SOUND ON SOUND
Some users of the Roland VS2480 discovered that their unit's inputs suffered from significant harmonic distortion for signals above -6dBFS...
All of the main MIDI + Audio sequencers now have a bewildering array of compression and limiting plug-ins built in, but many home musicians are unclear about what all those controls and options do. And with so many varieties of each plug-in available, which one should you choose for the job in hand?
Where can I find a good sampled Joanna? Does processing degrade the quality of digital audio? How can I avoid effects being out of phase when I use Group Tracks in Cubase? How can I get six mono outputs from my VP9000? How can I eliminate hum in my studio? What are the advantages of higher sampling rates? Can you recommend a microphone for recording a guitar?
Can I use my drum pads to trigger drum machine sounds? • Are red indicators in audio software significant? • What is 'zero level'? • Can you advise me on vocal recording and microphones? • Why have my faders stopped working? • Does normalising have any adverse effect on audio? • Can I obtain better orchestral sounds on a budget?
Can you advise on the powering and positioning of Behringer's Truth monitors? How can I control proximity effect? Why do speaker stands have spikes? Will Steinberg's Virtual Guitarist run on my PC? Will replacing my carpet with laminate affect the acoustics? Can you recommend a second-hand sampler with a floppy drive? How can I get broadcast masters to sound louder?
Is it possible to link multiple Tascam 788 recorders? How can I move files between my computers? How do I use a degausser to demagnetise tape heads? What's the difference between the Sennheiser MD421 and MD421 MkII microphone? Can you suggest a good weighted keyboard? Can I copy vinyl to CD via an S/PDIF connection? Can I use my Logic plug-ins with another sequencer? How do digital errors affect the stereo image?
All modern sequencers make it easy to enhance your arrangements with subtle tempo variations, but these facilities are often ignored.
Should I buy a second-hand tape recorder or cheap digital multitracker? How can I stop my speakers from 'booming'? Should the earth pin in an XLR plug be soldered to the shell? How reliable is the word clock on Yamaha's SW1000XG? Can you advise me about connecting a classic Leslie to a VK8?
How can I use my external effects units with my Akai DPS16 hard disk recorder? How can I convert my mono recordings into stereo? Are there any cheap multi-band compression plug-ins? How can I reverse the effects of performing Windows XP tweaks?
Is it safe to switch all my gear off using one power switch? How can I get a vocal sound that's dry, but fits in the mix? How can I measure my soundcard's background noise level? Can I connect my keyboard's output to a mic input on my desk? How can I calculate the frequency of individual pitches? Will silica gel have a limited lifespan in my mic box?