RolandHPD-15 HANDSONIC—The Doors to MIDI Open Wide for the Hand Percussionist, by Larry the O. Roland’s HPD-15 HandSonic percussion controller and sound module is a self-contained electronic percussion instrument. Its 15-part pad, dual ribbons, and D-Beam controllers provide extensive control capabilities. The HandSonic contains more than 650 sounds ranging from ethnic drums to instrumental loops. more Johnson Amplification J-STATION—A tone toolbox for the recording guitarist, by Steve Broder. Adding to a line of products that includes the Millennium, Marquis, and Mirage series guitar amplifiers—each of which uses physical modeling to simulate a variety of classic amps—JOHNSON Amplification has now unveiled the J-Station modeling preamp. This is a standalone tabletop unit featuring models of 12 classic guitar amps, 3 bass amps, and 2 acoustic guitars. more Synthesis Technology MOTM Synth—A Modular Analog Synthesizer That Surpasses All Expectations, by Robert Rich. When I first encountered Synthesis Technology’s MOTM system, I recalled the excitement I felt before the days of MIDI. Creating electronic music then was a tactile and visceral experience, and the instruments were big and messy. more Nemesys GigaStudio 160 2.0 (Win)—A Popular Disk-based Software Sampler Gets a Virtual Makeover, by Alan Metts. Nemesys has not rested on its laurels. The company has been refining and enhancing its product line, and its latest flagship product, GigaStudio 160, is quite a step up from the original GigaSampler. more Kurzweil K2600—The Best Just Keeps Getting Better, by Scott Wilkinson. Kurzweil’s V.A.S.T. synthesizers are the best all-purpose electronic instruments on the market. (They are also among the most expensive.) One of the primary reasons for these synths’ success is that Kurzweil designs them to be upgradeable and continues to release improvements for older models. more

Index of all DPS Reviews Applied Acoustics Tassman 1.2 (Win) —Flexible Physical Modeling and More in a Software Synthesizer, by Brian Smithers. Tassman employs physical-modeling techniques to create unique sounds. It provides a toolkit full of sound generators, resonators, filters, and other processes with which you can build accurate acoustic simulations or outrageously gritty vintage synths. more IK Multimedia Groovemaker 2.0—And the Beat Goes On and On and On and On, by Jeff Burger. IK Multimedia’s GrooveMaker 2.0, a loop-based, music-generation program that is available for Macintosh, Windows, and BeOS. GrooveMaker songs consist of up to 512 stereo loops, each with an 8-bar maximum length. more KOBLO STUDIO9000—SOFTWARE SYNTH/SAMPLE PLAYER/DRUM MACHINE BUNDLE, by Erik Hawkins. Virtual instruments, as they are also called, now sport incredible synthesis engines and latency that is practically nonexistent with the right setup. Studio9000, Koblo’s software synthesizer bundle, is an excellent example of the state of virtual instruments. more NATIVE INSTRUMENTS—DYNAMO 1.0.1 (MAC/WIN), by Len Sasso. If you’ve been curious about Native Instruments’ Reaktor synthesis and sampling software but you’re reluctant to take the plunge into its complexity, Dynamo might be a good place to start. The 25 Dynamo virtual devices are taken from Reaktor’s highly regarded Premium Library ... more Roland VG-88—Roland Offers an Entire Guitar Shop in a Box, by Jeff Burger. Modeling has become a technology to be reckoned with in terms of emulating existing instruments and gear. Engineers analyze how these devices make sound under various circumstances and re-create those characteristics ... more