Theory / Technical

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.

Monitor speakers affect nearly all the descisions we make when recording and mixing — yet most of us know very little about how they are designed, and why they sound the way they do. In the first of a new series, Phil Ward explains what goes into the design of typical passive nearfields, and the effects they can have on what we record.

Last month, Paul Wiffen explained how he heard about mLAN — a new data-transfer protocol which will allow us to send audio, MIDI, and even video down one FireWire connector. This month, he finds out from Yoshi Sawada of Yamaha's mLAN development team how the system is likely to work in practice.

A new interfacing standard is just around the corner which can carry digital audio, MIDI, timecode and hard drive communications down a single cable, in addition to the digital video and multimedia signals which the likes of Sony, Apple and others are already sending down it. Paul Wiffen, long an advocate of high-speed digital interfaces, investigates and finds that he may just have a new religion to evangelise.

I have been told that part of the job of 'lining up' an analogue multitrack tape recorder involves using phase to adjust...

Poor studio wiring can lead to hums and buzzes, but you can avoid the worst of these problems by following a few simple rules.

Commercial singles and albums are incorporating ever-more-sophisticated interactive audio and visual content, often using the Enhanced CD format. Janet Harniman-Cook starts this two-part feature with a look at how the format is being used by record companies, and the possibilities that are open to independent musicians.

ISDN is a term that you will have certainly have come across in the pages of SOS over the last few years, but perhaps without really knowing what it does and how it works. Hugh Robjohns explains the relevance of this international digital telecommunications network to the modern musician.