METRIC HALO LABSChannel Strip ($999) from Metric Halo Labs is a Pro Tools TDM/AS/RTAS-format plug-in that provides all of the processing functions you'd find on a high-end console's channel strip. The plug-in's layout lets you access all of its functions from a single screen.

An input gain control lets you boost or cut your signal by 24 dB. In this section of the interface, you can flip the phase of the signal and delay it by up to 255 samples. Two level meters of approximately 100 segments (with 14 calibration modes) let you monitor mono or stereo output.

At the top of Channel Strip's left-hand side is an expander/gate with controls for threshold, attack, and release. Its sidechain input may be used with the signal being processed or with an external key. The sidechain input has a filter that lets you control input level, peak center frequency, and bandwidth to further fine-tune how the sidechain signal activates the gate.

Below this section is a compressor with controls similar to the gate's, adding controls for compression ratio and compression characteristics. Each section has two meters that monitor input level, detector level, and gain reduction, as well as two graphs on the right side of the interface that display output response and sidechain filter shape with live dynamics metering. The system is dynamically switchable between pre- and post-EQ.

Below these two sections lies a 6-band, fully parametric EQ that uses 48-bit internal processing. Each band has six user-selectable filter types, including peaking, high- and low-shelving, and bandpass, highpass, and lowpass filters. A graph shows the frequency response of the output based on filter selections.

Channel Strip requires a Pro Tools 24 Mix (using TDM) or Pro Tools LE (using RTAS). With the TDM version, Channel Strip can process up to six mono or three stereo channels of 24-bit audio per MIX DSP chip. Metric Halo Laboratories; tel. (888) 638-4527 or (914) 462-1230; fax (914) 462-4865; e-mail in- foo@mhlabs.com; Web www.mhlabs.com.

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WAVESThe C4 Multiband Parametric Processor (Mac/Win NT; $595) from Waves is a TDM-format mastering plug-in with digital audio compression based on Waves' Renaissance Compressor. The plug-in provides four independent bands that each combine compression with a parametric EQ. It features the same Electro and Opto modes as the Renaissance program, simulating solid-state and optical compression. Also included is the Auto Release Control technology of the Renaissance plug-in, which responds differently to peaks and RMS changes, following the same response curve that human hearing does.

The plug-in gives you a full parametric EQ and compression or expansion control for each band, with adjustable threshold, range, gain, attack, release, and bandwidth parameters. You can also employ a global Knee control. The plug-in uses 48-bit internal processing and dithers down to 24 bits for output.

While the technology for C4's audio compression remains rooted in the Renaissance Compressor, the interface is reconfigured to reflect the correlation between multiband gain reduction and EQ. C4 displays the DynamicLine, a floating EQ curve, which is user-adjustable through keystrokes or with a mouse.

C4 Multiband Parametric Processor requires a TDM-capable Mac or PC. Mac users will need MacOS 7.6, 64 MB of RAM, and any DAE-compatible digital audio programs; PC users need Windows NT and a Digidesign-approved Pro Tools system running Pro Tools 4.2.5 or higher. Waves; tel. (423) 689-5395; fax (423) 688-4260; e-mail sales-info.us@waves.com; Web www.waves.com.

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STEINBERGSteinberg's LM-4 (Mac/Win; $99) is a virtual drum machine in the form of a VST plug-in. The LM-4 can load in 18 pads per drum set. Within each pad, you can set up to 128 velocity zones. According to Steinberg, the LM-4's timing can be up to 40 times faster than a MIDI-controlled hardware device such as a sampler. Up to eight LM-4 plug-ins can be run simultaneously, depending on your computer's CPU speed and RAM.

The LM-4 is triggered by MIDI events and sends 16- or 24-bit audio into the VST host application's audio mixer. Each LM-4 has four individual outputs and a stereo mix output. Ten 16-bit and ten 24-bit drum sets from Wizoo are included.

Each pad is polyphonic, so you can retrigger it without the initial sound being cut off. You can build your own drum kits from 16- or 24-bit AIFF or WAV files, and set pitch and pan position for each instrument. Each plug-in function can be automated and saved as song information within the host application.

To run LM-4, you'll need a Power Mac 250 running MacOS 8.0 or higher, or a Pentium 266 and Windows 95 or 98. Both systems need at least 64 MB of RAM. Steinberg North America; tel. (818) 678-5100; fax (818) 678-5199; e-mail info@steinberg-na.com; Web www.us.steinberg.net or www.cubase.net.Circle #409 on Reader Service Card

MCDSPMcDSP's latest plug-in, Compressor-Bank (Mac; $495), is available in TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite formats. The plug-in gives you standard threshold, ratio, attack, and release compression controls, with onscreen sliders and digital readouts for parameter control. CompressorBank emulates a number of classic hardware devices, including the Teletronix LA-2A, dbx 165, Neve 2254E/33609, Urei 1176LN, and other models. The 1176LN even models the compression characteristics that occur when all four ratio buttons are simultaneously pressed.

