May 2012 Magazine Contents

With so many active nearfield monitors available, how do you decide which pair is right for you? Here’s a round-up of some of the models we’ve rated highly in the last few years, along with advice on choosing monitors.

Akai’s latest audio interface boasts a formidable feature set and an emphasis on robust hardware and simple operation.

Thinking of going wireless? If you value audio quality and ease of use, this digital system from AKG might be just what you’re looking for.

Analogue Solutions make a bid for your cash with a retro-styled synth offering big, fat Moog-style sounds and a built-in sequencer. Could this be their best synth yet?

Mark Wherry puts 'the new iPad' through its paces and takes a look at Apple Garageband 1.2 DAW for iOS, whilst Paul Nagle examines the Fingerlab DM1 drum machine for iPad.

The exciting thing about sample libraries that use words like 'ambient' and 'soundscape' in their titles is that you just can't predict what they are going to sound like.

CME go minimal with their new controller range. But is less really more?

David Greeves gets his hands on this specialist piece of kit that can modify your existing guitar pedals with overdrive and delay effects.

API's 'Lunchbox' 500-series seems to be breathing life into some little-known classic designs of the past, including this unsung hero of the EQ world...

Audio files to accompany the article.

What’s better, a DAW or real analogue tape? Both, of course! We take a look at an ingenious system that seamlessly integrates the two.

Instant Orchestra aims to take the pain out of creating orchestral parts — but can such an affordable library still produce the goods?

Well known in their native Poland, IGS Audio are now making their products available in the UK. How do they fare against the competition?

Think three-way monitors are out of reach for your project studio? Think again...

Having wowed the professionals with their Native PCM and LXP reverb plug-ins, Lexicon now turn their attention to the financially challenged!

Hugh Robjohns looks at this adaptor that can turn any 19-21 mm diameter microphone into a boundary mic, whilst also offering stability and protection.

The Minitaur may look like a simple beast, but there’s much more to Moog’s most affordable synth than meets the eye...

Personal monitor mixes can be tricky to set up, particularly in large sessions. Can this modular system take the pain away?

Not all DI applications require the electrical isolation offered by a transformer, and Orchid’s designs offer superb performance at low prices.

Test plots to accompany the article.

Oto’s 8-bit effects box gains a synth and sequencer. Is this the icing on the, er, Biscuit?

Paul White examines this pedal from Peterson that is suitable for live tuning and tuning in the studio, as well as offering custom settings.

This orchestral compilation focuses on full-range, multi-instrument ensembles, enabling you to play complete orchestral sections without having to laboriously program their individual components.

Rhythmic Robot are a small outfit dedicated to breathing life into the strange and the obscure via the medium of Kontakt.

This update of the hugely successful SE2200A adds switchable polar patterns and a fresh lick of paint!

Audio files to accompany the article.

If you’re an electronic musician who’s tired of trying to make generic audio software fulfil specific needs, perhaps Siren Audio’s package is for you.

These unassuming PA speakers feature high-powered Class-D amps and internal digital processing that helps them deliver clean sound even at high volumes.

'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' was a huge global hit, but it also represented a tour de force in coaxing the perfect vocal from a singer, as explained by producer Narada Michael Walden.

Explore the potential of complex sound layering with Reason’s Combinator.

Learn to switch between monitor systems with Cubase’s Control Room.

Delay forms the basis for a wide range of effects that can transform your tracks from dull and pedestrian to polished and professional.

Audio files to accompany the article.

The Pro Channel is a highlight of Cakewalk’s Sonar X1 Producer — and some new add-ons make it even more powerful.

Should you upgrade your Pro Tools rig to HDX? And if you do, what pitfalls await?

This month, as well as revealing a few unusual tricks, our mix engineer demonstrates how to achieve power and clarity by focusing on the contrast between the sounds of different instruments.

Audio files to accompany the article.

If you’re mystified by Live’s complex-looking Multiband Dynamics plug-in, let us offer some help...

While the iPad users are getting all the attention, let’s learn to love our Macs again...

Expectations were high for the first Van Halen album in 14 years — and with eight mics on the bass alone, engineer Ross Hogarth was taking no chances!

Cut out nasty noises and soften your spiky guitar tracks in Reaper.

Audio files to accompany the article.

The SOS team visit a London studio in a building directly under a busy road — and with another studio in the room next door!

Use Takes and ESX24 to create glitch effects in Logic.

A consumer preview version of Windows 8 has been released to mixed reviews — but what does the horizon look like for musicians?

I read your feature about 'Digital Problems, Practical Solutions' (/sos/feb08/...

I've put a lot of effort into creating and editing a recording of solo mandolin — played quite slowly — and although I like...

I've offered to have a go at recording a couple of friends of mine who play as a duo. For some of the songs, one of them will...

Does sending multiple instruments to the same effects track (reverb/delay) have a different effect on the overall mix from...

The long-awaited collaboration between singer Kenny Anderson and producer Jon Hopkins has yielded a hypnotic album where not everything is as it seems...

A leading tour musical director explains how his experience as a producer helps him to prepare hit records for live performance.

Experience seems to suggest that as technology becomes more sophisticated, its rate of change also accelerates. For example, it took many thousands of years to get from the wheel to the steam engine...

Can musicians hope to get a fair deal from copyright law when the legislation itself is so out of date?

Krojc * Toy Tin Soldier * Mike Henderson * Annie Dressner * Marvin B Naylor * Crazee Baldhead * Big Chief

• Pixie Lott 'All About Tonight' • Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds 'Death Of You And Me' • Laura Marling 'Sophia'

Half a century into his career, Paul McCartney has paid tribute to the songs that shaped his musical education with his first-ever album of standards.

If, at times, music for media feels impossible to break into, that’s because it is. And there’s a good reason for that.

Though the industry may be struggling to support the large studios that once thrived in Manhattan, the need for such creative centres is still very much alive.

In this new regular feature 'Studio File', we open the doors on some of the world's most interesting professional studios with photographer Hannes Bieger. This month's studio is Record Plant in LA.