August 2010 Magazine Contents

New to the world of video production and unsure what to buy? Our guide to the five best options in three software and hardware categories will get you started.

For 50 years, the RS124 compressor has been a secret weapon at Abbey Road Studios. Now its targeting our plug-in folders...

Their A7 nearfield monitors received many plaudits, not least in the pages of SOS, but manufacturer Adam thought there was room for improvement.

The Ableton controller race is hotting up — so how does the latest contender, the Akai APC20, compare to the competition?

Does AKGs Chinese-made Perception 820 maintain the Austrian companys impressive reputation?

Hear for yourself how this mic performed during the SOS tests.

Writing down every nuance of a guitarists performance is a challenge that can tax even the best notation software. Is Arobass Guitar Pro 6 the answer?

A-Ts brand-new transducer technology has produced a robust design intended to deliver high signal levels as well as that prized ribbon character...

BIASs latest plug-in promises a quick and easy path to a modern vocal sound.

Mixing urban‑based beats with wider musical influences is, pretty much, a cornerstone of the sampling ideal...

Big Fish Audio's Symphonic Manoeuvres Volume 2 provides 10 orchestral construction kits along with some handy extras. The mood...

Charter Oak are not yet as well known for their outboard gear as they are for their mics, but this unusual compressor could change all that...

Clavia have directed all their keyboard-making know-how into a single, lightweight stage piano — so it ought to be good...

GoPros HD Hero promises high-definition footage in the most inhospitable of conditions, so how does it hold up to punishment, and is it right for other video capture tasks too?

Its their first analogue synth in 25 years, but is Korgs Monotron a toy or a tool?

Theres no shortage of software guitar-amp simulators around, but Magix claim that their new Vandal has what it takes to stand out from the crowd.

NI have updated Maschine — so is it now all we thought it could be?

If you don't like programming synths via obscure two‑line displays and arcane menu systems, the Roland Gaia SH01 could be just what you're looking for...

To create their piano samples for the Eighty Eight, Sonivox recorded a Steinway CD327 using an unspecified, high‑quality...

A good mic stand isnt the most glamorous addition to a studio, but its certainly a worthwhile investment.

Steven Slates drum samples are already a staple of rock and pop production. Their latest product makes it easy to use these to augment or replace live drum parts.

Tascam have made their smallest, lightest and most straightforward pocket recorder so far.

Tonehammer's Composer Bundle 1 comprises eight tuned percussion instruments.

The 2192 takes an array of versatile digital interfacing, conversion and clocking features, and adds a hint of unexpectedly analogue character...

XILS Labs XILS 3 is a recreation of the EMS VCS3, but there's more to it than that — much, much more.

As the '60s drew to a close, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash came together to form a new group, the unique sound of which was perfectly demonstrated by their first recording, 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes'.

Its heartbreaking when an otherwise great recording is ruined by a poorly set up drum kit. These days, the sound engineer needs to know as much as the drummer about getting this instrument ready for a session...

We explore some side-chaining techniques using Live 8s Compressor.

We show you how to easily re-use elements of older projects with Logics powerful import capabilities.

Administration is a bore, but Cubase 5's Project Logical Editor can take the hard work out of keeping your projects tidy.

Not only has the iPhone, star of the pocket-sized world, reached its fourth generation, but its desktop counterpart, the Mac Mini, has also had a makeover.

Sometimes, simply taking the time to identify and address a couple of main obstacles before you get busy with the effects can be enough to unleash a mix's potential...

These audio files accompany the Mix Rescue article that featured in SOS August 2010.

Keeping your Pro Tools plug-ins up to date is vital if you want to maintain a reliable system — and now there's a helpful utility that will do it for you.

Have you ever wondered exactly what goes on when classic hardware is recreated in plug-in form? Heres the full story from some of the industrys biggest names.

Here are effects chain files for some of the multi-band processing setups described in our SOS August 2010 Reaper workshop.

Our very first Reaper workshop explains how to use band-splitting to create your own multi-band processors.

The SOS spotlight falls on the new toys offered by Reason 5 and Record 1.5.

Building on last months introduction to the basics of scripting in Native Instruments Kontakt soft sampler, we explain how to make your scripted functions adjustable via a simple user interface.

In his second career in the music business, Jaycen Joshua has become one of the USAs top mix engineers. With child star Justin Bieber, the brief was to bring urban grit to pop production.

Step sequencers are known for their mechanical sound. But do they have to be so rigid? Not in Sonar 8.5...

The SOS team tackle an assortment of problems, from computer error messages to boxy-sounding vocals.

The need for speed continues with the release of Intels new optical cable technology, hot on the heels of Superspeed USB 3...

For most of us, compression is a necessity when capturing and editing video footage, but the range of codecs can be bewildering. Find out what you need to know with our in-depth guide.

The diagram to the right shows my room, which serves as my studio. The dimensions seem to be bad for low frequencies and there...

When setting up for a gig we always suffer really bad feedback from the singer's mic. We've tried positioning things...

I'm trying to learn a little more about amp design. One thing that really baffles me is the different classes available. What...

I've committed myself to recording a school orchestra in a couple of weeks. Obviously, this will involve using stereo pairs of...

In the past few years, it seems that I have to work much harder to get things to sit properly in a mix — to get the vocal or...

Pioneers of everything from circuit-bending to multimedia art, Devo have always belonged to the future.

MGMT could have followed up their smash hit debut album with more of the same. Instead, they headed straight into left field, with help from a legend of British psychedelia.

More readers' tracks get the Juke Box Jury treatment from the SOS crew.

You cant bend a virtual circuit...

Why are vintage-sounding mixes desirable?

The musical challenges involved in composing for TV can be intimidating enough, but its the legal documents that are truly scary.