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February 2009 Magazine Contents

Reviews

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    AKG Perception

    Condenser Microphones

    Can condenser mics at this price really be worthy of a name like AKG? Actually, it seems they can...

    Reviews
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    Arsenal Audio R20 & R24

    Microphone Preamplifier & EQ

    This new brand by revered high-end equipment manufacturers API is much more affordable than their established lines. So there must be a catch, right?

    Reviews
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    Behringer RSM Stomp-box Effects

    Guitar Technology

    This affordable range of digital guitar and bass effects pedals offers good, dependable results — and there are a few hidden gems as well. Read on...

    Reviews
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    Cakewalk Sonar 8

    MIDI Audio Sequencer For Windows

    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.

    Reviews
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    Digidesign Pro Tools 8: Part 2

    Digital Audio Workstation Software [Mac/PC]

    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.

    Reviews
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    Discovery Sound Koto

    Kontakt 2 & Reason Refill

    Discovery Sound are a Japanese company specialising in ethnic sounds, and in particular the traditional music of Asia. This collection focuses on the koto — the national instrument of Japan.

    Reviews
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    G-Force M-Tron Pro

    Sample Library [Mac / PC]

    The successor to G-Forces popular M-Tron instrument brings dual layers and subtractive synthesis to the Mellotron party — but also manages to keep authenticity firmly in mind...

    Reviews
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    Genoqs Nemo

    MIDI Performance Sequencer

    Genoqs take a unique approach to hardware sequencing, as weve seen previosuly from their Octopus sequencer. Now theyre back with a smaller and far more affordable model: the Nemo.

    Reviews
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    Klein+Hummel O410

    Active Midfield Monitors

    Getting the balance right between the benefits and disadvantages of ported and non-ported speaker designs is a tricky job, and K+H do it better than most with this ported model.

    Reviews
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    Korg M3 Xpanded

    Sampling Workstation

    The M3 workstation, already a powerful beast, has gained impressive new features and an Xpanded name tag. Is it now top of its class?

    Reviews
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    Line 6 BackTrack+Mic

    Guitar Recorder

    Line 6 BackTrack is a single-channel, Flash-memory audio recorder that’s tailored to the needs of guitar players and songwriters. Designed to sit in-line with your guitar (it has an instrument input impedance), it records everything you play as soon as audio is detected. Check out our test report...

    Reviews
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    Prominy SC Electric Guitar

    Virtual Guitar Instrument

    Prominy have put 64 Gigabytes of lovingly sampled Stratocaster into their SC instrument. That's a lot of Stratocaster — so does the sonic end justify the means?

    Reviews
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    Sample Modelling The Trumpet

    Kontakt Player 2

    Peter Siedlaczek's Advanced Orchestra was the must-have orchestral library for several years and set new standards for the...

    Reviews
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    Scan Power DAW PC

    Music Computer

    Need more PC power? Then meet the latest offering from Scan — and the fastest PC reviewed in SOS to date.

    Reviews
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    Sonivox Steel Core

    Multi-format Sample Library

    We've reviewed a number of the Sonivox (and, under their previous label, Sonic Implants) libraries in recent times, including...

    Reviews
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    Synthogy Ivory Upright Pianos

    Virtual Instrument

    If you are a piano player who's keen to find the best sampled pianos available, the odds are that you will have at least tried...

    Reviews
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    Yamaha Pocketrak 2G & CX

    Stereo Recorders

    These portable digital recorders are tiny, convenient, and they look great... but are Yamaha's latest gizmos any good for musicians?

    Reviews

Techniques

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    Ableton Live: Real-time Clip Modulation

    Ableton Live Notes & Techniques

    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.

    Techniques
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    Classic Tracks: Rick Astley 'Never Gonna Give You Up'

    Producers: Stock, Aitken and Waterman

    Producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman developed a massively successful formula for making pop records — and the story of Rick Astleys 1987 smash hit, Never Gonna Give You Up, is a perfect guide to the SAW assembly line...

    Techniques
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    Conserve Space; Temporary Files

    PC Notes

    Are you running out of space despite having hard drives of seemingly vast capacity? Temporary junk and duplicated files could be the culprit — and PC Notes can help you search and destroy...

    Techniques
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    Creating A Sense Of Depth In Your Mix

    Mix Processing Techniques

    With reverb, EQ, delay and more at your disposal, enhancing the sense of front-to-back space in your mix can be a challenging affair. We take you through some tips that will give your mix a depth charge!

