SOUND ON SOUND
Processor upgrades are a great idea for making older computers in general household use last longer. But how well does a processor speed boost translate into improved performance in musical applications on older Macintoshes? We find out...
In these days of multi-GHz CPUs, the silent music PC is but a memory, drowned out by cooling-fan noise. But we can have the speed without all that racket, according to a German PC manufacturer...
This month, using markers for navigation, getting the most from the piano roll view, and undertaking pseudo-mastering in Cakewalk's Sonar.
Could your undesirably high MIDI latency in Cubase SX be the result of unwittingly using an 'emulated' driver? Read on to find out.
SOS reviewers often mention their test or reference CDs — compilations of what they feel to be well-mixed, well-recorded audio, which they use to evaluate converters, monitors, and so on. But how do you go about making one yourself? We reveal all...
Both SX and Nuendo offer plenty of scope for recording and mixing in surround sound formats...
"When we originally mixed Avalon in stereo, I was thinking that it should be in surround,"says Bob Clearmountain. Twenty-one years on, he and producer Rhett Davies describe how they first made Roxy Music's classic album and how they finally got the chance to mix it in 5.1.
Recording and mixing an album's worth of tracks is a big enough challenge, but turning the results into a consistent-sounding CD requires specialist tools and skills. The former, at least, are now available to anyone with a Windows PC...
Last month we showed you how to go about recording a complete (jazz) band to stereo on location. Now let's examine the ways in which you can compile and process the different takes to make up a coherent whole.
As the Apple Music Store online music experience is unleashed on an unsuspecting world, we speculate on the reasons for the recent reduction in Powerbook prices and take a look at how plug-ins are faring under OS X.
The groundbreaking Beat Detective module in TDM Pro Tools systems offers some hugely powerful tools for manipulating the timing of recorded audio. This month we start by quantising audio material.
With big changes afoot for Windows and PCs in the medium term, we get the inside track on what they could mean for musicians.
It's not a drag to drag-and-drop, nor is it a drag to export your way to a truly universal backup solution. Craig Anderton explains all...
We survey developments from the recent Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, which brought to light new information concerning the future of the forthcoming 'Longhorn' version of Windows.
We help SOS reader Ian Anderson achieve his favourite drum sound.
If you want to incorporate live drumming into your sequencer-based productions, your drummer will almost certainly have to play along to some sort of click track. However, if you're not careful, it could easily end up being more a hindrance than a help.
The Project Manager is one of Logic's most useful v6 features, and this month we show you how it can work in different ways to suit your needs.
Loads more tips for the Soundscape platform, including detailed advice on getting the best from hardware controllers and multi-unit systems.
This month we take a look at using multiple audio interfaces with DP3, the new OS X patchlist format, and practical uses for the Waveform Editor for all DP users.