PITCH PERFECT Crafting superior vocal tracks takes both technical and personal skills “Vocal production can be one of two things,” says producer, mixer and engineer Fab Dupont. “One is the art of constructing a finished vocal track by getting the best performance and best sound possible. Two is the art of making a singer sound an awful lot better than he or she really is. They’re two different spirits and practices, and you know right away... 

MXR M80 Bass D.I.+ BASS TONE TO DI FOR Live sound techs, studio engineers and bass players everywhere are talking about the new MXR M80 Bass D.I.+. This handy bass pedal delivers a solid compromise between a direct box and the sound of a conventional bass amp. The clean channel provides a touch of color, and the distortion channel allows you to add all the texture you like, plus there’s a three-band EQ onboard. Capable of sounding rude and beefy... 

Roland VT-12  PRO VOCAL TRAINING TO GO Finally, there’s a portable, handheld vocal trainer designed to offer singers the edge they need. The new Roland VT-12 features real-time vocal analysis, and an illuminated pitch meter that detects two voices at once for harmony training. There’s also a built-in metronome and onboard recorder that allows you to sing along to backing tracks. In addition to 50 lessons from the world-standard Concone classical... 

Native Instruments’ Maschine  SONGWRITER’S PLAYGROUND Although mostly adopted by the electronic music community, Native Instruments’ Maschine offers superior songwriting and arrangement tools that nearly every musician can benefit from. Both the DAW-style software environment and the purpose-built hardware controller are fairly straightforward, making it easy to lay down original backing tracks with the included virtual instruments and grooves.... 

IK Multimedia iRig Stomp  IPHONE STOMPBOX INTERFACE There are tons of gadgets that let you plug your guitar into your iOS device, but that’s typically where the signal stops. The IK Multimedia iRig Stomp is a simple stompbox-style device that passes the incoming signal to an iPhone or iPad and returns the result back to your guitar rig. It’s a great way to add iOS app-based effects to any live setup, practice with one of the looper apps on the... 

PreSonus Studio One 2  DAW DREAMS Powerhouse features such as transient detection and pitch correction make PreSonus Studio One 2 more than a match for any DAW on the market. Sheer ease of use makes it one of the best options for musicians who’ve spent more time rocking out than boning up on recording technology. With complex processes, such as tightening up multitracked drums or comping vocals, reduced to a couple of steps, Studio One 2 nicely... 

iZotope’s Alloy 2  SIX MIXING TOOLS IN ONE Packed with virtual processors that cover every major aspect of software mixing, iZotope’s Alloy 2 plug-in delivers the kind of value that seems too good to be true till you hear it. With hundreds of presets to choose from—covering everything from bass to vocals—finding the right jumping off point is a snap. Then it’s just a matter of using Alloy 2’s comprehensive in-depth controls to tweak... 

Avalon V5  PREAMP, REAMP, KILLER DI Perfect for project and pro studios alike, the Avalon V5 preamplifier offers up tons of flexible functionality. Its variable input handles anything from ribbon mics and hi-Z instrument sources to ultra-hot line-level signal like a champ. A musical tone circuit that features settings taken straight from the award-winning Avalon U5 makes dialing in the ideal sound incredibly easy. And thanks to a convenient instrument-level... 

Arturia MiniBrute  FULL-BLAST ANALOG SYNTH Between its brilliant simplicity and modest price tag, the Arturia MiniBrute is one of the most accessible pure analog synthesizers available. Packed with intuitive hands-on controls, even complete synth novices will have a blast experimenting and creating original sounds with the MiniBrute. At the same time, the MiniBrute delivers enough innovative features to satisfy the most seasoned synth player, such... 

Avid’s Pro Tools HD Native Thunderbolt  DITCH THE TOWER When Avid announced Pro Tools HD Native in the fall of 2010, they made huge waves in the recording world. For the first time it was possible to get the near-zero latency of Pro Tools HD, but without the added expense of DSP acceleration. The trouble was musicians still needed a tower-format computer with PCIe slots to run it. With Avid’s Pro Tools HD Native Thunderbolt, you can get the... 

