Reviews
Headphone Amplifier Unhappy with what was commercially available, the Aphex boffins designed the Headpod for their own use — and they liked it so much they decided to release it.
Audio Interface For Mac High-end digital converter manufacturers Apogee are Apple's audio partner of choice, and their latest Firewire interface is aimed squarely at Mac users with a taste for quality.
Mastering & Mixing Plug-ins [Mac/Windows] BIAS's cross-platform plug-in bundle offers some new thinking on dynamics, EQ and pitch correction.
Control Surface For Pro Tools The Command 8 and Icon have revitalised the affordable and the professional ends of Digidesign's controller range. Now Digi have turned their attention to the middle of the market, with a replacement for their tried and tested Control 24.
MIDI Controller Keyboard Long-term players in the controller keyboard game, Fatar have brought all of their expertise to bear on the Numa — so is it as sophisticated as it is stylish?
Virtual Drum Instrument For Mac & PC BFD is back, and with over 50GB of samples the 'B' is even bigger than before. So if you want the best in acoustic drum samples, should you be making space on your hard drive for BFD2?
Reviews, Tips and Tricks • IJData BodiLizer Acoustic Imaging Plug-in
• YouLube lubricant
Passive Stereo Equaliser This EQ borrows circuitry from the classic Massive Passive design, but can the Mini really be 'massive'?
Multi-pattern Capacitor Microphone At nearly twice the price of a Neumann U87, you've every right to expect this to be a very, very nice microphone...
Portable Stereo Recorder The latest entry into the world of portable stereo recorders comes from a company better known for their cameras and accessories.
Reviews • Overloud Breverb
• TC Tube-Tech CL1B
Hot sound library new releases • Equipped Music Premier Beats
• Soniccouture Hang Drum
• Nine Volt Audio Beat Bandit
• Loopmasters Aquasky
Powered Monitors Obviously, a good multimedia system is better than a bad one, but will a good one be adequate in a home studio?
Audio & MIDI Interface [Mac/PC] Put simply, if you want to send lots of audio inputs into your computer simultaneously, but don't want to pay too much for the privilege, the US1641 could be exactly what you're looking for...
Loudness Metering Plug-in For Pro Tools TC Electronic have created a Pro Tools HD plug-in that can measure the loudness of programme material and its suitability for different playback systems.
Valve Preamp & Mixer Part preamp, part summing mixer, all tube: can the Fat Track provide all the 'analogue warmth' your studio needs?
Digital Synthesizer In 2004 it looked like game over for Waldorf, but the German company are back, and with a hardware synth that more than lives up to their former reputation...
Competition
Deadline: 2008-06-30 We've got four separate Tascam audio interfaces to give away — the US122L, US144, US1641 and FW1082.
Sound Advice
Kick & Snare, Arturia Origin and more... In our fourth Podcast, we bring you our usual round-up of new products on the market and answer reader questions. We also discuss the forthcoming Sound Recording Technology 2008 show (June at London's ExCel), hear from Mike Senior about his epic Kick & Snare article, preview the Metasonix S1000 'Wretch Machine' and report back from the official UK launch of the exciting Arturia Origin.
| | People + Opinion
Minimalist Engineering The 'vintage' sound of artists like Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Amy Winehouse has little to do with super-expensive valve gear. Instead, it's the minimalist approach of house engineer Gabriel Roth that sets the tone.
Rob Swire: Recording In Silico From their roots as a drum & bass act, Pendulum have transformed themselves into a dance-rock powerhouse.
Readers' Music Reviewed Sponsored by breed-media.co.uk
Leader SOS Editor In Chief Paul White says we're always being told to 'think outside the box' — but has the time come to recycle the box and just think?
Tom Flint Did eliminating noise throw out the baby with the bath water?
Technique
Apple Notes The current top-end Mac Pro offers so much power that some audio software is playing catch-up just to be able to make use of it all. But how much power? We run some tests to find out.
PC Notes Clicks or pops in your audio? The cause may be hardware devices taking more than their share of interrupt time. Now there's a utility that checks for this, and a PC Notes survey amassing results that could help you track down the source of your problems.
Logic Notes & Techniques If you want real musicians playing your composition but have no idea how scores should be presented for them, you can still make playable Logic parts with our simple guide.
Producer: Mike Chapman • Engineer: Peter Coleman The partnership between Blondie and producer Mike Chapman created a perfect pop record - and catapulted the group from the underground to mainstream chart success.
Sonar Notes & Techniques A walk through the process of composing and processing a drum track highlights how to use various Sonar features and useful shortcuts - some of which you may not have come across before.
Digital Performer Notes & Techniques DP offers an excellent environment for working with the little pieces of 'ear candy', such as filtered drops, beat-mangled breaks and reversed audio phrases, that can make such an impact in pop and electronica production. We look at some of the techniques involved.
Tried & Tested Techniques From 50 Top Producers We pass on the hard-won wisdom of 50 top producers in the essential Sound On Sound guide to recording kick and snare drums, the backbone of modern music.
Hear For Yourself For newsstand readers without subscriber access, here is a list of the Audio file links that accompany the essential Sound On Sound guide to recording kick and snare drums.
Cubase Notes & Techniques We dive deeper than the presets to discover what you can do with Cubase 4's most complex bundled soft synth.
Hear For Yourself Links to the Mystic Synth audio examples that accompany June 2008's Cubase Notes.
Hear For Yourself Links to Audio files mentioned within JUNE 2008's Mix Rescue article.
Sound Workshop The up-and-coming Two Spot Gobi are great on stage. Can we give their live recording the same spirit?
Pro Tools Notes & Techniques Like many DAW manufacturers, Digidesign offer their own convolution plug-in as an add-on for Pro Tools. We explain how to get the best from TL Space.
OneRepublic OneRepublic's route to the top has been tortuous, and their massive hit 'Stop & Stare' was actually recorded more than three years ago. Engineer and mixer Joe Zook recalls the sessions.
Fixing a 'dead' live room A dead live room, a live control room and faulty monitors... sounds like a job for the Studio SOS team!
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Gear Reviews