    Techniques
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    Cubase 4 Example Drum Maps | Media

    Download DRM Files

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

    Techniques
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    Cubase: How To Create Drum Maps

    Steinberg Cubase Tips & Techniques

    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.

    Techniques
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    Guitar Recording Methods In Digital Performer

    Digital Performer Notes & Techniques

    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...

    Techniques
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    Mix Rescue: James Elder & Mark M Thompson

    Adding character to vocals

    Adding character to a vocal with transformer emulations, multing instrument parts to vary the effects throughout the song, and tweaking the arrangement... There are no limits to a Mix Rescuers job!

    Techniques
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    Mix Rescue: James Elder & Mark M Thompson | Audio Files

    Hear For Yourself

    Here are the links to the MP3 and WAV files that accompany the SOS February 2009 Mix Rescue article for our newsstand/bookstore readers who do not have eSub-access to the main web article and don't fancy typing in all the long URL links.

    Techniques
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    Musical Applications

    Apple Notes

    With new technology on the horizon, and the growing number of musician-friendly applications appearing on the iPhone, 2009 promises to be another interesting year for Apple audiophiles.

    Techniques
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    Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Bob Clearmountain

    Rolling Stones 'Shine A Light' DVD

    Bob Clearmountain has been the worlds premier mix engineer for three decades — but Martin Scorsese still managed to challenge him with his ideas about how the Rolling Stones in concert should be presented.

    Techniques
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    Studio SOS: Taming A Large, Live Room

    Simon Mayor & Hilary James

    Ever wondered how to tame a large, lively room without drills, nails or glue? Or how best to mount monitors without speaker stands? Then read on to find out how we helped Simon Mayor and Hilary James.

    Techniques
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    Vocal Production In Logic Pro: Part 2

    Logic Notes & Techniques

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

    Techniques

Sound Advice

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    50 Smart Studio Buys

    Improve Your Setup Without Breaking The Bank

    Even if youre tightening your belt, you can still upgrade and improve your studio and methods — you just need to be a bit more crafty about how you spend your cash...

    Sound Advice
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    Q. Can digital audio cables cause ground loops?

    In SOS December 2008, you explained how USB and Firewire cables could complete ground loops and result in audio problems. Is the same true of digital audio cables?

    Sound Advice
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    Q. Can I record, mix and master in DSD?

    The DSD/SuperAudio CD format seems to slowly be coming back into focus, with recent releases from Korg and Sony, after many thought it was dead. Steinberg released software support for DSD some time ago in Cubase, but is it possible today to use DSD with Cubase or other desktop recording systems? If not, what are the alternatives to setting up a DSD workflow for recording, mixing and mastering to Super Audio CD?

    Sound Advice
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    Q. Which small mixers have high impedance inputs?

    I recently read Mike Senior's review of the Alesis Multimix 16, and he listed as one of the cons the lack of a high‑impedance instrument input. I agree with him, but have been searching for ages for a small mixer with this kind of input and can't find one anywhere. Is there one? The mixer isn't actually for me, but for a musician friend who still records to eight‑track cassette via an old PA and various pedals and outboard. He plays bass pedals and has an ancient drum machines, plus he sings and plays guitar and banjo. The outboard and the PA mixer are noisy, and as I transfer his tapes and mix them I spend far too much time on noise reduction and not enough on mixing and production. He is not technically savvy, and getting him to use several of the eight‑track inputs is not a option, so I am looking for a mixer he can plug his instruments into and get a clean relatively noise‑free signal from, to feed the eight‑track.

    Sound Advice

People

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    Paul White - Editor In Chief

    Cheap Tricks

    Leader

    Paul White suggests some recession-friendly tips to improve your studio.

    People
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    Graham Wrench: The Story Of Daphne Oram’s Optical Synthesizer

    Oramics

    In the early 60s, pioneering British composer Daphne Oram set out to create a synthesizer unlike any other. The engineer who turned her ideas into reality was Graham Wrench.

    People
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    Mogwai - Recording The Hawk Is Howling

    John Cummings & Gareth Jones

    Six albums into their career, Glaswegian instrumental band Mogwai decided to take the producers chair themselves.

    People
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    Playback

    Readers’ Music Reviewed

    The editorial team play 'Jukebox Jury' with another batch of your submitted tracks.

    People
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    Sounding Off: Martin Walker

    Multi-Gig Sample Libraries

    Multi-gigabyte sample libraries are now very much a part of the modern studio — but does bigger always mean better?

    People

Music Business

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