Techno trance

TIME + SPACE ZERO-G
Sampling CD

ACIDY-TECHNOY-HOUSEY-GARAGEY-ambienty-wicky-wicky. And plenty of it. If seriously squidgy sounds are your bag, then this sample CD could send you on a whole new trip. An overconfident assertion? Well see. First, let's look through the round window at what Technotrance actually offers the average club nutter.

Once your eyes have become accustomed to the, er, 'intensity' of the front cover of the inlay booklet ('I've got a Macintosh art package and I'm not afraid to abuse it'), you can go on to discover the various groups of sounds, noises and effects that comprise Technotrance. Rave synths, FX, Basses, Stabs and Tinklers' (?) are just a few examples of the categories on offer here. Interestingly, each of the sounds on Technotrance is showcased in a short 'demo' before the raw sound itself appears - quite often, these demos are more immediately inspiring than the sounds themselves! You can of course sample either, which is useful - it gives a new dimension to synth-sound CDs.

As for the sounds themselves... well, there are plenty of them, generally scoring high in the inspiration/quality/usability stakes. But in amongst them are some extremely dodgy rave riffs and silly noises - the sort of thing that went out of fashion two years ago. Thankfully, these are very much in the minority - thundering lead sounds and squidging acid lines being much more the order of the day along with a useful selection of 'alternative' bass sounds, pads and risers. I particularly like the cross-faded 'trancers' section, ideal for people who lack an analogue synth in their setup; the 'Top 20 Stabs and Hooks' section yielded several ideas for complete tracks; and the Moog Basses, as ever, turn out to be invaluable. To round the whole thing off, Time + Space have included a smattering of ethnic instruments and percussion perfect for those evocative tribal styles currently getting people to their feet on the dance floors.

Sounds such as those offered on Technotrance can, quite simply, add a whole new dimension to your musical efforts - or they make you sound like everyone else. This CD is full of sonic interest and potential, but like any other collection of samples it can't do your thinking for you. And that's the way it will be until someone finds a way of boxing talent and potential.

Price: £49.95 inc VAT and P&P
More From: Time + Space, (Contact Details)

MIDI Busker

STATION RECORD
Electric Guitar

A DISK OF DEJA VU DROPPED ONTO MY DESK the other day - MIDI Busker Electric Guitar, it was. Well do I remember MIDI Busker Acoustic Guitar which featured in our February issue. At the time I did mention that an electric version was on its way, and here it is.

In case February is too far back for you to remember, let me refresh your grey matter. Busker is a collection of rhythm patterns recorded using a MIDI guitar. This creates and preserves the nuances of a guitar performance which is nigh on impossible to duplicate using a keyboard. This, the review concluded, was a 'a good idea'. But does it translate to the electric guitar?

37 Standard Midi File format patterns are included, each designed to be played with a guitar sound. There's no need for any Program Change info although there are some demos on the disk which use other instruments, and these are configured to GM.

As with the Acoustic version, the patterns are divided into a limited number of styles - mainly blues, funk, jazz, and reggae - and contain up to 18 chord types, so you'll need a sequencer which can handle more than 16 tracks.

The patterns are four bars long and to use them in a song you simply select the chord type, transpose it to the required key and paste or drag it into position. It's as easy as that.

Documentation is supplied on disk. It includes the instrument setups and drum maps and also hints on how to use the riffs with Cubase, C-Lab and Hybrid Arts sequencers.

Interestingly, Station can supply Mac disks as well as ST/PC disks. Macs are fussy things and require their files to be stamped with file and creator attributes which, under normal circumstances, the user is blissfully unaware of. The Busker Mac files have all been stamped with the MIDI file type but the disk includes a couple of utilities to change these if your sequencer also insists on a creator type. It's fairly easy.

Though there isn't a particularly wide variety of styles, what there are are really quite excellent. And there's certainly no faulting the concept behind Busker - as you'll know if you've already invested in the Acoustic version. What more is there to say? If you want to add some guitar riffs to your songs but can't play guitar, get the disk instead.

Price: £14.95 inc VAT and PSP
More From: Station Records, (Contact Details)

MK1NF

REVOX
Nearfield monitors

PROVIDING AN IDEAL SOLUTION TO THE problem of getting heavy-duty sound from a space-conscious setup, the MK1s are Revox's first sortie into affordable, high-quality near field monitoring. Designed to be equally at home over the rear corners of a mixing desk or the wings of a keyboard stand, the enclosures are smaller than, say, Yamaha's NS10s, and come equipped with a 1" tweeter and 4½" bass/midrange driver. "Ha!" I hear you scoff. "What sort of bass are you going to get out of that?"

Well, a serious amount, surprisingly enough. Revox have spent a great deal of time sorting out the insides of these tiny boxes and adding a carefully-designed front port. I'm not entirely sure how they've done it (possibly because you're not a speaker designer; Ian - Ed), but the resulting bottom end is incredible; markedly better than NS10s or JBL Control 1s. In fact, I don't believe I've ever heard such confident power from an enclosure this size. If you're into thundering 909 kicks, but your 'studio' is only four feet square, you have to give these speakers serious consideration.

