February 2006 Magazine Contents

It may look like just another mixer, but this new entry-level model from Alesis also packs in a hefty 18-input, stereo-output Firewire audio interface. Too good to be true?

Can analogue summing really make a difference to the sound of digital mixes? We test out a new unit which offers this controversial facility.

Audio Technica's new entry-level mic puts in a star performance.

Combining several types of sound generation in one instrument, Clavia's Nord Stage harks back to the multi-keyboards of the 1970s. Is it a funky revivalist, or should it be considered a thing of the past?

We feature the Vox AC30 Custom Classic amp and Fliptone v.25 Instrument amp with Flat-panel Speaker — plus Big Bends Nut Sauce, tips on miking up your Line 6 POD, and more...

Korg are continuing to develop virtual instruments based on their hardware synths. This time, it is 1988's classic M1 workstation that has been rendered in software...

Line 6's latest products are USB boxes that turn your computer into a low-latency amp-modelling system.

With version 2 of Guitar Rig, Native Instruments are taking amp modelling into the realms of modular synthesis.

Novation have an elegant solution to the tedium of configuring hardware controllers — the Remote 25SL can read your sequencer and automatically map plug-in instrument parameters to its controls. Is this the first 'intelligent' hardware control surface? We find out...

We test another group of hot plug-ins: Universal Audio Dimension D • Ugo Rez, Texture, String Theory & Motion • TC Electronic VSS3 Stereo Source Reverb.

Tried and trusted design principles have been combined with quality components to create this new range of high-spec studio monitors.

Loopmasters Afro-Latin Producer • Tekniks The Mixtape Toolkit • Big Fish Audio Funk City • Big Fish Audio Big Beat 2

The celebrated mix-buss compressor design from the G-series consoles has been brought up to date using SSL's latest Superanalogue circuitry.

Sample libraries with virtual-instrument wrappers are nothing new, but Ueberschall's new Liquid Instruments have an extra twist — the front end is derived from Celemony's Melodyne, offering you complete freedom to change the pitch of the phrases in the library.

VSL, makers of the world's largest orchestral library, have unveiled their next phase of development. SOS were at the launch...

With W2, Wizoo's aim is to combine the realism of convolution reverb with the flexibility of an algorithmic design.

After more than five years, Yamaha's AW range boasts a new flagship, offering 24 tracks, a sweeter-sounding automated mixer, four multi-effects processors, and convenient USB file transfer. We find out if it has been worth the wait...

The art of the record producer blossomed in the 1960s, with the likes of Phil Spector crafting miniature symphonies in the studio. As that decade drew to a close, Bones Howe masterminded one of its biggest and most innovative hits. Find out how...

The world is awash with plug-in audio effects, but don't miss out on those included within Cubase SX — there are some excellent creative possibilities on offer.

With the rumour mills already grinding away in preparation for Macworld 2006 show, we make a brief survey of 2005, as well as taking a look at using Apple's DVD Studio Pro application to distribute surround mixes.

We revisit the subject of IRQ sharing, to see if the problems it used to cause for musicians have been solved — as well as discussing a partitioning controversy...

The perfect project studio doesn't exist, as everyone has different working methods — and so it is with equipment for creating music for picture. However, there are some fundamental bits of gear you will need. We provide some guidance...

Reason can be a simple yet surprisingly sophisticated mastering suite — and not just for audio generated in the Reason environment.

More tips on mastering your tracks this month, specifically for those musicians who find themselves limited to using Logic's own bundled plug-ins.

This month David Lowdon's synth-pop song gets the SOS makeover treatment.

Many of today's most interesting and popular audio-processing techniques are achieved with plug-ins. This month, we look at how you'd go about recreating some of them in Digital Performer, and continue our coverage of more unusual plug-in features.

Recording the One Way Ticket To Hell... And Back album, Roy Thomas Baker and the Darkness used 400 reels of tape, up to 1,000 tracks per song and a year in the studio — not to mention custom-made panpipes. Find out more...

Take the trouble to discover the ways of moving around your project quickly and efficiently: it saves time and improves workflow.

Craig Bauer has been part of Kanye West's career from the beginning, and as a mix engineer on the smash hit Late Registration album, he had to marry West's artistic perfectionism with his own technical standards.

In part two of our recording and remixing article, we examine how you can use Live's unique features to prepare a recording for remixing.

The Studio SOS visits have shown that many home studio owners are having problems with their monitoring. So this month we explain the principles anyone can use to get their own control room sounding right.

We bring our series on rediscovering the the art of sampling to a close, with a look into the future.

If you need more audio interfacing, do you really have to trash an interface that's otherwise perfectly satisfactory and buy a bigger one? Maybe not, as ways of using several smaller interfaces together are becoming easier to find.

You've got your system set up, and you've received the video files from the director. This month we explain how to get the video and its associated sound files into a Pro Tools Session ready for you to start work.

I keep reading about different types of synthesis like 'wavetable', 'S&S' and 'vector' but I don't know what they are....

I am a guitarist and I want to buy a four-track digital recorder for less than £300. Do you have any recommendations?

During a rare occasion out of the studio last week, I managed to catch a cold. This would not normally be a problem, only I had some very important work to complete and mix by the end of the week. Are there any recommended products or remedies (apart from hiring another mix engineer!) to use in this situation?

I have been experiencing some big problems with latency whilst trying to use Cubase SX. I would be grateful for any help or advice you can offer me.

I remain baffled by the CPU load in Cubase SX 2. I'm particularly curious to know why in my larger projects the VST Performance indicator shows a constant load (typically 80 percent or more) even when I'm not playing anything back!

I read Tom Flint's piece on the Zoom MRS1608 multitracker and think it may be the right machine for me. I still use a...

Every article I have read on the subject of mixing states that you want to have an 'uncoloured' room sound. So wouldn't it be better to mix using headphones, which will have no issues with room acoustics at all?

Paul explores some of the thinking behind the introduction of our 'Mix Rescue' series.

How I learned to stop worrying and love distortion...