SOUND ON SOUND
Internet audio is going places — and nowhere faster than for the net-surfing Mac user. Martin Russ looks at the latest developments.
CD-R may be the fastest growing mastering format, but its complicated zip codes and impenetrable protocols have made it anything but user friendly. As prices tumble and software evolves, however, it's an increasingly accessible medium. Mike Collins explains how he's mastered mastering on his Mac...
It might be an unorthodox style of musicianship, but anything that adds strings to the Amiga's bow is to be welcomed. Paul Overaa gets tangled up in Loom...
What do you do if a valuable master tape that you've had on the shelf for the past 15 years tries to weld itself to the playback head as soon as you try to play it? Swear loudly, then pop in in a low oven, advises master chef Jean-Paul White...
Craig Anderton offers a few tips to help you balance your mix without relying solely on changes to relative volume levels — and gets in touch with his Neanderthal past. Additional material by Paul White.
It can all go without a hitch; recording, overdubbing, even the mixing — but the finest ingredients do not always guarantee a feast. Paul White explains how a little forethought and planning can make all the difference to your final mixes...
If you thought you had hassles finding a CD-ROM drive to work with your PC, you haven't entered the soundcard zone. Brian Heywood offers a cautionary tale...
Thanks to Evolution's Music Creator systems, it's never been easier or cheaper to turn your PC into a powerful MIDI sequencing tool. Brian Heywood gets creative...
Just because you've moved over to Mac or PC for making music, it needn't put your Atari on the scrapheap. Colin Owen explains how, with the right MIDI interface, your Atari can become a powerful editing tool.
Last month, Martin Russ got caught up in Apple takeover fever. This month, he explains how the situation has completely changed...
There may be a famine of new applications for the Atari, but there's a positive flood of utilities. Ofir Gal offers some tips on how to turbo-charge your Atari. New products, multi-tasking, NVDI and MagiC v4.
Paul White looks at the many parameters which govern compression, how to improve your recording technique, and how not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
If, like Erasure, you're all fingers and thumbs, an arpeggiator can make inspirational note sequences a cinch. For this versatile synth function, however, that's only the beginning. Paul Ward blisses out on glissandos...
Orphaned in childhood and now suffering a PC brain-drain, the Amiga needs all the help it can get. So, could tracker programs like OctaMED v6 be the platform's saviour? Paul Overaa asks whether the future's IFFy...
Paul White concludes this series with a look at phrase and loop sampling, the use of keygroups and mapping, and the use of the modern sampler as a synthesizer.
Whatever the reality of Apple's finances, the money men have decided the company is ripe for the picking. But will upsetting the Apple cart produce a windfall for the user? Martin Russ keeps his ear to the ground... Sun Microsystems.
The Amiga has a lot of catching up to do if it is to outgrow its past as a games module. In Amiga Magic, however, Paul Overaa finds much to attract the musician.
The technology that lets your PC speak can equally well make it listen. Brian Heywood gets all analytical on us...
If you don't have a multitrack but you're keen to start experimenting with recording, good results can be achieved with just a couple of mics and a domestic cassette deck. Paul White shows you how to be a stereo MC...
Most synths now boast an infinite variety of sounds, but what the manuals don't tell you is that you need an infinite amount of time to explore them properly. Paul White suggests some short cuts to synth heaven.