2007 EDITORS' CHOICE AWARDS

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By the EM Staff

Traditionally, we start our Editors' Choice Awards article with a paragraph about how the editors fought like wild animals when choosing our winners. But this year, our meetings were comparatively placid. As always, we had lots of fine products from which to choose, but with a few exceptions, we were able to come to quick agreement right down the line.

In some cases, notably monitor speakers and field recorders, the winner was a slam dunk. In others, such as digital audio sequencers and hardware synths, we debated several products but one candidate kept rising to the top. In the end we settled on 26 awards in 24 categories, with well-deserved ties in the 2 signal-processing-software categories (individual and bundle).

Each year we give our Editors' Choice Awards to the finest products and upgrades that we tested in the past 12 months. We can't test every new product, but we work hard to check out the most promising candidates. Our awards categories change each year to reflect what's happening in personal-studio products: for instance, last year we gave one award for ribbon mics and one for condensers because it was a banner year for ribbons, whereas this year we chose only one mic. On the other hand, last year we chose one hardware synth, and this year we gave separate awards for analog and digital synths.

All of the winning products have been field-tested by EM's editors and a select group of top authors. We also solicited opinions from the editors of sister publications Mix and Remix. The final selections were made by EM technical editors Steve O, Mike Levine, Dennis Miller, Gino Robair, Len Sasso, and Geary Yelton, with much-appreciated help from Remix technical editor Markkus Rovito. All award-winning products have been covered in EM reviews or feature roundups, or the review is in progress and our tests are far enough along that we feel confident about our conclusions (see the sidebar “The Award Winners in Review”).

To be eligible for an Editors' Choice Award, products must have shipped between October 1, 2005, and October 1, 2006, when we began editing our January issue. We also considered several products that shipped so close to the 2006 Editors' Choice Awards deadline that it was not possible for us to test them in time for that year's awards. Similarly, if a product shipped too close to the end deadline for us to properly evaluate it this year, we'll make it eligible for next year's award. We give an award to a software upgrade only if we think it offers major and significant improvements over the previous version.

And now, hats off to the winners of the 15th annual EM Editors' Choice Awards!

Audio-Editing Software

Steinberg
WaveLab 6.0b (Win, $699)
We were amazed at the number of enhancements Steinberg added to WaveLab 6. Among its many new recording and monitoring options are improved metering, an audio-input plug-in that lets you apply Master Section effects as you record audio, and an external-gear plug-in for easily creating effects loops with hardware processors. There are now three display modes — Wave, Spectrum Editor, and Loudness Envelope — any two of which can be on the screen simultaneously. For example, you could have a standard waveform showing in the main window while a sonogram view appears above it.

WaveLab 6 has raised the bar in other areas too. The new Dirac pitch-shifting and time-stretching algorithm produces excellent results, and the Crystal Resampler, a high-end sampling-rate converter, is as good as any we've heard. Using the Effect Morphing feature, you can gradually fade an effect in or out over the length of an entire file or crossfade between two different effects on the same audio clip.

Even more radical results are possible with the Spectrum Editor, which allows you to process any arbitrary range of frequencies and times independently. (Adobe's Audition 2 introduced this feature before WaveLab 6, but we particularly like Steinberg's implementation.) Other new features, such as batch renaming and autocreation of files from clips, are great for maintaining and organizing samples on your drive. The main drawback we found is that WaveLab 6 now requires a hardware dongle.

Whether you're recording, editing, mastering, or composing, WaveLab is an all-purpose media-production powerhouse. We can't wait to see what Steinberg will think of next.

Audio Interface

MOTU
UltraLite ($549)
MOTU may be best known as the developer of Digital Performer, but a large chunk of its business is manufacturing and selling audio and MIDI interfaces. With classic products like the 2408 and 828mkII, the Massachusetts-based company has shown that it knows how to build affordable front ends that provide a good blend of quality and features.

Such is the case with the UltraLite. Weighing in at 2 pounds, the half-rack audio-and-MIDI interface makes a perfect complement to a laptop-based recording system. But it isn't just the UltraLite's compact size that's noteworthy; it also has an impressive feature set. To begin with, you get dual FireWire ports, allowing daisy chaining of more than one UltraLite; 24-bit, 96 kHz operation; a pair of good-sounding mic preamp/instrument inputs on combo jacks, with individually switched 3-way pads and phantom power; six balanced TRS line ins; ten balanced TRS line outputs; S/PDIF I/O; and MIDI I/O.

MOTU also bundles its CueMix Console software (Mac/Win) for configuring up to four separate low-latency stereo monitor mixes through the UltraLite's outputs. Rounding out the bundle is AudioDesk, a capable audio-recording application that borrows many features from Digital Performer.

To sweeten the deal, the UltraLite can function as a standalone digital mixer; all mixing functions can be accessed from its front panel. You could even bring it on a solo club gig, using it to mix your voice and instrument while feeding a standalone recorder and the house P.A.

Whether you're toting it around as part of a portable rig, using it in your studio, or both, you'll find a lot to like about the MOTU UltraLite.

