Product Review: V-Studio 100 From Cakewalk

Not so many years ago a studio was either a place that you had to beg, borrow, or rent for so much per hour where you and your crew would lay down some tracks in the hope of getting someone to listen to your work. Back then it took a lot of space and a lot of equipment. Today it comes in a package not much bigger than a portable DVD player.

The V-Studio 100 is a portable music production studio from Cakewalk. It enables musicians to create, record, produce, and perform music with or without a computer. Its purpose is to provide the most essential tools for producers and performing musicians in a compact and affordable package.

What do you need to run V-Studio 100? Well first off, it serves as a standalone unit that you can take on the road and record directly into a SD-Card wherever you like without having to lug a computer around. For this all you need is power and an SD-Card.

If you want to work with a computer, these are the requirements:

• Windows XP (Home/Professional SP2 or later), Vista and Intel Core Processor 1.5 GHz or higher
• Mac OS X 10.4.11, 10.5.6 with Intel Core 2 Duo Processor or higher
• 1 GB RAM (2 GB Recommended)
• 1024 x 768 resolution or higher
• 8 GB of hard drive space
• MIDI Interface
• a USB Port
• DVD-ROM drive for installation

So what do you get with Cakewalk's V-Studio 100?

An Audio Interface that gives you 10 in (8 in + 2 mix) and 6 out with 24-bit/96kHz audio quality recording ability and an easy to work with solid interface. The breakdown is like this:

• Inputs 1 and 2 come with XLR microphone jacks and ¼" TRS balanced input jack. Input 1 has a Hi-Z button if you are connecting to a guitar or bass. There are also knobs that you can adjust the input sensitivity.
• Inputs 3 (mono) and 4 are balanced dedicated ¼" TSR jacks.
• Inputs 5 and 6 are stereo RCA jacks.
• Inputs 7 and 8 are S/PDIF digital input that supports 24-bit/96kHz signals.
• Dual Foot Switch input that you can connect a footswitch to.
• MIDI Input switch USB MIDI interface.
• Outputs 1 through 4 are balanced channels through a ¼" TRS jack.
• Outputs 5 and 6 are RCA pin output jacks.

A Compact Control Surface that gives you all of the basics – transport controls, mute, solo, arm, and the channel fader. What is really cool is that this is a motorized fader that it is touch-sensitive so that it can move in response to the volume of the current strip, but if you want absolute silence, there is also an option to disable the movement.

Article Author: T. Michael Testi

T. Michael Testi is a writer and a photographer out of Edmond Oklahoma. You can see his photographic and art work at T Michael Imaging.

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