Keith McMillen Instruments’ QuNeo  TOTAL CONTROL FREAK Keith McMillen Instruments’ QuNeo condenses more than 60 individual controls into a single device that’s roughly the size of a tablet PC. Extremely flexible and fully assignable, QuNeo lets you take command of any MIDI-controllable software. The QuNeo features 16 pads (each of which doubles as an X/Y controller), plus a handful of touch-sensitive control strips and more. For those who... 

CASIO XW-P1 PERFORMANCE SYNTHESIZER Sounds in the key of live In an era dominated by soft synths and MIDI controllers, the ultraportable Casio XW-P1 marks a refreshing return to the traditional performance keyboard. Browsing through the presets, we were immediately floored by its array of outrageous lead tones, which would make any keyboard player from Keith Emerson to Jordan Rudess equally proud. Also impressive was the selection of hands-on controls,... 

POSITIVE GRID JAMUP PLUG INTERFACE AND JAMUP APP Rock your iOS The JamUp Plug is a simple and super compact iOS audio interface designed to complement Positive Grid’s guitar effects apps, JamUp Pro and the free JamUp Lite. It’s easy to see why these guitar effects apps have been earning top reviews in the App Store. Features such as a highly flexible signal chain, a handy MP3 import option, and a looping phrase sampler turn an average iOS device... 

TWO NOTES AUDIO ENGINEERING TORPEDO LIVE  Pro Loadbox with digital miking As the trend toward in-ear monitoring and amplifier-free “silent” stages continues, guitarists have been desperate to keep their favorite tones. The Two Notes Torpedo Live is the perfect compromise. This 100-watt loadbox lets you run your guitar or bass head direct to the board, without sacrificing tone. Powerful 32-bit DSP provides 32 cabinet models, eight virtual microphones,... 

AEA RPQ500 MIC PREAMP WITH EQ Preamp tailor-made for ribbon mics The RPQ500 packs the mojo of AEA’s original RPQ ribbon preamp into an API 500 Series compatible module. A specially tailored EQ section addresses the proximity issues most commonly associated with ribbon mics, taming excessive buildup in the bottom end. Bypassable high- and low-frequency controls make it easy to clear up muddiness or add space and air. This was particularly useful... 

JAMMIT APP Jam with the masters If you’ve always dreamed of jamming with your favorite rock stars, now’s your chance. Developed by multiplatinum producer-mixer Scott Humphrey (Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Rob Zombie), Jammit lets guitarists, bass players, drummers, keyboardists and vocalists jam along with a hit parade of original master tracks. Mix the provided stem tracks to create your perfect backing track, then loop and slow playback to work... 

PIGTRONIX KEYMASTER: MASTER YOUR TONE Call it the missing link between your pedalboard and rack gear. The Pigtronix Keymaster—part stompbox, part signal-routing super-tool—is as good a fit on your pedalboard as it is in your studio rack or live sound rig. Its extremely flexible circuitry and I/O lets you connect anything from hi-Z instrument-level gear to high-quality studio equipment. That means you can run your guitar directly through your favorite... 

NEKTAR PANORAMA P4: KEYS TO CONTROL REASON Whether you’re a serious hobbyist or a professional songwriter, if you want to get the most out of Propellerhead Reason 6 then the Nektar Panorama P4 controller keyboard is just the ticket. Every function and parameter in Reason 6 is fully controllable from the Panorama P4’s remarkably straightforward interface, offering hands-on experience that parallels Reason’s intuitive, analog-style layout. And... 

ZOOM Q2HD: LIGHTS, CAMERA, AUDIO! In the YouTube era, having the capability to produce high-quality promotional videos is essential. Enter the Zoom Q2HD —the new handy video recorder that not only makes personal video production accessible, it also allows musicians to create HD video with jaw-dropping audio. The Q2HD’s superior condenser mics are arranged in a studio-style Mid-Side configuration, offering controllable, natural-sounding stereo.... 

DYNAUDIO DBM50: BIG SOUND ON YOUR DESKTOP There are relatively few studio monitors designed for desktop use, and fewer still that are affordable. Enter the Dynaudio DBM50, which offers superior sound and a compact footprint. The DBM50 adds a slight upward tilt to the brand’s already popular near-field studio monitor design, making the pair ideal for desktop use. They provide a huge sweet spot for monitoring, and when combined with a decoupler such... 

