August 2012 Magazine Contents

Acoustic treatment is one of the best investments you can make for your studio, and there are plenty of companies offering pre-made products to solve a variety of problems at a range of prices. Here’s just a selection of what’s available.

Matt Houghton takes a look at this preamp that's much more than just a preamp.

Aphex's Exciter has been around in one guise or another for years, and when first launched, back in 1975...

Paul Nagle takes a look at the Yamaha TNR-i sequencer app for iOS, whilst Hugh Robjohns investigates the Audio Engineer utility and reference app for iOS.

Behringer are known for making cost-effective products, but their new X32 live mixer takes that to a whole new level...

Audio precision analyser test results accompany the article

Desert Winds focuses on just four wind instruments, but does so in magnificent detail, each featuring up to six different natural legato types.

Whether you prefer to record your sounds cleanly or with coloration, the Cartec Pre-Q5 can deliver the goods.

Audio files to accompany the article

Celemony’s clever restoration tool invisibly fixes the speed variations that can plague material recorded on tape or vinyl.

Audio files to accompany the article

Clavia’s new drum box takes a typically idiosyncratic approach to percussion synthesis.

This compact stage monitor puts the foldback controls exactly where they’re needed — right in front of the performer!

This book covers all the basic theory and measurement techniques without ever allowing the maths to get scary, then moves on to a number of case studies of actual studio construction projects...

Exactly what sets a mic stand apart from the crowd?

This innovative large-diaphragm mic offers more pad, pattern and filter options than you can shake a stick at — but how does it sound?

You can forgive a funk band just about anything if they've got a shit-hot bass player, and in that respect Chris Pedley, bassist and co-founder of the Baker Brothers, is easily the biggest reason for spending money on this new downloadable loop library.

Mackie have added to their popular range of active PA speakers with this modular line-array system. Does it deliver the goods?

In the P67, Peluso have sought to recreate a bit of Neumann history. Does it offer the same sound that made the U67 a classic?

Presonus’s USB 2 interface promises tight integration with their Studio One software at a competitive price.

Roland’s Jupiter 80 has gained a little brother in the shape of the Jupiter 50. Does this slimmed-down synth offer the same Supernatural sound?

Scan’s new hex-core machine offers huge amounts of processing power and RAM. Is it the perfect studio PC?

With so many virtual guitar amps already on the market, can newcomers Scuffham Amps bring something fresh to the party?

Don’t let its low price fool you: Sonic Academy’s debut synth has a lot going for it...

With its high-voltage power rails, this console offers more headroom than any other we can think of. Oh... and it sounds rather nice, too!

Test plots to accompany the article

Steinberg’s latest interface features a generous complement of I/O options, flexible foldback and a fully fledged monitor controller.

With eight-track simultaneous recording and up to 32 tracks on mixdown, the DP24 proves you don’t need a computer to produce music.

Americana is an addition to the Toontrack expansion library portfolio for EZ Drummer and is best described as an American-sounding range of drum kits recorded 'honestly'...

Continuing their assault on the monitor market, Unity roll out this premium three-way, active design. How does it perform?

Wave Alchemy’s Pro II aims to fill the curious, Pro One-shaped hole in the soft-synth market.

Film trailer/TV composer Dan Graham has created several sound libraries featuring small groups of players from the Liverpool Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

You don’t have to give up Session Drummer 2’s content when you move up to 64-bit Sonar X1.

From a delicate shimmer to an earthquake tremor, harmonics, tremolo and trills can add vibrancy and drama to your string arrangements. Find out how to make the most of them in this SOS masterclass.

Pro Tools 10 unlocks the vast potential of Avid’s Artist Series controllers. Here’s how to tap into those new possibilities...

The unlikely result of a collaboration between two 4AD bands, the release of ‘Pump Up The Volume’ by MARRS was a great day for house music and copyright lawyers alike.

In the first of this two-part series on drum editing in Reaper, we look at getting your transients to land perfectly on the grid.

Cubase’s quantise tools aren’t just for MIDI these days: find out how to make your recorded audio parts sit in the same groove.

The first marathon of the London Olympics took place not on the track, but in the recording studio. Jake Jackson was the man charged with recording 201 national anthems...

With functionality that could actually surpass that of the iPad, Microsoft’s Surface looks set to make a big splash in the tablet market.

Our tame mix engineer was asked to inject some dark, moody aggression into this month’s track. Read on to find out how he did it...

Audio files to accompany the article

When your audio parts change tempo or time signature, Samplitude can still map them out in bars and beats.

Use Logic’s plug-ins to digitally recreate a classic analogue sound.

Propellerhead’s Rack Extension Shop is filling up with tempting goodies...

With multiple undo functions and real-time processing, Studio One gives you the freedom to turn back the clock...

Outdoor live-sound work can be immensely satisfying to do — but it also involves some serious preparation...

The SOS team are tasked with improving speech recordings for an audio newspaper aimed at the partially sighted.

Top producer RedOne has had hits with dozens of artists, but relies on one man to “finish” tracks like Nicki Minaj’s ‘Starships’: engineer Trevor Muzzy.

With OS 10.8 Mountain Lion nearly upon us, just when is the right time to upgrade your Mac OS — and to what version?

Discover how to use Live’s clip warping as a sound design tool.

Audio files to accompany the article.

I've not used the group editing feature of Cubase 6.5, having only recently come over to this version from Cubase SX3, but...

I've seen shipping containers used on building sites for various purposes, and it got me wondering about putting a little...

I want to trial some microphones on a 60-piece school orchestra performance, and I only get one shot at positioning the mics....

I need to digitally encode some old tape cassettes and am wondering what bit depth and sample rate would be optimal. The...

I've used a 'stereo-izer'/widener on a track, along with two more separately taken tracks panned far left and right,...

Legendary engineer Keith Grant oversaw a golden age of music recording. Before his death earlier this year, he shared with Sound On Sound his memories of the studio he managed for a quarter of a century.

Mike Senior asks - Should artists receive credit for their music on moral as well as legal grounds?

• Sean Kingston 'Party All Night' • Gotye 'Somebody That I Used To Know' • Olly Murs 'Heart Skips A Beat' • Carly Rae Jepsen 'Call Me Maybe'

While the term 'first do no harm' may embody the spirit of the Hippocratic Oath, the phrase itself is apparently absent from...

Can’t find what you want in a music library? No problem. Just hire a composer to write it for nothing!

Getting your music on a movie or TV show is seen by many as the best way to make it in this business, but the real money might lie in helping others to do so...

Want to sell your music overseas, but lack the contacts, money or experience to break into foreign markets? Help and funding is available, and here’s how to get it.