October 2009 Magazine Contents

The tiny MPK25 goes beyond knobs and buttons alone, offering MPC-style drum pads for added versatility.

Apple have made over 200 improvements to their flagship music production bundle. Can they win over new friends while keeping Logics core user base happy?

The idea of a capo that forms open chords is not a new one, but the Voice Capo is a new device that makes the job very easy....

This equaliser may be based on the Pultec EQP1A, but Edax have been very active in tweaking that classic passive design to give their version some unique features.

Coaxially-mounted speakers may seem a bit old-school, but theres nothing wrong with the theory — and a touch of DSP can make them very modern indeed!

These flexible effects pedals from the makers of the original Harmonizer are equally at home on stage and in the studio, with guitar, keys or even a mixing desk.

The brand new Korg SV1 rejoices in a collection of retro keyboard sounds and lovingly sampled acoustic pianos. Read all about it in our world exclusive review!

Lexicons Ionix range trades Firewire connectivity for USB and moves from the rack to the desktop.

Coldcut, comprising Matt Black and Jonathan More, are amongst the most high‑profile artists to have lent their credentials to...

In many ways, the Onyx 820i is exactly what youd expect from a Firewire Mackie mixer, except for one thing: its Pro Tools compatible.

This recent addition to Nine Volt Audio's BPM Flex series provides around 900MB of loop content in Acidised WAV, REX, Refill,...

Can this digital mixer perform equally well in both recording studio and live sound worlds?

Its been a long time coming, but Propellerhead have finally unveiled their take on computer-based audio recording and mixing.

You might expect a specialist audio PC to come with an intimidating price tag, but — as the Rain Recording Solstice range proves — that need not be the case...

Following on from Softube's Vintage Amp Room plug‑in comes Bass Amp Room, which is similarly protected by iLok and available...

I've been impressed by SonicCouture's previous Abstrakt Breaks loop libraries, so was interested to hear how things had...

As the title suggests, the musical target of Chillers Joint is downtempo soul, funk, hip-hop, trip-hop and related styles....

Universal Audio have given their UAD2 DSP platform extra appeal with yet more accurate recreations of classic studio hardware, and a new version of the card that works with laptop computers.

Does the sound of this distinctive-looking mic live up to its striking exterior? Read on to find out...

The new piano from VSL takes dynamic sampling to a higher level. Could this be the ultimate sampled grand?

The pioneering electronica of I Feel Love didnt just revolutionise disco, it changed dance music forever. This is the story of how it was made...

Digital Performer has a great range of features to help you avoid and clean up noise in your recordings.

The Studio SOS team pay a visit to the lucky winner of the spectacular £30,000 SOS Dream Studio giveaway we ran at this year's LIMS show, to help him get his unbelievable studio prize up and running.

Breathe new life into your loops with Cubase's LoopMash.

Get into the groove with the new tools in Live 8.

We speculate on Apples direction for music, as revealed by the launch of the new Logic Studio suite.

Even grime mixes need clarity! This month we get our hands dirty cleaning up the mud in Alex Giddens track.

Links to the accompanying audio files.

Just how do you mike up and multitrack a large ensemble in a less-than-ideal recording space, and then produce an effective mix of the resulting recording?

Remastering projects dont come much bigger than this: a team of engineers spent four years in Abbey Road studios creating the definitive Beatles collection. Here's their story...

Recorded and mixed in a modest home studio, Day n Nite has made stars of singer/rapper Kid Cudi and producer Dot Da Genius.

Get to grips with Sonars brand-new PX64 percussion strip, which offers all the processors you need for treating drums.

Working on lots of songs within one project can be annoying. Why not use Pro Tools' advanced features to create a tailor-made Session for each one?

If your PC struggles to run the plug-ins you want to use, how about shifting some of the load to its graphics card?

Can you tell me how to set up a compressor for vocals while they're being recorded, and again in the mix?

Via SOS web...

I've always stuck keyboards straight into my interface, desk or whatever: plenty of level, minimal noise (if any), and no...

I have been involved with our school fund‑raising events for some years now, starting off by doing sound and lighting....

I have a PC with a Q6600 quad‑core processor running Cubase 4, and despite clicking on the Cubase 'Multi Processing' switch,...

Editor-in-Chief Paul White pays tribute to the passing of a true recording legend — guitar innovator Les Paul, the man who introduced the record-buying public to the joys of an overdubbing technique that became known as ‘sound on sound’.

We cross-examine James Wiltshire of the Freemasons to uncover the secrets of their phenomenal success as a production and remix team.

Sponsored by breed-media.co.uk

The thrill is gone: or why buying gear aint what it used to be...

All too often, faking it represents the easy way out for the media composer. But if you can put in the effort to keep it real, youll reap the rewards.