Zoom H2

Demonstrating that pocket digital recorders are getting less expensive and more versatile, Zoom (www.zoomfx.com) has announced the H2 ($334.99), a palm-size 24-bit recorder with three built-in mic capsules. Mics positioned left, right, and center allow directional, omni, or mid-side recording from the H2's front or rear. The H2 gives you a choice of recording angles: 90 degrees, for recording individual voices or instruments; 120 degrees, for recording ensembles on a stage; or 360 degrees, for recording four channels you can convert to 5.1 surround. The maximum sampling rate is 96 kHz for stereo or 48 kHz for 4-channel recording.

The H2 has a built-in USB 2.0 audio interface that lets you use it as a USB microphone and transfer audio to your Mac or PC. It features 1-button recording and has a graphic display, transport controls, and recording-level buttons on the front, with a gain switch and output-level controls on the side. The H2 supports time-stamping and track-marking functions when it's recording in Broadcast WAV Format (BWF), and it also records variable-bit-rate MP3 files at up to 320 Kbps. The H2 records on Secure Digital cards and includes a 512 MB card, a tripod stand, a mic-clip adapter, a USB cable, and an AC adapter.

Tascam FireOne

The newest desktop wonder from Tascam (www.tascam.com) is the FireOne ($399), a FireWire audio/MIDI interface with control surface functionality. The compact device has two XLR/TRS combo inputs with 48V phantom power and -20 dB pads, a high-impedance ¼-inch input for guitar and bass, MIDI In and Out, two unbalanced ¼-inch outputs, and two ¼-inch stereo headphone jacks with independent level knobs. The FireOne handles 24-bit audio at rates up to 96 kHz, and Tascam promises 192 kHz support in a future software update. Power comes from the FireWire bus or the included 12V adapter.

The FireOne was designed for hands-on control of digital audio sequencers and other software for the Mac and Windows. The weighted jog/shuttle wheel lets you quickly and intuitively scroll through sequences and waveform displays, and the wheel's backlight pulses in tempo with the music. Eight programmable function keys supplement five transport buttons, and a Shift button doubles every function, including wheel and transport-button operations. Two 12-segment LED meters keep track of input and output levels. A ¼-inch footswitch input lets you control tasks such as punch-in and -out and start and stop. The FireOne comes with a copy of Ableton's Live Lite 6 Tascam Edition.

Arturia Jupiter-8V

The Roland Jupiter-8 was one of the most desirable analog synthesizers of the early 1980s. It was an 8-voice instrument, and each voice had two VCOs with cross-modulation, a resonant lowpass VCF, a nonresonant highpass filter, a 4-waveform LFO, and two ADSR generators. The latest vintage reproduction from French developer Arturia (www.arturia.com) is Jupiter-8V (Mac/Win, $249), a 32-voice polyphonic software emulation of the pre-MIDI classic. Jupiter-8V puts the original's timbral palette on your desktop and adds features such as a selection of multi-effects and a step sequencer you can use as a modulation source.

Jupiter-8V's front-panel layout is practically identical to the original's, but you can open an additional graphic display area for selecting presets and editing the step sequencer, effects, and modulation parameters. A feature called Galaxy lets you combine LFO types into a unique mod source you can control in real time. A collection of more than 400 presets is included. Like most Arturia instruments, Jupiter-8V runs standalone and as a plug-in for AU, RTAS, and VST hosts.

Garritan Gofriller Solo Cello

Garritan (www.garritan.com) has released Gofriller Solo Cello (Mac/Win, $199), the second virtual instrument from the same team responsible for Stradivari Violin 2.0. Like that software, Gofriller Solo Cello is based on Native Instruments Kontakt Player 2 and incorporates expressive techniques developed by Giorgio Tommasini. It allows you to control real-time articulation using various MIDI Control Changes; for example, you can change the bow direction and dynamics, play trills and glissandos, and control the onset, rate, and intensity of vibrato, much as if you were playing an acoustic instrument.

Matteo Gofriller was an early-18th-century Italian stringed-instrument maker especially renowned for the rich and beautiful tone of his cellos. Garritan sampled one of those fine instruments and applied proprietary harmonic-alignment and sonic-morphing techniques to bring the samples to life by allowing samples to crossfade across dynamic layers. In addition to standalone operation, Gofriller Solo Cello runs as a plug-in for AU, DXi, RTAS, and VST hosts.

