I have had the Strymon Magneto for some time now and I decided to shoot a short video discussing some of my thoughts.
spoiler it is a very musical module. I really enjoy the hands on control. While admittedly I was concerned about the price point. Considering I recently had purchases a Rainmaker delay module which did not last in my rack. The Magneto was met with a bit of caution. I must say however I am left quite impressed. it is deceptively deep and quite controlled and full of “sweet spots”. The ability to reverse delays and freeze moments in time is great. Check out the video and let me know what you think.
for more info check out https://www.strymon.net/products/magneto/
This Circuit review is one that I specifically requested from Novation. I was quite interested in the idea of a portable groove box that held one of my favorite synth engines in a battery controlled, forward thinking design. I was concerned about the macro control layout as I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the layout. I came away from my time with the circuit gaining a new appreciation for this different take on a portable synth. Instead of focusing on specifics like ADSR settings or complex oscillator set ups, This groove box opts to give you macros that can control 4 parameters on any given patch. While this might be a bit confusing, it also serves as the pathway to inspiration and discovery of new unexpected sounds. This is where Circuit can come into its own… The sequencer is a bit on the basic side being only 16 steps but it does allow for independent note lengths and pattern chaining. You can launch patterns in a similar way to the ableton live clip launching method. Speaking of Ableton Live, a copy is included free with Circuit and Circuit can be used as a controller for live.
The Battery power and the fact that it has a built in speaker was a large draw for me. I’m happy to say that through out this entire review I never once needed to actually plug it into the wall (though the wall adapter is included in the box). The internal speaker is quite adequate to get its sound across in a quiet setting (don’t expect it to be loud enough to get peoples attention in a noisy bus station but it will certainly turn heads if you are sitting in a starbucks.)
I found the over all build quality to be extremely good. The knobs feel VERY nice , smooth with decent resolution. the body didn’t creak or feel hollow and plasticy. The build felt so nice I let my 2 and a half year old son bash away on it with not so much as a scratch or a worry. I have to say he quite enjoyed it as well.
I was skeptical of the layout but came away impressed with the build quality. The constant updates from novation is a very promising sign and the addition of sample import and “sample flip” is not to be over looked. the rigid 16 step sequencer resolution is probably my biggest gripe but for what this product is, its hardly a deal breaker.
If you are looking for a groove box that you can confidently take with you on the go and is truly stand alone… this might be right up your alley.
Siglent is a leader in the oscilloscope market. Both win affordability and features Siglent scopes continue to impress. This review I decided to show how these wonderful scopes can be used by audio professionals to better understand our gear and sounds. This particular scope is in their upper mid range segment with a absolutely stunning display. check out the video below for more details!. Head to Siglent to order one of these or their other scopes today!
The Audio Damage Kompressor is a digital true stereo compressor that can also work as a Mono with side chain input compressor. occupying only 6 hp, this compressor packs a big punch for its small size. RATIO is a scaled control. The first half of the rotation goes from 1:1 to 1:10, and from 12 o’clock to fully clockwise, it goes from 1:10 to 1:1000 (infinite). Gain can give you up to 30+db of additional gain along with a soft internal saturation emulating an analog circuit.
The Build quality feels very solid and the compression is really quite well controlled. I’ve been using it both as an final mix compressor and as a drum squashing beast as well.
review by Flux The Yesk is the latest production desk from boutique studio desk manufacturer ZAOR. The Yesk is a three tier desk with a slide out keyboard tray perfect for 49-61 keys. the center console features two bays of 4U of rack space at a nice working angle. The construction is of solid wood and feels extremely sturdy. One of my personal concerns about this review was that I know I will be moving in semi near future, will this desk hold up after a tear down and rebuild. I can say that after putting the desk together and seeing the smart anchor system that it uses to assemble the individual pieces (it comes flat packed), I have no doubts it will fair well in the move. Build time was pretty short (under two hours with me basically half paying attention to the build and half paying attention to another project I was working on. I’d bet with some focus I could have pulled it off in about 45 minutes. The instructions are very well layed out and it is really only about 11 parts or so you need to join together. The only gripes I had during the build was that the adapters for the rack screws could have come preinstalled and that the bottom row of them are a very tight fit to the desk. Nothing really upsetting just nitpicking for the sake of this article really. Continue reading →
The writeable Quantizer(WQ) is an interesting module in that while it can function like a traditional sequencer, it is anything but traditional. What sets the WQ apart is that this quantizer doesn’t come with preset 1/12v divided scales like most quantizers do. Instead the WQ allows users to store voltages into a user defined “scale” and then quantize incoming voltages to those stored voltages. You can use traditional scale values and write those voltages to a traditional scale but what is the fun in that? Continue reading →
