EM Editors Choice 2009

Jan 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By the EM Staff

           
 

2009 EDITORS' CHOICE AWARDS

BONUS MATERIAL
Reviews and Such for This Year's Winners

Download of the Year

u-he MFM2 (Mac/Win, $79)

The winner of the Download of the Year award is chosen from the software featured in our “Download of the Month” column. This year we had a tough time choosing a winner, given such notable runners-up as AlgoMusic's (algomusic.net) Atomic, a creative step-sequencer plug-in with built-in synth, and Glitch, a clever sequenced-effects processor from Illformed (illformed.org). But when the dust settled, we chose MFM2 (More Feedback Machine 2) from Urs Heckmann.

MFM2 provides four stereo delay lines and a four-by-four feedback matrix that lets you route any output to any input. Each delay line has its own multimode filter, and each pair of delays also has a multi-effects processor. You can place the filter at various points in the signal path, whereas the effects always come at the end. A 4-band modulation matrix lets you route MFM2's four LFOs, two multisegment envelope generators, and MIDI continuous controller messages to most MFM2 parameters. Delay times as short as 1 ms make this plug-in ideal for resonator effects. Tempo sync with longer delay times lets you create long multitap sequences. Hundreds of presets get you started, but tweaking is the fun part.

DSP Host

Universal Audio UAD-2 (Mac/Win, from $499)

Universal Audio has raised the ante for DSP host hardware with the UAD-2. The PCIe-2-compatible card features the Analog Devices SHARC 21369 chip and comes in single-, dual-, and quad-processor models, respectively offering 2.5, 5, and 10 times the speed of the original UAD-1 card. UAD-1 sessions can be used with the UAD-2, and you can mix the cards in your system, using up to four of each with a single software license. Current plug-in partners Neve, Roland, SPL, Valley People, and Empirical Labs are actively porting their plug-ins to the new card, with attractive cross-grade pricing, and new partners, including Harrison, Moog, and Little Labs, will be joining forces with UA in the future.

The UAD-2 supports AU and VST software hosts, and RTAS support is in the works. It is Mac OS X Tiger/Leopard and Windows XP/Vista compatible and features a new plug-in GUI with improved preset browsing and card organization. Latency and DSP load are optimized and more easily managed. New features, greater speed, and the convenience of backward compatibility make the UAD-2 an obvious Editors' Choice.

Effects Processor (Hardware)

Eventide ModFactor ($399)

Classic stompboxes like the Cry Baby, Fuzz Face, Bi-Phase, and Uni-Vibe are practically guaranteed to inspire creativity. Now you can add the Eventide ModFactor to your list of must-have effects devices. Borrowing presets from Eventide's rackmount studio processors, the ModFactor combines ten modulation effects ranging from chorus, flanger, and phaser to vibrato, ring mod, and rotary-speaker simulation. This rugged black box accommodates anything from guitar and bass to line-level sources like keyboards and mixers through its ¼-inch stereo inputs and outputs.

With three footswitches and ten knobs, the ModFactor is not your average stompbox. A single auxiliary input handles the three footswitches, and you can plug in an expression pedal for classic wah effects and hands-off parameter control. MIDI and USB 2.0 ports let you use any MIDI source to switch presets, change parameter values, adjust the tempo, enable bypass, and more. The ModFactor has two independent LFOs, and it syncs to MIDI Clock. The USB connection lets you update firmware and back up settings to your computer. The ModFactor is a versatile studio processor that offers clean sound and a wealth of modulation effects. Try it out, and we bet you'll be hooked.