Digital Audio Sequencer

Cakewalk
Sonar 5 Producer Edition (Win, $799)
Several sequencers received major upgrades this year; MOTU Digital Performer 5.1, in particular, got a long look from the editors. But Cakewalk Sonar 5 Producer Edition was a huge advance that demanded recognition. The new-features list is so long, we'd need a full page to cover just the basics.

At the top of the list is Sonar's new 64-bit, double-precision floating-point engine. This high-resolution processing results in much more accurate edits and improved sound on reverb tails, effects, multitrack mixes, and more. Best of all, you don't need a 64-bit version of Windows to use it.

Sonar's tools will appeal to users of all stripes. Roland's V-Vocal pitch- and time-correction technology is now part of the toolkit. The PerfectSpace convolution reverb is useful for adding room ambiences to your audio and for creating outrageous cross-synthesis effects. Sonar 5 brings clip-based effects, editing, and automation to the table, as well as new automation features such as tempo-sync patterns and freehand envelope drawing. Soft-instrument users will appreciate the new Psyn II subtractive synth and Pentagon I vintage analog synth, and loopologists will find lots of uses for the new Roland GrooveSynth and RXP REX Player drum machine and groove box.

We could go on about the new bus and synth waveform preview with per-track markers or the integrated in-line audio and MIDI editing and arranging, all in the main Track view. But you'll just have to check out the rest of the story for yourself. That's even easier now that Cakewalk has reduced the price of the new Sonar 6, which was released too late to be considered for this year's award.

Download of the Year

Audio Damage
Plug-ins (Mac/Win, $49)
The winner of the Download of the Year category is chosen from the software featured in the Download of the Month section of “What's New,” which highlights a downloadable product that is inexpensive, unusual, and likely to still be around by the time the issue appears. Although we were very happy with Psychic Modulation's effects and with Cycling '74's M 2.6 (the latest resurrection of a classic algorithmic-composition tool), Audio Damage's effects plug-ins won by a nose.

The Audio Damage collection emphasizes emulations of classic hardware boxes ranging from the Moog Modular 914 Filter Bank module to the Mutron Bi-Phase and the (Radio Shack) Realistic Electronic Reverb. It also offers unique creations, such as the Discord 2 pitch-shifter and delay module, a tempo-based gating sequencer called BigSeq, and the do-it-yourself, modular multi-effects processor Ronin, which the company uses for internal development.

All of the Audio Damage effects sound great except for Ratshack Reverb, which was designed to sound awful. Furthermore, they're all good values, and each is easy to use or justifiably complex.

Drum Machine/Module
(software)

Submersible Music
DrumCore 2 (Mac/Win, $249)
When Submersible Music DrumCore was released for the Mac in 2004, it employed an innovative approach to drum looping and included a well-designed librarian and a full-featured drum sampler. But some notable shortcomings hid its true potential. With the release of version 2, which is cross-platform, those shortcomings have been addressed and then some. The software excels as a MIDI drum module, as a sampled drum library, and as a librarian.

DrumCore 2 comes with a large, clearly categorized library of audio and MIDI drum hits, clips, and loops recorded by top professional drummers. A wide variety of popular genres are represented, and you can import REX2 and Acid files, which is new in DrumCore 2. Importing files is a big deal because you can manage them with DrumCore's librarian and use its clever Gabrielizer to process them.

DrumCore 2 introduces two crucial ReWire improvements: tempo sync and multiple audio outputs. It uses a proprietary slice-playback technology for adapting its audio loops to your ReWire host's tempo. When using DrumCore 2 as a drum sample player, you can route each of its drum module outputs to a separate ReWire audio bus. That makes it much easier to integrate the drum module with DrumCore's audio loops.

DrumCore 2 represents a significant step forward. It's hard to find anything not to like about this multipurpose soft drum machine.

Dynamics Processor

FMR Audio
Really Nice Levelling Amplifier RNLA7239 ($249)
Following up on its popular RNC1773 Really Nice Compressor and RNP8380 Really Nice Preamp (the latter won a 2004 Editors' Choice Award), FMR Audio has come out with a product that chooses attitude over transparency. The RNLA7239, dubbed a “Levelling Amplifier” to denote its potential for sonic coloration, is a stereo dynamics processor that has a few tricks up its sleeve. For example, the RNLA7239 includes a Log Rel button that automatically accelerates the release time in relation to the amount of gain reduction. This allows you to restore punch on instruments with fast transients, such as electric guitars and drums.

The RNLA7239's front panel is simple and straightforward, with controls for Threshold, Ratio (up to 25:1), Attack, Release, and Gain (±15 dB), as well as a gain-reduction meter to die for. The unit even offers true bypass.

The rear panel offers unbalanced ¼-inch I/O and a separate sidechain jack. The inputs act as inserts when you plug a TRS cable into them, so you won't need Y-cables to hook this baby up to your mixer's insert jacks.

Of course, what really matters is the sound. Reviewer Orren Merton wrote that the RNLA7239 can yield a mild and somewhat transparent compression or completely squash your tracks, or it can impart a “pleasant thickness and roundness.” With a list price under $250, the RNLA7239 is a no-brainer for any studio that uses outboard dynamics processing.