Cakewalk Rapture Session REVIEW PROS: huge library, quality sounds, good search functionality,...
MIDI
Top 5 Plugins to Get Amazingly Realistic Digital Piano Sounds
As a piano player, I used to detest the idea of digital pianos replacing the need for acoustic...
20 MIDI Tips To Improve Your Tracks Now
MIDI limiting. No hardware needed—add a constant value to MIDI velocities to create limiting (Fig....
How To Seamlessly Incorporate Synths & MIDI in Your Next Project
How To Seamlessly Incorporate Synths & MIDI in Your Next Project When some musicians hear the words “synthesizers” and “MIDI,” images of dayglow t-shirts and frizzed out ’80s hairdos flash...
BeatBuddy Drum Machine Pedal Review
PROS: Flexible, great sounds, simple-to-use. CONS: Editing software is only available (at this time) for Windows. PRICE: $349 Drum machines have always served a purpose in a studio, but were...
Hacking MIDI Controllers to Create Drum Machine/Guitar Hybrids
In 2001 I started bringing my Ensoniq EPS sampler keyboard on stage to make freestyle beats. It came about in part because as a DJ and producer, it’s always a challenge to be interesting on stage...
The Builders & Hackers Issue Has Arrived!
Our super-special Builders & Hackers issue has finally arrived! Celebrate the work of custom gear builders and tone tweakers in this jumbo-sized issue. PLUS learn how to solder, wire your own...
How to Fix Common Mistakes in the Studio (part 2 of 2)
“Don’t worry, we’ll fix it in the mix.” We know it’s a cliché but often it’s true. The power of recording in a controlled environment with the right tools and the right engineer is that many common...
How to Transition Your Home Recording Project to the Studio (part 1 of 2)
Let’s face it; it’s hard to record a full drum kit in a bedroom. Even if you can physically fit the kit, you then need room for all the mic stands and then there’s the neighbor downstairs to...
Qu-Bit Electronix Profile & Nebulae Review
Qu-Bit Electronix is a Eurorack modular synthesizer company based out of New York and California. They build synthesizers that are computers hiding in plain sight, able to do things analogue...
Faderfox: Builder Profile and UC3 Review
Electronic musicians are the electric guitar players of the 21st Century. Much like the rockers of yore, they’re burning up stages across the globe with a new instrument and making us reconsider...
Review: iConnect MIDI
Pros: Seemingly magical feature set, low latency, solid construction and utilitarian design. Cons: Won’t charge connected iOS devices, no support for Android devices, not bus powered when connected...
GEAR REVIEW: MOOG Cluster Flux Analog FX Processor (w/Video)
PROS: Analog feel. Tap tempo. Great sounds. Tons of options. Very quiet. CONS: Too large for smaller pedal boards. Pricey for the average player. Moog's been making synths for decades, and entered...