New music tech gear of the month: review round-up (September 2012)
The unflappable DAW finally opens its stable to third-party developers, but should we be more careful what we wish for?
Propellerhead Reason 6.5 (£349)
Every month, MusicRadar’s industry-leading sister magazines - Guitarist, Computer Music, Total Guitar, Rhythm and Future Music - publish the best independent and in-depth music-making gear reviews.
We’ve collated the latest DAWs, plug-ins, keyboards, and outboard gear to have fallen under the watchful eyes of Computer Music, Future Music, Rhythm Total Guitar and Guitarist’s test teams. All the gear on show here was originally reviewed in Computer Music issues 181/182, Future Music issues 256, and Guitarist issue 358.
Scroll on for this month’s top picks and click through to read each product’s full review. First up: Propellerhead Software Reason 6.5
Former Marshall man enters the amp-sim market
Scuffham S-Gear ($90)
MusicRadar’s verdict:
The Electro without the drawbacks
Nord Electro 4D (£1,649)
MusicRadar’s verdict:
The silver brick for all your conversion needs
Lynx HiLo (£2,299)
MusicRadar’s verdict:
New connnections for an old favourite
Yamaha 01V96i Digital Mixer (£1,979)
MusicRadar’s verdict:
The second native plug-in from the US "space" team
Eventide Blackhole ($199)
MusicRadar’s verdict:
A combined mixing and playing MIDI controller
Nektar Panorama P4 (£399)
MusicRadar’s verdict:
The Russian developer spruces up its classic valve plug-in
Voxengo Warmifier ($60)
MusicRadar’s verdict:
This powerhouse offers far more than an analogue synth, and at a very reasonable price