Superscope PSD300

[Claus]

Has anybody used this cd-player/recorder?

http://superscopetechnologies.com/products/PSD300/index.htm

Looks interesting.

[Saxhound]

I haven't used the PSD300, but I bought a PSD230 last year, which is basically the same unit without the CD burner. It's a good practice tool - allows you to speed up or slow down a CD, while maintaining pitch, or hold tempo while adjusting the pitch. You can't adjust pitch and tempo simultaneously. I use it a lot with the Aebersold CDs to learn tunes in different keys.

I did find that if you adjust the pitch greater than about a fourth up or down, the sound quality degrades quite a bit. Likewise with the speed - anything greater than a 50% change will do the same thing. The sound gets really mushy, like it is being processed with a lot of chorus or flange effect. By the time you get to a sixth or a seventh away, it really sounds nasty, and the new pitch is all over the place. I called the folks at Superscope, and they admitted that this was normal, due to the heavy re-processing that was happening in the background. I suppose with the burner built in you could shift the pitch a third, burn a copy, and repeat the process to get to the desired pitch.

I do like the feature that takes the lead vocal out. It makes it a lot easier to hear the music when you are arranging a song. It actually removes anything prominent that is panned dead center in the stereo field, so you can often remove a solo instrument as well.

[BillC]

Yes, I have the PSD300, its case and microphones. I use it quite a bit and am still learning all of its features and possibilities. You can play a CD, remove the center or main instrument, change the tempo or key or both and play into the mics while monitoring yourself with a headset and record the whole thing on another CD. There are other possibilities as well if that isn't enough. It was pricey at $1000 when I purchased mine but I believe they have come down a bit since then. A serious music maker could use the PSD300 to great benefit - actually 'cut' a demo with midi input or any sort-of accompanyment that you have available even live. I have seen no degradation of music with this piece of equipment to its extreme limits

I bought it from Riks Music:

http://www.riksmusic.com/frameset.html

Look under 'recording' - 'superscope'. Nice folks...

It is an outlay of bucks but well worth it for a serious musician.

Bill C.

[Claus]

Thank you very much for your feedback!