musicradar

Every month, MusicRadar's industry-leading sister magazines - Guitarist, Computer Music, Total Guitar, Rhythm and Future Music - publish the best independent and in-depth music-making gear reviews.

We've collated the latest plug-ins, apps, DJ gear and other hardware to have fallen under the watchful eyes of Computer Music, Future Music, Rhythm Total Guitar and Guitarist's test teams. All the gear on show here was originally reviewed in Computer Music issue 183, Future Music issue 258, and Guitarist issue 360.

Scroll on for this month's top picks and click through to read each product's full review. First up: Sony Creative Software SpectraLayers Pro.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Powerful but overly fiddly, SpectraLayers can give some amazing results if you've got the patience for it."

FULL REVIEW: Sony Creative Software SpectraLayers Pro

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

BUY Sony Creative Software SpectraLayers Pro currently available from:
USA: Sweetwater | Full Compass

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"In terms of raw numbers, there's less here than most competitors, but what's there sounds absolutely fantastic."

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FULL REVIEW:Brainworx bx_rockrack

(Reviewed in Computer Music issue 183)

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Short of actually booking yourself in for a session at your local church, this is as good as it gets."

BUY Garritan Classic Pipe Organs currently available from:
USA: American Musical

FULL REVIEW: Garritan Classic Pipe organs

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Fantastic classic string synth sounds that don't cost the earth."

FULL REVIEW: UVI String Machines

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

BUY UVI String Machines currently available from:
USA: Sweetwater

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"This really is a full-on professional DAW for iPad, albeit one that currently only records, processes and mixes audio, not MIDI."

FULL REVIEW: WaveMachine Labs Auria

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Beatsurfing is a deceptively powerful controller - very straightforward to use, yet capable of great depth and artistic inspiration."

FULL REVIEW: Vlek Beatsurfing

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"An extremely capable analogue synth with an attainable price tag."

FULL REVIEW: Steinberg Retrologue

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"The Dark Zebra is an odd semi-upgrade, and we're not totally sure how we feel about the price, but the quality of the patches and new synth modules is unquestionable."

FULL REVIEW: u-he The Dark Zebra

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"If melodic inspiration's what you need, Noatikl's generative wizardry can help - now with added sound generation!"

FULL REVIEW: Intermorphic Noatikl 2

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Affordable, quality mix bus compression from the masters of dynamics processing, with all mod cons."

FULL REVIEW: PSP Audioware BussPressor

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

BUY PSP Audioware BussPressor currently available from:
UK/Europe: Plugin Boutique

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"For anyone who's serious about getting the best sound from their setup, we strongly recommend ARC System 2."

FULL REVIEW: IK Multimedia ARC System 2

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

BUY IK Multimedia ARC System 2 currently available from:
UK/Europe: Thomann
USA: Sweetwater | American Musical

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"A flexible, easy-to-use effects suite that sacrifices a certain amount of depth in favour of breadth."

FULL REVIEW: Nomad Factory Magma

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

BUY Nomad Factory Magma currently available from:
USA: Full Compass

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Quirky, fun and sonically lush, Oxium is another forward-thinking, characterful winner from XILS-Lab."

FULL REVIEW: XILS-Lab Oxium

(Reviewed in Computer Music magazine issue 183)

BUY XILS-Lab Oxium currently available from:
USA: Sweetwater

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"A sonic chameleon - a cross platform DAW editor/tablet app would complete this killer package."

FULL REVIEW: Roland Integra-7 Sound Module

(Reviewed in Future Music magazine issue 258)

BUY Roland Integra-7 Sound Module currently available from:
UK/Europe: Andertons Music Co. | Thomann | Gear4Music | Absolute Music
USA: Sweetwater | Full Compass | American Musical

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"You must decide which platform best suits your needs for this great-sounding EQ."

FULL REVIEW: UAD-2 Sonnox EQ

(Reviewed in Future Music magazine issue 258)

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Four excellent and diverse compressors from one of the finest development houses."

FULL REVIEW: FXpansion DCAM Dynamics

(Reviewed in Future Music magazine issue 258)

BUY FXpansion DCAM Dynamics currently available from:
UK/Europe: Plugin Boutique
USA: Sweetwater

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"A great processor box that offers something original and exciting. We defy anyone not to have fun with it."

FULL REVIEW: Vermona Retroverb Lancet

(Reviewed in Future Music magazine issue 258)

BUY Vermona Retroverb Lancet currently available from:
UK/Europe: Thomann

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"The StudioConnect really does very little to connect you to your studio so maybe a name change is in order - and halve the price while you're at it."

FULL REVIEW: Griffin StudioConnect

(Reviewed in Future Music magazine issue 258)

BUY Griffin StudioConnect currently available from:
USA: Sweetwater

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Solid design with great jogwheels, but, bafflingly, the software only supports two of the four channels."

BUY Reloop Terminal Mix4 currently available from:
USA: American Musical

FULL REVIEW: Reloop Terminal Mix4

(Reviewed in Future Music magazine issue 258)

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Delivers spectacular rhythmic multiband filtering, albeit with little in the way of fine control."

FULL REVIEW: Sinevibes Array

(Reviewed in Future Music magazine issue 258)

BUY Sinevibes Array currently available from:
UK/Europe: Plugin Boutique

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"An excellent pair of monitors that tell you the truth right across the audio spectrum."

FULL REVIEW: Unity Audio The Rock MK2

(Reviewed in Future Music magazine issue 258)

BUY Unity Audio The Rock MK2 currently available from:
USA: Sweetwater

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"A highly desirable item for those who appreciate what valves can do in the right hands."

FULL REVIEW: Thermionic Culture Solo Vulture

(Reviewed in Future Music Magazine 258)

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"A large and well-specified controller with great build quality and a useful standalone mixer."

FULL REVIEW: Numark 4Trak DJ Controller

(Reviewed in Future Music magazine issue 258)

BUY Numark 4Trak DJ Controller currently available from:
UK/Europe: Andertons Music Co. | Thomann | Scan Pro Audio | Gear4Music | Absolute Music
USA: Sweetwater | Full Compass | American Musical

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Alloy 2's take on the channel strip concept is futuristic, brilliantly designed and sounds fantastic."

FULL REVIEW:iZotope Alloy 2

(Reviewed in Computer Music issue 184)

BUY iZotope Alloy 2 currently available from:
UK/Europe: Andertons Music Co. | Thomann | Plugin Boutique
USA: Sweetwater | Full Compass | American Musical

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"The best synth in Reason. Make it yours."

FULL REVIEW:Rob Papen Predator-RE

(Reviewed in Computer Music issue 184)

BUY: Rob Papen Predator-RE currently available from:
UK/Europe:Absolute Music

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Making granular synthesis easy and fun, Pro is a must-upgrade for Padshop users and a bargain for everyone else."

FULL REVIEW:Steinberg Padshop Pro

(Reviewed in Computer Music issue 184)

BUY Steinberg Padshop Pro currently available from:
UK/Europe: Andertons Music Co.

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"Not as generational a leap as v5, but still a very powerful, well-equipped DAW."

FULL REVIEW:Acoustica Mixcraft Pro Studio 6

(Reviewed in Computer Music issue 184)

BUY Acoustica Mixcraft Pro Studio 6 currently available from:
USA: Sweetwater | American Musical

MusicRadar’s verdict:

"A comprehensive, tactile synth for the iPad that's capable of creating some truly excellent sounds."

FULL REVIEW:Yonac Magellan

(Reviewed in Computer Music issue 184)