DBX Driverack RTA Condenser Microphone Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm doing research on car audio noise due to subwoofer excitation. I am not 100% sure if this microphone is giving me adequate response for my study, but so far I am pretty impressed considering this is only $100. I'm able to easily quantify noise below 1kHz to at least 110 dB without any doubts. My only complaint so far is that I wish the technical information provided was more detailed but that's because I am doing research, which is more demanding than most applications.

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Usb Roll Up Drum Kit Play Your Music Anywhere Review

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(More customer reviews)This is for children, do not buy this if you are over the age of 5 years old. The drum pads and sticks are tiny and the computer program is nothing special at all.

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Novation Nocturn 25 USB MIDI Interface Keyboard Controller, 25-Keys, NOCTURN 25 Review

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(More customer reviews)The general concept of the Novation Nocturn series is that you have a responsive MIDI controller that is less expensive because a lot of the display parts and intelligence are handled through Novation's AutoMap software. AutoMap can be great, but it can also be very frustrating if the mappings for different devices aren't up to date, and Novation has a poor reputation for keeping their mappings current (in particular with Reason).
I originally had an Akai MiniMPK, which worked great, but wanted something a little larger, so I figured that the Nocturn 25 was just the ticket and only a bit more expensive (and still less expensive than the MAudio Axiom Pro 25 or the Akai MPK25).
It showed up, I installed it, and everything seemed fine, until I tried to use the drum pads. The drum pads under Windows were sporadically responsive, sometimes they'd show up, sometimes they wouldn't. I tried calibrating them, and AutoMap never registered them. Hmm. This is on a Mac Pro 2008 running Win 7. On a hunch, I booted into OS X...and they work perfectly.
So it's not a hardware issue, it's software issue, and one with their drivers. According to another user on the Novation forums, he reported this a year ago and support claimed that they were aware of the problem and 'looking into it'. Non-functioning drum pads on Windows would seem to be a fairly significant issue.
Support hasn't responded to me in 3 days, so I'm guessing they're not going to address this, at which point I'll need to return this. Disappointing since I'll have to spend more money.
Overall I give it 2 stars. If you're solely an OS X user and can live with the Automap quirks, it's probably a 4 star product, but if you use Windows, one of its major features may or may not work for you at all.


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Lexicon IONIX U82S 8-Input USB 2.0 Desktop Recording Studio Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a high quality interface *for the price* and works well with Cubase, GarageBand and Live. The preamps are neutral, and it has enough inputs and outputs to serve as a decent interface for live tracking/recording for a project/home studio with a small band. This is intended as a desktop/home/project studio device, not a professional setup, and I'm reviewing it keeping that in mind.
The good:
- Neutral preamps
- Bundled Cubase LE, EZDrummer give you everything you need for a basic project DAW setup.
- 8 inputs, which can be easily paired to give you stereo inputs if you so desire (of course, if you're using all stereo, you end up with only 4 stereo inputs).
- SPDIF in/out
- Two headphone outs so you can monitor/mix/master easily
- Easy controls, pretty much plug-and-play.
- Small footprint makes it ideal for a desktop / small project studio.
- XLR/TRS combo jacks for all 8 inputs
The bad:
- Moderate latency. You can (and should) set the driver to high-speed mode and grant the application highest priority in Windows if you're monitoring processed audio. Personally, I record dry tracks and mix later
- If you want a true hardware mixer and/or EQ so that you can set up a good live mix to monitor, this isn't the interface for you.
- No XLR outs -only TRS (why?!)
Other things to note:
- If you use 64-bit Windows, they've released updated drivers on their website, which you should download and install before doing anything else. The 32-bit drivers do not work and will make your computer crash early and often.

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Akai MPK 49 Controller Keyboard Review

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(More customer reviews)First of all, the pads DO suck. MPC's are known for their pads so you'd think Akai would at least be able to put the same type of pad/contact design on their MPK line. Instead they put a bunch of pads with no play that feel like buttons and make the keyboard housing vibrate when you pound them. On top of that they placed the contacts so far away it's damn near impossible to get 127 velocity on the pads without going Full Level. Even my LPD8 feels better than this thing. And even though they look like the MPC1000 pads, the 1000 pads are twice as thick as the ones here. I would have loved for them to have put the 1000 pads on this. At least then I'd be able to play back a chopped loop without feeling like I'm dialing a phone number.
The best part of the controller is the control surface. The transport keys, knobs, and sliders feel great. The LCD screen looks great.
Something unique about the controller is that it has built in MIDI settings that mimic classic MPC functions (16 level, MPC swing, note repeat). Too bad the pads keep you from fully enjoying these features.
The keys are decent but slightly noisy because they vibrate on release. The controller is also one of the few 49 key controllers out there with aftertouch. I prefer the lever-like feel of the Axiom when it comes to using aftertouch but the keys here are not a dealbreaker.
There's also a simple arpeggiator you can use. It's fairly simple in that there are only 5 settings you can use to separate notes in a chord. If you've used a more sophisticated arp (like the one on a Yamaha KX8), you'll be disappointed though.
The MPK is a good controller but Akai could have done way better than this. If you're using this for the keys and control surface it's a decent investment. But if you're thinking of buying this for the pads so you can drum and play back chopped loops, get an MPD instead.

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More than just a USB/MIDI controller, the Akai MPK49 USB/MIDI Controller Keyboard helps you maximize your musical ideas on-stage or in the studio. It combines a high-quality, 49-key, semi-weighted keyboard with aftertouch and 12 genuine MPC drum pads. It also offers 48 total accessible pads via 4 pad banks, and you can control up to 72 different parameters via 24 assignable Q-Link knobs, faders, and buttons as well as optional footswitches.

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Hosa Mid-310 Black 10 ft. Midi cable Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this cable so that I could hook my Roland TD3 electric drumset up to the Guitar Hero World Tour drum kit and play the game with my Roland. Plugged everything in, started up the game and it all worked great.
I don't really know what to write for a review on a cable that works other than it works and I'm happy with the quality.

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Akai Pro MPD18 Compact Pad Controller Review

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(More customer reviews)Just started messing around with beats. This thing is awesome and crazy affordable. Im not to the point where I can justify spending the money for the MPC's and such so this was right up my alley and does everything I need for my level of music production. Was a little difficult to set up and assign samples to pads at first cause the instructions are minimal at best, after a bunch of trial and error and youtube tutorials I was able to figure it out for the most part.

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Steven Slate Drums Signature Drumkits Platinum Edition Drum Suite Review

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(More customer reviews)I run this on a laptop with Eleven Rack and Pro Tools 8 LE in Windows 7 Pro x64. It gives you complete control over everything inside of the Kontact popup window. I use Drum Tools Performance Designer to drag and drop patterns. You can design your own sound or just use the presets. I designed my own sound, then realized the presets are already set up well and work the best once you have guitars and bass done. The levels are a little jumpy (realistic) but you can use compressor/limters within kontact or the maxim plugin in pro tools to get more volume and it still sounds very realistic in the end unlike most drum programs.

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USB Roll Up Drum Kit for Free Play or Learning Game Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the Dream Cheeky USB drum kit. Buyers must be prepared for one quirk: the product stinks. Literally. It smells similar to a tire store but worse. If you're going to give this as a gift, I suggest removing it from the box to air it out before passing on.
The software is easy to install, starts up quickly, and is somewhat easy to use. I wish it had a mode like guitar-hero for practice. (At least, I haven't found such a mode.) It comes with various loops and beats and has graphics reminiscent of GH.
The pad itself is small and sensitive to hands as well as drumsticks. I bought this for my young son, but I think even an adult player would find it useful/fun.

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