M-Audio TimewARP 2600
Cutting-edge tech that simulates an old but time-honored sound–that’s the story of M-Audio’s TimewARP 2600, a software-based re-creation of the famed ARP 2600 analog synthesizer put into play by Joe Zawinul on many a Weather Report date. The unlimited and otherworldly sounds of that mammoth synth now fit in a laptop–MIDI-fied, programmable out the wazoo and fully endorsed by Mr. ARP himself, Alan R. Pearlman, who calls TimewARP “an important evolutionary step in analog synthesis.” m-audio.com
Bose A1 Packlite
Normally we look to Bose as music listeners, for those Wave radios and speakers no bigger than a Rubik’s Cube. But the home-audio gurus also have musicians in mind and created the A1 Packlite, a power amplifier about the size and weight of the latest Harry Potter volume. Bose would like to see you connect the A1 to its own B1 speakers, but the amp can deliver 250 watts to any driver with a minimum four-ohm load. It comes with a carrying case and a balanced phono cable. bose.com
My Voice
At the JT office we use IPE’s vocals-removing software, My Voice, to make bad singers disappear from otherwise hot-as-hell jazz CDs. (We get lots of discs by bad singers here; don’t worry, we’re sure you’re not one of them.) But My Voice is actually for singers, and lets them remove lead vocals from any CD in order to practice along. It’ll take the Ella straight out your Basie if you dare challenge your pipes to swing on the Count’s “Honeysuckle Rose.” It’ll train you for the gig or just turn your whole CD collection into a dream karaoke library. For Windows only. Microphone included. emediamusic.com
