my gear
Virtual Guitarist 2
no description available
Steven Keen's review:
Rock on, dude!
You hear'em all the time: "What's this? A guitarist in a can? You've got to be kidding me! If I need guitar, I'll record it myself or get someone to do it for me, thank you very much!" Actually, it's quite an effective tool. I know several really accomplished guitarists who use it all the time, and are just as in love with it as I am. So what's the deal? Well, if you - like me - can't play a guitar to save your life (even though you've been trying to learn for four years), but nevertheless write songs that have guitars in them, VG can seriously spice up your demos. If you CAN play the guitar, it can help you sketch out your ideas at 3 a.m. in the morning, when your neighbours will appreciate your not playing your 2x100 Watts Marshall stack, or on the lap top in the tour bus when your gear is tucked away in the 18 wheeler behind you. It's an inexpensive rhythm guitarist, that always plays in the right key, always is in time, always grooves exactly the way you imagined it in your head, doesn't empty your liquor cabinet, always is on time, and - best of all - doesn't steal your girl friend. It can play a wide variety of styles, which you can even edit and save as your own. It comes complete with its own virtual pedal board, amps and mics, looks great and is a breeze to use - even for guitarists (no, really!). So what's the catch? Since all material (more than 6 GB!) is actually recorded grooves played by real guitarists, which is then cut into pieces to let you control it, VG can only play what's been recorded. So forget about solos - VG is a rhythm guitarist, and nothing more. But it's very well done, and it serves its purpose to the max. Buy it. Now!
Midex 8, USB MIDI Interface
no description available
Steven Keen's review:
Why has it been discontinued?
I can't help but wonder why Steinberg has decided to discontinue the Midex 3 and Midex 8 USB-MIDI interfaces. I can only speculate, that we will see some Yamaha units in the near future, featuring the LTB (Linear Time Base) protocol for tightening up MIDI data. as I said - pure speculation - no email spamming, please! But why else would you kill off two units that all computer musicians need, perform really well, and do what they say on the box? I hear there's even no plans to release Mac OSX 10.4 drivers. I guess that'll be true for Windows Vista too, then. C'mon, Steinies! Let's just hope these cool units will be resurrected wearing a Yamaha/Steinberg tag some time soon. Cubase definately deserves it... And no, mine isn't for sale.
Cubase 4, English
no description available
Steven Keen's review:
It really is All 4 You
C4 is probably the most advanced audio/MIDI production environment that is managable and transparent at the same time. With the addition of the Media Bay, the SoundFrame and the Control Room section, C4 har raised the bar. Since I am using a Creamware Scope system, this means, that I can integrate all my gear - Scope plug-ins and synths, external synths and effects, almost exactly as if they were VST plug-ins. So I can now automate, remote control, and edit everything from within C4 - in 100% sample accurate sync across the "board". C4 even calculates the latency within my external gear, and compensates for it. I've been working with DAWs for more than 15 years. I've been a Mac head, a PC geek and everything in between. I started with Cubase 1.5 on the Atari back in '91, and I've worked with most other DAWs on most platforms to a greater or lesser extent. If Opcode's Studio Vision still existed, I would most likely still be using that. For me, that would be the only real alternative to C4, regardless of platform. There are still a few hangs with C4. Where is that godda''ed side chaining? How about freely routable groups? The former is already planned, so it's all about patience. But this is why this reviewer "only" grants 4 stars.
Halion 3.1
The definitive software sampler. New levels of accessibilty and flexibilty to let your creativity flourish.
Steven Keen's review:
Stability, stability...
The HALion is a fantastic sampler. It does stuff no other sampler does. It sounds exceptional. It has amazing filters. It has the most advanced, multi-layer triggering functionality (well, it had up until the release of Kontakt 2) on the market, and it's easy to use. So what's wrong with this picture? Well, in a word - stability. If you just need some bread-and-butter sounds, get a SampleTank or a Hypersonic. Both great products. But if you really wanna dig in, and actually use those advanced features, that let you access tens of thousands of samples within one program through disk streaming and key-triggers aso., then you need HALion. But for heavens sakes - make it work as stated, you guys! There are several HALion optimized products that simply can't run (specifically Scarbee Imperial Drums XL) because of inadequate coding. I use HALion a lot, but not for it's intended purpose. It runs fine with "regular sized" programs and stuff that's not too demanding. But I've got SampleTank for that. Get in the game, Steinies ;)
Reason 3 English
Play your Reason system For a pleasurable, performance-friendly Reason experience.
Steven Keen's review:
I rest my case!
So what's so great about Reason? Well, for starters - it looks amazing! The first time you load it up, it practically begs you to start twiddling with it. When the initial visual fascination has worn off, you'll appreciate the generous selection of modules. Modules? Yes, Reason looks like a rack of hardware units! If you've ever seen an effects unit, a drum machine, a sampler or a synthesizer, you'll immediately feel right at home. But it doesn't stop here. You can actually flip the rack 180 degrees around, and presto! there's the backsides of your rack units, complete with cables and all. To emphasize the effect, the cables are actually dangling a bit when you perform the turn. How great is that! You can spend a good 15 minutes with a wide grin on your face just hitting the [TAB] key (yes, you've guessed it - the [TAB] key flips the rack back and forth). The really great thing about Reason though, is that it can be used on so many levels. If you're a complete newbie it can teach you everything about the way a studio is built - from the mixing desk to the understanding of samplers, effects and synths, to the principles of composition. If you're a hardcore audio professional, it can help you create complex setups in no time, and stream up to 64 channels of audio to any ReWire equipped host. It's simply a great addition to any existing DAW, as well as a complete all-in-one solution for the budget producer/songwriter. I won't go into details about each module or the further possibilities in Reason in this review - there are plenty of sites out there (www.propellerheads.se is a good place to start) that do just that, but simply argue that Reason should be a part of any computer musicians arsenal. Even if it's only to hit the [TAB] key on cold, rainy nights, because you can't help feeling good when Reason is running.
