I had used Reason pretty much since its inception at the start of the decade. The rack mounted nature of it, the simplicity and intuitiveness of its interface, as well as the mind blowing number of routing options to experiment with made be a devout user pretty much from the get-go.

Limitations of Reason
However, Reason always had its limitations - lack of VST plugin support and no direct audio recording ability. The VST support was never a major drawback to me, I liked that the program never crashed and was super CPU friendly - I could use a crazy amount of synths and effects that wouldn’t  have been possible with the regular DAW/VST combo.

The lack of audio support however used to drive me crazy. I would create a great song in Reason and then would get a cool idea for a guitar part, but would have to save the song and relaunch it via Rewire in Live or Logic, set up mixer channels etc, mess around with settings - one amazing creativity sucker! Things got more complicated having to save 2 different song files, working from multiple different windows, plus the CPU would start taking a hit. ReWire was a good idea and useful but a far from optimal work flow.

Reason to Record
Which brings us back to Propellerheads Record. At last a solution to my Reason/audio issues. I eagerly downloaded the Beta from the Propellerhead site.

First impressions, were good. The sound from the new SSL modeled mixer was fantastic, giving a full bodied professional sound - probably due to the excellent new mixer compressor & eq. The sounds from the Line 6 Guitar and Bass units are also excellent - very useful and the presets sound great in a mix.

The way it handles the integration of Reason modules is excellent - you can now have horizontal as well as vertical racks. Its good to see that all the features from Reason are available in Record.

Adding audio is a breeze, there is even a tuner within each audio track to help ensure your instrument is in tune - no need to rifle through sub menus. Its as simple as hitting record and recording your audio source.

Even though I was adding lots of synths and effects to my songs, it was very CPU efficient bearing in mind there was a lot of debugging code running in the background taking up resources. Once this is removed, its going to be a very efficient application especially as it also supports multicore processors.

One week later….Record upsides & downsides
After a week of using the software I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the quality of the recordings and also how intuitive the software has been to use. The ability to increase or decrease tempos with very little artifacts has been another great feature - the quality of which I believe far outstrips my beloved Ableton Live.

Now for the downsides. After all the hype I don’t think this software is the revolutionary product a lot of people are touting it to be. Its not on the game-changing scale of say Melodyne, Ableton Live or even Reason. Its just a great complimentary product for existing Reason users and also a great way for bands to get their ideas recorded and to create professional sounding mixes through that great SSL modelled desk.

It would have been nice to have had a few more exciting ideas from Propellerhead rather than just creating a basic, stripped down, albeit great sounding DAW. I’m sure they could have come up with a few interesting ideas for modules that would allow the user to manipulate the audio once it had been recorded. For example, the ability to throw in any audio file - mp3, wav and it automatically be tempo synced or turned it a .rex file that can then be used within the Dr Rex module, or some other module where you could chop up and play the audio from a midi controller.

Conclusion
Overall I think Propellerhead have done a great job with Record, in making a piece of recording software that is fast and intuitive to use and creates great sounding tracks via the SSL modelled mixer. The best bit though - after 8 years Reason owners like me, finally have the audio recorder we wanted.

*Propellerhead Record - Official Site

Here’s a short video of Record in action:

My inital reaction was that not a lot had changed from the previous release, but how wrong I was. One of the complaints I had about the previous version was the GUI for garageband especially when it came to the effects and virtual instruments.

In Logic - Garageband’s bigger brother you get some amazing GUIs such as the ES2 synth and the space designer reverb effect.  In Garageband ‘09 the GUI has massively improved and looks a lot more professional and intuitive.

This new design is most prominent on the new guitar effects that are featured in this version. They look great - there’s a range of different amps that are modelled on amps from Marshall, Vox and others. The stomp box effects have also had the magic from Apple’s designers and look great as well as been intuitive to use.

As well as the great looks, these new guitar effects sound brilliant too. I was very impressed with the tone that you can get, without having to flip through numerous settings and menus. To be honest the included presets are more than capable of giving you a great electric guitar sound on your recordings.

I also use NI’s Guitar Rig & Amplitube and can say that sonically the Garageband amps sound just as good to my ears, although you don’t get the customizability or the number of options that these two pieces of software provide.

Which leads to my final point, as a musician do you need the extra options, multiple menus, 17 reverbs, 50 synths, etc that more expensive software offers? After trying dozens of different plugins, sequencers and hardware synths I’m coming to the conclusion that what matters is that you can get your musical ideas down quickly and intuitively without fuss. Garageband ‘09 fulfils this remit perfectly, which is probably why you’ve got established artists such as Oasis, Fall Out Boy, Justice, Snow Patrol among others who use Garageband as their main composition tool of choice.

