Reviews
Percussion Controller If you enjoy hitting things with sticks but balk at the cost of percussion controllers, this no-nonsense device could be just what you've been waiting for.
Condenser Microphone Brauner's latest offering is a solid-state mic that claims to provide the same sonic character as their state-of-the-art valve designs, at a lower price. Is it too good to be true?
Monitor Controller This new monitor controller compares well with the competition — in terms of both price and quality.
MIDI & USB Controller Keyboard Edirol's updated PCR keyboard range offers more controls than ever, and a software editor to make the most of them. Let's check it out...
Mini Reviews & Tips • IK Multimedia Amplitube Jimi Hendrix Amp & Effects Modelling Plug-in
• Boss FDR1 & FBM1
Fender Amp-modelling Pedals
Software Synthesizer Korg revisit their classic Mono/Poly synth in the Legacy Collection Analogue Edition 2007 — but how does it measure up to the original?
Active Nearfield Monitors More often than not, project studios don't have the luxury of a large room, so it's good to know that compact monitors like these KRKs can produce serious results in smaller spaces.
VST Effect Bundles [Windows] Fed up with Samplitude users crowing about how great its bundled plug-ins are? Now users of other Windows DAWs can get a piece of the action too.
Image Line Toxic III / Homegrown Sounds Astralis This month we test two soft synths: Image Line’s Toxic III and Astralis from Homegrown Sounds.
Sample & Instrument Editor For EXS24 The latest utility from Redmatica is targeted at Logic users wanting to get the most from the program’s built-in soft sampler.
Electronic Drum Kit Roland's HD1 system incorporates their V-Drum technology into a drum kit that's more compact, less noisy and much more affordable.
Super Stereo Compressor This unusual compressor was specifically designed to process complex material, with dedicated bus-compression applications in mind.
Sample Shop • Zero-G The Big Reason
•Equipped Music Smokers Relight Deux
•Propellerhead Reggaeton Refill
Processing Plug-ins For Mac OS & Windows There’s a new look and a new home for Sony Oxford’s suite of plug-ins, but the best news of all is that they are now available in VST and Audio Units formats.
Upmixing Plug-ins For Pro Tools More and more material needs to be delivered in surround formats, but what if you don’t have the time or the budget for a 5.1 remix? We test the current crop of ‘unwrap’ plug-ins that can create a surround master from a stereo mix.
Software Synthesizer If the unstoppable tide of virtual analogue synths is leaving you cold, you could consider diving into Poseidon's refreshingly different 'Ocean of Sound'...
Digital Multitracker Zoom have overhauled the design of the MRS1608 to create a new-look digital recorder. We find out if the changes are more than skin deep.
Competition
Deadline: 2007-08-31 Prize kindly donated by The Music Mill and PMI Audio
 Music Mill +44 (0)1626 361999 PMI Audio UK +44 (0)1803 215111
Sound Advice
| People + Opinion
Leader Owning the gear is the starting point of recording your music... but what use is the gear without ideas?
Mixing Dub Following last month’s workshop on dub mixing, we talk to living legend Mad Professor, a world-class exponent of this music genre.
Readers’ Music Reviewed Grit your teeth for another bout of "constructive criticism" of more reader recordings.
Amy Winehouse: 'Rehab' For her second album, Back To Black, Amy Winehouse and producer Mark Ronson crafted a heavily retro sound. Mix engineer Tom Elmhirst describes how he massaged their '60s soul vibe to create a radio-friendly hit in 'Rehab'.
Oli Freke In techno, the machine rules...
DMI Music Businesses are using music in ever more sophisticated ways to promote their products and reinforce their identities. Tena Clark’s DMI Music leads the field in finding original ways to integrate music into marketing campaigns.
Technique
Producers: Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat, Fleetwood Mac In 1976, in the face of deteriorating personal relationships and massive record company pressure, Fleetwood Mac managed to create a record that would go on to sell 30 million copies.
Cubase Notes & Techniques Controlling your synth's dynamics using MIDI, rather than audio plug-ins, can offer you greater flexibility and good results. Here's how you do it.
Pro Techniques Put To The Test In our quest for the ultimate electric guitar sound, SOS tested favourite recording techniques from over 40 top-flight producers and engineers. Hear for yourself the results that amazed us.
Pro Techniques Put To The Test In our quest for the ultimate electric guitar sound, SOS tested favourite recording techniques from over 40 top-flight producers and engineers. Hear for yourself the results that amazed us.
Pro Tools Notes & Techniques Ever found yourself struggling to remember what you have connected to Input 7, or which effect is on Bus 3-4? Five minutes’ work in the I/O Setup window will end your confusion forever...
Cubase Notes & Techniques Controlling your synth's dynamics using MIDI, rather than audio plug-ins, can offer you greater flexibility and good results. Here's how you do it.
For newsstand (non-subscriber) readers To avoid newsstand buyers of the magazine from having to key in long URLs by hand, here are the links to the various MP3 files that accompany the AUGUST 2007 instalment of Mix Rescue.
Sound Workshop This month we sort out timing issues for a band called Exhibit-1, replace missing snare beats, as well as improving the rest of the mix.
Digital Performer Notes & Techniques This month, a look at how some of DP's features can be used to co-ordinate multiple finished tracks prior to burning an album or EP.
PC Musician Putting your PC in a rack has a number of advantages. Apart from getting the machine out from under your feet, and making it easier to take on the road in a flightcase, there are security benefits too. Here's how to perform the conversion, and potentially make your PC quieter at the same time.
Reason Notes & Techniques We go back to basics this month, with an in-depth look at how you can get the best out of Reason's Remix mixer.
Sound Workshop Recording a live gig in a real venue will always entail compromises, but surprisingly good results can be obtained with a little care.
PC Notes This month we examine reliable ways of reducing computer boot-up time, so you don't have to wait ages for your PC to let you get started when you want to make some music.
Sonar Notes & Techniques DAW software is optimised for helping you record your songs and add lots of production polish, but don't forget that programs like Sonar can also help in the songwriting process, offering features that could make it easier to capture inspiration when it strikes.
Workshop This month we journey to the Outer Hebrides, where a college teaching Gaelic music has more than a few wires crossed...
Using A Reel-to-reel Recorder For Echo Effects Second-hand tape recorders are cheap and can provide uniquely warm, organic delay effects. Best of all, it’s a piece of cake to integrate them into a digital mixing setup. We tell you how...
Logic Notes & Techniques You might consider the REX file to be just another format on the list of audio import options, but it can actually be used to achieve some very creative results. We take a look at what's possible.
Apple Notes Apple CEO Steve Jobs outlined many visually interesting features this month for the next major version of OS X. However, it's perhaps the features that lurk beneath Leopard's glossy exterior that will prove the most useful to Mac-based musicians and audio engineers.
| 
Gear Reviews
