SOUND ON SOUND
Did you know that you can make Sonar fit your working methods like a glove, via its many customisation options? Here's our guide to just a few of the most useful.
The focus this month is on checking and improving the performance of your PC, with a new benchmark test just released and news of a useful tool that could help you pin down the source of latency-related problems.
Logic Pro 8 may not have new software instruments, but scratch beneath the surface and you'll discover significant improvements to what was already an impressive collection.
SOS's crack studio squad tame unwanted reflections, track down strange noises coming from a Mac, and make some good-sounding drums sound even better!
Jack Johnson is living proof that you don't need Auto-Tune, Beat Detective or a million overdubs to record a hit album. In fact, as engineer Robert Carranza explains, he didn't even need mains electricity...
Compressing the stereo bus can give your music coherence, smoothness and, above all, punch — but there are plenty of pitfalls for the unwary. We lead you through the minefield that is mix compression.
If sound is leaking from your studio or external noise is ruining your recordings, there are practical steps you can take to improve matters.
Links to Audio files mentioned within MAY 2008's Mix Rescue article.
Recording opera requires a completely different approach, environment and technique to pop or rock music — a fact that has seldom been better demonstrated than in Pavarotti's 1972 recording of 'Nessun Dorma'.
We find out how much you can do in the mix when the recordings aren't up to scratch — and how much you can't!
The tools for audio slicing were overhauled in Cubase 4.1. Find out how to get the best from them.
Pro Tools doesn't officially support macros or assignable keyboard shortcuts, but with a little know-how and a copy of QuicKeys, you can use custom key commands to bring up anything from simple menu items to complex chains of commands.
Live 7 saw the the introduction of some powerful new features for integration with hardware instruments, effects units, and Rewire applications.
There's no lack of new Apple products to discuss this month, with a revamp of the company's portable line of MacBooks and MacBook Pros, and the iPhone SDK that will enable developers to create applications for what Apple hope will become the next significant platform.
We offer a clutch of hints and tips for DP users considering adding a Focusrite Liquid Mix DSP plug-in platform to their setup.
Phase interactions are well known for their ability to destructively interfere with recorded signals, but an understanding of the process can turn it into one of the most powerful creative tools available to you.
Understanding how to program SFZ files opens up lots of ways to better exploit what Sonar's bundled soft synths have to offer. Don't panic: it's easier than you might think...
Delving beneath the surface of Reason 4's new RPG8 arpeggiator reveals a treasure trove of rhythmic modulations and variations.
Here are links to the audio files from APRIL 2008's MIX RESCUE article, for those readers who buy the magazine from the newsagent/bookstore and don't wish to type in all the long filenames.
Aided by its memorable video and starring role in an iPod ad, Feist's '1234' has been a refreshingly different worldwide hit. Renaud Letang was behind the (vintage) desk during the recording and mixing sessions.