Recording - August 2012 - 32

B Y M I K E M E T L AY

Peavey’s new MuseBox, developed in partnership with Muse Research, is a portable and compact signal processor that’s designed to fill a lot of roles in a recording musician’s studio or stage rig. It can be any one of a number of virtual instruments, or a powerful effects processor, or both at once, with a built-in mixing architecture, MIDI control, and flexible editing. There’s a lot going on inside the MuseBox, and discovering all it can do has been a fun and rewarding experience.

Peavey MuseBox
A problem and a solution The MuseBox is one approach to solving a problem that’s well-known to modern recording musicians. While computers running DAWs and plug-ins offer a lot of power for the money and a lot of choices in what effects and virtual instruments you can use, they’re not purpose-built for music, so users run the risk of unstable behavior and crashes—annoying when you’re working alone, embarrassing and potentially damaging to your business if things go south while you’re on stage in front of an audience or doing studio work for a paying client. Muse Research’s answer to this quandary was a rackmount box called the Receptor (last reviewed in our August 2010 issue). The Receptor is basically a very special kind of computer: a stripped-down and highly ruggedized Linux machine running a “shell” that simulates Windows well enough to fool most PC VST plug-ins. It’s available with a range of CPU types, onboard storage, and preloaded software that lets users decide how much power they want for their money. Unlike a standard computer, the Receptor does nothing but run plug-ins; it uses a software framework that looks rather like a mixer, with input channels for virtual instruments or external sound sources like mics or guitars, and effects plug-ins on inserts or sends/returns. It’s designed to be very stable and to reboot itself in a jiffy on the rare occasions when something does go wrong. However, the Receptor isn’t a solution that works for everyone. All that power costs money—a bare-bones Receptor starts at just under $2000, and prices go up from there as you add features and preloaded software packages. Not only
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Laptop software power for your music—minus the laptop
that, but while Muse Research is constantly figuring out ways to easily license and install more plug-ins on the Receptor, those plug-ins represent an extra cost and do involve time and effort to put in place. The MuseBox sidesteps a lot of those issues by making a couple of simplifications. It comes preloaded with a particular set of instruments and effects, and you can’t choose or load your own plug-ins. Its architecture allows you to have two virtual instruments and two effects plug-ins processing audio input signals, plus two more plug-ins on the mix bus, whereas the Receptor lets you run quite a few more effects at one time. But that makes it much more affordable than any Receptor, as well as compact, easy to set up and use (no installer hassles!)... and because it’s designed with its preloaded content in mind, you can almost never ask it to do something its CPU can’t handle, so it’s more reliable than many conventional computer DAWs. Naturally, none of this matters if the content you’re given is no good. Fortunately, by partnering with some of the best software firms out there, Peavey is able to offer a great selection of virtual instruments and effects plug-ins within the MuseBox, many of which have been favorably reviewed in these pages before. The result is a very appealing package. The hardware Since it’s a computer built for music, the MuseBox has to have inputs and outputs for both computer operations (for programming, tweaking, software updates, etc.) and for music operations (gigging and recording). The front panel has two inputs on combination XLR/TRS jacks that can handle mic, guitar, or line-level signals; a global phantom power button powers condenser mics. A basic set of front-panel page selection buttons and two Control push/click encoders supplement a large two-line LCD (all you need for live use without a computer or monitor), and a 1/4" headphone output has its own level knob. The rear panel has balanced 1/4" jacks for two more stereo inputs plus stereo outputs, as well as four USB ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, a VGA monitor output, MIDI In for conventional keyboard control, a 1/4" TRS jack for a single or dual footswitch, and a jack for the external power supply. There’s also a slot for a CompactFlash card; this is where you will be able to someday install added sound libraries and instruments to expand the MuseBox’s repertoire. The software An install CD has manuals and the Muse Remote Control software for Mac or PC, which allows your computer to talk to the MuseBox via Ethernet. This gives you a single-cable solution for controlling and programming the MuseBox without dedicating a monitor, mouse, and keyboard to it. You can connect the MuseBox to a laptop using an Ethernet crossover cable, or it can live on your home network with its own IP address. The Muse Remote Control software works seamlessly and helps eliminate studio clutter, but because it is constantly talking to the MuseBox—“Has anything changed? I need to update what I am showing on the screen. How about now?

Recording - August 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - August 2012