SOUND ON SOUND
This month Martin Walker takes software samplers as his theme, offering advice about avoiding glitches when using them with other applications, and bringing news of a forthcoming sampling VST Instrument.
Many problems encountered when using PCs to record music are caused by MIDI or audio data not being delivered on time, or by its flow being interrupted. Martin Walker outlines some of the most common causes and symptoms, and tells you how to go about eliminating them.
A new selection of soundcards from Germany promises excellent audio quality at extremely competitive prices, with a selection of I/O options to suit most buyers. Martin Walker tries out the first model in the Marian range.
Ego Sys' WaMi Box is one of very few comprehensive recording interfaces for laptop PCs, providing analogue, digital and MIDI I/O along with a synth/sampler, DSP effects and mixing and no fewer than six separate software control utilities. Martin Walker gets to grips with it. Eventually...
Although there is a lot of interest in the idea of portable, silent PC-based recording, only one company has taken up the challenge of supplying and supporting laptop systems that are guaranteed to work well for music recording. Martin Walker tries one out.
Microsoft's latest operating system, although primarily designed for business and network systems, seems to offer many features that are attractive to musicians, including greater stability and support for dual-processor machines. But is there enough software support to make upgrading worthwhile? Martin Walker investigates.
Martin Walker buys a new quiet hard drive for audio and looks into ways to eradicate any remaining noise, for a silent PC.
Martin Walker looks at a handy half-rack unit which could provide an ideal front end for your computer-based recording system.
The idea of a virtually silent, compact and portable PC recording workstation has obvious attractions, and it is possible to build such a system around a laptop PC. Martin Walker explains the options available and how to avoid some of the many potential pitfalls.
Many of you were caught out by our 1995 April Fool preview of a fictitious piece of software that could modify the musical style of a MIDI file to create specific emotions in the listener. Now, however, it seems that fact may have caught up with fiction. Martin Walker tries out Ntonyx's innovative Style Morpher.