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Apple Logic 8s mixer is endlessly configurable, and knowing how to make its flexibility work for you will result in faster and easier mixing.
Getting the macrodynamics of a song right while also nailing down the important rhythm can be a real challenge. We explore some techniques for tackling this and more on Moosmusics Big Dummy Shake.
As instruments go, the electric guitar is a pretty established format, but if anyone can change that, Moog can...
Links to the MP3 preview and high-resolution WAV files that accompany the SOS March 2009 Mix Rescue article for our newsstand/bookstore readers who do not have eSub-access to the main web article.
Interesting old keyboards are becoming ever-more expensive and difficult to find. MOTUs solution to this is Electric Keys — samples of all of the desirable retro instruments you could want, for less money than a second-hand Vox Jaguar!
You thought your music was just right to start with, so why are people telling you to change it? Because theyre paying you — and because they might actually have a point...
Fed up with bland, me-too plug-ins and tasteful processing? Ohm Forces unique effects and synths could have exactly the spice your studio needs.
The past year saw some significant developments in the world of PC music. PC Notes looks back over 2008 to assess the changes it brought and turns an eye to what we can expect to be doing in 2009.
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.
Someone suggested that I could use a USB pen drive to record audio on my laptop. Is this a good idea? How fast are they, and is it really a cheap way to separate my system and audio drives, or are there any problems inherent in this approach?
Over the last couple of years Ive mixed quite a lot of songs, but only single tracks here and there. Now Im about to mix an album, and Im wondering what would be the best way to do it. The recording has been done in a very decent studio, and they have been adding some programmed elements afterwards. I want to avoid a situation where I mix all the tracks so that they sound great on their own, only to realise later that they wont fit together as a whole. How would you approach this? Would you mix one track, and use it as a reference for the other mixes? Would you re-use some of the settings (for example, use the same plug-ins for the same tracks, with some tweaks)? Sadly, the budget doesnt allow for a separate mastering job, so I would have to do some limiting and final tweaks myself.
Parallel compression is something Im just beginning to explore. Its not something Ive used much in the past, but Im seeing its potential for beefing up groups and whole mixes. However, if I set up a compressor on a send channel, rather than processing the whole signal via an insert effect, wont I get phasing? Also, if I set up compressors on several send channels and filter out certain frequencies on each channel (for example, roll off everything but the low-mid range on one, roll off everything but the high-mid range on another), then wouldnt this just be the same thing as multi-band compression?
SOS reader Gordon Staines of Cheshire emailed us because he was having difficulty using NIs Guitar Rig 3 with his Pro Tools M-Powered setup. Using NIs Rig Kontrol USB interface and controller, with Guitar Rig 3 running in stand-alone mode, he was able to get exactly what he wanted from it, “no latency, and it sounds great live just plugged into the phono inputs on my Marshall AS100D acoustic amp, of all things, or even when I just have the headphones in the controller for practicing. My problem is getting the same sounds out when laying down tracks.”
Sample Logic's Synergy is an epic 18GB collection of over 1200 instruments, tempo‑sync'ed loops, and multis, powered by NI's...
The SE3 was a popular mic, but it only came in cardioid flavour. The new SE4 gives you more options...
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.
Does the music download business have a future?
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.
Last month we explained how to get a sense of front-to-back depth in your mix. Now we examine the left-right axis, as we suggest ways to get the best from stereo mixing.