AKAI: There was exciting news for the touring and performing musician at the Akai booth. Akai had a very cool new series of compact powered mixers. The AMX Series weigh less than 17 pounds and are housed in a composite flight case with a cover and a handle. When the gig is over, you just cover them up and carry them away like a suitcase. The 10-channel AMX10 ($699) and the 6-channel AMX6 ($599) are very efficient and feature digital effects, a high-quality mixing section with individual EQ, dual amps and more. Akai was also showing some new ultralight stereo power amplifiers, the APX500 and the APX1000. These are high-efficiency PWM power amps. No price on these yet, but they sound promising. Garnering a lot of attention was their new digital multitrack recorder, the DPS16 ($2,695, or 3,095 with 4-bus stereo multi-effects processor board), billing itself as the world’s first 24-bit/96kHz 16-track digital personal studio. It’s capable of 10 track simulataneous recording and 16 track simultaneous playback. There’s a 26 channel mixer section and a great internal effects section, with comprehensive editing features. In short, the DPS16 can handle everything from recording to mixdown. There’s also the DPS12i ($1649, or 1,949 with stereo multi-effect processor) another nifty digital multitrack that lets you master directly to CD-ROM. For the low-end bass man, Akai offered two cool stomp boxes, the UB1 UniBass "sound-beefer-upper," and the SB1 Deep Impact, a synth bass processor. The UB1 lets you "thicken" your sound by various effects like adding an octave, or distortion, or enabling you to play harmony lines by yourself. It’s great for filling out a band’s sound on stage. The SB1 lets you play those fat, funky synthesizer bass lines on your bass. You can edit the sounds to get exactly the tone you want, and there are nine programmable memories that let you switch sounds while you play. And of course, where there’s bass effects pedals, there’s usually twice as many guitar pedals. First up is the W1 Variwah ($199), a box that gives you multiple wah: Pedal wah (there’s a traditional wah pedal), Touch wah and a Swell Wah feature all in one. The Swell Wah feature allows you to hit a chord or note and activate an oscillator which continues the wah-wah effect until the strings are muted. Sounds groovy. The D1 Shred-O-Matic ($299) also goes by the less lively name, the Tube/Solid-State Hybrid Distortion box. Whatever you call it, the 4 distortion modes are exceptional, giving guitarists a wide choice of distortion sounds. The effects are all tweakable. The E1 Headrush ($279) is a tap delay/tape echo simulator/looping recorder effects pedal. Features include 16-bit digital delay with a delay time from 0.5ms to 23.8 seconds, and the Tape Echo mode, which simulates an analog 4-head tape echo machine. Finally, there’s the P1 Intelliphase ($149), a cool sounding analog phaser with Soft Touch and Hard Touch mode. And when you’re done ringing every last bit of freaky sound out of your axe, you can get it back in tune with the T1 Chromatic Tuner ($119), an extremely accurate, pro-quality tuner. A built-in mic lets you tune acoustic instruments, while a sleep mode automatically turns off the Tune Lock after 4 minutes of inactivity to save battery life. Their RE32 ($2,495) is a professional multitrack remote controller for Akai’s 24-bit hard disk recorders. Its feature set is quite expansive, letting users easily control multiple DD8-plus and DR-16 Pro recorders, and giving them easy access to the front panel functions of their recorders.  You also get sample accurate lock between multiple machines, even while jogging. Finally, they also had a very cool variable tempo phrase sampler called the U400 ($249). It’s a compact device that gives you 35.7 seconds of recording time. Operation was very simple. You can playback the phrases at 2/3 and 1/2 speed without affecting the pitch, and easily isolate and loop a selected region. One of the coolest features for any instrumentalist who wants to learn their favorite solo perfectly is the Note Grabber, which takes you through a recording a single note at a time. ALESIS: Their A6 Andromeda Analog Waveform synth ($3499) was being put through its paces during a great mini-show. The A6 is no digital emulation of an analog synth; this is the real thing. A real-deal analog synthesizer bristling with knobs. Features include 16-voice, 16-channel multitimbral with full MIDI control. It’s capable of some very sweet, soulful sounds. APOGEE: They were showing off two high-quality converter cards, the AP8AD ($1495) and the AP8DA ($1195). These are designed to add quality digital conversion to any Yamaha digital system equipped either with full-size YGDAI card slots. They would make a perfect compliment to Yamaha’s AW4416 workstation we talked about earlier. AUDIO-TECHNICA: We love "packs" and "bundles," and know a lot of budget-minded working musicians feel the same way. Audio-Technica has four great new, inexpensive microphone kits