Products of Interest Novation Launchkey Controller pack. The V-Station is an analog- based on the Aphex HeadPod4, is built and iPad Apps modeling synthesizer engine, the into the microphone body. Individual Bass Station an analog monophonic- switches are provided for the com- Novation has released a range of key- synthesizer, and the Loopmasters pressor and analog processors. Control board controllers that have 35–50 collection contains more than 1 GB knobs are also located on the micro- physical controls, including 16 of samples, including drum samples phone body for the Aural Exciter and velocity-sensitive launch pads. The and sound effects. Big Bottom. Microphone X is compati- controllers are available in 25-, 49-, Contact: Novation, A division ble with Mac OS X, using Core Audio, and 61-key versions (see Figure 1) and of Focusrite Audio Engineering, and with Windows XP, Vista, and 7. the keys are velocity-sensitive. Windsor House, Turnpike Road, The IN2 is a desktop audio in- The controller can be used to con- Cressex Business Park, High terface with Class A microphone trol the mixer, transport functions, Wycombe, Bucks, HP12 3FX, UK; pre-amplifiers, optical compressors, + and other setting in a digital audio telephone ( 44) 149-446-2246; fax dedicated knobs for all functions, + workstation (DAW), using InControl ( 44) 149-445-9920; electronic mail and a range of input/outputs. The technology. Faders, buttons, rotary [email protected]; Web interface has two XLR inputs on knobs, and dedicated transport con- www.novationmusic.com/. the rear panel, with matching mi- trols are included on each controller crophone pre-amplifiers and optical model, along with pitch and modu- Aphex Microphone X and IN2 compressors with LED indicators. lation wheels, and octave up/down Audio Interface Coaxial S/PDIF input/output, and buttons. Sixteen multi-color, backlit, MIDI input/output are also provided. Balanced 1/ -in TRS stereo outputs, a velocity-sensitive launch pads, lo- Microphone X, from Aphex, is a USB 4 USB port, the DC power connection, cated above the keyboard, can be used microphone with a built-in optical and a power on/off switch are also lo- to play drum patterns and to trigger compressor and the company’s cated on this rear panel. The interface scenes and clips. The controller is Aural Exciter and Big Bottom analog features the headphone amplifier from USB-powered. processors (see Figure 2). The analog Aphex’s HeadPod4 and Microphone X. The Launchkey is packaged with processing is carried out before the A- A 1/ -in headphone output is accessi- a range of software, including Nova- D convertor stage and is designed to 4 ble on the front panel of the interface. tion’s V-Station synthesizer plug-in, add warmth and depth to the sound. Among the top panel controls are Bass Station synthesizer, Ableton The microphone capsule includes a dedicated buttons for phantom power, Live Lite, and a Loopmasters samples low-mass diaphragm and provides a a 75-Hz high-pass filter, a –20 dB pad, cardioid polar pattern. It is capable of a compressor on/off switch, and an sampling rates up to 96 kHz at 24-bit output level knob with dim and mono doi:10.1162/COMJ r 00186 resolution. A headphone amplifier, buttons. The IN2 is powered by a 12V external power supply. It supports sampling rates up to 192 kHz, at 24-bit resolution, and is compatible with Windows and Mac OSX. The Microphone X is listed for US$ 299 and the IN2 is listed for US$ 499. Contact: Aphex, 3500 N. San Fernando Blvd., Burbank, California 91505, USA; telephone (+1) 818- 767-2929; fax (+1) 818-767-2641; electronic mail [email protected]; Web www.aphex.com/. Slate Pro Audio Raven Multi-Touch Mixing Surface The Raven MTX is the first ever Figure 1. The Launchkey controller from Novation. multi-touch audio production system, 104 Computer Music Journal Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/COMJ_r_00186 by guest on 01 October 2021 Figure 2. The Microphone X USB Figure 3. Slate Pro Audio’s Raven microphone with analog processing multi-touch audio production from Aphex. system. The Raven MTX is listed for US$ 3,500. Contact: Slate Pro Audio; tele- phone (+1) 323-656-2050; electronic mail [email protected]; Web www.slateproaudio.com/. Cymatic Audio Live Recorder LR-16 Figure 2 The Live Recorder LR-16 from Cy- matic is a 16-channel direct-to-USB recorder (see Figure 4). It is designed for use with USB thumb and hard drives, although a USB 2.0 hard drive is recommended for ideal use. The rear panel of the recorder 1 has 16 /4-in jack input connectors, a stereo output, a power supply connection, and an on/off switch. The USB port is built into the front