Reviews
Pitch Correction Plug-In [Mac/PC] Auto-Tune has been the industry-standard pitch-correction tool ever since its 1997 release. Does the latest Evo version keep the competition at bay?
USB MIDI Controller & Audio Interface What’s black and white and red all over? Behringer’s fantastically cheap new audio interface and MIDI controller, of course!
Summing & Monitoring System This neat new hybrid product appears to be defining its own market niche, but can it really be all things to all people?
Microphone Preamplifier This highly affordable device is based on the circuitry used in Neve’s legendary 1073. So can you really get a classic vintage preamp sound on a budget?
USB Controllers For Mac & PC Can controllers this tiny and toy-like in appearance really do a serious job in the studio?
Room Correction System This hardware-based room correction system includes an audio interface and monitor controller. Is it the answer to your acoustics nightmares, or just too good to be true?
Electric guitar-filtering-infinite sustain As instruments go, the electric guitar is a pretty established format, but if anyone can change that, Moog can...
Sample Library Interesting old keyboards are becoming ever-more expensive and difficult to find. MOTU’s solution to this is Electric Keys — samples of all of the desirable retro instruments you could want, for less money than a second-hand Vox Jaguar!
Ohmicide Distortion & Symptohm Synth [Mac OS/Windows] Fed up with bland, me-too plug-ins and tasteful processing? Ohm Force’s unique effects and synths could have exactly the spice your studio needs.
Software Guitar Amp Simulator [Mac-PC] Can Overloud’s guitar amp simulator tempt us to plug into our Macs/PCs instead of our Marshall stacks?
Small-diaphragm Condenser Microphone The SE3 was a popular mic, but it only came in cardioid flavour. The new SE4 gives you more options...
MIDI + Audio Sequencer [Windows/Mac OS] The first paid-for update to Cubase for two years introduces some major innovations for sequencing and composition, including integrated Melodyne-style pitch correction and editing.
VST Effects & Instruments For Windows & Mac OS Working with a mouse and keyboard needn’t compromise real-time control, as Sugar Bytes’ clever interface design demonstrates.
Digital Synthesizer This desktop DSP box runs and offers hands-on control of Creamware’s ASB range of synth plug-ins — and it costs under $500. Is it too good to be true?
Competition
Deadline: 2009-03-31 Prize kindly donated by Vicoustic, whose products are distributed in the UK & Eire by Systems Workshop. Tel: +44 (0)1691 658550 www.vicoustic.com
Sound Advice
| People + Opinion
Leader Paul White shares his personal views.
TV Music From The Inside You thought your music was just right to start with, so why are people telling you to change it? Because they’re paying you — and because they might actually have a point...
Readers’ Music Reviewed In their quest for that elusive 'X' factor, the editorial jury don their sequined jackets and audition another batch of your submitted tracks.
Lady Gaga 'Just Dance' Transatlantic number one ‘Just Dance’ was not only a breakthrough for Lady Gaga, but also for her producer RedOne and mix engineer Robert Orton.
Paul Sellars Does the music download business have a future?
Record Producer A fearless maverick who swears by the need to generate tension in the studio, Youth has made a name as one of the most creative producers to emerge from Britain in the last two decades.
Technique
News & Comment Apple unveiled new versions of iLife and iWork this month during their final MacWorld keynote, along with a new 17-inch MacBook Pro. And, despite the fact that they didn’t appear at this year’s NAMM show for the second year running, support for Apple’s products has probably never been stronger.
Producers: George Goldner, Terry Johnson • Engineer: Allen Weintraub This is the story of how an inspired rearrangement of an old song created a track that, 50 years on, remains a genuine and enduring classic.
Logic Notes & Techniques Apple Logic 8’s mixer is endlessly configurable, and knowing how to make its flexibility work for you will result in faster and easier mixing.
Digital Performer Notes & Techniques We present a DP-user’s guide to troubleshooting audio files and formats, and pass on tips for when the unthinkable happens...
Alternative Guitar Tunings For The Studio
Mix Processing Techniques Last month we explained how to get a sense of front-to-back depth in your mix. Now we examine the left-right axis, as we suggest ways to get the best from stereo mixing.
Hear For Yourself Links to the MP3 preview and high-resolution WAV files that accompany the SOS March 2009 Mix Rescue article for our newsstand/bookstore readers who do not have eSub-access to the main web article.
Macrodynamics & Rhythm Getting the macrodynamics of a song right while also nailing down the important rhythm can be a real challenge. We explore some techniques for tackling this and more on Moosmusic’s ‘Big Dummy Shake’.
Changes & Developments The past year saw some significant developments in the world of PC music. PC Notes looks back over 2008 to assess the changes it brought and turns an eye to what we can expect to be doing in 2009.
Reason Notes & Techniques If you want the impact of heavily compressed drums but don’t want to sacrifice your dynamics, parallel compression is the way to go. This month we explore the best ways to achieve this effect in Reason.
Garage Studio Tips We turn a family home’s garage into a usable recording studio, and take reader Danny Williams through a number of gear maintenance, recording and mixing tips.
Pro Tools Notes & Techniques At the heart of Digidesign’s drive to turn Pro Tools into a serious tool for music creation are the MIDI and Score editors in Pro Tools 8. We explain how to get the best from these new heavyweights.
Sonar Notes & Techniques Sonar has more facilities than the average DAW for exploiting REX files to their best advantage. We guide you through where to find those facilities and how to put them to use.
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Gear Reviews
