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February 2017 Magazine Contents

SOS (UK Edition) February 2017

Reviews: Spectrasonics Keyscape, Focusrite Clarett OctoPre, M-Audio CTRL49, Garritan Personal Orchestra 5, Arturia Keystep, Analogue Solutions Megacity.

Features: Inside Track: The Chainsmokers, Mixing & Broadcasting From The Royal Opera House.

Techniques: Drum Compression (Cover), Session Notes, Revoice Pro Masterclass part 3.

Reviews

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    Acustica Audio Sand

    Channel Strip Plug-in

    Acustica’s latest plug-in promises new heights of realism in SSL-style EQ and compression.

    Reviews
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    Amphion Two15

    Passive Monitors

    Active monitors may be the de facto standard in the studio, but this stylish Finnish design makes a powerful case for the alternative!

    Reviews
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    Analogue Solutions Megacity

    Teardrop Step Sequencer

    Analogue Solutions’ Megacity is a step sequencer like no other...

    Reviews
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    Arturia Keystep

    MIDI Controller & Step Sequencer

    Arturia’s cut-price creation combines step sequencing with keyboard control.

    Reviews
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    Black Lion Audio Micro Clock MkIII

    Digital Master Clock

    Could you have quality time in your studio with Black Lion’s little black box?

    Reviews
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    Boss CE-2W 'Waza'

    Analogue Chorus Pedal

    The Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble dates back to 1976 and was the very first Boss pedal to use charge-coupled ‘bucket brigade’ delay line chips. Now, on the 40th anniversary of the original CE-1, Boss release the Waza Craft CE-2W, still in the familiar compact pedal format — and still blue...

    Reviews
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    Editors Keys Apple Mac Keyboard Overlays

    Silicone Overlays For Apple MacBook & Wireless Keyboards

    Editors Keys made a name for themselves by providing QWERTY keyboards which displayed the usual input symbols plus default shortcut commands for a number of creative software applications. Their latest variation on the same theme uses a thin silicone overlay to convert your existing MacBook or Apple wireless keyboard into a shortcut keyboard.

    Reviews
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    Expert Sleepers ES-8

    Eurorack USB Audio Interface Module

    Imagine that you’re using a computer-based DAW alongside a modular analogue synth and that you want them to talk to each otherhttp://Silent Way...

    Reviews
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    Focusrite Clarett OctoPre front panel.

    Focusrite Clarett OctoPre

    Eight-channel Mic Preamp & A-D/D-A Converter

    With eight new Air preamps and two-way ADAT connectivity, could this be the best way to expand your audio interface?

    Reviews
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    Garritan Personal Orchestra 5

    Sample Library

    This latest incarnation of a long-running library introduces new instruments, articulations and enhancements.

    Reviews
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    Grove Hill Audio Liverpool

    Tube Compressor

    Could this modern take on a classic compressor design be fab for your studio?

    Reviews
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    Hacienda Labs Mic Preamp & Compressor/Gate

    HL169 & HL4000 500-Series Modules

    These classy new French-made modules are inspired by vintage designs, but they also add a few unexpected and useful features.

    Reviews
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    HK Audio Lucas Nano 608i

    Compact PA With iPad Control

    Combining wireless control, Bluetooth music streaming and an eight-input mixer, HK’s new compact PA system covers a lot of bases!

    Reviews
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    Klevgränd Produktion Haaze

    Stereo Widening Tool For iOS

    Haaze is a simple to use tool for manipulating stereo width in an audio signal — and it's cheap as chips.

    Reviews
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    Lunastone The Pusher

    Boost Pedal

    Boost pedals are conceptually simple devices that ramp up the level of your signal to push the front end of your amp a little...

    Reviews
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    M-Audio CTRL49

    Controller Keyboard

    M-Audio’s CTRL49 takes the Akai Advance control keyboard concept and adds DAW control.

    Reviews
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    MoMinstruments Fluxpad

    Sequencer App For iOS

    It’s getting harder and harder to produce an iOS sequencer with enough personality to stand out from the crowd, but it’s just possible Fluxpad is such an app.

    Reviews
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    Qu-Bit Electronix Chord

    Eurorack Module

    The Qu-Bit Chord promises what can sometimes be tedious to set up within a modular: easy polyphony...

    Reviews
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    sE Electronics V3 & V7

    Dynamic Vocal Microphones

    Studio stalwarts sE join the stage-mic fray with these two new designs. It’s a crowded marketplace — can they stand out?

    Reviews
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    Spectrasonics Keyscape

    Virtual Instrument

    Spectrasonics’ major keyboard collection combines classic vintage instruments with a gallery of unique rarities.

