AT

Alan Tubbs

26 Total
26 Reviews
Cakewalk Sonar DAW

Gear Review

Cakewalk Sonar DAW

Nov 15, 2024

The latest release of Cakewalk’s PC-only DAW is out, and what a long, strange road it’s been. Is it called Cakewalk now? Or SONAR? Before the 20th...

MT 48 USB-C Interface

Gear Review

MT 48 USB-C Interface

Jan 15, 2024

The MT 48 isn’t just another desktop interface; it is Neumann’s redevelopment of Merging Technologies’ high end Anubis interface as Neumann and...

Newton Channel Preamp/EQ/Compressor

Gear Review

Newton Channel Preamp/EQ/Compressor

Sep 15, 2023

A new, affordable, single rack unit channel strip, Rupert Neve Designs' Newton Channel isn’t a stripped-down version of their Shelford Channel...

5057 Orbit Summing Mixer

Gear Review

5057 Orbit Summing Mixer

Jul 15, 2021

From the requisite hand-wired boutique pieces of the ‘50s and early ‘60s, to the large format commercial consoles that followed, and then right into...

YC61 Stage Keyboard

Gear Review

YC61 Stage Keyboard

Mar 15, 2021

The Yamaha YC61 Stage Keyboard is a 61-key waterfall keyboard, now also available with 73 and 88 keys. It has three separate sound engines: VCM for...

MODX Synthesizer

Gear Review

MODX Synthesizer

Sep 15, 2019

You might think that the new MODX synthesizer from Yamaha is just a compact version of their flagship MONTAGE keyboard , and on the...

iD44 Interface

Gear Review

iD44 Interface

Jul 15, 2019

Audient jumped headfirst into the premium class interface market with their release of the iD22 . The premium classification gives more...

Montage 6 Synthesizer

Gear Review

Montage 6 Synthesizer

Sep 15, 2018

About 40 years ago I purchased monitors for a home studio before such things were common. I still use those Yamaha NS-500s and matching amp in my...

Cakewalk by Bandlab

Gear Review

Cakewalk by Bandlab

Jul 15, 2018

The reports of the death of the PC/Windows DAW Cakewalk were greatly exaggerated. With tens of thousands of users, many willing to pony up a hundred...

Mixcraft 8 DAW

Gear Review

Mixcraft 8 DAW

Mar 15, 2018

SONAR is dead, long live… which DAW? The shutdown of Gibson-owned Cakewalk sent thousands of users looking for a new DAW. It may be...

SONAR Platinum 2016.09

Gear Review

SONAR Platinum 2016.09

Nov 15, 2016

It has been well over a year since Cakewalk started offering SONAR , their flagship DAW, with rolling updates and an installment-based...

Celesoníc US-20x20 audio interface

Gear Review

Celesoníc US-20x20 audio interface

Jan 21, 2016

Many, um, "experienced" readers have fond memories of their first TASCAM/TEAC analog reel-to-reel or Portastudio cassette decks, while...

SONAR Platinum

Gear Review

SONAR Platinum

May 16, 2015

The new SONAR that replaces SONAR X3 will be the last one ever — no more numbered editions according to Cakewalk. But that doesn't mean...

UH-7000 mic preamp & USB interface

Gear Review

UH-7000 mic preamp & USB interface

Sep 15, 2014

Instead of offering eight or more inputs loaded with mic preamps in a never-ending quest for bang-for-buck, some companies are designing two-channel...

Scratchpad for iPad

Gear Review

Scratchpad for iPad

Mar 15, 2014

I have seen the future, and it is touch. And fun. Cakewalk's Scratchpad is their first foray into iOS apps and is exactly what it sounds like....

SONAR X3 Producer

Gear Review

SONAR X3 Producer

Jan 10, 2014

Cakewalk has been in the news a lot lately. First, Gibson agreed to buy them from Roland. Having a guitar maker buy a DAW company is not as odd as it...

Portico II channel

Gear Review

Portico II channel

Jun 3, 2013

Somebody likes the Portico II. I had to wait a week for RND to cook up a fresh batch when the review unit they were supposed to send was bought...

Sonar X2 Producer

Gear Review

Sonar X2 Producer

Nov 15, 2012

SONAR X1 was a major change from the previous eight or so iterations of SONAR. X1 looked, operated, and felt very different from its...

SONAR X1 Producer Expanded PC4K S-Type Expander/Gate & Channel Compressor modules

Gear Review

SONAR X1 Producer Expanded PC4K S-Type Expander/Gate & Channel Compressor modules

Mar 15, 2012

While continuing to update SONAR X1 (Tape Op #82) for free, Cakewalk is adding functionality to their top-shelf version of SONAR X1 Producer with a...

RND Portico 5033 EQ & 5043 Compressor plug-ins

Gear Review

RND Portico 5033 EQ & 5043 Compressor plug-ins

Nov 15, 2011

When Steinberg announced the plug-in versions of the Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5033 EQ (Tape Op #57) and 5043 Compressor (#59), I jumped at the...

SONAR X1

Gear Review

SONAR X1

Mar 15, 2011

In the beginning, Twelve Tone Systems begat Cakewalk MIDI Sequencer for DOS, and Cakewalk begat Pro Audio, which begat SONAR, which begat SONAR X1....

Alchemy soft synth

Gear Review

Alchemy soft synth

Nov 15, 2010

There are many jobs for which hardware still rules the music roost. But there are some that software does better - synths, for example. Though...

V-Studio 100 portable music studio

Gear Review

V-Studio 100 portable music studio

Nov 15, 2009

One might think that Cakewalk's latest hardware collaboration with Roland is the little brother of the V-Studio 700 (Tape Op #72). After all, it...

SONAR V-Studio 700

Gear Review

SONAR V-Studio 700

Jul 15, 2009

V-Studio 700 is a complete and integrated digital recording system-just add computer-that's designed around SONAR 8 (Tape Op #69)...