Akai have updated the classic sampling sequencer concept last embodied in the MPC2000XL, but have they managed to preserve the magic formula that made the series a success?
If you are looking for an authentic tube-amp guitar sound from a DI recording system, then maybe the Dark Blue's all-tube preamp and speaker simulation is just what you need.
Emu's first USB 2.0 interface, and their first to offer Mac OS X compatibility, dispenses with DSP effects and complex software front-ends, majoring instead on hands-on controls and practical studio features. Have they hit on a winning formula?
Over the last few years, Magix's Sequoia and Samplitude have quietly been establishing a name for themselves in the mastering and recording communities, and the new version 9 of Samplitude looks set to win plenty more friends.
McDSP's compression and EQ designs offer a huge amount of control with the potential for accurate emulation of vintage devices. Throw in a tape-modelling suite and a powerful multi-band compressor, and you have the Classic Pack.
The trend among plug-in designers is to integrate commonly used processes such as EQ and compression into a single plug-in. It saves on insert slots, but do channel strips offer any other benefits, and which ones stand out from the crowd?
Direct X plug-in support has been dropped from Steinberg's Cubase 4 sequencing software — so what do you do if you have projects that use such plug-ins and you want to upgrade to the latest Cubase? PC Musician offers some solutions, as well as rounding up the latest PC news and information.
We take the opportunity of a New Year issue to look back at the 12 months that saw Apple's transition to Intel processors, and to welcome in the new Core 2 Duo-based MacBook Pros and Xeon-based Xserves.
Ballet Mécanique At The National Gallery, Washington DC
George Antheil's Ballet Mécanique is all but impossible for human musicians to play. So for his latest presentation of it, Paul D. Lehrman built an orchestra of robots...
Mixing on 'cans' is often frowned upon, but if you know what you're doing, you can get good results with only occasional checks on your monitor speakers.
Mix engineers have a huge role to play in modern record production; but what does it take to turn a collection of raw tracks into a chart-topping single? In a major new SOS series, specialist mixers will be showing us exactly how they use the tricks of their trade.
Sonar 6's new 'channel strip' offers multiple routings that enable techniques such as parallel compression, frequency-conscious dynamics control and side-chaining.
Track Presets might not add anything to the sonic possibilities offered within Cubase 4 but Steinberg have been very keen to blow this particular marketing trumpet. So just what can Track Presets do for you?
We look at how the new Instrument and Effects Racks in Live 6 stretch the creative possibilities for combining and controlling multiple devices and plug-ins.
Will Holland is one of the most prolific producers in the UK's alternative dance scene, and rather than sampling old records, he prefers to track down the musicians who made them.
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