SOUND ON SOUND
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One of two General MIDI modules are simply a cut above the rest, and Roland's high-end Sound Canvases fit right into this category. Paul White retires to the studio with the latest in the line and dips into a seemingly limitless palette of sound...
Yamaha brought the price of an automated digital mixer crashing to below £2000 with the release of the ProMix 01. They then followed up with the fully-featured 02R, but at over £7000, it wasn't cheap. Now there's the 03D, which seeks to combine the features of the 02R with the amazing value of the 01. Hugh Robjohns checks out the 03D's zeros and ones...
Though digital technology has transformed the nature of synths, effects, and even multitracks, project studio mixers have largely remained steadfastly analogue, breaking the chain which, if complete, would allow your music to remain in the digital domain from sequencer to master.Korg's 168RC forms the heart of a system designed to all but eliminate the analogue signal path, and Paul Wiffen wonders where it's been all his life...
The Walkstation grows up! After causing a stir with their 'pocket-sized' QY10 and QY20, Yamaha have produced the 'Big Brother' of the range, the QY300. Martin Russ discovers to his delight that it's not just the size that's increased...
The SampleCell II PC card can turn your humble PC into a fully-featured, 32-voice sample replay unit with eight individual outputs. Brian Heywood investigates.
The new SP808 has little in common with its namesake, the TR808; one was an analogue rhythm unit, the other is a feature-packed sampler, multitrack digital audio recorder, synth and remix tool. Clearly, Roland are hoping that some of the 'hi-tech classic' status of the TR will pass to the new SP.
Though you might not realise it, the audio industry has employed data reduction strategies since the earliest days of digital systems. Hugh Robjohns explains the concepts and explodes some myths.
The first of Roland's eagerly awaited digital mixers, the VM3100 is an obvious spin-off from the mixer section of Roland's VS1680 digital multitracker. But it still packs a lot of functionality into a tiny space — and the basic version is the cheapest digital mixer yet!
Kurzweil's new master keyboard combines the features of a MIDI controller with the sounds and feel of an 88-note digital piano. Tim James tickles the ivories...
Brian Heywood looks back at how the PC world has fared in the past twelve months, presents the 1994 PC Notes awards, and looks forward to a very Windows 95....
Setting up MIDI gear for the best audio quality is a very similar process to setting up your mixer, and you can often reduce noise levels significantly. Martin Walker provides some quick and easy ways to minimise hiss and hum from MIDI gear.
Associating sounds with MIDI datafiles is not difficult, but does require some initial setting up. If your sequences never seem to sound the same as they did last time, Martin Walker may have the answers.
Modern PC soundcards can deliver excellent audio performance, but are sometimes held back by the computer itself. Martin Walker shows you how to squeeze out the last drop of performance.
Steve Reich's latest composition, City Life, is an eclectic blend of classical music and sampled urban sounds, all played live. A few days after the UK premiere, Paul Tingen talks to the acclaimed avant-garde composer about his inspiration for the piece, and its realisation on stage.
Nigel Humberstone accompanies aspiring band Necroscope to one of their gigs, to find out how they cope when taking technology onto the stage with no roadies or technical support.
What can you do if you've been tempted by the automation facilities offered by digital desks like Yamaha's 02R, but your finances just won't stretch that far? In the first of two reviews of affordable automation systems in this issue, Paul White considers the Soundtracs option for those who already own an IBM-compatible PC...
Great songs are 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Big George mops his brow and takes it to the bridge...
Tired of those sampled string sounds? Hugh Robjohns outlines a number of techniques and tips for recording real live string soloists and string sections.
Using a separate sampler, sequencer, synth and drum machine? With the new Ensoniq ASRX you could take just one box into the studio. Chris Carter just samples and goes...
![Figure 1: [top-left] A paraphonic synthesizer. Figure 2: [bottom-left] A fully polyphonic analogue synthesizer. Figure 3: [right] Octave divider boards.](https://dt7v1i9vyp3mf.cloudfront.net/styles/teaser_large/s3/imagelibrary/s/synth1_2_3-0101-muEtxP7wD74DHo.jL_rSEge628JVxWw1.gif "Figure 1: [top-left] A paraphonic synthesizer. Figure 2: [bottom-left] A fully polyphonic analogue synthesizer. Figure 3: [right] Octave divider boards.")
This time, Gordon Reid explains how various analogue synth manufacturers attempted to create workable polyphonic synths by employing digital technology.