
PAUL CARMODY: Good Tunes First, Big Production Later
Paul Carmody explains why, when it really comes down to it, there are more important things than 'big' production.
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Paul Carmody explains why, when it really comes down to it, there are more important things than 'big' production.
It's been hard to turn on a radio or go to a club this summer without hearing Moloko's distinctive retro disco hit. Bill Bruce meets the Sheffield duo to find out how it was put together.
New developments in technology often originate in other fields, and are only later applied to the world of music. In this new regular column, Dave Shapton seeks out the latest breakthroughs in digital technology, and explains how they might change the way in which music is made and recorded.
Need a new soundcard for your PC? Searching for that classic analogue synth, or planning to offload yours? Nicholas Rowland explains the ins and outs of buying and selling online via auction.
Music mythology has it that real drummers are illiterate, beer-swilling louts with about as much musicality as a dead dog. Nevertheless, it can be hard to find an acceptable substitute. Sam Inglis offers a few pointers.
With so many models on the market, choosing a CD writer can be tricky. Martin Walker helps you narrow things down, and also harvests a few grains of sound
Why is it that some perfectly well-recorded songs sound like demos, while others sound like top commercial tracks? Paul White investigates the mystery of the 'produced' sound.
The Free Internet access now being offered by so many companies and the ability of inexpensive net software mean that your Atari computer could be the cheapest way to get on line. Derek Johnson checks out a new German web-access package and also rounds up some drum machine and synth emulators for the ST and Falcon.
Martin Russ explores his new G3 Mac a little further, and looks at the music prospects for Apple's new iBook.
Having explained the factors that come into play in designing the structure, content and appearance of a web site, Mike Simmons turns to the part that will be most important to many SOS readers: putting sound on your site.
Now that software versions of synths, processors and samplers are available for less than their hardware equivalents, many musicians are being tempted to dispense with their studio hardware and run everything inside their PCs. Martin Walker examines the feasibility of putting all your chips in one basket...
As the car ad says, "size matters!" and AVI have proved the point with their biggest loudspeakers yet, the Gravitrons. AVI say they're built 'without compromise' and 'regardless of cost'. Hugh Robjohns will see about that...
TDM plug‑in for Pro Tools
Reviewed: Mac version
Lexicon's hardware reverb units...
TDM plug‑in for Pro Tools
Reviewed: Mac version
The Aphex Aural Exciter has become...
Last month, Hugh Robjohns described the planning and setting up he undertook in preparation for recording the choir of Cheltenham College. This month, he turns his attention to the recording itself — and the problems of moving between two venues in one day.
PC DirectX only
Not all professional‑quality plug‑ins are developed by large commercial...
Paul White catches up with the man who pioneered the art of radical remixes in the '80s, and has gone on to become a hugely successful producer and songwriter.
Gordon Reid continues his series on the theory of subtractive synthesis by delving deeper into the amazingly complex world of the analogue audio filter.
As well as offering a high-quality mic preamp, equaliser, and valve compressor, the MindPrint voice channel can have digital interfacing added at a very reasonable extra cost. Hugh Robjohns does a spot of channel hopping.
Novation's latest synth is a more affordable 'laptop' version of their powerful Supernova, which capitalises on its user-friendly front panel while adding the ability to process external audio signals. Simon Trask discovers new life in the synth universe...