Reviews
Stereo Monitor Controller As more people leave behind their mixing desks, many find they still need a good monitor controller.
Portable Digital Multitrack Recorder As Boss introduce their tiniest ever portable studio, we discover just how much can be packed into such a small box...
DLFO Dual LFO • RM2S Stereo Ring Modulator • VCEQ3 We conclude our three-part exploration of Wowa Cwjeman's new range of exclusive analogue synth modules.
Sound On Sound's Favourite Effect & Processing Plug-Ins Which effects and processing plug-ins do the Sound On Sound staff and product reviewers love the best? We asked, they answered...
USB Interface For Mac OS X & Windows Digidesign have shrunk the M Box to give us the most compact and affordable Pro Tools interface ever. How good is it?
MIDI Controller Keyboard This controller comes from a range that, unusually, takes the concept of a quality weighted action into the realm of the shorter keyboard — and offers hands-on knobs and sliders for software control to boot.
FET Condenser Mic If you're sceptical about manufacturers claiming their mic is suitable for both stage and studio applications, maybe this one can change your mind...
Gear Reviews, Tips and Techniques • Kahler 2300 Series Locking Tremolos
• IK Multimedia Stealthplug USB guitar interface
Dynamic Multi-effects Processor & Sampler Korg's tactile effects processor benefits from a major overhaul - so is the third generation the Kaoss Pad you always wanted?
Software Synth [OS X & Windows] Is Native Instrument's new stand-alone soft synth as big as they say it is?
Linear Phase Equaliser Plug-ins [Mac OS X & Windows XP] PSP's new linear phase equaliser plug-ins offer mastering quality at a project-studio price.
Near/Midfield Active Monitor Speakers Big or small, Roger Quested's monitor designs always deliver the goods. His VS2108 actives are no exception.
Mini Reviews • Loopmasters Disco House Sessions
• Synthogy Ivory Italian Grand
• Ueberschall Hip Hop Underground
• Bela D Media Anthology Volume 1: Celtic Wind
Multitrack Audio & Video Editing Software [Windows] If your needs tend more towards looping and video editing than MIDI, Sony's distinctive multitrack recording package could be just what you're looking for.
VST Instrument/Stand-alone Soft Sampler for PC Giga Virtual Instrument gives you Tascam's Giga sampling engine as a plug-in for the first time.
Valve Processors TL Audio's latest additions to their popular Fat Man range are more versatile than their names suggest.
Rode-MXL-SE: three-way USB Microphone Shootout We discuss the merits of mics featuring a USB port and compare recent arrivals from Rode, MXL and SE.
Competition
Deadline: 2007-02-28 Prize kindly donated by Line 6 Europe. tel: +44 (0)1327 302700. www.line6.com
Sound Advice
| People + Opinion
Retrozone Ken Freeman couldn't afford a Mellotron to play his string parts, so he invented a new kind of electronic instrument. But though the world would eventually embrace string synthesizers with a passion, he never got the credit he deserved.
Producer Martin Rushent managed the rare double feat of working at the artistic cutting edge and having colossal success — until disaster struck.
Readers' Music Reviewed SOS editorial staff audition your demos and offer their opinions...
Inside Track Phil Tan, one of the leading mix engineers specialising in urban music, dissects his mixes for two worldwide hit singles from Rihanna: the apty-named 'SOS' and 'Unfaithful'.
Paul Farrer Look beyond the limelight...
Paul White's Leader Editor In Chief explains why offering definitive advice to readers' queries is... well, difficult at times.
Inside her Martian Engineering Studio Over the last decade, some extraordinary music has emerged from Tori Amos's Martian Engineering studio. A new box set collects together the highlights, while the studio itself is soon to open to paying customers.
Technique
Producers: Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller, Gareth Jones • Engineer: Gareth Jones Released in 1984, 'People Are People' perfectly combined Depeche Mode's love of pop music and experimentalism, and gave them their first US hit single.
Cubase Notes & Technique Creating your own synth patches is one way to add a unique element to your music projects. This month we look at how you can get started designing your own pad sounds using the VST Instruments supplied with Cubase.
Connections And Clocking For Digital Audio Getting the jitters about your digital clocking? Don't know your AES from your EBU? Then read on.
Sonar Notes & Technique One of the biggest new additions in Sonar 6, Audiosnap, is a powerful time-stretching audio toolkit promising better-quality stretching and enhanced controllability. This month we'll explain the basics of using the new tools, following up next month with some real-world applications.
Ableton Live Notes & Technique This month, we look at how to connect, control and record hardware MIDI instruments using Live.
Remixing 'Leaf' This month we beef up drums and bass, polish guitars and vocals, and give choruses a lift, as the Belgian band Leaf get the Mix Rescue treatment.
AUDIO EXAMPLES are here for newsstand readers This month we beef up drums and bass, polish guitars and vocals, and give choruses a lift, as the Belgian band Leaf get the Mix Rescue treatment.
Logic Notes & Technique Automatic tuning is synonymous with many things, good and bad. We take a look at Logic's Pitch Correction tool and then examine what Auto-Tune can add.
Apple Notes We take another look at running Windows on Intel Macs and consider how Apple's latest acquisition will affect their professional video and audio software.
PC Musician If you haven't yet taken the dual-core plunge, there's an alternative to either buying an off-the-shelf mainstream model that may not be quite right for music or paying a premium for a custom-assembled music PC: choose the components and build your own.
David Crane Would you let two strange men drill holes in your house? USA-based SOS reader David Crane took the risk! Enough to let Paul and Hugh at his walls with a drill to solve his cabling issues...
Pro Tools Notes & Technique If you edit audio in Pro Tools, you need to know about fades and crossfades. As well as being vital editing tools, they can also be used in surprisingly creative ways...
Digital Performer Notes & technique We update you on changes to new Macs' built-in audio hardware, then take a look at how Bundles can help users of older and current Macs alike to easily reconfigure their audio I/O.
Part 3: Live Looping With Dr:Rex This month we look at a Combinator building project that allows you to mix and manipulate loops on the fly.
PC Notes After a long wait, the new Windows Vista OS is actually on the horizon — so should we all be rushing to upgrade?
Music Business
Music Industry comment This month Big George examines the cut of the music industry's new clothes...
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Gear Reviews
