February 2023 Magazine Contents

1010music’s diminutive Nanobox range has got it where it counts.

When is a piano not a piano? When it’s been ‘augmented’ by Arturia...

Bastl’s Softpop SP2 reins in the chaos but is still a far from conventional synth.

Cableguys’ box of tricks is a creative processing powerhouse.

Cherry Audio recreate that rarest of beasts, the Elka Synthex.

Billed as an instant mastering device for on‑stage use, the DOCtron IMC could well be an entirely new class of audio processor.

EastWest give the classic string machine sound a modern twist.

Want to use a real Big Muff Pi in your DAW session? With this one, you can just plug and go...

Elta Music have put the heart of the celebrated Soviet synthesizer into a convenient desktop box.

The LXR‑2 is a six-voice, 28HP module with the same sound engine as the LXR‑02...

With its astonishing array of new and cherished effects, Eventide’s ‘everything pedal’ should appeal to guitarists, synth heads and mix engineers alike.

Rating: 4/5 Stars. Fluffy Audio’s Simple Opera Singer may provide a compelling alto and soprano solution for your next musical needs.

We test Fluid Audio’s most ambitious monitor yet.

Freqport’s innovative desktop box makes adding valve warmth to your DAW mixes as easy as loading a plug‑in.

Comprised of an 18dB/octave three‑pole multi‑mode filter, a VCA, two different West Coast‑style wavefolders and a rectifier, at its mildest end the FIL4 very much does what it says on the tin: it sculpts timbre.

Golden Age deem their take on Telefunken’s classic mic so accurate, they even gave it the same name.

Golden Age have given their affordable R1 the Premier treatment, with no‑expense‑spared active electronics.

Rating: 5/5 Stars. The latest release in Heavyocity's Mosaic Series, how does Mosaic Pads measure up?

Part of their new American Heritage line, the Madrid‑based manufacturers’ latest offering is their take on the mighty Fairchild Model 670.

Bjooks take on one of the largest and most respected brands in music technology.

I recently had need of another looper pedal, but as it wasn’t something I’d need very often I wanted to...

What could possibly budge your favourite ‘big box’ delay off your pedalboard? Meris might just have the answer...

Rating: 4/5 Stars. Bloom offers a combination of natural sounds, modular synths and classic vintage gear, such as a Serge system and a Roland Jupiter‑8.

Moog may be better known for their synths, but their out‑of‑production Moogerfooger effects change hands for silly prices. And now they’re available in software form...

Neumann’s first ever pre‑polarised mic is designed to reach the parts where their other models won’t go!

VoxDucker aims to make the ducking process more intuitive, so that podcasters and the like can get consistently good results.

Vocal pitch correction is fundamental to modern production styles, and now there’s a fresh alternative to the established heavyweights.

If you are working in genres such as lounge, hip‑hop, downtempo or lo‑fi, Tympo's  ‘performative drum instrument’ will be right up your street.

Now in its third decade, MetaSynth is still a synthesizer like no other, and its companion sequencer Xx follows the same path...

This deceptively simple plug‑in has been designed to blend ‘nice’ and ‘nasty’ saturation any way you need it.

Designed from the ground up for processing multi‑channel Atmos sources, Spherix boasts some innovative and useful features.

Adding a horn section to your productions can bring everything from mellow melancholy to verve and excitement.

Bridge the gap between Live’s Session and Arrangement views.

To celebrate AKG’s 75th birthday, we’re shining a light on perhaps their most iconic microphone.

The C414 has...

Cubase’s FX Modulator makes it easy to design ear‑catching riser and drop effects.

These three audio examples illustrate the ideas discussed in February 2023's Cubase workshop.

American record producer, engineer and mixer Bob Clearmountain unpacks Neil Finn’s vocal from the Crowded House track ‘I Feel Possessed’.

When you’ve learned your craft from Manny Marroquin, you can mix on almost any system — as Jeremie Inhaber proved with Meghan Trainor’s ‘Made You Look’.

Here's how to spice up your drums with Logic’s stock plug‑ins.

We take a tour of Avid’s surprisingly deep Channel Strip plug‑in.

The buzz around immersive visual media is creating plenty of new opportunities for those who record spoken word for a living. But how do these new jobs differ from traditional ones?

We don our shiniest Daft Punk helmets and get funky with Studio One’s Vocoder.

DP’s Articulation Maps can help you get the most out of your sampled instruments.

Feedback and feed‑forward compressors can sound very different. Which type is right for which job?

I’d like a clearer understanding of what a fully floating balanced output is and how I can take advantage of it....

How often do you need to change the valve in a microphone? How do you know when it needs changing?

Songwriting today is about collaboration, capturing moments of inspiration and polishing them ’til they shine. Blake Slatkin is a master of the art.

Back in November 2020 Don Lewis discussed his time programming the Yamaha DX7’s factory sounds. In the wake of Don’s passing, we decided to publish this excerpt and put on record his important contribution to this iconic synth.

Best known as the keyboardist and co-vocalist for Brit-Funk legends, Level 42, we caught up with Mike Lindup ahead of his new solo release, Changes 2.

Based in The Hague, Netherlands, Jan Willem Hagenbeek is best known in the modular world as Ginkosynthese...

Macau‑born Jessica Wong began her production career at Boston’s prestigious Berklee School Of Music before relocating to Atlanta, where she can often be found working in the Madison Records studio in nearby Chamblee, Georgia.

Over time, accurate observations about specific things have a tendency to dissolve into dubious generalisations...

While ambient music can be stereotyped as meditative or calming, it bridges the gaps between noise and silence, helping us find solace.

In this Sound On Sound exclusive feature video, we explore the former Victorian schoolhouse and meet the people who help RAK maintain its reputation as one of the world’s premier recording venues.

This year’s SOS Awards celebrate the ‘best in class’ products launched or reviewed in the period from September 2021 through to the end of August 2022.