Reviews
Antares Auto-Tune 5 & Celemony Melodyne Plug-in Pitch-correction Processors Auto-Tune has been the industry standard pitch-correction tool for many years, and version 5 introduces many new features, but it faces its strongest competition yet from the new plug-in version of Celemony's Melodyne. So which one should you buy?
Surround Sound Headphone System If you thought you couldn't hear surround sound on headphones, it's time you thought again.
Electric Piano Instrument For Pro Tools Digidesign's march into MIDI sequencing territory continues with the launch of a plug-in emulating classic electric piano sounds.
Hardware Sequencer If you want a unique approach to hardware sequencing or a charming accessory for the bridge of your alien mothership, the Genoqs Octopus could be just what you're looking for...
Microphone & Instrument Preamp Well, it looks and feels as solid as a brick, hence the name. But there's more to this tube-based preamp than the gimmick. Let's find out...
Gear Reviews, Tips and Techniques • Digitech RP250 Amp Modeller, Multi FX and Audio Interface
• Tips: DIY Guitar Lube... plus news of TC Electronic's Classic Pedals.
Touch-sensitive MIDI Controller Jazzmutant's Lemur combines both touch-sensitivity and a completely customisable interface, to create an entirely new breed of MIDI controller.
Orchestral Sample Library This complete orchestral library is the jewel in its maker's crown, but are we talking Tiffanys or Ratners?
FET Microphone Should Korby's KAT be in your kit bag? We put it to the test...
High-resolution DSD Master Recorders SOS were invited to take an exclusive first look at Korg's powerful new 1-bit high-resolution master recorders. It wasn't an invitation we could resist!
Sample Shop • Sonivox Flying Hand Percussion
• Davide Carbone's Drum & Bass Masterclass
• Zero-G Kocktail Kollection
Amp & Effect Modelling Software [Mac/PC] Line 6 first made their name with the Amp Farm plug-in, but since then they've concentrated on hardware products, and Gearbox Plug-in makes their latest range of amp and effects emulations available in a plug-in for the first time.
Analogue Mixer & Firewire Audio Interface This neat little unit offers great flexibility for both studio and stage work.
Native Plug-in Bundle For Pro Tools McDSP's Project Studio Bundle provides an affordable way for Pro Tools users to get their hands on versions of all the company's acclaimed effects and processors.
USB 2.0 Audio Interface [Mac/PC] Native Instruments' new hardware offering has a few unusual features that may just find it a niche in the crowded audio interface market.
Digital Microphone Digital technology opens up a world of possibilities when applied to Neumann's classic KM-series microphones.
Audeon UFO • Musicrow Vinyl Boy • URS Classic Compressors Another bunch of enticing plug-ins get the full-blown insert treatment and rough handling to see how they perform.
Mic Preamp & A-D Converter A useful studio workhorse that does just what it says on the tin.
Analogue Filter & Signal Processor When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro; introducing Schippmann's über filter box...
Channel Strip In the last few years, Solid State Logic have been concentrating a lot of effort on the project studio market, and this new Alpha Channel makes their high-end console technology available in an affordable rackmounting channel strip.
Retrozone The first electronic instrument to reach a mass market, the Selmer Clavioline pioneered many of the basic concepts of synthesis, along with a few features that are still remarkable today.
Competition
Deadline: 2007-03-31 This month, a competition with a difference: five lucky readers can get up to three tracks professionally mastered for free (a service that would usually cost £1000) by one of the UK's most respected mastering engineers, Jon Astley.
Thanks to Jon Astley at Close To The Edge Mastering & Post Production for supplying the fabulous prize.
Tel: +44 (0)208 892 9236 www.closetotheedge.biz
Sound Advice
| People + Opinion
Paul White's Leader Editor In Chief Paul White explains why the cynics who believe SOS " never seems to give anything a negative review" are plain wrong.
The Making Of Love When The Beatles' record company tempted their producer out of retirement for one last project, no-one had any idea how radical the resulting album would be.
Readers' Music Reviewed More of your recordings scrutinised by the SOS crew...
Chris Mayes-Wright Imagine a world without Undo...
Technique
Apple Notes While there was little that was new from Apple for musicians and audio engineers at the recent Macworld and NAMM shows, announcements from other manufacturers will allow Macbook Pro owners to take advantage of more sophisticated audio and DSP hardware while on the road.
Sonat Notes & Techniques Sonar's Audiosnap time-stretching tools offer some mind-boggling possibilities, including REX-like beat slicing and sophisticated audio quantising.
Producers: The Jam, Vic Coppersmith-Heaven • Engineers: Alan Douglas, Vic Coppersmith-Heaven 'The Eton Rifles' captured both Paul Weller's growing talent as a songwriter and the raw power of his band the Jam, and gave the group their first top 10 hit.
Logic Notes & Techniques We attempt to demystify the EVOC20 vocoder plug-in and suggest ways in which it could be useful in all kinds of music, not just as a tool to produce silly robot noises!
Reason Notes & Techniques If Remote support has not been added for your favourite MIDI controller, consider doing it yourself.
PC Musician As a PC user, one job you're almost sure to have to do at some point is a clean install of Windows, whether because you've built your own PC, as outlined in last month's issue, have suffered a serious crash, or have decided to change to a new OS. Here's what you need to know...
Distributed Processing With Digital Performer Unlike Logic, DP doesn't have any sort of distributed processing scheme, but by using additional Macs in your DP setup, with a network connection between them, you can achieve a similar result. Here's how it's done.
Krys Baxter When you're aiming for an in-your-face rock epic, the last thing you want is a muddy mix! Krys Baxter's Afterglow gets the Mix Rescue treatment...
Audio Files for newsstand readers To save newsstand buyers of the magazine from keyiong in long URLs by hand, here are the links to the various MP3 files that accompany the March 2007 instalment of Mix Rescue. NOTE: the online article itself is available for the first 8 months only to paid subscribers, but the audio files are accessible to everyone.
PC Notes More Vista-related musings, advice on 'boot management' for multi-partition setups and the usual handy tips — all in this month's PC Notes.
John Legend's 'Save Room' John Legend's silky, R&B-tinged sound has revitalised soul music. Mix engineer Tony Maserati explains how he crafted that sound for Legend's hit 'Save Room'.
Pro Tools Notes & Techniques It takes five minutes to set up your Pro Tools Preferences, but getting them right can smooth your workflow and even allow you to run more tracks from your hard drive.
Darren Williams The SOS crew help drummer Darren Williams sort out a better space in which to record drums.
Cubase Notes & Techniques Cubase's Play Order Track is a powerful, but often overlooked, facility that is a Godsend for songwriters, composers and remixers alike.
Sound Workshop Knowing your cardioid from your omni can help you to achieve better recordings. If you're confused about what it all means, our guide to mic polarity should be a step in the right direction.
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Gear Reviews
