February 2021 Magazine Contents

This year’s SOS Awards results celebrate the ‘best in class’ products launched or reviewed in the period from September 2019 through to the end of August 2020. You’ll see all the Winners you selected here as well as the very worthy close contenders in each category, who have been awarded our Highly Commended accolade.

Mastering is often considered a mysterious black art, but while there is certainly a lot of artistry involved Evren Göknar’s book (Routledge/Focal Press) dispels the mystery in a very readable and understandable way.

Though billed as a high‑quality single‑channel mic preamp, the EC1 is a whole lot more.

Distributed by UnitedPlugins, FireSonic’s FireCharger is another take on the ‘make everything sound a bit better’ concept. It...

We check out Grace’s compact, mastering‑quality solution for monitoring on the move.

The evolution of convolution takes several steps forward with Inspired Acoustics’ awe‑inspiring immersive reverb.

Your virtual assistant is here to help you find the perfect reverb...

Boutique Latvian company JZ Microphones have earned a reputation for their classy mics, and their latest design doesn’t disappoint.

Rating: **** 4/5 Stars. Klevgrand’s Skaka is a sample‑based instrument complete with multiple sequencers designed specifically for creating shaker‑style rhythms.

Korg’s Opsix takes FM synthesis to places it’s never been before.

Ever wondered what a ‘four‑quadrant analogue multiplier compressor’ might sound like? Neither had we — but it turns out to be something a bit special!

Can £175$229 really buy you a usable 88‑note controller keyboard?

We check out a modern take on Manley’s classic valve compressor.

Melda Productions MSpectralDynamics is a spectacularly useful plug‑in that uses spectral processing in a number of ways...

The Cobalt 8 is a beautifully judged virtual analogue synth.

LA Sessions is a studio production toolkit of 27 instruments and two vocal ensembles aimed squarely at songwriters and professional producers.

Output’s affordable new speakers were made with the help of one of the most prestigious brands in studio monitoring.

We test this stylish take on a classic EQ design.

We put German company Reproducer’s unusual debut nearfield speaker to the test.

RME deliver affordable and reliable Audio over IP with two new boxes.

Roland’s unsung TR‑606 is the inspiration for their newest drum machines.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. The sounds in TXIII don’t veer too far from the previous versions. As well as raw WAV files (for direct dropping into your DAW), these are organised in 28 helpfully named Kontakt nki instruments.

With its built‑in compressor set to ‘smash’, the Periscope earns its place in more sessions than you’d think.

A conquering hero returns to the fray after long years in exile. Does the new Prophet Rev 4 still have the power to take on the world?

Steinberg’s clever use of AI has made spectral editing and unmixing more accessible than ever.

We review Jim Reilly’s biography of Steinberger, pioneers of carbon fibre headless guitars.

After a major overhaul, is Synchro Arts’ VocAlign still an essential part of the vocal producer’s toolkit?

Rating: 5/5 Stars. Featuring a folky line‑up of ocarina, two harmoniums, a bowed glockenspiel and a Swedish nyckelharpa, these are woven together in a set of unique hybrid sounds which include some fabulous electronic textures.

The Echo Cat mimics the famous Watkins hardware tape delay, but is capable of more besides.

Rating: 5/5 Stars. This update features some brand‑new content with all the features and content of v2.0: an impressive collection of synth, pad, sound effect and drum options sitting alongside the vocals of Clara Sorace.

Zoom’s modular approach makes this unique portable recorder far more versatile than others.

In this episode, Mathieu Gendreau shares 6 advanced top tips to help you mix drums like a pro.

In this show Paul White guides you through seven reverb treatments, from simple to complex, and demonstrates how combining reverb with other commonly available plug-ins can produce creative textures and ambience in your music.

We show how to insert, combine and modulate effects in both Session and Arrangement views within Ableton Live.

Cubase offers everything that you need to design engaging effects risers and impacts.

Audio files on this page accompany our February 2021 Cubase workshop.

In DP 10.1, MOTU significantly expanded Bounce‑to‑Disk with the addition of real‑time, multi‑output, and track‑by‑track bouncing.

As if being in charge of the largest studio group in the world wasn’t enough, Miloco director Pete Hofmann also found time to mix the latest album from the UK’s biggest dance‑pop group, Steps.

We explore Remix FX, which brings together many of the real‑time audio processing tools available in Logic under a new streamlined single interface.

We explore Bus and Group compression.

While experimenting with ‘minimal’ drum‑miking setups during a recent lockdown, the author found them really inspiring and captured some great drum sounds. So is it time you re-evaluated the decisions you make when recording a kit?

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Could a poorly set‑up guitar be compromising your recordings?

The Show Page is designed for live performance, and combines the roles of virtual instrument host, mixer and backing‑track player.

I’m hoping to buy some bulk cable to make my own microphone and guitar leads. If I go to an electronics supplier, what should I...

I’m trying to understand the panning being used in a particular song in which the verse has a guitar that appears to be almost completely right‑panned. However, in the chorus the guitar comes in on the left too...

In this Video, Editor In Chief Sam Inglis explains why mastering engineers are necessary, what they can do for us, and whether we can really replace them with plug-ins!

SOS Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns chats to Mirek Stiles about the Spatial Audio Forum and how everyone can get involved in creating 3D audio environments using basic recording equipment.

Olivier and Johannes go behind the scenes on the techniques that they used to create their latest collaborative album featuring the use of VoIP technology to process sound.

Martin Garrix’s extraordinary career has seen him graduate from bedroom producer to international star, label owner and proprietor of one of the world’s most advanced Dolby Atmos studios. He tells us how it happened.

Brighton‑based producer and multi‑instrumentalist Marcus Hamblett is in our Talkback hot seat.

Like all love affairs, love of vintage gear isn’t entirely rational. Old equipment is often unreliable, noisy and limited. But...

I’m addicted to YouTube. A couple of weeks ago, its slightly scary algorithms coughed up a video clip from the BBC’s 1980s ‘...