Theory / Technical

I keep reading about the use of ‘negative feedback’ to reduce distortion in audio gear. How does this work and how effective is it?

Intel’s latest CPUs promise big performance gains. But can they topple AMD in our audio benchmarks?

Could you please explain why audio gear uses balanced signals and how they work?

I’m a long‑running technical electronics repair and design engineer working in music for film...

Immersive audio has huge creative potential for music production, but it can be hard to get your head around. Here’s the explanation you’ve been waiting for!

I’m about to be given an old mixer to play with in my studio and am planning to check each input and output, check the EQ does...

I got a separate 1TB drive to use with NI Komplete and told NI’s Native Access installer app to put the plug‑ins/apps on the system drive and the sample data on the external drive, and left it overnight...

The next evolution of Bluetooth contains a number of innovations that should appeal to consumers and professionals alike. And it’s coming to a device near you.

We all know that close miking boosts the low end. But why? New research from DPA Microphones explains that some instruments are more affected by proximity effect than others.

Does your guitar sound dull and lacklustre through your pedalboard? Here’s how to side‑step the tone‑suck trap.

We speak to some of the leading experts in hearing loss to find out why it happens, how to prevent it, and what to do if your hearing fails.

Have you ever wondered what lies behind the intriguing wobbles and lush swooshes of this classic effect?

Whether you are setting up a bedroom studio or the next Abbey Road, choosing the right audio interface for your needs can be brain-meltingly difficult. Editor In Chief Sam Inglis breaks down everything you need to know into 26 bite-sized chunks!

Parallel compression is a powerful mixing technique, but it’s often misunderstood. Read on to find out what it really does — and how it can help you make better mixes.

Have you ever wondered exactly what goes on when classic hardware is recreated in plug-in form? Heres the full story from some of the industrys biggest names.

I've just bought a new MIDI controller keyboard that has a selection of velocity curves. How should I go about choosing which...

Love or hate the Yamaha NS10, this unassuming little speaker has found a place in the studios of many of the world's top producers. We trace its history, and investigate why a monitor whose sound has been described as "horrible" became an industry standard.

I keep reading about different types of synthesis like 'wavetable', 'S&S' and 'vector' but I don't know what they are...

In the final part of this two-part Net Notes about broadcasting your audio and video on the Internet, Dave Shapton discusses error correction and quality control, helps you to prepare for your webcast and suggests some solutions for broadcasting live events.

After looking at the development of and theory behind mLAN, Paul Wiffen continues his series on the new FireWire-based music and audio protocol with a practical look at the effect it will have on the gear in our studios and how we connect it together.