May 2020 Magazine Contents

The MPC One offers the most affordable way into the latest generation of Akai's celebrated sampling workstation.

The original The Box brought API's big-console sound to a new audience, and this new version should have even wider appeal.

Have Apple finally delivered the professional desktop system Mac-based musicians and audio engineers have been waiting for?

Could these original effects and enhanced classics be the perfect addition to your DAW?

Seldom has a new synth from a new company excited so much anticipation as the Hydrasynth. Should you believe the hype?

Is it a drum loop player? Is it a drum sampler? Auddict try to do both, and more...

Befaco's Instrument Interface is a one-stop solution for bringing your voice, guitar or line-level audio source into your modular system.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. This sonic toolkit for the creation of New Age and meditation music ships with over 14GB of sample content.

11 impressive modulation processes all in one compact pedal — what's not to like?

With more control and functionality than the Plasma pedal that preceded it, is this box the new king of controllable carnage?

Rating: **** 4/5 Stars. Heavyocity have combined traditional woodwind scoring with extensive sound-design capabilities, allowing you to go from 'standard' to 'sci-fi' within a few clicks.

Kali's latest speakers demonstrate some serious electro-acoustic know-how — and represent remarkable value for money.

There's more to Korg's dinky kit synth than meets the eye. Much more...

Desk out of control? Loci's clever stand system could be just what you need...

Merging's desktop network interface is endowed with vast monitor-control powers.

Neo make some of the finest stereo rotary-speaker emulation pedals available. For mono users, they've packaged their core Ventilator technology into these standard-sized stompboxes.

Once in a while, a new preamp brings something genuinely worthwhile to the table...

This very useful eight-voice module serves as a fantastic gateway between the modular worlds and just about anything that spits out MIDI.

Is this modelled vari-mu compressor as easy on the ear as it is on the eye?

Bucketverb imagines a history where charge-coupled analogue delay chips were used to create reverberation, and in which the digital reverb revolution never happened.

Retro Instruments have supercharged the gain stage of their Sta‑Level compressor to build a 500-series preamp.

Trident offers three analogue oscillators, but what's distinctive about it is the internal cross-modulation that can be set up between them.

Rating: *** 3.5/5 Stars. Suit73 employs the company's Spectral Modelling technique to analyse the original Rhodes Suitcase sound and recreate the same timbral components by stacking sine waves together.

Originally developed for the UAD platform and available now in native format, this plug-in's modelled signal chain includes a period-correct Marshall 4x12 and miking courtesy of UK engineer Tony Platt.

The Verbum Entropic Hall plug-in uses a chaotic reflections algorithm to create a reverb with a character that's reminiscent of early reverb machines...

The PM150 active monitor puts your vocal sound right where you need it!

If you are looking for a source of instant drum parts for your latest electronic music production, UJAM's Beatmaker 2 collection might be just what you need.

Waves' new plug–in is more than just a vocoder...

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Gold 2 is stocked with samples for creating 'epic' vocal parts plus a substantial collection of synth, pad, sound effects and drum options amongst its sonic arsenal.

Looking for creative inspiration? Tap into Cubase's new MultiTap Delay...

Recording music in remote locations can be challenging — and before you can record it, you have to find it!

Sometimes, performers have to be their own engineers. Here's how to get better results from solo tracking sessions.

Dua Lipa's mega-hit 'Don't Start Now' grew out of a writing session in Wyoming to achieve world-wide chart domination. Producer Ian Kirkpatrick was there from the start.

Multi-output instruments are a powerful weapon in your Logic arsenal. Here's how to use them...

Avid's recent hardware launches change the game for HDX and HD Native users.

No rhythm? No problem! Reason's new BeatMap device has got you covered...

Recording a live heavy metal concert would be challenging enough — but when you throw an 80-piece orchestra into the mix, all bets are off!

For many people, faithful capture of an orchestral performance is the Holy Grail of recording. We look back at how innovation in engineering has been driven by the pursuit of this goal.

Social distancing needn't mean the end of studio recording. We explain a simple, free setup for real-time online collaboration.

Reverb plug-ins can present a bewildering variety of parameters. We explain what they're there for, and how to put them to good use!

Perform routine tasks faster with Studio One's Macros. We show you how...

I have a Bryston 5B, and I’d like to be able to switch between two sets of passive speakers, both driven by the Bryston, rather than buy another power amp for the second set...

In a digital S/PDIF cable, what exactly is the 75Ω specification a resistance measurement of?

If one of your ears is more sensitive than the other, setting a stereo image by ear will result in all your recordings having a skewed stereo soundscape. Is that correct?

We go behind the scenes of the most ambitious microphone comparison project ever attempted.

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Industry stalwart Paul White hands over the baton to newly-promoted Editor In Chief, Sam Inglis...

To help you brush up on your listening skills, we examine the production of recent hits from Lewis Capaldi, Bon Iver, Lana Del Rey and a classic mix from Radiohead.

When your business is selling gear with a past, how do you make sure it has a future?

Even if some people who hear it loathe your music, there will always be some who adore it. Whether you care about either camp, or just decide to make music to please yourself, is entirely up to you.