June 2015 Magazine Contents

One of rock music’s most celebrated recording venues wasn’t a studio but a house in Hampshire, and no music has been recorded there for almost 40 years — until now...

Arturia have revived a classic string synth in software, and the result is the Solina V.

Ambient White is a Kontakt 5 instrument with a laid-back, meditational essence.

Don’t be fooled by its size — this diminutive 100W amp packs a serious punch.

Unless you are using pre–recorded loops, there is still the rather significant task of building convincing performances and arrangements. Ensemblia attempts to give the user a helping hand.

The Lead A1 aims to condense the most playable elements of the Nord keyboard range into a single instrument.

While we’ve all been sitting waiting for the next big thing in studio recording, there’s been a quiet but very significant revolution going on literally beneath our feet in the world of effect pedals.

Electro-Harmonix have always had a good reputation for their pitch-shift effects. How does their latest one compare?

The Faderfox SC4 combines a capable MIDI controller with a step sequencer in one compact box.

A ground–up rethink of Ozone’s user interface is designed to make it less intimidating to home users.

KRK’s distinctive–looking Rokits have long been popular in home studios. How does the newest generation fare?

Kush Audio have a knack of making forward-looking products that exude vintage vibe — and this remarkable compressor is no exception.

Magix’s powerful Windows DAW gets another raft of new features in a comprehensive update.

One of the world’s most highly regarded mic-preamp designs is now available to go.

When composer and instrument maker Steve Roche finishes a tin of biscuits, instead of throwing the container into the recycling bin he transforms it into a guitar.

PreSonus’ new StudioLive PA range brings serious onboard processing and remote DSP control to the masses.

Rode take the established ribbon–mic formula and apply some novel design ideas to come up with what could well be a future classic.

Listen to examples.

Bloody Nightmare, as its name suggests, is a collection of over 550 horror–type noises aimed at sound designers who need to create chills and scares.

Using pencil and paper to write down music may seem outdated in this digital age, yet it retains a hands-on immediacy unrivalled by conventional notation software. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a system that combines the advantages of both? Enter StaffPad, an app which lets you write music with a pen directly on screen...

Why take three virtual rhythm plug-ins into the studio when you can just take one? Steinberg’s Groove Agent 4 attempts to do it all.

The quality and variety of orchestral string libraries continues to grow. Which one best suits your needs?

Comprehensive Guide To Understanding, Playing and Recording the Ultimate Electronic Music Instrument.

Unity’s original Boulder monitors were impressive to begin with, and now they’ve been given a number of major improvements.

This affordable wireless system offers some unusual features, including stereo operation and tablet and computer interfacing.

We get to grips with Live’s deceptively powerful Analog synth.

We examine the quirky but powerful ways of working with effects in Reason’s mixer.

In this video, mix engineer Cenzo Townshend gives us a tour of his new studio and shows us the techniques behind his mix of ‘Marks To Prove It’.

We help you keep your ever–growing Pro Tools sessions manageable!

Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly is one of the most ambitious hip-hop albums of recent years. Derek Ali was Lamar’s right-hand man during its making.

Cubase 8 can help you experiment with different chords and voicings to fake a good performance.

This page contains a directory of all media pages for June 2015.

 We go back to basics and turn up the heat on an indie-rock production.

The audio files to accompany the Mix Rescue artilce.

Studio One’s Paint tool has some novel automation applications.

Recording 28 songs in five days is no mean feat. So what sort of results can you get, and what compromises are involved?

Spektakulatius.

Take greater advantage of Drum Machine Designer in Logic Pro X by customising Smart Controls.

The second in our four-part series deconstructs funk licks, discusses the implications of using live players and explains how to get more expression and feel into your sampled brass arrangements.

Turn noise into impulse responses for Sonar’s REmatrix convolution processor.

It’s probably cheaper than you think, provided you spend your money wisely. We offer some sage advice...

I’ve recently become interested in manipulating phase while mixing recorded drums to see what that would do.

I have a friend who has a problem. He uses two different amps on stage, one a Marshall and the other a Hughes & Kettner, with a 2x12 and 4x12 cab, respectively. Is there any way he can just use one cab for both amps?

SOS Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies.

Down in Hot Chip’s bunker-like basement studio HQ in Hoxton, the five members of the London band are coaxing strange sounds from an array of analogue synths.

After last month’s Leader column outlining the difference between products we’re asked to buy and products we actually need, I realised I’d missed out the really big one.

The tyranny of distance is real, and many musicians want to overcome it.

Spacebomb Studios’ old-school production values and teamwork have made Richmond, Virginia one of the hottest recording locations in the USA.

This month tracks from Kendrick Lamar, Roseanne Cash, Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney, Chick Corea and our Classic Mix - Miles Davis, 'So What'.

The 300–square–metre hexagonal hall is one of the largest recording facilities in the world.

The ability to take criticism is a vital skill for the media composer. The ability to make sense of it is much harder to learn.

The long tradition of ‘testing’ songs out on the public has found an unlikely new home...

Many gear manufacturers offer courses in using their equipment, but what should you expect to gain from them, and what do they offer the seasoned live-sound veteran?