January 2009 In This Issue
To open articles, click title links
Competition WIN TL Audio Fat Track (worth 1174 GBP) Deadline: 2009-01-31
Reviews Drum Machine Virtual instruments haven't taken over the world quite yet: the hardware drum machine concept is still alive and kicking, as demonstrated by Alesis' follow-up to their incredibly popular and long-lived SR16. Is the '18 destined to match its older brother's 20-year reign? Studio Reference Monitors
Best Service Ethno World 4 Professional Sample Library [Mac & PC] More and more musicians are experimenting with the sounds of 'world' instruments — so is Best Service's Ethno World 4 Professional a one-stop-shop for all your virtual ethnic-instrument needs? Stereo Editing Software For Mac OS X
MIDI + Audio Sequencer For Windows Since we first reviewed Cockos' shareware Reaper multitrack recording package, it has undergone hundreds of improvements — but the bargain asking price has barely changed. Digital Audio Workstation Software For Mac & PC: Part 1
Piano Microphone System If recording piano is your forté, this system could make your life a whole lot easier... DAW Controller For Mac
Firewire Audio Interface [Mac/PC] The new audio interface from Focusrite offers an awful lot, for an awful lot less than you'd think. Let's find out what it can do... Microphone Preamplifier
Analogue Firewire Mixers
3 Stand-alone D-A Converters Compared
Keyboard Workstation
MIDI Drum Programming Plug-in For Windows Multi-gigabyte drum instruments are of limited use if you don't have the time or skills to program realistic MIDI performances. Can SoundTrek's Drummer plug-in fill the gap? USB Controller For Mac & PC
| People + Opinion Chinese Crisis: Recording Hanggai's Folk Music Matteo Scumaci & Robin Haller The task of bringing Hanggai's Chinese folk music to Western ears was challenging enough in itself. But then things started to go wrong... Producing Almost Everyone
Readers' Music Reviewed The editorial team play 'Jukebox Jury' with another batch of your submitted tracks. Paul White's Leader Knowledge is power, so our esteemed Editor In Chief puts the case for a little scientific understanding... Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Mike Fraser AC/DC Black Ice How do you capture the essence of pure rock & roll? For Mike Fraser and AC/DC, the answer was simple: get the sound right at source, track to analogue tape, and don't mess about with the results! People Making Waves With Music Technology The first of a new column spotlighting innovators and leading edge appliance of musical technology. Mark Wherry Sounding Off becomes Sounding On, with a positive stance on the use of technology in musical creativity. No, really! Technique Bigger, Badder Electric Guitar A Multi-mic Technique For Loud Electric Guitars It's easy enough to make a guitar and amp sound loud and gutsy in the live room, but how do you capture the same sense of volume and distortion on your recording? Phase alignment, that's how... Bigger, Badder Electric Guitar: Audio Files Hear For Yourself These audio files complement the article 'Bigger, Badder Electric Guitars' by Jack Ruston in SOS January 2009. The audio file titles should be self-explanatory. Scoring An Animated Series Composing for an animated series presents a different set of challenges to scoring for film or conventional TV. We look at what it takes to be a cartoon composer... Digital Performer 6: More New Features Digital Performer Notes & Techniques Version 6 of DP comes with improved hosting of Audio Unit plug-ins — but what does that mean for the MAS format? We consider the issues, and bring you a guide to DP's new bundled convolution reverb, ProVerb. Exploring Sonar 8's Beatscape Instrument Sonar Notes & Techniques Sonar 8 introduced Beatscape, a new Cakewalk instrument designed specifically for the groovily inclined. We dig behind the interface for some tips and tricks you won't find in the documentation. Apple Notes Despite offering powerful new features and an innovative design, Apple's new MacBook and MacBook Pro could pose problems for musicians dependent on Firewire audio interfaces. We consider the good, the bad, and the incompatible. Editing Vocals and more We look at editing vocals for tighter timing, strategies for faking double-tracked electric guitar, and much, much more... Mix Rescue: Barry Martin | Audio Files Hear For Yourself Here are the links to the MP3 and WAV files that accompany the January 2009 Mix Rescue article for our newsstand/bookstore readers who do not have eSub-access to the main web article and don't fancy typing in all the long URLs by hand. Plug-in Librarianship Many of us put lots of effort into programming or seeking out great sounds and presets for our plug-ins, and amass large libraries. So why do some manufacturers make it so difficult to back up these hard-won assets? Status Quo: 'Rockin' All Over The World' Classic Tracks
Help & advice in the Hardware Studio We go old-school in this month's Studio SOS, as we visit a hardware-only studio and help John Cowburn to inject a Motown vibe into his mixes. Steinberg Cubase Tips & Techniques With Cubase 4.1, Steinberg overhauled the Sample Editor, creating a very powerful new tool for real-time pitch and time manipulation. Vocal Production In Logic Pro: Part 1 Logic Notes & Techniques Dynamics control without compression, tuning for dummies, and vocoding for fun and profit... There's all this and more in part one of our complete vocal production masterclass. Music Business TV Music From The Inside When it comes to pitching music to TV executives, there are only two golden rules. The first is to meet the brief, however sketchy it might be. The second? Never, ever try to be cool. Sound Advice
|
All Issues
Home |
Search |
News |
Current Issue |
Tablet Mag |
Articles |
Forum |
Subscribe |
Shop |
Readers Ads
Advertise |
Information |
Digital Editions |
Privacy Policy |
Support
Sound On Sound : Est. 1985