M-Audio steps into the portable recorder space, going toe-to-toe with the Edirol R-1 and Marantz PMD660. With a similar price point to Edirol and Marantz units, the Marantz MicroTrack looks like a Dell DJ with different controls. This small size is the only improvement over either alternative. The device offers two 1/4 jacks, SPDIF, and a 1/8-inch microphone line in for recording, making it versatile and keeping the size small. Outputs are stereo RCA, which doesn't jive with the digital input. There 1/8-inch microphone-in jack is powered for use with a bundled mic. The bundle includes a 64MB CompactFlash card comparable to Marantz and Edirol. Two places MicroTrack beats the competition: Rechargeable battery and 96kHz recording. You can find the Microtrack on the street for about $450, which puts it inline with pricing from Marantz and Edirol. My biggest gripe with the MicroTrack is no visual indicator when charging for the first time. When I plugged mine in, it appeared DOA for about the first 15 minutes of charging.
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Guitar modeling is something of a voodoo science. After all do you really get the sound of a Marshall Stack by plugging this in instead of using that Pignose practice amp in the corner? Is this going to turn that Sears catalog special into the sounds of the legendary rock masters? While a wide combination of amp rigs might be out of reach for most musicians, the purest in mean screams out to make the madness stop. I've heard several other digital modeling tools do a capable job of replicating specific microphones, so there must be something to this technique. Modeled amps include Fender Bassman, Fender Deluxe, Fender Twin, Vox AC 30, Marshall JTM-45, Marshall Plexi, Marshall JCM-2000, Hiwatt DR-103, Soldano SLO-100, Mesa Boogie Maverick, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier and Bogner Uberschall. In addition to tricking the sound waves into thinking they've originated from a classic amp, the Black Box also bundles drum machine beat generation with automatic beat syncing, which is useful for the home recording musician. This could be the most expensive USB microphone pre-amp on the market. It is an effective DI box for recording your guitar direct into a PC, but you won't get the room feel associated with proper microphone placement on a real amp, no matter how good the modeling claims to be. A built-in guitar tuner is sort of a so-what extra that every gadget maker includes these days. If you're going for an easy set up to do PC or Mac based recording of your guitar tracks this is it. If you want to do computer recording and have it sound more natural, stick with the hard way and mic your amp.
