March 2004 Magazine Contents

ADAM combine Hexacone woofers with advanced high-frequency ribbon drivers to create a competitive professional monitoring system.

AMS Neve have reissued one of the most revered of the '70s Neve designs, but can it still compete in the 21st century?

This top-flight digital converter not only provides eight channels of simultaneous A-D/D-A conversion, but also includes soft limiting, UV22HR dithering, and flexible routing functions.

A small preamp with a deceptively classy sound.

The elegant Valvet provides a choice of omni and cardioid polar patterns, as well as delivering the kind of transparent valve sound for which German mic technology is renowned.

Harbal enables you to shape the EQ of your mastered mixes to match any reference track, and by compensating for the loudness changes involved in doing so, it provides a truly neutral means of comparing the original and the treated master.

Rackmount studio samplers may be pretty much a relic of the past, at least in terms of manufacturers producing new examples, but it's not quite all software and computer RAM yet — not if instruments such as this new one from Korg are anything to go by.

MIDI controller keyboards were a minority interest a few years ago, but as more studio duties have been taken on by computers, the popularity of controllers has soared. Korg's Microkontrol adds some new tricks to the well-established concept...

We review Project SAM Trumpets ***** • PLP Essential Dance Collection **** • Samplecraze Drumm ****.

It's been nearly four years since Lexicon last produced an audio interface. Does their new USB-based Omega system have what it takes to challenge the likes of Digidesign, Edirol and M-Audio?

M-Audio have broken a price barrier with their Firewire 410, which is easily the most affordable Firewire recording interface on the market.

This affordable large-diaphragm cardioid mic benefits from an open sound with a hint of transformer warmth.

Brief appraisals of another selection of software Plug-ins from Disco DSP, Cutter Music, Kjaerhus Audio and PSP.

This versatile effects processor has not only been designed for guitarists and bassists, but also for the home studio owner.

Roger Linn Design have updated their versatile instrument processor, which still produces an array of unusual effects not normally available from a single box, but is now claimed to be easier to use.

TL Audio's new valve mic and preamp package takes the unusual step of integrating the preamp into the mic's power supply unit. So why take two boxes into the studio, when you can just bosh and go?

These monitors may look good, but they're actually meant to sound bad! Specifically, they are designed to replace the Auratone 5C and Yamaha NS10M as the discerning mix engineer's 'grot box' of choice.

The eagerly awaited upgrade from the VSL team breaks all records for size, depth and scope. Is it the be-all and end-all of orchestral sound libraries?

Yamaha's 01X is a digital mixer, hardware controller, audio and MIDI interface that promises an unprecedented level of integration with PC/Mac computer-based DAWs. But can this one silver box really do it all?

Technology has threatened to put drummers and guitarists out of work, but until now, singers have been safe. Is Yamaha's Vocaloid going to change all that?

The Police's final studio album was both a technical and artistic tour de force, and yielded one of their most memorable hit singles. Yet the three members were unable to play in the same room without a fight breaking out, so the recording sessions proved tough going for engineer and co-producer Hugh Padgham...

Is writing TV show theme music as easy as it might seem? To find out, we follow the progress of David Lowe and Paul White's music for a recent BBC series on gardeners.

While Cubase's graphical environment makes the application easy to use, it's not always clear exactly where signals are being routed. This month, we open the virtual bonnet and take a look at signal routing in the VST 2.3 audio engine used in both Cubase SX and Nuendo 2

When is a digital mic really a digital mic? Cutting Edge looks at the hybrid digital/analogue technology we already have and suggests a radical new approach.

Apple continued to demonstrate a commitment to music in January at both the San Francisco Macworld and LA Winter NAMM shows, as well as releasing G5-based Xserve machines. And this month we continue exploring the G5's performance in a musical context.

We show you how best to set up Logic for working to picture.

Learn how to choose and use on-stage speaker or headphone monitoring systems. After all, if you can't hear what you're doing, then your live performances are going to suffer.

We return to the great Page File controversy of 2003... as well as keeping you stocked with the usual cocktail of PC news and tips.

However much you rely on a computer to provide sounds and help create arrangements, if you want to include vocals, you still need to know how to mike and record them properly in what may be a less than ideal room. We offer some tried and tested solutions...

MOTU finally have their own soft sampler, Mach Five, which is ideal for use with DP, but doesn't always work exactly as you might expect. Read on for the primer...

The intrepid SOS team travel to Nigel Helm-Nurney's London studio to help his band Pombokiwi do battle with unwanted spill, uninspiring guitar sounds, and masses of egg boxes!

Sync your VST effects perfectly with Sonar tempo, find out when snapshot is better than dynamic automation, and catch up with the latest Cakewalk software news.

We conclude our analysis of the fabulously complex beast that is the Leslie rotary speaker.

All Pro Tools systems now come with a bundle of extra software: Reason Adapted, Live Digidesign Edition, Amplitube LE, Sampletank SE and T-Racks EQ. Here we use Live's powerful time-warping features to run tempo-shifted vocals alongside a remix.

Do you use a software studio with plug-in effects but crave the effects quality that your favourite hardware processor used to provide? Well, you can have the best of both worlds... as this article explains.

I have an Echo Darla20 soundcard and I'm concerned about the possibility of achieving zero latency when I'm using soft synths like those in Reason. Can you give me any advice?

Could you explain (slowly!) the basic principles of how a compressor works, and what each control does, the ratio control in particular?

Reading the specifications of various mic preamps, I notice that the amount of gain that different models provide seems to vary quite a lot. How much gain do I realistically need for using run-of-the-mill dynamic and condenser mics?

When recording my band, I'm in the habit of multi-miking the drums. I use individual dynamic mics on the snare, kick drum and toms and a pair of condenser mics overhead. Can you advise on how to pan these sources to place them correctly in the stereo field?

I have to record a 30-strong mixed choir that will be performing on a small stage in a packed village hall. I have several SM58s and AKG C1000s, but would be willing to invest modestly in alternative mics if necessary. What would you suggest?

Recently, I bought a digital recorder and have been re-recording some of my old compositions from scratch in digital but, to my great disappointment, I am finding that my mixes are sounding harsh and cluttered. I thought digital recording would give me more clarity in the mix because of its higher fidelity. Where am I going wrong and what can I do about it?

Members of the UK's MPG (Music Producers Guild) offer their constructive comments about another selection of SOS readers' recordings...

Modern technology has made DIY recording a reality, but there still comes a time when you have to defer to the professionals...

Replies to a few more of your letters, faxes and emails.

Another batch of lucky SOS readers' demos wait nervously for the Doctor's prognosis. What is the verdict? Listen while you read on...

Groundbreaking Southern rap duo Outkast head into 2004 with a fistful of Grammy nominations and a chart-topping double LP to their name. Their principal engineer and studio manager John Frye pulls back the curtain on one of the year's best records.

From hit solo albums to film soundtracks and remixes, Nitin Sawhney has turned his hand to almost every aspect of music production -- and his music is equally diverse, blending Indian and Western classical styles with rock, hip-hop and dance.

Surround sceptic Paul White finally sees the point of 5.1...