SOUND ON SOUND
If you're thinking about a new PC, do you need to make sure it's ready for the forthcoming Windows XP replacement: Vista? We examine the relevant issues for the musician.
Do you like AAS's Tassman but are a bit baffled when it comes to programming? Check out some of Harm Visser's ready-made instruments...
Dual-core processors hold the key to unprecedented performance with music applications. But how do systems based around Intel's Pentium D, like this one from Millennium Music, compare with their AMD-based rivals?
Can Harbal's new automatic track EQ solve your equalisation problems with one click? We find out, as well as exploring the mysteries of the Windows Driver Model...
Most recent electric piano virtual instruments have been sample-based, but in Lounge Lizard, AAS continue to fly the flag for their physical modelling technology; version 3 offers an improved fork model, plus modelled electromagnetic and electrostatic pickups...
If you've been waiting and wondering whether to 'go dual-core' in your next PC upgrade, which processor to choose is only one of the factors to consider. We discuss the options and implications.
Korg are continuing to develop virtual instruments based on their hardware synths. This time, it is 1988's classic M1 workstation that has been rendered in software...
We revisit the subject of IRQ sharing, to see if the problems it used to cause for musicians have been solved — as well as discussing a partitioning controversy...
If you need more audio interfacing, do you really have to trash an interface that's otherwise perfectly satisfactory and buy a bigger one? Maybe not, as ways of using several smaller interfaces together are becoming easier to find.
We'd probably all prefer to keep our music PCs insulated from viruses, spyware, adware, phishing and the general nastiness of the Internet, but the way music software is developing makes this increasingly difficult. Find out more...