Complementing the bass drivers, the tweeters are sweet-sounding and provide excellent stereo imaging, given their near-field status. Perhaps more importantly, they're not at all fatiguing; even at high volumes (the MK1s have a nominal power capacity of 60 watts) they are very easy to work with. A vital attribute when used close to the ears.

These speakers do need mounting on substantial brackets or placing on a solid surface if you are to coax from them the performance of which they are capable - and if they are to be trusted as a vehicle for mixing your latest magnum opus. Used correctly, they are entirely suited to pop and dance styles and should give you an accurate picture of what your music really sounds like. Are you sure you're ready for them?

Price: £259 + VAT
More From: Studer Revox [UK] LTD, (Contact Details)

Marathon

MEINL
Equipment ruck bag

I SHOULD WARN YOU THAT THERE WON'T BE much lyrical waxing in this particular MT review. I mean, an equipment rack bag? Surely all you do is take a 19" steel rack, smother it in padded material and stick on a couple of convenient carrying handles? Not much else to be said there. Well, let's see...

The Marathon family of rack bags are assembled from some seriously robust materials. There are three sizes in the range - 2U, 3U and 5U - each built around a solid steel chassis with pre-tapped holes ready to accept standard 19" units. The basic frame is encased in a solid, shock-resistant plastic material and covered inside and out with a tough waterproof fabric. Detachable panels are provided at the front and rear of the bags and secured with heavy-duty zips. The three carrying handles (one on each side and a shoulder strap) are all securely fastened, and Meinl thoughtfully provide a separate zippered pouch to accomodate equipment leads.

Finished in black, their only distinguishing feature is the Meinl logo, which could mean you get mistaken for a drummer (Meinl, you see, are a company more usually associated with the manufacture of cymbals and percussion instruments). But this may well be an indirect way of alluding to the bag's indestructability. Certainly, corners do not appear to have been cut in bonding and stitching of the constituent materials; in fact, you'd need a powerful chainsaw and a psychotic disposition to tear these bags apart.

Of course, the only way to truly test a bag such as this is to take it on the road - and I've been lugging my Akai S3000 and MIDI patchbay around in the 4U model for the past four weeks. The bag is surprisingly comfortable to carry (well... as comfortable as 30 kilos ever can be) and certainly seems up to it's job as a bodyguard for your rackmount gear. Both front and rear panels need to be detached when operating equipment if the padding isn't to insulate it in a way it wasn't designed to. But otherwise, I can only recommend it for your attention.

Price: 2U - £80: 3U - £87: 5U - £99. All including VAT.
More From: Berry Evans, (Contact Details)

Macworld Music & Sound Bible

IDG BOOKS
Christopher Yavelow

WEIGHING IN AT JUST UNDER 2KG AND managing to squeeze over 1400 pages between its ample covers, Macworld Music & Sound Bible is a huge book. Subtitled, 'The Definitive Guide to Music, Sound & Multimedia; on the Mac', its scope is equally impressive - so much so it's hard to believe one guy wrote it all. Must have had a grant.

It is, without doubt, the most comprehensive book on Mac music ever printed and will almost certainly remain so until it is updated.

It's divided into nine sections - Basics; Sound; Composition; Notation; Performance; Post-Production; Film, Video and Synchronisation; Multimedia, and Education - across a total of 29 chapters. The table of contents runs to over 23 pages and there's an unbelievable 36-page index.

Included is virtually everything the Mac musician might want to know about sound, synthesis, sampling, MIDI, direct-to-disk recording and multimedia. There's copious information on music hardware and software - the different types, what they do and how to use it all - plus essential information for those buying a Mac and ancillary equipment.

Numerous lists and tables complement the main text, and if nothing else, reveal just how much music hardware and software is actually available for the Mac (well - in America at least; it has to be said, there's a lot of gear listed which we are unlikely ever to see in the UK). Of the gear we do see, it's interesting to compare US and UK prices - the old $=£ conversion trick still appears to be the order of the day, I'm afraid.

The only criticism of the book I can make - other than the fact that my Mac would be obsolete before I finished reading it in its entirety - is that some of the items discussed are a little out-of-date. But that's an occupational hazard when producing books about up-to-the-minute technology - and that's presumably why you buy this magazine each month.

That said, MM&SB is as up-to-date as one could reasonably expect, and certainly, Apple's policy of chopping the price of its Macs and rehashing the range every week does nothing to help matters. Other than that, the book is a treasure trove of information, lists, equipment guides, hints, tips, sensible advice and buying options. If you have any interest at all in the Mac and music, I can't recommend it too highly.

Price: £34.95 inc VAT and P&P
More From: Computer Manuals, (Contact Details)