DAWs

They say one step in planning saves two in execution — and that certainly applies to doing a performance with Ableton Live sequencer...

Your next project might be a four-track demo or a 100-track surround mix for cinema. Either way, at some stage you're going to have to mix it — but with DP on your side, that doesn't need to be a headache.

One of the best features of TDM-based Pro Tools systems is the negligible latency, or input-to-output delay, while recording. So what is the best way to deal with this problem if you have only an LE system?

Whether you need electronic beats or realistic acoustic drums, Reason is one of the quickest and easiest tools around for creating varied drum tracks.

If you never venture into Sonar's off-line DSP section, now could be the time to check it out, following Cakewalk's v5 revamp of these useful functions.

While mastering in a home or project studio is unlikely to produce the very best results, Cubase SX does have some basic tools for those who want (or have) to adopt a DIY approach.

Global Tracks let you manipulate the bars and beats of your Song to match freely-played MIDI or audio recordings. Find out how to tempo-match...

When it comes to controlling sequence tempo and imposing a meaningful beat structure on freely-recorded MIDI and audio, DP has plenty of tricks up its sleeve — including Live-like 'liquid audio' powers.

If you want to get maximum level out of your Pro Tools mixes, you need a mastering limiter. But which one? We put the leading contenders to the test.

Reason is more than just a MIDI sequencing environment; it can also be used for creating new pieces spontaneously from sample loops. We show you how...

The technology for easily achieving an expensively produced effect when recording guitars is becoming more and more accessible. We take a look at what Sonar has to offer in this department, and examine other tools for creating killer guitar sounds.

If you like Cubase's sequencing capabilities but prefer to mix your projects in another application (eg. Pro Tools), we show you how to get your soft-synth parts from one app to the other.

Ableton Live 5 doesn't work with REX files, right? Well, technically speaking, it does not support the 'official' REX file format. But not only can you create your own REX-style slicing within Live, the 'do it yourself' stretching method we describe in this article can be surprisingly flexible.

Although the new version of Logic is billed just as a Universal Binary crossgrade, it does more than simply allow the sequencer to run on the new Intel-based Macs. Read on...

If you favour the feel of music that results from real people playing real instruments, the strict-tempo approach of a sequencer can feel like a straitjacket. But DP offers many ways of breaking out, and this month we explore them, as well as bringing news of the major update that is Digital Performer v5.

More and more post-production work is ending up in surround-compatible formats, such as DVD. We explain how to set up your Pro Tools system to do that work, and give some guidelines on recording and mixing in surround.

In all the excitement about Reason 3's Combinator device, the powerful new Remote hardware control functionality has been sadly overlooked — so let's remedy that situation with this article...

In a program as complex and feature-rich as Sonar, it's almost inevitable that there are useful little facilities that could make your life easier, which you have somehow overlooked or forgotten. We turn the spotlight on some of the best.

We delve into the Boolean operations in the Logical Editor, offer some tips for entering numeric values in the Transport Panel, and take a first look at Cubase running on dual-processor, dual-core systems.

Some users of Steinberg's Cubase complain that Logic has no specialised drum editor. Little do they know that Logic lets you build your own.

Quantising is all about turning your sloppy playing into rigid, computerised perfection, right? Well, no — at least, it doesn't have to be. We check out the finer points of quantising in DP and look at what it can do for your music.