Akai the legend of hip hop producers everywhere, have developed a controller that seamlessly matches the Ableton Live 8 interface. What this means is that for the first time Ableton users get a fully hands on experience that brings more enjoyment and makes the software even more intuitive.

This isn’t the first time a product has been made for software - Cubase had the Houston controller. However, you could argue that this is the first time it’s been done well.

It’s good to see that Akai have taken such a bold step getting behind a particular software and hopefully it will be a trend that other manufacturers follow - a dedicated Reason 4 controller anyone?

Akai APC40 official site

Store	Country	Shipping	Price
	USA	Free	$999.99
	USA	Free	$999.99
	USA	Free	$995.00

NB. Prices correct as of date of post.

Roland TD-3SW V-Compact Electronic Drum Set Overview

The Roland TD-3SW V-Compact Electronic Drum Set combines the great sounds and Rhythm Coach training features of the TD-3 module with an improved more natural feeling pad set. This is an ideal electronic drum kit that’s perfect for students and others who want to explore e-drumming at a wallet-friendly price. Headphone and aux in jacks let you practice in privacy anywhere and anytime.

Roland TD-3SW V-Compact Electronic Drum Set Features & Spec

*Enhanced Rhythm Coach function with helpful rhythm training exercises
*114 high-quality sounds 32 drum kits ambience and compression effects
*Improved PDX-8 10″ mesh snare
*Phrase Preview function makes auditioning and selecting drum kits easy
*Drum set rack for TD-3SW Electronic Drums
*Clamps and arms for the pads and the cymbals
*3X PD-8 rubber pads; support separate head/rim triggering on snare and bow/edge triggering on hi-hat
*FD-8 Hi-Hat Controller allows smooth hi-hat sounds from open to closed

Roland TD-3SW V-Compact Electronic Drum Set on YouTube

Store	Country	Shipping	Price
	USA	Free	$539.00
	USA	Free	$539.99
	USA	Free	$539.95

NB. Prices correct as of date of post.

Rane Serato Scratch Live Overview

The Serato Scratch Live by Rane is more reliable and easier to use than earlier digital/vinyl interfaces. Using regular turntables or CD players, you can scratch and mix files from your Windows XP or Mac computer’s CD or hard drive, add in a live mic input for scratching, and bypass to standard vinyl. The Rane Serato’s unique control screen gives you unprecedented realtime side-by-side visual command with color-coded frequencies so that you can distinguish bass and snare hits for flawless beat matching.

Rane Serato Scratch Live Features & Spec

*Unprecedented accuracy and reliability
*Bus-powered USB interface
*Color-coded frequency wave forms
*Unique side-by-side control screen
*2 switchable phono or line inputs
*Song selection access from vinyl
*Microphone input

Rane Serato Scratch Live on YouTube

Store	Country	Shipping	Price
	USA	Free	$1,519.24-$2,331.00
	USA	Free	$2,331.00
	USA	Free	$2,331.00-$2,529.00

NB. Prices correct as of date of post.

Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s Neck Electric Guitar Overview

The Gibson Les Paul Standard ’60s Neck is the electric guitar that is famous for its sustain. The sound and feel of the original ’60s Les Paul comes from a slim ’60s neck design with a smaller peghead push-in-bushing green tuning keys and nickel hardware. Mahogany body and neck with maple top and rosewood fretboard. BurstBucker Pro pickups feature Alnico V magnets like those used in the P-90s from the ’50s.

Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s Neck Electric Guitar Features & Spec

*Mahogany body and slim ’60s neck
*BurstBucker Pro with Alnico V humbucker pickups
*Maple top
*Top and fretboard binding
*Rosewood fretboard
*Green keystone tuners

Gibson Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar with 60s Neck

Store	Country	Shipping	Price
	USA	Free	$999.99-$1,099.99
	USA	Free	$999.99-$1,099.99
	USA	Free	$999.95-$1,099.95

NB. Prices correct as of date of post.

Fender American Standard Stratocaster Electric Guitar Overview

The Fender American Stratocaster Electric Guitar is a Fender icon. The upgrades include a richer deeper neck tint for a more elegant and expensive appearance. Bent steel Fender saddles with classic look and great tone. Glossed neck front for improved looks with satin back for smooth playability. This Strat features the original headstock shape but has staggered machine heads losing one string tree and improving string angle over the nut. Copper Infused Cast Strat® Bridge Block (steel with copper- 100% metal) for increased mass and improved tone. String spacing narrowed for modern playability saddle height screws re-sized to reduce rough feel and string slot on saddle elongated to reduce string friction or breakage.

