DAN DEAN PRODUCTIONS

Every instrument included in Dan Dean Solo Brass ($649) is sampled chromatically. The ten-CD collection for GigaStudio offers as many as eight layers, recorded from ppp to fff for each note of every instrument. Dean recorded the samples in 24-bit, 44 kHz stereo and used Apogee's UV-22 bit-depth reduction system to convert sounds to 16-bit resolution.

Instruments included in the collection are bass trombone, cimbasso, euphonium, French horn, tuba, trumpet, and piccolo trumpet. Each instrument was recorded with and without vibrato. Ensemble presets take advantage of slight pitch and timbre variations between multiple samples to provide natural ensemble effects. Patches use Control Change messages to create realistic performances. For example, Modulation Wheel messages let you switch between staccato, portato, muted, and other sampled articulations. You also get presets that can switch articulations with MIDI Velocity. Dan Dean Productions; tel. (206) 232-6191; e-mail dandean@dandeanpro.com; Web www.dandeanpro.com.

KID NEPRO

Kid Nepro's Millennium-3 ($150; CD-ROM or Zip disk) is a collection of sounds for Akai's MPC 2000 and 2000XL samplers. The sounds include kick and snare drums geared toward hip-hop, bell trees, basses, rock and funk guitars, wah-wah sounds, orche-stra hits, band riffs, and drum beats.

The sound set also offers new samples that were created using the Korg Triton sample-playback engine in combination with Korg's MOSS physical-modeling board. Those include classic synth sounds, soundtrack-style pads, and vintage synth emulations. Kid Nepro; tel. (246) 420-4504; e-mail kidnepro@aol.com; Web www.kidnepro.com.

NATIVE INSTRUMENTS

The Tonewheel Set Vintage Collection ($99) for Native Instruments B4 offers four new tonewheel organ sets, enabling the software organ to go beyond B-3 emulations. The new sets model Vox Continental and Farfisa Compact organs as well as an Indian harmonium. The fourth set lets you simulate aged or rejuvenated B-3 organs with conditions ranging from “clean” to “far beyond repair.” In addition, the new virtual tonewheels let you tune B4 to six different frequencies.

You get three versions of the Vox Continental: Soft, Hard, and Mix. The Farfisa Compact organs include versions with and without the Tone-Booster. You also get 24 new drawbar presets.

Despite the new tonewheel organs, the B4's interface and functions remain the same. Consequently, you can process the new organs through the Rotary Speaker or the Tube-Amp modeling. You can also use the original drawbar presets with the new organs. Native Instruments; tel. (866) 556-6487; e-mail info@native-instruments.com; Web www.native-instruments.com.

BARDSTOWN AUDIO

Bardstown Audio's Vintage Guitars and Tenor Banjos CD-ROM ($199; GigaSampler) offers samples made from a 1947 Gibson L7 guitar (recorded acoustically, with a pickup) and a 1967 Gibson TB-250 Mastertone tenor banjo. You get six instruments, divided between samples played with the thumb and others played with a pick.

Bardstown Audio sampled the electric archtop guitar through a DeArmond floating pickup to avoid pickup contact and interference with the natural vibrations of the guitar body. The pickup was mounted by the neck of the instrument to impart a warm tone. All the acoustic guitar and tenor banjo samples are stereo recordings.

Producer Kip McGinnis recorded the electric guitars through an Avalon M5 preamp into a Millennia TCL2 compressor with vintage Mullard tubes. Apogee converters provided the A/D conversion. McGinnis sampled acoustic instruments through a pair of Brüel and Kjaer 4012 cardioid condenser mics. Bardstown Audio; tel. (502) 349-1589; e-mail info@bardstownaudio.com; Web www.bardstownaudio.com.

YAMAHA S03

The S03 ($629.95) from Yamaha is a 64-note polyphonic synth with a 61note keyboard that offers over 700 sounds (including a batch taken from the S80 keyboard). The unit is 16-part multitimbral and is compatible with General MIDI and XG standards.

The synth's sample-playback engine features a wide assortment of pianos (including the S80's Stereo Grand), basses, solo and ensemble strings, pads, lead sounds, and drums. Patches are divided into an XG bank with 480 sounds and 20 drum kits, a preset bank with 128 patches, and a user bank with slots for 128 programs and drum kits. You also get 32 user-programmable Multi slots. A digital multi-effects section provides 11 reverb types, 11 chorus types, and 42 variation effects.

The Velocity-sensitive keyboard does not send Aftertouch. However, the synth responds to external Aftertouch messages. You get a master volume slider and wheels for Pitch Bend and modulation.

Yamaha bundles several software programs with the S03. XGworks Lite 3.0A (Mac/Win) is a MIDI and digital audio sequencer, S03 Voice Editor (Mac/Win) is an editor-librarian, and TWE Wave Editor (Mac/Win) is an editor for tweaking and importing digital audio into XGworks Lite.

Analog outputs are a left-and-right pair of unbalanced ¼-inch jacks. Two ¼-inch jacks are provided, one for a foot controller and one for a footswitch. MIDI connections are In, Out, and Thru ports and a Mini-DIN jack for connecting to a computer serial port. Yamaha Corporation of America; tel. (714) 522-9011; e-mail info@yamaha.com; Web www.yamaha.com or www.yamahasynth.com.

CAKEWALK PLASMA

Cakewalk's Plasma (Win, $49.95) integrates MIDI and audio loop sequencing with software that caters to aspiring DJs and remix artists. The program supports DirectX Instruments (DXi), DirectX audio effects, Sonic Foundry's Acid-format WAV files, standard WAV and MP3 files, and joystick-controlled mixing.

Based on Cakewalk's Sonar MIDI and digital audio sequencer, Plasma gives you drag-and-drop audio looping and enables you to create as many audio and MIDI tracks as your computer's processor, hard drive, and RAM can handle. Plasma ships with the Plasma FXPad plug-in, which lets you use a joystick or mouse for real-time control. Cakewalk bundles an Acid-format loop library and the DreamStation DXi software synthesizer to get you started. The package also includes FruityLoops Express for generating new Acid-format loops.

Plasma's minimum system requirements are a Pentium ll/300 MHz with 64 MB of RAM and Windows 98, 2000, ME, 2000, or XP. Cakewalk; tel. (888) CAKEWALK or (617) 423-9004; e-mail sales@cakewalk.com; Web www.cakewalk.com.

SAMSON S-COM 4

The S-com 4 from Samson ($279.99) is a 4-channel compressor/limiter and expander/gate. You can use each channel independently or configure the unit as two stereo pairs.

The S-com 4 features an Automatic Envelope Generator, which automatically sets threshold and release times. The Smart Knee Detector automatically applies hard- or soft-knee compression. The expander/gate section offers a switchable release-time control. Every channel has an enhancer for restoring high frequencies dulled by heavy compression.

Each channel offers five-segment LED meters for monitoring I/O levels and gain reduction. Two-segment LEDs for each channel indicate when the gate is open or closed. Individual channel controls include knobs for expander/gate threshold, compressor threshold, and output level. You also get switches for gate release speed, enhancer on/off, and stereo-link for each channel.

The rear-panel sports balanced XLR and ¼-inch inputs and outputs for every channel. The unit also includes a switch for selecting -10 dBV or +4 dBu operation. Samson Technologies Corporation; tel. (800) 328-2882 or (516) 364-2244; email sales@samsontech.com; Web www.samsontech.com.