February 2016 Magazine Contents

Akai’s new controller keeps the design simple and the cost low.

The Apple iPhone 6s and the Ten Kettles Waay music training app.

If you’re looking for a new stage mic, it’s worth looking further afield than the usual models — as these classy examples prove!

These transformer–laden modules breathe new life into classic Neve and Avedis designs...

BFA are now back with a further dollop of ‘vintage’ and this time it’s the rhythm section that is the target.

Musical pitch has always been putty in the hands of Melodyne. Now, revolutionary features in version 4 promise to make tempo and timbre equally fluid.

Audio files to accompany the article.

EV have a well-earned reputation for building solid, reliable PA speakers, and their latest series doesn’t disappoint.

Need a drum accompaniment at the flick of a switch (and the tap of a foot)? Then look no further than this crafty device!

Designed and built in Germany, and paying tribute to the Tube Screamer sound...

Fluid Audio’s studio monitors have consistently impressed us with their price-to-performance ratio. So how does their new subwoofer fare?

This preamp boasts huge bandwidth and input impedance. But are those features desirable?

Loudspeakers have been with us for a long time — but there’s still room for innovation, as these exemplary new Geithain models prove!

Version 7 of iZotope’s mastering package adds cutting-edge codec monitoring features as well as vintage-themed processors.

Laney’s versatile Ironheart amps are impressive, but can you really get the same sound from a stomp box?

Designed primarily for studio home practise or even small gigs, the Laney L5 Studio Head is an extremely elegant amp.

Looptrotter’s latest plaything combines the precision of digital control with the less predictable joys of analogue saturation.

Looptrotter’s products to date have appealed to me enormously. They’re all variations on the saturation theme, and it’s a gorgeous-sounding saturation too.

An extended high-frequency response isn’t something you generally expect from a ribbon mic — but that’s just what this one offers.

Why buy a mic when you can build your own? Microphone Parts’ DIY alternative can save you money and help you brush up on your soldering skills.

This Nashville-built preamp offers a new take on a classic British console sound.

The Modor NF-1 has a front panel festooned with knobs, but at the same time it’s unashamedly digital.

Three more eccentric releases from Modwheel’s Creative Differences series.

MOTU’s sequencing software has been around longer than some SOS readers. Do the improvements in the latest version keep it bang up to date?

In my experience, many SOS readers are, at least at some level, fairly technically minded and have an interest in how the technology they use works, especially in ‘classic’ instruments and devices. This book is designed to go a long way towards satisfying that ‘inner geek’ in all of us.

To bee or not to bee? Find out how these distinctive-looking mics performed in our tests.

Roland’s Boutique range recreates three of the company’s classic synths at a fraction of the cost of the originals.

ROLI’s new instrument further develops the technology of their revolutionary Seaboard Grand — at a much more affordable price.

These files accompany the Sample Shop articles in the February 2016 issue.

With Sennheiser’s pedigree in transducer design, it’s no surprise that their premium earbuds offer impressive performance.

This might not be the most intuitive of devices, but the Catena offers a unique and useful blend of functions.

Where one Soundtoys plug-in isn’t enough, you can now create custom chains, with a new emulation of a classic delay on offer too.

Toontrack’s Superior Drummer 2 offers five complete drum kits formed from 17 snares, nine kicks, 31 cymbals and five hi-hats.

Studio One’s macro controls can be used to create a convincing 2D panning effect.

Now considered one of the classic tracks of the 1960s, the Zombies’ ‘Time Of The Season’ almost disappeared without trace...

We get to grips with Reason’s individual approach to multiple takes and overdubs.

Explore creative uses for Sonar’s Mix Recall functionality.

We show you how to make your own flanger and phaser in Live.

Cubase’s unique Quadrafuzz v2 plug-in is useful for so much more than guitar processing...

Audio files to accompany the article.

Musically, Rod Stewart’s latest album harks back to ’70s folk-rock, but its writing and production were totally 21st Century.

Pro Tools’ new Commit Tracks feature is great for saving system resources and sharing sessions.

A directory of all media pages that hold the associated media for February 2016 audio examples.

Classic rock: even well-recorded drums can require plenty of work to make them fit the track.

Audio files to accompany the article.

Explore Alchemy’s oscillators, envelopes, modulation mapping and effects to create a classic house organ patch in Logic Pro X.

The same pitfalls present themselves time and again in project-studio recording. Learn to avoid them and your tracking sessions will be transformed!

Audio files to accompany the article.

I’m about to take on the task of running live backing tracks for Hacienda Classical live shows.

I’m looking for extremely detailed and natural omnidirectional microphones for two-channel small ensemble recordings on location.

When cult funk band Cymande returned to the studio, they insisted on hiring the same production team — 41 years after their previous album...

This month, producer and engineer Nicolas Vernhes welcomes us into his Brooklyn studio, Rare Book Room.

You’ll find  your studio installation starts to look a whole lot tidier if you’re able to make up cables of the correct length.

The BBC should open its playlists to independent artists.

Tracks from Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Sam Smith, Dr. Dre and our Classic Mix, Lionel Richie 'Hello'

AIR-Edel originally started out as a joint venture being Sir George Martin and Herman Edel but was built on a much older studio going back to 1937.

The faster the pace of progress, the harder it is to keep up.

With property prices going up and up, finding studio space is becoming trickier than ever.