TC–HELICON MIC MECHANIC: VOCALS DONE RIGHT Plenty of live vocal tools have hit the market recently, and many in the stompbox format. What makes the TC-Helicon Mic Mechanic unique is its back-to-basics approach. Rather than sporting dozens of superfluous effects—that are more fun than practical—the Mic Mechanic provides essential vocal processing including reverb, delay and pitch correction. It also features a unique Adaptive Tone control,... 

TASCAM IU2: FLEXIBLE I/O ON THE GO As portable as it is versatile, the Tascam iU2 lets you record two channels of clear, professional-quality audio anywhere your music takes you. One of the first of its kind, the compact iU2 features hybrid connectivity that includes both a mini USB jack and an integrated 30-pin dock cable, allowing use with both computer and iOS device. A pair of inputs lets you hook up guitars, line-level sources and microphones.... 

LINE 6 STAGESCAPE M20D: MIX MASTER Forget everything you know about conventional mixing and check out the graphic user interface provided by the Line 6 StageScape M20d. This futuristic mixing console offers EQs, effects, feedback suppression and more—all managed by a big, colorful touch screen and a handful of strategically placed controls. Instead of traditional channels and routing controls, the StageScape M20d provides graphical representations... 

UNIVERSAL AUDIO APOLLO: SUPERCHARGE YOUR DAW  You don’t need a pro-studio budget to track with pro-studio DSP-powered plug-ins anymore. The Universal Audio Apollo series interfaces combine their legendary analog sound with their award-winning UAD-2 plug-in technology. Alone, the Apollo’s sound quality and extensive I/O more than hold their own. Sporting up to four SHARC DSP chips onboard, musicians can also track, mix and master in virtually... 

LAUTEN AUDIO ATLANTIS FC-387: THREE MICS IN ONE Few microphones on the market today deliver the kind of value you get from a Lauten Audio Atlantis FC-387. That’s because Lauten Audio built the Atlantis by marrying a great-sounding capsule with three discrete FET-based circuit paths, each of which offers up a completely distinct character. Set to Neutral, the Atlantis faithfully captures any instrument. The Gentle setting is great for taming shrill... 

DANGEROUS MUSIC SOURCE: ALL-IN-ONE PORTABLE MONITORING Easily one of the most understated inventions to hit the recording world this year, the Dangerous Music Source monitoring station is a major upgrade to virtually any modest studio. Loaded with two discrete mastering-grade stereo signal paths, the Source allows one to send the main mix to monitors while delivering a separate artist mix to headphones. All switching is relay driven, so there’s... 

LIVE MICS Selecting the right microphone for your stage show is crucial to a sound performance “The microphone is the core of everything,” says veteran front-of-house engineer Andy Meyer. “If you don’t have your source properly miked, what good is a $2 million PA or a state-of-the-art mixing console? If the mics are terrible, a great performance doesn’t mean a thing.” It’s a challenge nearly all musicians face, from coffeehouse singer-songwriters... 

Toontrack EZkeys, EZdrummer, and EZmix 2: EZ Does It When the muse strikes, you need instant access to tools that will feed your creativity—and that’s where Toontrack’s amazing software comes into play. EZkeys and EZdrummer provide not only great virtual instruments to play back your parts—piano and drums—but also extensive libraries of loops to build songs and arrangements. EZkeys goes further by allowing you to experiment with chord progressions... 

Mackie DL1608: iPad Mixer Imagine using your shiny new iPad to mix your band onstage. The Mackie DL1608 lets you do just that. The compact digital mixer features 16 Onyx mic preamps, built-in effects, four-band EQ and compression on each channel, 31-band graphic EQ on the output, and much more. But the really cool thing is that your trusty iPad provides the horsepower to make the thing go. Just slip it into the dock and start mixing. With the iPad... 

