The Ineko is a hand-sized unit packed with 48 effects. Three knobs and three buttons make up the control surface. Available effects are printed on the unit, so you can toss the manual. The effect that you choose determines the function of the three knobs which permits real-time adjustments of the parameters on each effect.

Ineko has some great sounding and flexible reverbs, delays, gates, distortions, etc; but my favorites are the special effects. The record noise simulator adds dust and tick sounds, and a twist of the knob makes incoming audio "skip." Another addition is a vocoder (no external source needed), pitch shifter, phaser, ring modulator, and a very cool sub-bass filter that adds bowel-shattering bottom to anything you pipe through it. Ineko has stereo inputs and outputs, a bypass button, and a peak LED. It's ideal for someone starting a studio or as a portable companion to a mobile rig. The effects are all running through Ineko's 28- bit DSP heart, and the A/D conversion is all 24-bit. It has a durable steel body, but I'd prefer that the faceplate also be metal. There's a lot to love in this little package, with room-filling sounds coming out of a coat-pocket-sized FX box. (www.alesis.com)

Tape Op is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to the art of record making.

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