Competition in the world of 16-track recording workstations is hotting up, and Akai's new DPS16 looks to be a prime contender, with its impressive user interface and 24-bit/96kHz capabilities. Derek Johnson and Debbie Poyser take it for a spin.
The flagship of the CAD range, the VX2 is a massive, dual-capsule, dual-valve condenser mic, with all the virtues associated with large-diaphragm tube mics. Hugh Robjohns drools...
A new PCI soundcard and breakout box system from Ego Sys combines analogue and digital audio, MIDI, and a host of synchronisation and driver options, and all without breaking the bank. Martin Walker wonders if this might be all you ever need...
Paul Wiffen continues his homage to the first 'musical' sampling keyboard, which brought sampling out of the dark ages of simple trigger playback and into the realm of filters, envelopes and performance controls which we take for granted on all modern samplers. The Emulator II was, as he explains, also responsible for other major innovations like on-board hard drives and CD-ROM libraries...
Millennium Music are one of several UK companies who specialise in building PC systems to musicians' individual requirements. Martin Walker test-drives their service...
Legend has it that Sir Alec Guiness's character in Star Wars was named after Oberheim's original OB1 synthesizer; and, like that character, the OB-series has now overcome death to reappear in virtual form. Gordon Reid finds the new OB12 more powerful than he could possibly have imagined - at the price, at least...
Do you want to hear how good your audio equipment can really sound? Martin Walker investigates a product that may significantly improve the sound of your studio.
PC users have had to wait almost two years for many of the improvements which graced version 4 of Steinberg's popular sequencing package on the Mac platform. Now, however, they've leapfrogged straight to version 5, a major upgrade which incorporates all of those improvements and more. Martin Walker finds out if the wait was worthwhile.
TC have come up with a new twist on the analogue synth emulation theme by providing modular oscillator, filter and envelope blocks that can be combined with VST effects. Paul White tries a few variations.
Yamaha's AW4416 recording workstation, which debued at the NAMM show earlier this year, has been the subject of more reader inquiries at the SOS office than any other product in living memory. In this exclusive preview, Hugh Robjohns gets his hands on a prototype to find out what we have to look forward to...
The root of PC problems can often be found in incorrect or incomplete software installations. Martin Walker shows you how to avoid pitfalls when upgrading and adding to your existing applications.
Sample & Hold modules, as explained last month, convert a continuously varying signal into a stepped series of fixed pitches. And this, as we shall see, is the basis of what we know as 'digital audio'...
Some of the most common problems encountered when working in a home studio arise from having to record in the same room as your recording equipment. However, good-quality recordings are still perfectly possible in such conditions. Hugh Robjohns advises on how to obtain the best results.
Last month, Paul D. Lehrman described how he became involved in a project to create a performable edition of George Antheil's prophetic but never performed, Ballet Mechanique, in its original version with 16 synchronised player pianos and a human ensemble. With the process of sequencing the 1240-measure work complete, he was now faced with the task of preparing the first ever live performance of the piece...
Many of us do the vast majority of our recordings using mics with a cardioid polar pattern, but alternative patterns can give radically different — and sometimes much better — results. Hugh Robjohns explains the differences between these designs and the applications to which they're suited.
In order to get the most out of your audio equipment, you need to be able to line it up correctly. Most PC users, however, may already have all the necessary tools and, as Martin Walker explains, they are easy to use when you know how.
Last month, Paul Wiffen explained how he heard about mLAN — a new data-transfer protocol which will allow us to send audio, MIDI, and even video down one FireWire connector. This month, he finds out from Yoshi Sawada of Yamaha's mLAN development team how the system is likely to work in practice.
Last month, Paul White looked at the vocal recording chain to identify areas in which spending more money would produce better results. This month it's the turn of outboard effects and monitoring.
Continuing his series on setting up a recording environment based around a Mac or PC computer, Paul White goes through the hardware and software options for recording audio alongside your MIDI tracks.
Those who bemoan the lack of invention and experimentation in today's rock music must make an exception for Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips, two of America's finest and most successful 'alternative' outfits. Their shared producer and engineer Dave Fridmann tells Sam Inglis about their unique approaches to recording.
After poor sales of an album that dealt with death, Mr E and his Eels returned with a beautiful-sounding, poignant, and often funny record about life, recorded mainly in the basement of E's house. Matt Bell talks to E and his collaborators about how the album was made.
Most record producers would greet the discovery that their work has been bootlegged with dismay. For German dance producer Ramon Zenker, however, it proved to be the key to a smash hit. Sam Inglis finds out more...
Even the most robust musician can be turned into quivering jelly at the prospect of having to sign a legal document — yet it's impossible to make much progress in the music business without signing contracts. Robin Morley guides fellow musicians through the contractual maze of management, publishing and recording deals, in an attempt to make things a little clearer...
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