TASCAM PR-10: Instant Capture Back in the day, songwriters carried around mini tape recorders to capture an idea whenever inspiration struck. You just fired up the recorder and sang the idea onto tape. Later you could harvest the ideas you liked. Today’s technology makes this even easier, especially with the TASCAM PR-10 super-compact digital recorder. With no moving parts or tape and built-in stereo mics, the PR-10 is ideal for instant idea capture.... 

Apogee Mic: Recording Made Easy Sure, you need a great mic to make a great recording—but you also need a high quality signal going to your recording device. You could use a standard mic plugged into a preamp then an audio interface or A/D converter. Or, simply connect a USB cable to an Apogee Mic—yes, the same Apogee that arguably makes the best converters around—to your computer or iPad and start recording. It’s so good, we’ve heard fully... 

Zoom R8, R16 and R24: Portable Studio We’ve come a long way since the heyday of cassette tape four-track recorders. Today’s self-contained portable studios—like the Zoom R8, R16 and R24 (the big difference is the number of tracks)—offer the ability to record multiple tracks, process tracks with EQ and effects, add drum loops, do light editing, and create complete final mixes all in one simple-to-use unit. All you need is a microphone or two... 

Alesis iO Dock: Home Studio Connections  The iPad is coming on strong as the number one must-have musician tool. But with the rise of recording apps and virtual instruments for the iPad comes the need for a way to get quality audio in and out. Enter the Alesis iO Dock—which provides all the connections you need to turn your iPad into a full-fledged recording studio. You get two inputs for your microphones or guitar/bass/keyboards, MIDI in/out/thru,... 

MOTU Track 16: Big Feature, Small Package Looking to get a ton of signals into your Mac or PC without tying up all of your desk’s real estate? Then check out the brand-new MOTU Track16. The Track16 can fit in nearly any space—even a laptop bag—yet it provides up to 16 simultaneous inputs and 14 simultaneous outputs. There’s also MIDI, USB 2.0 and FireWire, and way more. Take control with the one-touch front-panel knob or via the included... 

TC-Helicon VoiceLive Play: Perfect Vocals In A Box Now you can take all that studio polish you love to hear on your voice with you when you hit the stage. The TC-Helicon VoiceLive Play is a stompbox—why should guitarists have all the fun?—designed especially for vocalists. Not only does it offer a full complement of vocal effects, such as equalizers, compressors and more, you also get an onboard intelligent harmony machine for huge-sounding... 

Roland BA-330: Big Sound On The Go Take your show on the road—any road, anytime, with or without an electrical outlet, as long as you have the Roland BA-330. The BA-330 is a portable stereo PA system capable of cranking out an amazing amount of sound while running on eight AA batteries. There are enough inputs to comfortably handle two mics and two guitars or two stereo keyboards, plus there’s an AUX in for your MP3 or CD player. Built-in effects,... 

JamHub GreenRoom: Silent Rehearsal Room Not all of us have the luxury of owning a soundproof rehearsal room. But with the JamHub GreenRoom your band can rehearse nearly anywhere and never have to deal with annoyed neighbors. The GreenRoom offers musicians and vocalists their own input channel for their instrument or microphone. Plus, you can dial up the headphone mix you want to hear, complete with effects to keep the sound from getting sterile.... 

HEAR NO EVIL Safeguard your greatest musical asset by selecting the right hearing protection Who can forget fictional rocker Nigel Tufnel’s hysterical scene in This Is Spinal Tap, boasting his amp’s volume knob goes to 11? In reality, such ear-splitting decibels are no laughing matter. Performing night after night without hearing protection can be perilous, often causing relentless ringing ears—known as tinnitus, the inability to discern frequencies,... 

WOOD WORKS What to look for in an acoustic guitar—from strings to wood, body and beyond Even though someone had the earth-shaking notion to run electricity into a guitar a few decades ago, the acoustic guitar remains just as potent as it ever was. The instrument spans genre and culture, from the Gipsy Kings’ flamenco grace to Bob Dylan’s folk strumming and Jimmy Page’s driving leads. In the right hands, the simple combination of wood and... 