Fender American Standard Stratocaster Electric Guitar Features & Spec

*Modern C-shaped maple neck with rich deep neck tint glossed neck front with satin back
*Thinner undercoat for improved body resonance
*Rosewood or maple fretboard
*Staggered machine heads
*Solid alder body
*Bent steel Fender saddles
*3 hot single-coil pickups
*Delta-tone™ no-load circuit
*American 2-point trem

Fender American Standard Stratocaster Electric Guitar on YouTube

]]> http://www.bedroommusician.com/news/07053/fender-american-standard-stratocaster-electric-guitar.html/feed http://www.bedroommusician.com/news/07050/dave-smith-instruments-prophet-08-synthesizer.html http://www.bedroommusician.com/news/07050/dave-smith-instruments-prophet-08-synthesizer.html#comments Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:23:35 +0000 admin http://www.bedroommusician.com/?p=50 Compare Prices On The Dave Smith Instruments Prophet ‘08 Synthesizer

Store	Country	Shipping	Price
	USA	Free	$1,999.00
	USA	Free	$1,999.99

NB. Prices correct as of date of post.

Dave Smith Instruments Prophet ‘08 Synthesizer Overview

The Dave Smith Instrument Phophet ‘08 Synththesizer is an eight-voice synthesizer with a 100% analog signal path. While the Prophet ’08’s overall sonic character will be familiar to anyone who knows Dave’s work from the ’70s and ’80s. This is much more than just a vintage reissue with a few new bells and whistles. Dave has always said that he is only interested in moving forward. The Prophet ‘08 is the product of evolution not nostalgia.

Dave Smith Instruments Prophet ‘08 Synthesizer Features & Spec

*256 fully editable Programs (2 banks of 128) with 2 Layers (2 separate sounds) in each Program
*5-octave keyboard with semi-weighted action velocity and aftertouch.
*Spring-loaded pitch wheel and assignable mod wheel
*16 x 4 gated step sequencer
*White noise generator
*3 Envelope Generators: filter VCA and assignable (four-stage ADSR + delay); Envelope 3 can loop.
* Two analog oscillators per voice
* Extensive modulation routing capabilities

Dave Smith Instruments Prophet ‘08 Synthesizer on YouTube

Store	Country	Shipping	Price
	USA	Free	$3,195.00
	USA	Free	$3,195.99
	USA	Free	$3,195.00

NB. Prices correct as of date of post.

Moog Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue Analog Synthesizer Overview

Fantasic solid ash fractal blue cabinet flashes blue flecks when you get close and looks fabulous with the electric blue backlit panel. The original was produced from 1971 to 1984 and was featured in some of the greatest recordings of all time. The Moog Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue Analog Synthesizer has 3 ultra-stable oscillators, dual Moog filters, 4-stage analog envelope generators and flexible modulation buses. The Voyager won a “Key Buy” award from Keyboard magazine a “Platinum Award” from Future Music magazine an “Excellence Award” from Music Tech magazine, a TEC award from Mix magazine and the “2003 Editor’s Choice award” from Electronic Musician magazine.

Moog Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue Analog Synthesizer Features & Spec

*3 ultra-stable oscillators
*128 modifiable presets
* Fantastic looks
*128 modifiable presets
*4-stage analog envelope generators
*Dual Moog filters
*Pitch and mod wheels

Moog Minimoog Voyager on YouTube

Store	Country	Shipping	Price
	USA	Free	$549.00
	USA	Free	$466.65-$549.99
	USA	Free	$549.95

NB. Prices correct as of date of post.

Korg R3 Synthesizer Overview

The Korg R3 Synthesizer has a MMT (Multiple Modeling Technology) analog synthesis-modeling sound engine that delivers 2-timbre/8-voice performance power in an easy-to-use 37-keyboard. It has a fantastic 128 programs that deliver crucial synth sounds from leads and pads to strings and percussion, with 2 oscillators, 3 envelope generators, 2 filters, an amp section and noise generator available per voice.

Korg R3 Synthesizer Features & Spec

*37 notes (full size keys velocity sensitive)
*8 voice polyphony (maximum)
*128 programs (16 banks x 8 programs)
*16 formant motion data sets (7.5 second x 16)
*Main Display: 8-character x 2 line LCD
*Four Sub Displays: 8-character x 1 line LCD

Korg R3 Synth/Vocoder Piano on YouTube