Reviews
Modelled Analogue Synthesizer • Virus OS 6 Update This limited edition collectable synth comes complete with the advantages of new features in the latest Virus OS — and these features can also be added to previous Virus synths via a free update.
Dual Preamp Buzz Audio's MA2.2 preamp made an excellent impression a year ago, but does its new little brother continue in the family tradition?
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Audio Interface For PC Until now, if you wanted multi-channel or high-resolution audio I/O in a hot-swappable external interface, Firewire was the only way to go. Edirol's UA1000 offers an alternative, using the Hi-Speed USB 2.0 protocol that is standard on nearly all new PCs.
Active Monitors These affordable active monitors from Fostex provide a tight and punchy sound, despite their compact dimensions.
Optical Digital Router This useful digital router can handle 12 channels of S/PDIF or ADAT optical digital I/O with full MIDI control.
Loop-based Sequencer For Windows Fruity Loops has built itself quite a cult following in dance music circles. The latest version comes with a new name, FL Studio, as well as some interesting new virtual instruments and proper audio recording features.
Music PC System INTA Audio's music workstation boasts some of the latest PC technology, including hyperthreading, dual-channel DDR400 memory and Serial ATA, making it one of the fastest systems around.
Music Production Station This new member of the Korg tribe offers synthesis, sequencing, drum programming, tons of real-time control plus genuine valves to light up your studio and your sound.
Multi-effects Two new stereo multi-effects boxes from Kurzweil bring the powerful processing of their flagship KSP8 more easily within reach of the home studio owner.
Analogue Phase Alignment Tool Phase cancellation can play havoc with your sound if you're using multiple mics, or combining mic and DI signals. This clever little box offers a solution, providing powerful phase-alignment facilities which go far beyond those of most mixers and preamps.
Soft Synth For Mac & PC Absynth gets a significant overhaul, including tempo syncing, sample playback, granular synthesis and a module library. What do we think of it? Read on...
192kHz Soundcard For PC & Mac RME's latest PCI soundcard is their first to support 192kHz sample rates, and offers a different balance of features compared with their existing Hammerfall cards.
Performance Keyboard This impressive-looking instrument provides modelled classic organ, piano and supporting timbres, and is designed to appeal to keyboard players looking for an all-round stage tool — though it could easily form the centrepiece of a home setup too.
Sample CD roundup Another batch of hot-off-the-duplicator Sample CDs receive the SOS reviewer treatment.
Multi-pattern Capacitor Microphone This new mic from Samson offers true capacitor design and multi-pattern operation at an extremely affordable price.
MIDI + Audio Sequencer For PC & Mac OS X This first major revision to Steinberg's Cubase SX incorporates the newly developed audio engine from Nuendo 2, new features for media composers, and classic features from Cubase VST. Does it all add up to a substantial improvement over version 1?
Firewire Control Surface, Audio & MIDI Interface Tascam's FW1884 is more than just a well-specified Firewire audio and MIDI interface: it also offers detailed control over almost every MIDI + Audio sequencer thanks to its motorised faders, rotary controls, transport buttons and more.
Dual Valve Recording Channel TL Audio's monster new tube voice channel gives you mic/line/instrument preamp, EQ, compression, limiting, and optional A-D conversion — twice over!
Analogue 16:4:2 Mixer Another affordable mixer from Yamaha offers 16-channel, four-buss architecture, with a surprisingly good built-in effects section.
Competition
Deadline: 2004-01-05 TC Electronic have kindly put together an entire mobile recording system based around their fabulous Powercore Firewire effects processor. Housed in a flightcase, it comes with a MOTU 896 Firewire audio interface for Mac or PC, plus AKG C3000B condenser mic and AKG K271 headphones. This bundle is worth over £2800, so fill out the online entry form and you never know, this time the lucky winner of this fantastic prize could be YOU!
| | People + Opinion
Readers' Correspondence More readers communicate their thoughts on recent events...
