Other World Computing Dual Bay SATA Drive Dock Review

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Category: Computers and Stuff

Published: Friday, 20 September 2019 01:06

This USB 3.1 Gen 2 SATA drive dock is one of the better made USB docks we've tested that can realize the full speed of two hard drives or SSDs connected via a USB 3.1 Type C port. Type C is that small port you see on current smart phones.

Previous docks we've tested all looked like they came from the same factory with different stickers attached for different brands. They all used an external power supply and the power buttons were flimsy on all of them. We really haven't seen a decent, well made, SATA dock until we came across the OWC units.

This dock is well made with a built in power supply and lights that indicate which drive is being accessed. We mostly tested it with 1 drive but can confirm it works with two. It also supports larger capacity drives. We tested it with the WD 12TB gold drives and achieved max published speeds of the drives while reading and writing.

There's no fan and the solid aluminum case keeps things running cool. The 12TB helium based Gold drives run cool and since it's a dock there's plenty of surface area exposed to keep it running cool. Working with the drive in the dock gave us pretty much the same performance as working with the drive installed inside the PC.

Our primary use for a dock is to back up large video projects. The OWC is a good solution for this because we can quickly access bare drives and swap them in and out as needed. It's also handy for 2 backups of the same content on identical drives.

Each of the drive bays that are compatible with 2.5" and 3.5" SATA drives and capable of read speeds up to 698 MB/s and write speeds up to 918 MB/s, the Drive Dock allows for simultaneous drive bay operation, and it's compatible with both Mac and Windows systems. We only tested with Windows 10 workstations. We were very pleased with the seamless performance. Recommended.

SampleTank 4 Max Review

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Category: Production

Published: Wednesday, 07 August 2019 06:09

SampleTank 4 Max is packed with instruments and effects wrapped in a workflow that is simple to understand and inspiring at every turn. Reviewing SampleTank 4 Max was like a serendipitous journey of discovery versus a methodical approach of dissecting features. We simply wanted to know if SampleTank 4 would inspire us to make music and how easy it would be to drop into our creative flow. The more we tried to do the more SampleTank responded. This is simply a beautiful product that will give you an endless sonic palette.

We used SampleTank 4 Max by itself and with other VSTs but for our review we focused on making compositions where ST4 Max was the only instrument source. There are so many ways to get inspired with ST4 Max. Sometimes we'd start with drums and bass, build a foundation and lay some instruments over the top. Other times, we'd start with more exotic instruments and create some phrases to get started. We generally prefer to play and create riffs live but ST4 has some incredibly useful loops and phrases that are ready to be sequenced into a track. This was a great way to create something interesting quickly, especially with more exotic/ethnic/world sounds for example.

Discovering the Billy Cobham and the Neil Pert drums was an F-yeah moment, especially when assigned across multiple channels. The acoustic stuff is solid. The quality of the bases, keys, horns, strings and ethnic instruments just makes you want to keep exploring. We really enjoyed exploring the variety of basses. From vintage upright to fretless, gritty, clean and everything in between. We got lost in bassland for hours. Need something gritty from the 60s, you got it. Want it clean and chorused, easy. Fret noise, string vibration, intonations. It's clear a lot of love went into sampling these instruments and making them expressive even when triggered from the most basic of MIDI controllers. We banged out these sample tracks entirely with the MPK225 and we're happy with the dynamics and playability of the instruments.

MISSION DISCOVERY all SampleTank 4 instruments

The ability to customize sounds using analog style controls and built-in effects and filters gives you exponential creative freedom to dial in a sound just the way you like it. It takes a little time to figure out how to do things in ST4 Max. At first we couldn't figure out how to get to the effects rack for each channel. But sans manual we were able to figure it out. That's kind of how it went for the entire review. We'd keep clicking around until we worked out the flow and the best way to navigate ST4. Most of the time that worked.

We still don't have a great feel for the strummer or apreggiator. We know how to use them but navigating in and out of that experience was less intuitive for us. Especially the strummer. We'd add a guitar to a channel and sort of stumble on the strummer but for some reason it's just not intuitive for us to get in and out of that experience. We managed to create some very realistic acoustic guitar phrases that would have been very time consuming to create on a keyboard. IK has an in-depth 165 page manual that goes into more details of the various capabilties ST4 and we'll need read up a bit more on the strummer.  