we think you’d like. The KP Series consists of an assortment of mics for specific tasks, held in a durable, travel-friendly case. The KP-Drums ($499.95) include four custom-engineered cardioid dynamic mics — 2 "Snare/Tom" mics and 2 "Kick/Tom" mics. The KP-Vocals ($209.95) comes with 3 dynamic vocal mics with stand clamps and cable ties. The KP-Studio ($299.95) provides two cardioid condenser mics and a pair of ATH-M3X stereo headphones. Finally, the KP-Worship ($419.95) handles the diverse needs of sound reinforcement in churches and other places of worship, with 2 hanging "CHOIR" mics, 1 gooseneck "PODIUM" mic and a bonus handheld cardioid dynamic "VOCAL" mic. Audio-Technica also released their 1400 Wireless Series, featuring true diversity reception with two completely independent RF sections. BOSS: Boss brought out some incredible new gear, all seemingly aimed toward the performing/touring musician and songwriter. The BR-8 ($845.00) is a very cool 8-track digital recording workstation for guitarists and other musicians looking for a simple, cost-effective alternative to a tape-based personal studio. If a serious fledgling songwriter wanted to make a really wise investment in gear, the BR-8 is it. The BR-8 is very easy to operate, but includes many of the features that have made Roland’s VS workstations such a hit. You get virtual tracks, COSM effects processing, excellent editing functions, etc. You also get Rhythm Guide, Phase Trainer, and a built-in chromatic tuner. Next up was the JS-5 JamStation ($595.00), which might be even cooler than the BR-8, depending on who you talked to. With the JS-5, guitar and bass players can jam along to high quality accompaniments in many different styles. You can even record up to 32 minutes of your work, just in case you hit that great groove that could turn into something. It’s very useful for practicing, jamming, songwriting, or learning to play in a new style of music. We saw a demo of this and it gave all of us the "gimmes." Boss has also added to their line of professional auto-tuners with the TU-70 ($39). It’s the world’s first guitar and bass tuner with a backlit LED display, making it an excellent tool for on stage use. Finally, there’s the PK-25 Pedal Keyboard for your VK-77 combo organ. We’re serious. You attach the pedal board to your VK-77 via a single cable, and then start tapping away. It sounds great. CROWN: Their new CE 4000 amplifier was crankin’ out loud and clear at the Crown booth. The latest addition to their CE Series amps, the CE 4000 is being targeted to nightclubs and DJ systems, regional touring PAs, A/V rental houses and fixed installations. It’s one of the most efficient amplifiers that Crown has ever come out with: a switching amplifier design means the CE 4000’s BCA topology delivers massive amounts of power while generating just one-tenth the heat of a conventional amplifier. The CE 4000 delivers a solid 1800 watts per channel (both channels driven) into 2 Ohms, 1200 watts into 4 Ohms and 600 watts into 8 Ohms. For such a powerful amp, it was very lightweight, checking in at about 34lbs. Crown also gave us an award for outstanding sales in 1999. DENON: Among their selection of excellent and reliable CD players, Denon had a couple of new products that will surely raise the beats-per-minute of any serious creative DJ. The first was the latest version of their DN-2600 dual CD player, the DN-2600F. Along with features like authentic scratching, the DN-2600F brings some exciting new functions to the tables (pun fully intended). Each drive has "Hot Start": the DJ can instantly and seamlessly change a track or cue point with the touch of a button. "Strutter" mode plays momentary audio as the buttons are pressed down, and then "recues" to the original point upon release. Also, the "Effector" features offer fully customizable frequency filter, reverb and flanger effects. Then, there was the VJ-Controller, a cool controller console that lets DJs select and change video images and sync them to music. Club DJs will love it, but the potential of the VJ-Controller goes far beyond that. Any multimedia presentation in the business world, or broadcast  applications, will benefit from the VJ-Controller. We’ll be bringing you more about this in the coming months. . . EMAGIC: The release of the new Logic Audio Version 4.2 for Mac and Windows 98 means new stuff all around. The EXS24 Xtreme Sampler 24 Bit ($299) lets you add some great sampling power to your Logic Audio system. It provides users with up to 32 voices per EXS24, sample accurate timing, full automation, and one of the most intuitive graphic user interfaces we’ve ever seen. They were also showing off a new plug-in called the ES1 Synthesizer One ($299). Like the name says, it’s a virtual synthesizer created especially for Logic Audio. You can use up to 8 ES1 instruments at once, with up to 16 voices per ES1, and you get seamless integration with all effects in Logic’s internal digital mixer. Their new MT4 USB MIDI Interface ($149) is Emagic’s cross-platform, affordable USB MIDI interface. All inputs and outputs are fully addressable for a maximum of 32 channel input and 64-channel output. They’ve also released version 3.0 of Soundiver ($49), their Universal Editor Librarian. EMU: Coolness was running rampant at the EMU booth. First up was their brand new sound module, the B-3. Just like the name says, the B-3 sound module delivers jaw-droppingly realistic B-3 tonewheel organ sounds. This includes all the effects, like loads of authentic drawbar settings, distortion, and percussion features that sound just like the real deal. The B-3’s realtime controls give you tremendous rotary speaker control. It’s expandable, too. Also strutting its stuff was the Xtreme Lead-1 ($895), a very cool single rackspace sound module/synthesizer.  Designed as an all-in-one instrument for techno/electronica/dance artists, the XL-1 offers a very powerful and diverse set of features. There are just too many highlights on the XL-1 to go into detail (like 32 MB Sound ROM with 512 ROM & 512 User Presets; 16 simultaneously synced arpeggiators, etc), but one of its most impressive features was the SuperBEATS Mode, which allows you to trigger, latch and unlatch synced loops and grooves from separate keys on your keyboard. If grooves and BPMs are your musical currency of choice, you’ll want to check this module out. But the shakin’ doesn’t stop there. EMU has more. Or Mo’, to be precise. The Mo’ Phatt Urban Dance Synth picks up where the legendary Planet Phatt left off. Just like the name says, Mo Phatt gives you more. More sounds, more grooves, more creative options and a more powerful processor. Like the XL-1, Mo’ Phatt features the SuperBEATS mode.  Best of all, you can add your own unique touch to the grooves via a cutting-edge synthesis architecture and effects processor. FOCUSRITE: They’re reissuing their classic and still popular ISA 110 Mic Preamp and EQ ($2000). The ISA 110 was Focusrite’s "building block" product and is still used in countless recording studios worldwide. This unit is a stand alone one-channel unit in a 19" format with integral power supply, but otherwise it conforms to the original ISA110. They were also showing the ISA 430 Producer Pack, a front-end processor that makes a great front-end for Pro Tools. The ISA 430 includes a transformer-coupled mic preamp stage, plus line and instrument inputs with phantom power and phase reverse with direct input. There’s also a Compressor and Expander / Gate featuring proprietary Class A VCA and side-chain circuit as used in the vintage ISA 130; a De-esser;  a 3-band Limiter; and special Single or Split modes. The MixMaster is Focusrite’s latest addition to their award-winning Platinum Range of dynamics processors. Designed principally as the final processing stage when mixing, the MixMaster will also prove a valuable tool for anyone mastering his or her own recordings. Features include Stereo line input; Stereo expander; Stereo multiband (spectral) compressor; Stereo 3 - band parametric equalizer; Stereo Image Controller; and Stereo Limiter (frequency adaptive limiter for minimum distortion and maximum A/D protection). FOSTEX: They were showing several great new releases sure to be of interest to recording professionals. The first was the NF-1A ($1598/pair), a nifty near field monitor that boasts an almost completely neutral sound. These were powered versions of the NF-1 introduced at AES ’99. The NF-1A features a "patent-pending" hyperbolic parabolic transducer design that provides a tight off-axis response. Also introduced were the D 824 ($1795) and the D 1624 ($2795), two powerful, high-end hard disk recorders. They offer an RS422 interface and a total of five recording formats, including non-compressed 24-bit, 96kHz audio. The new interface increases the recorders’ versatility dramatically by allowing remote placement and offering compatibility with video editors and other professional tools. The D824 and the D1624 also feature unlimited UNDOs, COPY/PASTE between programs, a dedicated ALL INPUT key and more handy capabilities. Continuing Fostex’s tradition of top-of-the-line compact recording workstations is the VF-16 16-Track Digital Multitracker ($1500). It features 16 recording tracks plus 8 additional "ghost" tracks, and fantastic digital mixing capabilities. There are two independent digital multi effects using acclaimed Fostex A.S.P. technology. They also had the VM88 ($799) 8-channel Digital Mixer with DSP Effects. This was a nifty, compact submixer for live performance, loaded with great features and simple to operate. If you’re a performing musician you need to check this one out. Home • Page 1 • Page 2 • Page 3	Click image to view larger Akai DP-16 Apogee's AP8AD for the 02R. Will Lee smacks his bass a the Alesis booth. Sweetwater receives Dealer Excellence award from Crown. EMU demos the new Mo' Phatt module. New EMUJ modules, including Mo' Phatt, XTreme Lead, B3, and Virtuoso. Paris demo with SMPTE working.