Computer / Software

USB is at the heart of most PC‑based studios. But what do you do when it goes wrong?

On paper, Linux has many advantages over macOS and Windows. How easy is it to get started, and how far will it take you?

What benefits have the latest crop of CPUs brought for audio users — and what might the coming year have in store for us?

I gather Windows 10 doesn’t support FireWire after a certain update, and I have some legacy devices that I’d like to be able to use. Are there any risks in updating?

The idea of paying to ‘own’ software has always been problematic. What exactly is it that you possess?

Intel’s latest CPUs promise big performance gains. But can they topple AMD in our audio benchmarks?

Hugues Vinet, of the IRCAM electronic music institute in Paris, talks to Paul Tingen about their work in software, sound design and AI composition.

Apple recently announced a transition in the Mac’s hardware architecture that promises to be the most significant in the product’s history. But how will this affect musicians and audio engineers?

AMD's third-generation Ryzen chips have reignited the CPU arms race with Intel — but which is best for a music-production PC?

I'm looking for advice as to what I should be considering as my next move, to give me the 'oomph' for creating music that uses the best sample libraries for orchestra...

Plug‑in models of classic hardware can sound great if you feed them the right level. But what level is right?

Like many SOS readers, Paul Baggott's studio centred around the original 'cheesegrater' Mac Pro tower but in 2020 he could hold off no longer and needed to upgrade. In our 'web-only' feature, we thought you'd enjoy reading the trials-and-tribulations tale of Paul's journey and his real-world experiences as this producer bites the bullet and buys a new 2019 Mac Pro.

How do you know which audio interfaces will work with which studio computers? We cut through the connector confusion!

I’ve recently bought an iMac and would be grateful for any advice on how to set up the hard drives for music...

I’m currently looking into a new music PC build and wondered which Windows operating system you’d recommend.

A mastering engineer told me that, when playing back source files from his laptop into a high-quality USB-connected D-A, the...

I've recently added some new gear to my PC-based studio and now get low-level whistling noises through my loudspeakers that...

Solid-state drives (SSDs) seem expensive, and I've seen some so-called 'hybrid' drives which combine a small solid-...

I want to replace my Windows 7 PC's system drive with a solid‑state drive, but I have a lot of software on there that I...

In order to back up my Mac, I used a backup utility (Carbon Copy Cloner), in addition to using Time Machine to create incremental backups...

With processors getting ever faster — and running ever hotter — what can you do to get the best performance from your PC without making it sound like a washing machine on full spin?