining a position of credibility on the digital compass. Many contemporary synthesizers retail at prices ranging from $149 to over $200. At the time of this publication, “Mini V” sees its list price marked at only $99 (USD). In keeping with the situation of this multi-part review, it’s most gratifying that Arturia have kindly included it as part of the Producer Pack 61 bundle. |
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