The S3X-H is a powered monitor that can drive a professional mix session as well as an impressive home theater. FOR: Recording studios both home and commercial, as well as multimedia. The S3X-H is horizontally configured (hence the “H”) and all the controls are mounted on the front—which is very convenient for powering up and down safely. In a good room with plenty of space between listener and speakers, the pair creates a solid aural image... 

Carbon fiber pioneers RainSong revamp their grand auditorium guitar to include more traditional design elements. FOR: Any player whose demands include stability and a cool aesthetic. The carbon fiber that gives all RainSong guitars their smoky gray coloring (set off nicely here by a thick rosette of abalone and shark inlay on the fretboard) looks sweet, but its musical characteristics are what really set the CO-WS1000N2 apart. The lack of swelling... 

Heil Sound mics are famous for their condenser-like frequency range and invincibility against clipping. FOR: Drummers and live sound engineers. Playing with Heil drum mics at a gig with decent monitoring feels close to a studio experience. That’s because the frequency coverage and seemingly limitless dynamic range of each microphone is recreating an acoustic instrument, rather than treating the sound as a gunshot to be muffled before sending it... 

One of the most powerful personal monitor/PA systems has become even more portable. The L1 Compact can bump tunes on the street corner and in the boardroom. FOR: Soloists, duos, mobile DJs and public speakers. Transport and setup are much speedier with the L1 Compact than its predecessors, the L1 Model I and Model II. The functionality is simple: two channels equipped with Bose ToneMatch presets tailored to acoustic guitar and handheld mic. NOT FOR: High... 

Pulse-disrupting, sternum-shaking bass! You know you crave it. M-Audio can help. FOR: Enjoying or mixing 2.1 and surround audio. Cleverly designed with a variable crossover and a bypass footswitch, the SBX10 can handle all the bass duties below 200Hz or simply reinforce the rumble beneath 50Hz. For the price (just under $400 at online retailers), it will be hard to find another sub that reaches all the way down to 20Hz. NOT FOR: Plug and play.... 

The cedar top and mahogany back and sides project great tone on Sierra Guitars’ SDS43 Sequoia Acoustic Dreadnought. FOR: Acoustic guitarists one and all. The Sequoia has a familiar body shape, a modest price tag and a classic, no-frills design. Attractive natural wood bindings and inlay are the flashiest visual points. We found the tone especially warm and thoroughly loud when called upon. NOT FOR: Plugging in. A reasonable alternative might... 

Even a Les Paul feels light as air when suspended by this resilient rubber and polyester weave. FOR: Lead players with heavy axes. The arm of the fretting hand has more freedom to swivel, because the shoulder and elbow are never fighting to keep the neck up. A subtle bungee-bounce as the strap gives and snaps back is more noticeable as you move up in guitar weight, but even solid body guitars and basses feel buoyant with the No. 1 Stretch. NOT FOR: Costume... 

Sound Forge Pro 10 is an audio mastering suite with integrated CD creation, top-shelf processors and exciting new editing capabilities. FOR: Audio editing, mastering and sound design. Editors get up to 32 channels of mono, stereo and multichannel audio in a land of safe, non-destructive editing. The key commands are familiar, and a new “Event” tool makes a multitrack producer feel more at home in the mastering environment. Sound Forge now has... 

iZotope Alloy brings the most common mixing processors together in one plug-in. FOR: Anyone doing digital mixing of audio tracks on Mac or PC. No need to pull up EQ, dynamics, transient shaper, exciter, de-esser and limiter plug-ins—Alloy covers six powerful mixing tools in one integrated interface. A menu along the bottom of the Alloy interface illustrates which effects are active and which one is presently selected for editing. The main window... 

Eventide has simplified getting the right modulation effect for the song while saving players from an endless string of noisy, tone-degrading stompboxes and patch cables. FOR: Guitarists and keyboard players who need world-class phasers, tremolos, filters, wahs, flangers, vibratos and more onstage as well as in the studio. In a compact housing that’s built like a tank, ModFactor gathers 10 different categories of time-based effects and offers 40... 

Blue Microphone’s Icicle is a mic preamp and USB converter in a small cylindrical body. Plug it into the end of an XLR cable and any dynamic or condenser mic becomes a USB mic FOR: Recording newbies as well as those who know their mics. Benefits to novices are obvious: simplicity, size and the stamp of a respected brand. For folks with a bigger mic closet, Icicle’s biggest benefit is universality. With a selection of mics of different characters,... 

The BP4025 from Audio-Technica provides two pristine, well-balanced channels of audio in a small, convenient package that practically mixes itself. FOR: Painless stereo recording of instruments, voices and live sound environments. BP4025 is lightweight, phantom-powered, and mountable to a video camera, which makes it ideal for home videos, documentary and even film. The fixed X/Y position of the capsules provides a way to define the space around... 

Since the dawn of USB, we’ve seen many different mics, cables and preamps with digital audio interfaces onboard. Apogee ONE takes the reverse approach: It’s a high-quality single-channel interface with the mic built in. FOR: The discerning home studio or mobile recordist. ONE is literally pocket-sized, and USB-powered to record via an onboard mic or instrument and XLR inputs. Apogee offers an optional tabletop stand, but the built-in mic sounded...