    Reviews
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    Steinberg Dorico [Preview]

    Score-writing Software

    Dorico is the biggest thing to happen to notation software for years. We explore the initial release and discover the thinking behind its innovative design.

    Reviews
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    Transistor Sounds Labs Stepper Acid

    Eurorack Step Sequencer Module

    The Stepper Acid is a no-nonsense digitally controlled step sequencer dotted with red LEDs and without a shift key in sight...

    Reviews
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    Unity Audio BABE

    Active Bass Extender

    With its enhanced LF response and effortless SPL delivery, Unity’s new active bass extender is seriously hot stuff. Schwing!

    Reviews
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    Wilkinson Audio Mic Clips

    ORTF & X-Y Arrays • Fredman Mount

    We check out an interesting collection of specialist mic-mounting accessories, designed to support two mics in a precise physical relationship to each other.

    Reviews

Techniques

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    5 Pro Tools 'Must Do's

    Avid Pro Tools Tips & Techniques

    Keep these five commandments in mind, and avert Pro Tools disasters!

    Techniques
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    Compression: Fashion The Drum Sound You Want

    Guidelines & Creative Solutions

    When it comes to mixing drums, few things have studio newcomers tearing their hair out more often than compression. We clarify matters by identifying a series of distinct drum-mixing tasks for which engineers commonly use compressors.

    Techniques
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    Cubase: Humanise Your Programmed Drums

    Steinberg Cubase Tips & Techniques

    Cubase has all the tools required to add a human feel to your programmed acoustic drum parts.

    Techniques
  • Techniques
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    Inside Track: The Chainsmokers’ ‘Closer’

    Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: DJ Swivel

    Beyoncé’s right-hand man DJ Swivel has reinvented himself as a mix engineer — and his work with the Chainsmokers produced 2016’s biggest track.

    Techniques
  • Techniques
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    Mixing & Broadcasting From The Royal Opera House

    House Music

    Live opera can be a life-changing experience — and London’s premier opera house is using immersive sound to explore new ways of sharing it.

    Techniques
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    Reason: Parsec 2 Additive Synth

    Propellerhead Reason Tips & Techniques

    Propellerhead recently released a major update to their Parsec synth. Here’s the lowdown on this essential Reason Rack Extension.

    Techniques
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    Revoice Pro 3.2 Masterclass (Part 3)

    In-depth Guide

    We explore some more advanced techniques and less-obvious applications for Synchro Arts’ powerful audio-alignment processor.

    Techniques
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    Sampling in Logic Pro X

    Apple Logic Tips & Techniques

    Logic Pro X sports extensive sampling tools. Here’s how to use them effectively.

    Techniques
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    Session Notes: Enhancing A Sparse Arrangement

    The Practical Craft Of Recording

    Maximising A Minimal Arrangement: Our engineer tackles the recording of some stripped-down electric-guitar and vocal arrangements.

    Techniques
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    Sonar: Lens With Benefits

    Cakewalk Sonar Tips & Techniques

    Find out how Sonar’s new Lens feature can help you streamline the user interface for the task at hand.

    Techniques
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    Sound & Production For The Hastings Pier Weekend

    Live Sound In Action

    The team behind a three-day event on Hastings Pier had to battle weight restrictions, noise limits and the elements to make it happen!

    Techniques
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    Studio One: Using Repeater

    PreSonus Studio One Tips & Techniques

    Studio One’s Repeater is no ordinary delay. For a start, it works on note data rather than audio!

    Techniques

Sound Advice

People

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    Paul White with mics.

    Keep It Simple

    Leader

    Our esteemed Editor-in-Chief sneaks off into his studio to battle against the encroaching wave of untidiness caused by plugging and unplugging all that review gear...

    People
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    Sounding Off: Invisible Production

    Dr Jason Woolley

    If good production and the means of good production often go unnoticed, then that creates a number of ‘invisibles’ that have contributed to the process and production of the music...

    People
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    The Mix Review

    Commercial Productions Analysed

    This month mixes from: Kent Jones • Hailee Steinfeld & Grey ft. Zedd • Rag’n’Bone Man • Little Mix • Classic Mix: Toto ‘Africa’ (1982)

    People

Music Business

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    HOME Studios, Hamburg

    Studio File

    A cosy, friendly atmosphere is considered so important at one German studio that it is named House Of Music and Entertainment — or HOME, for short.

    Music Business
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    Notes From The Deadline

    TV Music From The Inside

    The way composers are treated by some clients is just criminal...

    Music Business
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    Off The Record

    Off The Record: Label-based Studios

    Music & Recording Industry News

    The glory days of Abbey Road and EMI may be gone, but labels and studios are still working hand in hand.

    Music Business
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