Recording - December 2009 - 16

roughly by octaves from 40 Hz to 16 kHz, there’s the Bass Ranger, with bands from 30 Hz to 2 kHz, and the Vox Ranger, with voice-optimized bands from 220 Hz to 4 kHz. Each module has a makeup gain control and simple bypass, and the documentation gives great suggestions on which bands are best for which applications (a feature common to all the PDF manuals with these plug-ins). The amount of available cut and boost for each band, its width, and its positioning have been preselected for simple but effective use, so you can get a great sound without a lot of fiddling as you might do on a parametric eq. Late in my review period, I received a copy of TwinTube, a harmonics and saturation processor. It is a bit more processorintensive than the other plug-ins and will perform best on a multicore machine if running native (my 2 GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook hit 18% processor load running a single instance in Live 8.0.3) but the sound it produces is unforgettable. Two separate controls allow the user to dial in harmonic emphasis at one of four different frequencies, roughly 2, 3, 6, or 10 kHz, which lets you add sheen and clarity to all manner of audio signals—I really liked the 6 kHz setting on my voice, for example—or to add tube saturation for that lovely soft-clipping sound we love so much. I’m still getting into this plug-in, but see a lot of uses for many sound sources. All of the SPL Analog Code plug-ins share a high level of sound quality, extremely simple and intuitive use, and a very easily recallable parameter set. If you’re looking for some basic yet powerful effects to form the core of your computer music setup, head over to the SPL website and check out the examples and demos. This is cool stuff.—MM for the two mic inputs. A 5-stage LED level meter completes the front panel, and the rear has a USB connection, power switch, and jack for the wall wart power supply. Note that unlike its much more expensive and complex larger siblings, the MultiMix 4 USB needs no driver installation. It is essentially a plug-and-play class-compliant 2-in/2-out USB 1.1 interface. The four inputs are mixed to stereo before being sent to the computer as 16-bit/44.1 kHz audio. The headphone output signal and main outs are on separate busses; you can turn one off without affecting the other (so you can listen to a cue mix without sending anything to the mains—a feature that small desktop mixers have needed for years and almost never gotten correct!), and neither level control affects the levels going to USB (that’s done with the channel level pots). Input signals are always live in the headphones for direct monitoring without latency, a default that will work well for beginning users. Overall the user experience is simple and straightforward a beginner will hear what he needs to and get sound into his computer with no trouble at all. With this sound quality and simplicity, the MultiMix 4 USB is easy to recommend.—MM CAD Audio USB Microphones U1 and U2, $39; U7 and U37, $69; www.cadaudio.com CAD Audio has no fewer than four extremely affordable microphones with plug-and-play USB capability, covering a wide variety of applications. I had a chance to work with and test all of them for several weeks. The U1 is a dynamic end-address microphone with a mute switch, and a non-detachable USB cable with strain relief. It comes with a plastic tripod table stand and spring clamp; a built-in pop filter does a good job of controlling the worst plosives, although the mic would benefit from an external pop filter if the vocalist pops Ps badly. The look and feel of the mic is that of a standard entrylevel cardioid vocal mic; it has a forward sound with a fairly controlled low end and not a lot of highs, suitable for voice recording, especially for podcasts. It’s a solid performer but not my first choice for music recording, given some of the other contenders CAD is offering. The U2 is not a conventional music microphone; it’s a headset mic with a small and comfortably padded set of over-the-ear headphones and a cardioid dynamic capsule on a flexible gooseneck. The capsule comes with a foam windscreen but is very susceptible to plosives; I found it worked best when set slightly off-axis. If you’ve been looking for a computer-chat mic/ headphone with higher quality than the ones sold at most computer stores, this would be a good choice. Alesis MultiMix 4 USB $99.99; www.alesis.com I’ve had really good luck Alesis interfaces and computerenabled mixers. The build quality is a cut above much of what we see at the entry level; the converters and preamps have a clean and usable sound; and everything works as advertised. All of that holds true for the newest of the Alesis MultiMix USB mixers, the entry-level MultiMix 4 USB. The MultiMix 4 USB is about as simple as a mixer gets: four input channels (two mono and one stereo), unbalanced main outs on 1 /4" TS, and a 1/4" headphone out. The two mono channels have switchable 75 Hz highpass filters to kill stage rumble and mic handling noise, 2-band shelving eq at 80 Hz and 10 kHz, adjustable gain pots, pan controls, and clip LEDs by the main level pots; the stereo channel just has balance and level pots. Each mono channel offers a balanced XLR input that’s switched out of circuit if one plugs into the associated 1/4" input, and Channel 1 has a Guitar switch that turns its 1/4" input into a Hi-Z guitar input. There’s globally switchable phantom powerRECORDING DECEMBER 2009

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Recording - December 2009

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