APP HAPPY What can the right music-making mobile applications do for you? Just five years ago, cellphones were just that: phones. Enter the brave new world of smartphones, where the mobile gadgets have evolved into an entirely new category of creative tool—one that can help you create music. With the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad tablet in 2010, music software developers have been quick to harness the power of these powerful... 

REC ROOM An insider’s guide to creating a home studio that’s right for you    Not so long ago, recording in a studio was a pricey ordeal. A musician or band had to select a studio, ensure it had a quality engineer—and because the meter was running, hope to capture the necessary tracks without breaking the bank. Enter the digital age: Now nearly anyone can set up a quality studio right in his or her home. Sure, there’s gear to acquire,... 

SYNTH SENSE Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess lets you in on the secrets to making your synthesizer sounds soar  If you’ve listened to pop music created since the 1960s, there’s little doubt you’ve heard synthesizers at work. Innovators have been trying since the 1800s to create devices to replicate sounds otherwise unavailable to the layman, but it was only in the last four decades that the synthesizer became thought of as an instrument in... 

PLAYING IT BY EAR How the right live monitor can take your stage show to the next level  Whether you’re playing a grungy blues set at a local club or headlining a stadium rock festival, delivering a show to remember is impossible if you can’t hear what you’re doing. What sounds perfectly harmonious to you could sound like a broken chainsaw out in the crowd—and vice versa. So how can you ensure you’re getting the onstage mix that you need... 

DAW DEAL Digital Audio Workstations can help you make a masterpiece—if you use them correctly  For decades making a record meant big studios, big budgets and countless feet of analog tape—but all that has changed. Today nearly any musician can get access to a computer and the necessary software required to craft an entire album in the comfort of his or her own home. So what exactly is this powerful software that makes the magic happen? The... 

LIFT EVERY VOICE How anyone—and we mean anyone—can learn to sing more sweetly Artists as stylistically and generationally diverse as Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke, Roger Daltrey and Lady Gaga have proven again and again that the right vocal performance can touch the listener’s deepest emotions—while the wrong one can abuse the eardrums of innocent bystanders. Learning to channel your own inner songbird can be a challenge, but there are steps... 

NOTION MUSIC NOTATION FOR iPAD Take note NOTION Music has developed an award-winning line of applications designed to streamline the process of creating, editing and notating music. True to form, the new NOTION for iPad harnesses the popular tablet’s touch-screen capabilities for an impressive end-user experience. The 24-fret interactive guitar fingerboard makes it easy to transcribe nearly anything you’d play on your instrument to tab or music... 

COLLINGS GUITARS SOCO 16 LC Superior craftsmanship, exceptional tone  Austin master luthier Bill Collings has been crafting inspired instruments for decades. While the star power of his international clientele (from Mumford & Sons to Keith Urban) is impressive, the quality of his craftsmanship is obvious to anyone the moment you open the case. The SoCo 16 LC draws its inspiration from a bygone era, blending vintage tones and aesthetics with... 

AMPKIT LiNK Big tones that fit in your pocket  Peavey and Agile Partners teamed up to create what may well be the best iOS interface and app combination we’ve come across. AmpKit LiNK connects to the headphone jack of any current iOS device via the hard-wired 1/8-inch cable, while its input and earphone jacks utilize a metal housing to insure a drama-free fit. The free AmpKit app features ultra-fat tones, built-in loops, backing tracks, iTunes... 

FRACTAL AUDIO AXE-FX II All-in-one preamp and effects processor The Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II has earned kudos from the likes of Steve Vai and John Petrucci based on the staggering depth of the sounds it creates. Powered by dual Analog Devices TigerSHARC Digital Signal Processors, the Axe-Fx II is the most powerful processor of its kind, providing stellar amp, effect, cabinet and microphone modeling in addition to traditional signal processing. The... 

PRESONUS FIRESTUDIO MOBILE Next-generation, studio-quality FireWire interface to go The engineers at PreSonus have been keeping themselves busy developing an array of intelligently crafted audio solutions. FireStudio Mobile comes bundled with Studio One Artist, making it one of the smartest buys on the market. The front panel’s dual combination instrument/mic inputs deliver superior sound thanks to PreSonus’ XMAX Class A preamps. Throw in the...