Mixing Led Zeppelin's Live DVD & Recording Iron Maiden When Jimmy Page decided to mine a massive archive of decaying Led Zeppelin live footage for a DVD and double CD, the epic task of restoring, editing and mixing the audio went to rock specialist Kevin Shirley — who has gone on to help veteran metallers Iron Maiden return to the upper reaches of the charts.
Jan St Werner • Organic Electronica Over the last decade, Mouse On Mars have become one of the leading names in European electronic music. Their experimental approach brings together analogue and digital, lo-fi and hi-fi, and real instruments and samples to create an organic-sounding whole.
Mike Senior Some people say that software is killing off the hardware market. But is it the hardware manufacturers' own software?
Jim Aikin We live in a throwaway culture. But should this extend to the hi-tech instruments we play?
The Harding Family Musicality isn't everything when you're trying to make a decent-sounding recording at home, even if you're as talented as the multi-instrumentalist Harding family. So the SOS team travelled north to help them get their engineering techniques up to scratch.
Paul White's Leader Paul White, Editor-In-Chief of SOS, encourages you to help direct the future content of the magazine by completing our 2003 Reader Survey at http://www.soundonsound.com/survey
Technique
Implications For Independent Musicians Legal action by The Beatles' Apple Records caused the iTunes Music Store to hit the headlines recently, but there's no denying it has been an instant success that could change the way music is distributed forever. We look at the background to the Music Store and consider its implications for independent musicians.
MPG judge your demos Business End enables you to have your demo reviewed by a panel of producers, songwriters, musicians and managers. This month's industry panel is drawn from the MPG (Music Producer's Guild).
Artist: Cliff Richard; Producer: Norrie Paramor; Engineer: Malcolm Addey This month, Sound On Sound begins a major new series, looking back in detail at the engineering and production behind some of the most historically significant recordings ever made, with the story of the first and greatest British rock & roll record.
Ultra-low-cost PCs Ultra low-cost PC setups are all very well, but can we be sure they'll run everything we need them to? Cutting Edge finds out from personal experience.
Reader recordings analysed The Doc proffers diagnosis and suitable cures for another batch of reader-submitted meisterwerks.
PC Musician PC paper specifications can vary so much that it's hard to know how one PC compares to another in terms of its performance with real-word audio apps. Hence the need for tests designed just for music PCs...
Sonar Notes Sonar's version number has just been incremented by a Significant Digit, so it's time for some exploration of what this new release means to Sonar aficionados.
Logic Notes Is the sound of your kick drum letting the rest of your mix down? If so, find out how to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with this month's in-depth bass-drum processing workshop.
Pro Tools Notes Since Pro Tools 6, there's been some additions to the set of built-in plug-ins. This month we look at how to get the most out of the D-Verb reverb.
Digital Performer Notes DP 4.1 is here at last, with significant increases in stability and efficiency, as well as support for Apple's Audio Unit plug-in standard. So is Digital Performer finally ready for the big time in OS X?
Sound On Stage If you play live regularly, sooner or later someone will suggest that you use a backing track on stage to enhance your performance. So here's how to go about creating them, based on experience learned the hard way!
Solutions to readers' problems The SOS experts supply insightful answers to more reader questions.
Masterclass Ubiquitous though Roland's long-lived range of sound modules appear to be, not many users get the best out of the vast synthesis and processing potential they offer. So here's how to coax circus-pony tricks out of your studio workhorse.
Synth Secrets Long before Bob Moog built his first synth, there was the Hammond tonewheel organ; effectively an additive synthesizer, albeit electro-mechanical rather than electronic. So emulating a Hammond with an analogue synth shouldn't be too hard, right? Well...
Cubase Notes This month we report on Steinberg using Nuendo to record a three-day music festival, and look at how a Cubase Drum Map can assist you in finding and working with all the one-shot drum and percussion sounds in your studio.
PC Notes Many laptop PCs that bear a specific brand name are not in fact manufactured by the company in question — and that includes some specialist music PCs. But does this really matter to the musician?
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Gear Reviews
