SOUND ON SOUND
When you come over all creative or are facing a tight deadline, a lean, mean music-recording machine is a definite advantage. The tools for customising the Cubase SX work environment may not sound very sexy, but they can certainly help your workflow.
Four sample libraries get the aural review treatment from the SOS samplists: AMG Evolved Analog **** Chemical Synths ***** Power FX Cinematic Hip-Hop **** Sample Lab Discography *****
So how is your plug-in band coming on, then? With a combination of Steinberg's Groove Agent and Virtual Guitarist plus Yamaha's Vocaloid, all that is required is a bass player. Enter, stage left, Bornemark's Broomstick Bass...
Four new sample collections under review: Apple Jam Pack 4: Symphony Orchestra **** • Sonic Boom Box **** • Downbeat & Leftfield **** • Platinum Essentials *****
Version 5 of Acid Pro is the first major upgrade under the Sony Media Software badge, and has taken two years to arrive. Does it keep pace with other manufacturers' loop-sequencing packages?
Four new Sample Disc collections get the aural treatment from the SOS reviewers: A Fistful Of Drummers 5* • Black Grand 4* • Sounds Of The 70s 4* • Percussive Adventures 5*
Three new Sample CD collections get the aural inspection from the SOS reviewers: The Operating Table **** • Cut'n It Up 3 **** • Drums On Demand Vol 3: Upbeat & Aggressive *****
Appraisals of Sample Lab Drum Fundamentals 4* • Tekniks Blue Shock 3* • Smart Loops Pro Drum Works (Volume One) 4* • Cycles Volume Two: Unnatural Rhythm 4*
Is it an amp modeller? Is it a multitracker? Is it an audio/MIDI interface? We stomp the facts out of Digitech's new box...
Sample and loop libraries have come a long way from being delivered on a humble audio CD — the most recent trend is to include a specific playback front-end for easy integration with your sequencer.