Terratec Producer Axon AX 50 USB

Many MIDI guitarists consider the Axon AX 100, from Terratec Producer (distributed by Synthax, www.synthax.com), to be the most accurate guitar-to-MIDI controller available, but its wealth of advanced features may be more than you need. Instead of a built-in synth, sequencer, and arpeggiator, the Axon AX 50 USB ($549) has something else guitarists have requested: USB connectivity. It also has a 3-character LED display, a built-in tuner, an output for your guitar's magnetic pickup signal, and MIDI In, Out, and Thru ports. The Axon AX 50 USB includes Kontakt Player, which comes with 128 sample-based instrument presets. All you need is a guitar or bass with a hexaphonic pickup and your computer or MIDI instrument.

The unit's 32-bit RISC processor translates the vibrations of guitar strings into data that captures the pitch and dynamics of a guitarist's performance. In addition to being able to play an external MIDI instrument, the Axon AX 50 USB can play several software instruments at the same time, thanks to four virtual MIDI ports made possible by USB 1.1. For real-time multitimbral performances, the controller divides your fretboard into as many as 12 zones. The Axon AX 50 USB stores 128 user-programmable presets and comes with a software editor for the Mac and Windows.

BIAS Master Perfection Suite

When Berkley Integrated Audio Software (www.bias-inc.com) introduced Peak Pro XT 5, it included a plug-in bundle that extended its capabilities. Now BIAS has begun shipping an AU- and VST-compatible edition of the Master Perfection Suite (Mac, $599). BIAS promises that RTAS and Windows VST compatibility will follow later this year. Peak Pro XT 5 owners can download the new Master Perfection Suite for free.

GateEx is a noise gate and downward expander. As a gate, it reduces an audio signal's amplitude when it falls below a threshold you define, and as an expander, it increases a signal's apparent dynamic range. PitchCraft is a real-time pitch-correction and -transposition plug-in that incorporates formant shifting to retain or modify vocal characteristics. The spectral-matching plug-in Repli-Q can analyze and compare two audio recordings and apply the harmonic characteristics of one to the other. It can also compensate for spectral problems and restore balance to a mix. Reveal is a suite of tools for analyzing frequency, level, and phase. It includes an oscilloscope, a spectrogram, a Lissajous phase scope, peak and RMS level meters, and more. SuperFreq is a collection of paragraphic EQ plug-ins with 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10-band variations. For multiband compression, limiting, and upward expansion, Sqweez-3 and Sqweez-5 furnish three and five bands, respectively.

KRK Systems VXT Series

Speaker manufacturer KRK Systems (www.krksys.com) has introduced three new models in its line of biamplified close-field studio monitors: the VXT4 ($399), VXT6 ($599), and VXT8 ($799). Taking its design cues from KRK's flagship Exposé E8B, each model features a proprietary woofer and tweeter, a curved faceplate for superior imaging, and a low-resonance cabinet with slotted ports to reduce port turbulence. The cabinets are constructed of sturdy ABS foam, which offers excellent damping characteristics and makes them impact resistant. Dome tweeters are made of silk for a fast transient response and good imaging, and woofers have a woven Kevlar cone for low distortion and an extended low end.

The VXT4 has a 4-inch woofer and weighs 14 pounds; it produces 30W of continuous power into 4 at the low end and 15W into 8 at the high end. The VXT6 has a 6-inch woofer and weighs 27 pounds; it's rated at 60W on the bottom and 30W on top. With an 8-inch woofer, the VXT8 weighs 41 pounds and maxes out at 120W and 60W. All three monitors have 1-inch tweeters and XLR/TRS combo input jacks.

Ueberschall Liquid Trumpet

The seventh addition to the Liquid Instruments series from Ueberschall (distributed by Big Fish Audio, www.bigfishaudio.com) is Liquid Trumpet (Mac/Win, $199.95). It furnishes 1.5 GB of 24-bit licks and phrases — 80 loop-based construction kits — in a variety of musical styles, including jazz, funk, Afro Cuban, and bebop. Each construction kit contains six loops with a main theme, variation, solo, and ending. Parts were played on muted and unmuted trumpet and flügelhorn. Liquid Trumpet operates standalone or as an AU, VST, or RTAS plug-in.

Like all Liquid Instruments, Liquid Trumpet uses pitch- and time-stretching technology developed by Celemony that allows you to control and manipulate audio material as easily as MIDI data. You can directly edit the pitch, formants, and duration of single notes and phrases to suit your musical arrangement. You can also alter the expression, change the key and tempo, and alter the phrasing to create never-ending variations without affecting audio quality. All the parts were recorded dry, and all parameters are MIDI controllable.