panel, along with a headphone output and volume control. The top panel of the recorder features an LCD display with menu and control settings on either side. Dedicated transport controls are provided beneath this screen. A single button press is required to Figure 3 start recording, since all inputs are hard-wired. No channel arming or assigning is needed. A built-in mixer according to its manufacturer, Slate simultaneous channels. Faders, pans, provides control over pan, solo, mute, Pro Audio. The system includes a mutes, solos, sends, automation, and and volume. Global and individual touch screen display, multi-touch plug-in inserts can all be accessed –12 dB pad settings are possible. The mixer for DAW control, and a flexible using a finger instead of a mouse tracks and folders are automatically toolbar that can be customized by pointer. The Macintosh version Pro named. Hardware input monitoring the user. It also has an analog moni- Tools 9 and 10 are currently supported is zero latency. toring section with multiple speaker and supports for all major Windows The recorder samples audio at outputs, source inputs, and ports for and Macintosh DAWs are planned. 44.1 and 48 kHz, with 16- and 24-bit USB, smart phone, and headphones The analog monitoring system resolution. (see Figure 3). features digitally controlled analog It can operate as a class-compliant The 27-in. LED backlit LCD screen circuits. Four speaker outputs, mul- audio interface to record audio to a is constructed from 2-mm–thin glass tiple source inputs, laptop reference DAW at sample rates up to 96 kHz. with a nanotechnology coating to cre- speakers, and eight-channel cue out- The LR-16 is also compatible with ate a smooth, slick surface for touch puts are available for customized iPad, using a USB–iPad adapter such control. The display has a 178-degree headphone mixes. A 7.1 surround as Apple’s Camera Kit. viewing angle and can be adjusted mixing and mastering module is also The LR-16 is listed for US$ from a 10–30 degree angle. It has available. Ports on top of the con- 599. Contact: Cymatic Audio; tele- DVI, HDMI, and USB connections. sole allow the user to connect USB phone (+1) 855-878-6668; electronic The Raven multi-touch DAW control thumb drives, external hard drives, mail [email protected]; Web software gives the user access to 24 and iPhones/iPods. www.cymaticaudio.com/. Products of Interest 105 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/COMJ_r_00186 by guest on 01 October 2021 Figure 4. Cymatic Audio’s Figure 5. The Custom One Pro head 16-channel Live Recorder LR-16. customizable headphones from Beyerdynamic. Korg MS-20 Mini Monophonic Analog Synthesizer Korg’s MS-20 monophonic analog synthesizer was first released in 1978. It was emulated in the MS- 20 plug-in synthesizer and the iPad app iMS-20. The company has now packaged the circuitry and sounds of the classic synthesizer in a new hardware version, the MS-20 Mini (see Figure 6). The Mini retains the look and feel of the original synthesizer but the size has been Figure 4 reduced by more than 80 percent. This new version features a 37-note mini keyboard. Beyerdynamic Custom One The synthesizer features two Pro Headphones VCOs, VCAs, VCFs, envelope gen- erators, and a single low-frequency Beyerdynamic’s Custom One Pro oscillator. Ring modulation is avail- headphones are designed for both able on the oscillators and hold and home and studio use. Users can delay on the envelope generators. change the look and sound of the It has high- and low-pass filters headphones to suit their individual that can self-oscillate. An external tastes. A slider on the ear cups signal process allows the user to changes the position of flexible control the pitch or volume using bass reflex vents in four stages (see an external audio source. A flexible Figure 5). Closed vents produce patching system is available on the less movement in the transducer front panel above the keyboard. The membranes and a clean sound. Each main controls are also located here shift of the slider opens the vents and have been accurately reproduced more, adding rich bass. When used in from the original. The patch cables 1 1 closed position, the headphones are have been reduced from /4-in to /8-in acoustically isolated and the listener mini-jacks. is protected from outside noise. The A MIDI input port is included for headphones use 16 Ohm drivers that receiving note messages from MIDI provide up to 116 dB. The frequency Figure 5 devices. A USB-MIDI port can also range is 5 Hz to 35 kHz. be used to transmit and receive MIDI The Custom One Pro headphones note messages, and to connect to are highly customizable.