AES is supposed to be about high-end gear for audio engineers, but apparently no one told the sparring rival computer guitar effects makers. In this corner, from Modena, Italy, the reigning champion: IK Multimedia AmpliTube. And in this corner, from Berlin, Germany, the challenger: Native Instruments Guitar Rig 2. Photos and comparison after the break.

When you see a name like NI’s Guitar Rig, or a Swedish babe holding a guitar next to IK’s AmpliTube, you probably think about, you know, guitars. (I can hear at least one of my colleagues at Keyboard Mag groaning, “Ewwwww . . . guitars.”) But look closely at either of these products behind the […]

AES updates through the week — problem with being at the show is, it doesn’t leave much time to write about the show! -PK Let’s face it: what most people need for computer audio is just an easy way of plugging in a mic or guitar or two. Presonus’ new Inspire 1394 is a bus-powered […]

Walking the AES show floor, there is just one company that draws the really big crowds: Digidesign. But while Pro Tools 7 is worth the upgrade for most existing users, there are a lot of features that are eliciting yawns among people I talked to. (The number one DAW saw on demo computers at various […]

M-Audio is hot. Where their product line was once littered with tons of products, some cool, some blah, they’ve got a lineup at AES that looks like it could be filled with hits. At the top of my list is the new M-Audio ProjectMix I/O. This box looks like Digi’s 002 interface or Pro Control […]

Digital guitar software/hardware combos? It’s on. Just days after IK Multimedia shows its new version of AmpliTube with new effects and a new hardware stompbox / audio interface / DI box, rival Native Instruments unveils its own upgraded computer guitar rack with new effects and a new hardware stompbox / audio interface / DI box. […]

AES: Finally, a guitar you can plug directly into your computer — no strings attached. You may never have heard of BridgeCo, but if you’ve got a FireWire audio interface, odds are their guts are inside. (They make the firmware / hardware platform.) Now they’ve gone and crossed your FireWire interface with a boutique electric […]

Windows stalwart Cakewalk has in fact gone cross-platform (Windows VSTi/DirectX and Mac AU/VSTi). So, why’d they do it? Apparently, they wanted to unleash this serious synth monster on two platforms: think two DVDs, 1500+ sound programs, major layering and easy editing and morphing. More details from Cakewalk after the jump, and I’ll have more after […]

AES used to be an insider’s show for audio engineers and academics, but that’s not the case any more. Now, with the audio industry pumping out new products, it’s a show to watch for new gear. (For the uninitiated, that’s AES as in Audio Engineering Society, the folks who gave us, among other things, the […]

[Updated: Had the wrong record label — it’s not Muti, it’s Pretension. Though Pretension is also cool.] I asked readers to brag about their work, and, wow, does Cynthia Bruyns have amazing things to brag about: She’s a DJ — check out her mixes She’s working part-time with Apple’s Interactive Media group She’s involved with […]