CompressorBank uses the company's Analog Saturation Modeling, which prevents digital clipping and emulates the sound of an overdriven analog device. Also included are Knee and Bite controls that let you further customize the compression sound. Knee softens the compression curve; Bite lets signal transients pass uncompressed. You can choose a basic configuration that has just these controls, or call up more elaborate compressors with increasing amounts of control. The second version adds a prefilter, and the third gives you prefilter and a post-compression parametric EQ based on McDSP's FilterBank plug-in. You can use each of the three compressor versions in either mono or stereo, and each version allows you to use a sidechain input with its own highpass, lowpass, bandpass, or parametric EQ filter.

To use the TDM version, you'll need a Power Mac running Pro Tools and with TDM capabilities. McDSP; tel. (650) 320-8452; fax (707) 220-0994; e-mail info@mcdsp.com; Web www.mcdsp.com.

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YAMAHA MSP10 AND SW10Yamaha's MSP10 ($749 each) active monitor features an 8-inch woofer and 1-inch titanium-dome tweeter powered by 120-watt and 65-watt power amplifiers, respectively. The drivers use magnetic structures designed to reduce distortion. The MSP10 speakers are magnetically shielded for use in close proximity to computers, video equipment, or other magnetically sensitive material.

The monitor's tweeter is designed to maximize uniform high-frequency dispersion, making the sweet spot wider. There is a 3-position EQ trim control section on the rear of the MSP10 for optimizing system response in your room. A low-cut filter is also provided so you can use the MSP10s with a subwoofer.

The SW10 powered subwoofer ($799) was developed to complement the MSP10. It features a 10-inch speaker powered by a180-watt amplifier. Controls include a 40 to 120 Hz variable highpass filter, master volume control, and phase-reverse switch.

The MSP10 has a balanced XLR input, while the SW10 has three inputs and three outputs, all on balanced XLR connectors. Yamaha rates the MSP10's frequency response at 40 Hz to 40 kHz (+0/-10 dB), S/N ratio at 100 dB, and maximum SPL at 110 dB (at 1 meter). The SW10's frequency response is rated at 25 to 150 Hz (+0/-10 dB) and a maximum SPL at 111 dB (at 1 meter). Yamaha Corporation of America; tel. (714) 522-9011; fax (714) 739-2680; e-mail info@yamaha.com; Web www.yamaha.com.

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FURMAN SOUND HDS-16 & HRM-16Designed for live and studio applications, Furman's HDS-16 headphone distribution system ($699) and HRM-16 personal headphone mixer ($499) give up to six users the ability to customize their own headphone mix.

The 2U rackspace HDS-16 has 16 balanced 11/44-inch and 16 balanced tiny telephone (TT) connectors on its front panel, allowing a mix that has up to eight mono and four stereo signals. Two additional 11/44-inch TRS jacks on the front panel allow the control room to send and receive signals from the HRM-16 talkback system. The HDS-16's rear panel includes six Centronics 50-pin connectors, and ground-lift and power switches.

You can send a mix to up to six HRM-16s using the included 25-foot cables. The mixers can be attached to a mic stand and are powered by the HDS-16. Each HRM-16 has eight mono and four stereo level controls. The mono channels also have pan and effects-send controls. The processed signal is controlled with a stereo effects-return knob. A talkback mic and speaker system lets everyone using an HRM-16 communicate with each other as well as with the engineer.

Furman rates the system's frequency response at 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and noise at >-90 dBu. Furman Sound; tel. (707) 763-1010; fax (707) 763-1310; e-mail info@furmansound.com; Web www.furmansound.com.

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YAMAHA CS6XYamaha adds to its CS line of analog-style keyboards with the CS6X ($1,795), a 61-key digital synthesizer that uses the company's AWM2 synthesis engine for 16-part, 64-note polyphony. The CS6X is designed for extensive real-time control of sounds with 14 dedicated and 5 assignable control knobs as well as pitch and modulation wheels. Two Scene buttons can take snapshots of front-panel parameters. You can store two scenes per voice in memory, and you can morph between scenes using the dedicated Scene Control knob or with the synth's modulation wheel.

The AWM2 synth engine has 16 MB of waveform presets in ROM (including samples from Yamaha's EX5), and 4 MB of RAM for storing up to 256 samples of 16-bit, 44.1 kHz audio. You store and play samples in any one of four Phrase Clip kits that you can edit, loop, and modify. The synth's Beat Remix, Loop Divide, and Loop Remix functions let you modify loops by slicing them up into individual components and rearranging them. The loops can then be played at any tempo.

The DSP chip in the CS6X gives you two system effects and two insert effects simultaneously. The available effects combine standard ones, such as reverb and chorus, with newer ones including Lo-Fi, Auto-Synth, and Beat Change. Auto-Synth sends any voice into a LFO-controlled pitch modulation, amplitude modulation, high- and lowpass filters, and a delay; Beat Change allows the tempo of a sample or loop to be changed without changing the pitch, and to change the pitch without changing the tempo. An unbalanced 11/44-inch input on the rear panel lets you process any mono analog signal using these effects in real time, and there are multimode resonant filters available for each note.