ST4 Max also has a good variety of electronic and synth sounds and icons for all the instruments to help you recognize the kinds of timbre it's capable of. So you can quickly dial up a more digital or analog sound. There are plenty of parameters that can be tweaked for every sound in synth land. So if you have some experience with programming synths you'll appreciate the options.

There is plenty to work with from pads to dynamic leads but you won't be replacing your vintage synths anytime soon.

The ST4 Max UI is attractive. It's a bit dark, but we got used to it. Not sure if there are shades available for the UI but could be worth exploring options for a light, medium and dark setting. Overall, it took us a little time to get familiar with how to do things but mostly was easy to figure out. This is a deep instrument with lots of capabilities so it really requires a deep dive to appreciate all that it can do. Even though we've had it a couple of months, we feel we won't master it for quite some time.

After experimenting with the different ways to play instruments in SampleTank 4 we decided our favorite way was to simply create a multitrack project in our DAW and play instruments in real time versus building loops and phrases or using the strummer. In other words, we like to use it as an instrument or multitimbral instrument across MIDI channels. We could also see using ST4 for sound design in real time for animation or other post production projects.

In terms of overall value, we'd say we were most impressed by the sampled acoustic instruments. This would be our primary use for SampleTank 4 Max. The synths amd electronic instruments we were less impressed with and feel like we're already pretty well covered with our existing VSTs and standalone analog synths. Even if ST4 Max shipped without all the synths it would still be a good value for all that acoustic sampling love and tweakability.

In terms of performance and stability. It's been pretty solid. We've been primarily using SampleTank 4 as a plug in with our MPC Live DAW. The initial installation was crash city. But after subsequent updates it's been very solid and a joy to use.

For music, sound design and post, SampleTank 4 is a very powerful instrument to have in your arsenal and worth taking the time to learn how to use.

Visit IK Multimedia for more information.

KRK 8s V2 Subwoofer Review

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Category: Production

Published: Wednesday, 31 July 2019 23:32

The KRK 8S V2 subwoofer is a fairly compact powerhouse with myriad connectivity options at a reasonable price making it friendly to both professional and consumer environments. The 8S will compliment systems that are lacking in low frequency energy and is able to generate low end you can hear as well as feel. You could quickly overpower satellites with rumble if you aren't careful pairing this with the right speakers. The 8s could become a problem in too small of a space and you have to take the time to set it up correctly.

KRK makes that relatively easy to do with a wealth of settings on the backside of this little monster. Arguably the two most important knobs are the volume and crossover. This will allow to make sure there is minimal frequency overlap with your main monitors and ensure that the sound pressure levels are in the same ballpark. This way the KRK 8s will drop seamlessly into the sound stage. The idea is not to notice the subwoofer versus overall clarity and response in your mix. If the subwoofer is too present it can actually make it harder to get a good mix. There are lots of tutorials and technical documentation on how to set a subwoofer up properly and it begins with the crossover and volume controls.


Next up is input sensitivity and polarity. For pro system levels nominal should work. For consumer levels set this to high. Polarity can help compensate for phase irregularities. Essentially toggle this back and forth until the bass sounds the cleanest and loudest.

Standby is a smart power control that can be toggled off it need be. When there is not signal present the 8s will go into a power saving mode. However, if you're in a long session you may wish to toggle this off. Very cool that KRK added this switch.

Ground lift can help eliminate noise. We didn't experience any with the 8s.

The fit and finish of the 8s it quite good. We love the industrial quality of the front grill and are glad we don't have to worry about kicking a cone in when kicking off our slippers in the edit suite. We really like the quality of the knobs and toggle switches. Overall the 8s exudes a quality build and very good value at $350. Where we start to get a little leery is the front vinyl surround. The finish around the edges where the vinyl meets the main box feels like an afterthought and it is strangely juxtaposed with the metal grill. So while we generally like the fit and finish and love the metal grill, the strange snap-on looking vinyl surround is a bummer.

The 8s sounds good, packs plenty of punch and will play well with lots of different studio monitors once you take the time to set it up properly. We're not sure there is a better value in the $350 price range for a studio subwoofer.