DAWs

Apple Logic 8s mixer is endlessly configurable, and knowing how to make its flexibility work for you will result in faster and easier mixing.

At the heart of Digidesign's drive to turn Pro Tools into a serious tool for music creation are the MIDI and Score editors in Pro Tools 8. We explain how to get the best from these new heavyweights.

If you want the impact of heavily compressed drums but dont want to sacrifice your dynamics, parallel compression is the way to go. This month we explore the best ways to achieve this effect in Reason.

Sonar has more facilities than the average DAW for exploiting REX files to their best advantage. We guide you through where to find those facilities and how to put them to use.

Many Cubase users also own high-quality drum virtual instruments and sample libraries that aren't mapped to the GM standard. Fortunately, you can create your own dedicated drum maps.

Here are the files that accompany SOS February 2009's Cubase 4 workshop on Drum Maps.

Achieving exactly the recorded guitar tone youre after is easier than its ever been, with the facilities on offer in a DAW package such as Digital Performer...

We return to the subject of Clip Envelopes, and discover how its possible to work around a Live limitation and record MIDI controller data into Clips in real time.

Your toolkit for producing polished, contemporary-sounding vocals should include appropriate EQ techniques and subtle ambience processing. Enter the workshop...

As well as the new user interface, MIDI and score editors described in Part 1 of our review, Pro Tools 8 offers an impressive collection of instruments and plug-ins, new ways of working with Playlists, and even the option of surround mixing in LE.

As well as creating some excellent new plug-ins and making operational improvements, Cakewalk have been working hard to make Sonar 8 the most CPU-efficient version yet.

With Cubase 4.1, Steinberg overhauled the Sample Editor, creating a very powerful new tool for real-time pitch and time manipulation.

Version 6 of DP comes with improved hosting of Audio Unit plug-ins — but what does that mean for the MAS format? We consider the issues, and bring you a guide to DP's new bundled convolution reverb, ProVerb.

Dynamics control without compression, tuning for dummies, and vocoding for fun and profit... There's all this and more in part one of our complete vocal production masterclass.

Eight is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture. Will this eighth version of Pro Tools bring prosperity to Digidesign, as they try to establish their world-leading recording and mixing application as a serious contender in the music-creation market?

I'm at a loss. I cannot get the EVOC PS vocoder to work in Logic Pro 7 on a Power Mac G5 with Mac OSX 10.4.11 — or with...

Since we first reviewed Cockos' shareware Reaper multitrack recording package, it has undergone hundreds of improvements — but the bargain asking price has barely changed.

Sonar 8 introduced Beatscape, a new Cakewalk instrument designed specifically for the groovily inclined. We dig behind the interface for some tips and tricks you won't find in the documentation.