Recording - December 2016 - 28

The unit comes with a standard A-to-B USB cable; when used
with a computer, this cable connects from the iXR's B port to the
computer's A port. For iOS use, a standard iOS sync cable plugs
into the iXR'S A port and runs to the iGizmo's Lightning port; the
USB cable runs from the B port to a power supply (the standard
Apple iPad supply works like a charm). Since a power supply
and sync cable come with every iPad, few users won't have what
they need for immediate iOS satisfaction.
The iXR is class compliant on Mac, and Windows (for the latter, an optional ASIO driver is a free download). For iOS, there's
a free app called Licenses for Steinberg's Cubase LE
(Windows/Mac) and Cubasis LE (iOS) are included as well.
An onboard Analog Devices Blackfin processor helps the iXR
handle up to 24/96 audio, and both the inputs and outputs provide clear sound with plenty of gain and beautifully extended high
end. I really enjoyed having the iXR handy in my messenger bag
for ad hoc recording sessions, jamming on my iPad or iPhone, and
casual listening. If you switch between laptop and iDevice on a
regular basis, or just want an affordable and rugged interface that
goes anywhere easily, the iXR rates a big thumbs up.-MM

Tone2 Nemesis
$199; www.tone2.com

While the editing capabilities of Nemesis are immense, the
tweakability that comes from this single control is an example of
a synth maker paying attention to what is important to its users.
There were several instances where a preset's sound wasn't
quite right for me: the tone was too buzzy, harsh, muted, or otherwise off the mark. In practically every case, I was able to
improve things just by turning the NeoFM knob: whether tucking
the sound into the mix or pulling it out front, it seemed like that
was the magical control for most of my timbral needs.
The entire synthesis engine is pretty impressive, and goes
far beyond typical FM synth capabilities. You have several
different synth algorithms available (including true FM,
phase distortion, waveshaping, and formant synthesis), several different ways to modulate the result with envelopes,
LFOs and MIDI control, and a nice effects engine. Tone2
has hit a sweet spot with the effects: they are tied to the
preset, so you get a genre-appropriate effects layout for
each patch. But the effects are never annoying; they help
bolster the sound, but never seem to get in the way of the
rest of the mix. And since they are easy to find on the interface, they are easy to alter or defeat when necessary.
Another compelling aspect of Nemesis is the realtime
sequencing system. In many ways, this combination of pattern generator, arpeggiator, and gate sequencer can provide competition for your DAW's sequencing system. I found
that these tools were highly inspiring, and I often spent more
time playing/tweaking the sequencing tools than the
tone/timbre controls! The sounds are spectacular, but
become even better as the arpeggiator and gate sequencer
are fine-tuned for your specific track. There has been a lot of
software that tries to be "song starting" generative tools; this
system is the closest I've ever seen to a successful version of
that goal. Easy tweakability, great sound, and awesome
realtime performance controls? A winner all around!-DDG

Yamaha Montage
$3499/$3999/$4499; usa.yamaha.com

There are some technologies that can seem intractable; for many
people, FM is one of those. Frequency modulation doesn't follow
the linear rules that we learn about tuning, mixing or filtering;
instead, it seems to be dark magic approachable to only a few.
Tone2 seems to have taken this on as a challenge, and has produced one of the freshest tools for FM synthesis I've tried in a long
time: Nemesis. This synthesizer plug-in for Windows and Mac features a unique interface that seems simple and approachable on the
surface, but has a depth that few competing synths can approach.
You can generally tell something about a plug-in by its user interface: the things that are important for a device typically occupy the
most screen space. In this case, two-thirds of the interface is dedicated to a dual oscillator system, where each oscillator is actually a
complete complex voice. Synth patches are created by creating
FM, ring modulation, or waveshaped sounds, combining the two
voices, then playing them with an arpeggiator and gate sequencer,
and outputting through a simple-but-effective effects pair.
The name "NeoFM" is Tone2's way of saying that they've done
something different. This implementation of FM is not your father's
FM-it's a new setup that allows for a greater variety of waveforms, and works in a way that maintains sonic integrity as you
increase the amount of frequency modulation. This is controlled
using the big "NeoFM" knob, which ends up being a sort of
master sonic control... and is at the heart of what makes Nemesis
immediately usable and rewarding.
28

RECORDING DECEMBER 2016

As a touring keyboardist with Latin recording artist Luis
Miguel, I was privileged to be among the first field-testers of
the Montage, Yamaha's newest keyboard workstation. Like
the Motif XF before it, the Montage is available in three
sizes: the Montage 6 with 61 notes, the Montage 7 with
76 notes, and the keyboard I reviewed, the 88-key
Montage 8 with hammer-action keybed. All models have
128-note polyphony and up to 16 multitimbral parts.
Some of the biggest changes are obvious on the front
panel. The Montage now organizes its sounds into
Performances, which can contain up to eight different
sounds. Slight (or drastic) variations on each Performance's
parameters can be stored and instantly recalled from eight
front-panel Scene buttons. I love this, as it lets you quickly
tweak your sound within a song and add variation and life
to your parts without a lot of knob turning.

http://www.tone2.com http://usa.yamaha.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2016