SPECTRASONICS

Sound-design wizard Eric Persing and ace studio drummer Bob Wilson have produced BackBeat ($199), a set of lean, in-the-pocket drum grooves for Spectrasonics. The collection comes on three CD-ROMs with samples prepared for Groove Control in Akai, E-mu, or Roland formats, accompanied by an additional WAV file CD-ROM. You can also purchase a single-CD audio version (without Groove Control) for $99.

In addition to Wilson, BackBeat's producers captured drummers Greg Bissonette, John Ferraro, and Eric Boseman in a wide range of contemporary performance styles. Each groove features a different drum kit.

BackBeat offers 450 loops arranged in 39 categories. Loops include song-construction elements that offer fills, intros, breakdowns, and isolated cymbal and sidestick patterns. Groove Control allows you to change the tempo, time signature, pattern, and feel of the performances without pitch-shifting artifacts. You can also change the pitch of individual drum elements. Ilio Entertainments; tel. (800) 747-4546 or (818) 707-7222; e-mail ilioinfo@ilio.com; Web www.ilio.com

PROPELLERHEAD

For users of Propellerhead's Reason comes Strings ReFill ($89), a library of sampled string-section phrases. The phrases were processed with Propellerhead's ReCycle to allow changes in tempo, pitch, and feel without the artifacts associated with time stretching. Because phrases have been sliced into individual components, you can also rearrange musical phrases in Reason in real time. In addition to instrument phrases, the package includes samples of individual instruments for use in Reason's NN19 sampler.

Samples include violin, viola, and cello patches; pizzicato articulations; harp glissandi; and various ensembles. The 288 loops are ReCycle REX files that can also be used in Steinberg's Cubase VST.

Sampling sessions for Strings ReFill took place in Documentary Studio in Moscow, which offered an acoustically sound environment for orchestral recording. MIDIMan/M Audio (distributor); e-mail maingate@propellerheads.se; Web www.propellerheads.se.

BITHEADZ

BitHeadz's AfroCuban Percussion ($69.95) dishes out 130 MB of grooves for use with Phrazer digital audio-sequencing software. Despite the potentially misleading title, the loop sources include percussion styles from countries other than Cuba.

In addition to Cuban rhythm variations such as rumba guaguanco, you get rhythms from Haiti, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Trinidad. The collection includes well-known rhythms such as the merengue and mambo, and lesser-known rhythms such as rumba lyesa and rumba columbia.

A trial version of Phrazer comes standard with AfroCuban Percussion; you can upgrade to the full version of the program for $299. BitHeadz; tel. (401) 886-7045; e-mail info@bitheadz.com; Web www.bitheadz.com.

SONIC FOUNDRY

The two-CD Total Spanish Guitar ($59.95) collection provides acoustic-guitar performances for use in Sonic Foundry's Acid loop-sequencer software. The performances range from traditional to modern styles.

Total Spanish Guitar offers guitar performances suitable for everything from slow ballads to up-tempo music. Performances include rasgueado rhythms and fast picado solos. Samples are arranged according to musical style, with categories including Habanera, Grueso, and Fuego. You also get folders containing leads and tremolos, as well as other articulations. Sonic Foundry; tel. (800) 577-6642 or (608) 256-3133; e-mail customerservice@sonicfoundry.com; Web www.sonicfoundry.com.

MIDIMAN OXYGEN 8

MIDIMan's Oxygen 8 ($179.95) is a USB-powered keyboard that sports eight fully programmable rotary knobs for real-time control. Besides being powered by the USB connection, Oxygen 8 can run on six 1.5V C batteries. That allows you to use the 25-note keyboard as a standalone desktop MIDI controller.

The unit's eight rotary knobs support any MIDI message on any MIDI channel, providing continuous control for tweaking synths or software mixers. You can assign the data slider to offset Velocity, transmit MIDI Volume, or control Pan, chorus rate, and reverb depth. Oxygen 8 includes Modulation and Pitch Bend wheels. Naturally, you also have the option of transposing the keyboard's output.

Oxygen 8 comes with drivers for Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP, as well as Mac OS 9.0.4. Drivers are also available for Mac OS X. Other keyboard controllers from MIDIMan include the USB Keystations, which combine a keyboard controller with a single-port MIDI interface. The units come in 49- and 61-key versions ($229.95 and $279.95, respectively). The keyboards connect to and draw power from a computer's USB port. The Keystation 49 can also run on six C batteries.

The Keystation's MIDI implementation is robust: you can assign the Data Entry wheel to send any MIDI Control Change message, and the keyboard transmits Aftertouch. Pitch bend and modulation wheels are also included.

You get two MIDI Out Ports; the first acts as a MIDI Thru and passes data from your computer to external devices. The second MIDI Out port lets you use the controller without a computer. The Keystations include the same drivers as Oxygen 8. MIDIMan; tel. (626) 445-2842 or (800) 969-6434; e-mail info@midiman.net; Web www.midiman.net.

MACKIE HR624

Based on its larger HR824 active monitor, Mackie has introduced the HR624 ($649 each), a two-way biamped active monitor that can be used for close-field applications or within a surround-sound system. According to the manufacturer, the HR624 features a zinc-cast elliptical wave guide that provides improved dispersion and a composite honeycomb, rear-firing transducer that extends the bass coverage to 49 Hz (-3 dB). Integrated amplifiers provide 100W output to the 6.7-inch woofer and 40W output to the 1.0-inch tweeter. The speakers are magnetically shielded.

The HR624 offers rear-panel controls for sensitivity, an 80 Hz highpass filter, and a high-frequency shelving filter. The monitor also provides controls for optimizing the bass frequencies. The front panel features a Standby/Mute switch as well as LEDs for indicating power and overload.

Mackie rates the HR624's frequency response from 50 Hz to 20 kHz (±1.5 dB). XLR and RCA jacks are provided as inputs. Mackie Designs; tel. (800) 898-3211 or (425) 487-4333; e-mail sales@mackie.com; Web www.mackie.com.

ROLLS RP252

The RP252 from Rolls Corporation ($275) is a 2-channel compressor/limiter with a noise gate. Front-panel controls give you control over threshold, compression ratio, attack, release, gate threshold, gate release time, and output level for each channel. The two channels can also be stereo linked.

The front panel has a 10-segment LED meter to indicate gain reduction and an LED that shows gating activity. The rear panel sports balanced ¼-inch and XLR inputs and outputs and, for each channel, unbalanced ¼-inch sidechain jacks. A switch lets you toggle between -10 dB and +4 dB operation.

The RP252 offers +20 dBu of output gain, and it can handle a maximum input level of +21 dBu. The compressor threshold range is -40 to +12 dBu, and the attack time ranges from 0.2 to 10 ms. Total harmonic distortion for the unit is listed as 0.5 percent. Rolls Music Corp./Bellari; tel. (801) 263-9053; e-mail rollsrfx@rolls.com; Web www.rolls.com.