Computer / Software

PC owners who fancy a full modular synth for less than £200 need look no further. Martin Walker connects more virtual modules than you can shake a patchchord at.

Nick Howes of Yamaha's European Music Software Division shows you how to get the best out of XG soundcards.

Good news, good news and more good news. Martin Russ just can't believe his luck.

This month, after a bit of clock-watching, Martin Walker looks at a utility which should keep your PC running for longer; Norton Utilities.

Janet Harniman-Cook goes great guns with the latest version of Twelve Tone's popular MIDI + Audio recording software for PC owners.

There is now a bewildering array of audio options inside most PC audio recording packages, and if you understand the reasoning behind them you can get a bit (or even a few bits) more quality out of your hard drive audio. Martin Walker explains.

Derek Johnson unearths a simple but fun Atari tracker and sound chip synth, and explains how your ST can help you train your ears...

TC Works transfer more of their expertise to DirectX PC software with a set of interfaces that let you squash, tone up, and space out your audio with a mouse. Martin Walker gets clicking.

To get the maximum quality from audio sample CDs, you need to transfer the sound data to your PC in the digital domain. Martin Walker explains why the process isn't always as easy as you might expect.

Just when you thought you'd got your cholesterol down, it's nothing but chips again. MARTIN WALKER wades through the new CPU options, and uninstalls some more software.

Hardware development is still going for Atari computers: now STe users can buy a new processor accelerator that brings faster operation and internal hard drive to STe computers, for relatively modest cost. Derek Johnson feels the need for speed...

Martin Russ looks forwards and backwards this month, with visits to the limits of Mac-Time, the year 2000, MacOS 10, and a modern version of yesterday's analogues.

Arboretum's latest Hyperprism suite of effects and processors offer no less than 29 modules, at an average price of less than £10 each. Janet Harniman-Cook gets plugged in.

SoundBlaster cards no longer need to rely on a complete set of GM sounds crammed into 1Mb of ROM now that SoundFonts allow up to 28Mb of RAM expansion. Martin Walker feels the quality of Time Signature's new collection.

Derek Johnson ventures once more into the bizarre world of Atari software...

Martin Russ realises the worth of Metadata, and brings glad tidings of profitable Apples...

Unexpected crashes happen to all of us — even SOS PC gurus! Martin Walker tells a tale of troubleshooting, and falls for Steinberg's new Freefilter.

Never ones for resting on their laurels, Steinberg have added a host of enhancements and additions to Wavelab. Martin Walker tries looping the loop, and analyses his WAV file collection.

If you fancy recording up to 64 audio tracks from the comfort of a familiar PC wave editor interface, Syntrillium Software's feature-packed Cool Edit Pro could be just the ticket. Martin Walker warms to the latest release of this popular package.

Updating software ought to be a simpler matter, but often things don't go according to plan. Martin Walker catalogues a selection of problem areas.

Many PC owners still seem to have trouble trying MIDI and audio together, and timing remains the main problem area. Martin Walker attempts to pull all the strands together.