The CS6X has an onboard arpeggiator with 128 patterns. You can use 3.3V Smart Media cards to store an additional 32 MB of MIDI and audio data. In addition, the CS6X supports Yamaha's Modular Synthesis Plug-in System, which lets you install any two of the six PLG-Series expansion boards. These boards add not only new sounds, but new synthesis technologies, additional polyphony (up to 192 notes), and more effects.

The CS6X has MIDI In, Out, and Thru connectors. Stereo output is on unbalanced 11/44-inch connectors, and there are 11/44-inch jacks for an assignable foot controller, momentary foot switch, and volume and sustain pedals. Yamaha Corporation of America; tel. (714) 522-9011; fax (714) 739-2680; e-mail info@yamaha.com; Web www.yamaha.com. A

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ALTERMEDIA STUDIO SUITEWith AlterMedia's Studio Suite business management software (Mac/Win; $389), you can create and maintain customized records pertaining to virtually every aspect of your personal or commercial studio. The program's main menu lets you jump to different modules, or windows that focus on a number of typical schedules and procedures common to recording studios. The modules are grouped into three categories: Office, Studio, and Tech.

In the Office section, you can automate routine activities and cross-reference records. The Contacts module displays information on clients such as their past projects, invoices, tapes, and songs, and it can keep a log of phone calls, letters, faxes, and e-mail communications. The Calendar and Production Order modules can help you keep track of not only upcoming sessions, but also rooms, rates, equipment, engineers, and more. Other modules let you keep track of inventory, create custom invoices, generate bar-code labels, and perform clerical tasks.

In the Studio section, where session information is stored, you can generate and print track and lyric sheets, or write down settings and patch information using one of the 133 templates for common outboard gear in the Recall module. Studio Suite's Tech section lets you keep track of the equipment in each room of your studio. You use the Maintenance Log module to keep track of the maintenance of each device in your studio and the Parts module to identify and track spare parts. This section includes a patch-bay-label maker.

Studio Suite requires that you have Claris Filemaker Pro (v. 4.0 or 4.1) and runs on any Power Mac or any PC running Windows 95, 98, or NT. AlterMedia; tel. (800) 450-5740 or (770) 303-0970; fax (770) 303- 0967; e-mail info@studiosuite.com; Web www.studiosuite.com.

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GENERALMUSIC AS-1Using Generalmusic's AS-1 ($229) with any MIDI-controllable synthesizer, you can transform whatever melodies you play into microtonal Arabic melodies. The device is connected by MIDI between the keyboard controller and the synth that will play the note. The AS-1 converts the MIDI messages so that specified notes in the scale play a quarter tone below the normal equal-temperament pitch. If you want to control a synth from its own keyboard, connect the keyboard's MIDI Out to the AS-1, and the MIDI Out from the AS-1 to the keyboard's MIDI In connector.

The front panel of the AS-1 has buttons for tuning, memory storage, mode selection, and each of the 12 chromatic notes. These buttons let you configure and store up to 12 scales. A 3-character LED displays the current scale in memory. There are three operating modes on the AS-1: Mode 1 works with Generalmusic's WK and SK series keyboards; Mode 2 works with S Turbo, SX, and WX series keyboards; and Mode 3 is a monophonic implementation for non-Generalmusic instruments.

The AS-1 has MIDI In, Out, and Thru jacks and operates on a 12 VAC adapter. Generalmusic; tel. (800) 323-0280 or (630) 766-8230; fax (630) 766-8281; e-mail gmail@generalmusicus.com; Web www.generalmusic.com.

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Digidesign has taken over marketing and distribution of Focusrite products. The two companies have been development partners since 1996, when Focusrite developed the d2 equalizer plug-in for Pro Tools...Beatnik, maker of the Beatnik music editor and browser plug-in, has announced that it will merge with Mixman Technologies. Mixman is the creator of the Mixman Studio Pro remix software for Mac and Windows. The companies' goal is to facilitate high-quality, interactive audio on the Web...The Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA) has created a freeware Web-site-creation tool called Artist Uplink. The utility lets you upload and edit band bios and lyrics, photos and other artwork, and streaming audio in RealAudio and MP3 formats. You can customize buttons, background colors, and more. Artist Uplink can be accessed through the company's Web site, www.iuma.com, or through the Yahoo Digital site at digital.yahoo.com...Sonic Foundry has released the Mastering House bundle ($749), which includes Sound Forge 4.5, CD Architect, and the XFX-1 and XFX-2 plug-in packages...BIAS has announced its Powerbook Edition, a package that provides digital I/O and recording and editing software for Mac and Windows laptops. There are three versions of the package, each of which contains a version of BIAS Peak and SFX Machine, a Digigram VXPocket PC Card, Waves EasyWaves, and Adaptec Toast: Peak Le Powerbook Edition ($729) includes Peak Le and SFX Lite; Peak 2.0 Powerbook Edition ($899) upgrades to Peak; and the BIAS Studio Powerbook Edition ($999) includes Peak and adds BIAS Deck and SFX Machine...Lexicon is offering a credit of up to $2,000 to anyone who wishes to trade in their used audio and video gear for the new Lexicon MC-1 digital controller...Steinberg Cubase VST 3.7 for Windows can now import Mixman TRK files, and ReCycle can now export them.