December 2006 Magazine Contents

With 64-bit quad-core processing in every model and the ability to run both Mac OS X and Windows, is the Mac Pro the computer all musicians have been waiting for?

Could this book be the definitive guide to the Beatles' recording sessions?

Another major upgrade for Cakewalk's DAW software adds powerful new features, and provides hands-on control at a touch.

Carillon's new TI series sees them incorporating affordable, no-nonsense music PCs into their familiar rackmount cases.

Can mics at this price really compete with the classics? Sound On Sound puts them to the test...

Swedish designer Wowa Cwejman has built a reputation for exclusive analogue synths. Now he's going modular, starting with the VM1 Voice module...

Pushing at the boundaries of synthesis, as ever, Dave Smith's Evolver range continues to, er, evolve...

A new drum-based instrument from Digidesign combines instant gratification with a huge sound library and plenty of potential for editing.

DPA's innovative modular design, combined with diminutive parts, means that the 3521 gets to the parts other mics can't reach...

Focusrite take their Firewire interface range to a new level with the competitively priced Saffire Pro 26 I/O.

• Graphtech Ghost piezo and MIDI pickup system • Intelli IMT 500 clip-on Chromatic Tuner • Guitar technology news

They say that good things come in small packages — but just how much synthesizer can Korg cram into the tiny Micro X?

The guitar modelling revolution continues apace with M-Audio's latest interface.

This new software instrument majors on lively and evocative loops and phrases that can be flexibly combined to create convincing world-music atmospheres.

• Sample Magic Funky House Grooves

• Sample Logic Ambience Impacts Rhythms

• VSL Percussion & Harps

• Soundlabel Piano Attack

Monitor controllers can offer a handy solution to monitor level control in the mixer-less studio. SM Pro Audio's M-Patch 2 offers a whole lot more...

The new version of Cubase is all about big ideas, including a completely new way of working with tracks, plug-ins and virtual instruments.

Is it a loop librarian? Is it a sample library? Is it a drum-sample playback engine? No - it's all of these, and it brings along its own roster of hyper-famous drummers too...

Can this mic preamp really deliver 'expensive' sound quality at a mid-market price?

We've seen affordable field recorders from Edirol and M-Audio. How does Zoom's H4 compare?

We take a look at a variety of audio-related techniques, from the staples of soundbite editing to DP5's new Soundbite Volume feature.

Orbital were renowned for their amazing live shows, and the story of 'Chime', the track that launched their career, shows how they brought their 'live' approach to electronic music to the studio and into the charts.

From rogue Firewire controller chips to Windows XP Media Center Edition, the strangest things can cause problems with PC audio...

No, it's not the Naked Chef, just Sound On Sound getting busy in the kitchen to salvage some old tape recordings... Note: there are no audio files accompanying this article

With the new Mac Pro offering increased internal data storage, we investigate whether using the software RAID functionality built into OS X has any benefits for audio applications.

Pro Tools offers punch-in features designed to make it work like a tape machine - except that you can change your mind later about where, when and what to drop in...

Latin music is popular all over the world, but it has its own unique assortment of quirks and exotic instruments. Four of the genre's leading engineers explain what it takes to make a conga sing and timbales talk.

Musicians, producers and engineers continue to discover the delights of all things vintage and retro, but why settle for classic gear that works but looks tatty when you can restore its appearance, too?

Limitations to Cubase's audio routing and audio export facilities have always been frustrating, and are still present even in Cubase v4. Thankfully, there are some free or inexpensive third-party solutions...

Sweetening the mixing environment and sorting out the bass end is this month's task — but there's much more to do than adding a bit of rockwool!

In the second part in our series, we're exploring ways to use Reason in a live electronica performance, laptop DJ set or jam session.

Waveburner is bundled free with Logic Pro and offers some significant power in the mastering department. We take a look at the hidden jewel in Apple's crown.

Tired of the same old vocal sound? Time to get creative with your plug-ins, FX pedals and anything else you have!

It's back to basics for this month's Live workshop, with an overview of Live's time-warping technology.

Many of us feel compelled to regularly change our PCs in line with the demands of the latest software. But, depending on our requirements, an older PC may still be more than capable of doing a great job, as PC Musician discovers this month.

My band members and I wish to find an easy and affordable way to record and disseminate arrangement ideas. Currently, we...

I'm in charge of setting up my church's recording room. We have an Apple G4 dual-1.25GHz computer and a Behringer MX 2004a...

I'm getting a Core 2 Duo PC with a pair of 250GB Seagate 7200 SATA II hard drives, and I want to know the best way to set...

I'm a 25 year old lawyer working in Bombay, India. I'm interested in sound engineering and feel like I want to make a career out of music but there aren't many opportunities here...

Is there a preferred method of using normalisation?

Their combination of Southern soul and hip-hop gave Gnarls Barkley one of the biggest hits of the year, thanks in part to the mixing wizardry of Ben Allen.

In the last few years, the increase in computing power has led to an explosion in the availability of high-quality virtual instrument and effects plug-ins, many of which emulate classic hardware...

Editor In Chief Paul White wonders why we value software so little...

Big George takes a critical look at what seems to be the only game in town: solitaire.