August 2023 Magazine Contents

There’s much more to APS’s new studio speakers than meets the eye.

Arturia’s new KeyLab Essential focuses firmly on computer control, with ambitious DAW integration.

Each band of this mastering‑grade module can process the Mid, Sides or stereo signal.

The XP‑Relay combines CB Electronics’ sophisticated patchbay control system with the purest possible signal path.

Cinematique Instruments’ inspirational virtual instrument receives a major reworking.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars. Double Bass Textures is capable of some pretty remarkable sounds, thanks to its enormous resonating cavity and potential to bow in numerous different styles.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Like its predecessors, Neon delivers a specific palette of sample‑based vintage and analogue synthesizer sounds alongside the impressively powerful Mosaic front end/engine.

With room correction built in, KRK’s highly portable GoAux 4 speakers are designed to deliver usable monitoring in any space.

The monitor controller is the hub of the 21st Century studio, and if you have the budget, Lake People’s MC100 has all the I/O you’ll ever need.

Does Line 6's streamlined approach to amp modelling manage to provide all the features needed for stage, studio and home?

With the KD1 saturation effect, McDSP show that their analogue plug‑in system can deliver more than just dynamics processing.

The Trinity is a three‑voice drum module with four separate synthesis algorithms to generate its sounds.

We check out the latest version of PSP’s Lexicon PCM42 emulation.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Solaris GTR is an inexpensive yet impressive‑sounding virtual instrument that uses sampled guitar sounds as sources before processing them to create a range of delicate textures.

Rhodes’ software recreation of their flagship instrument shows all the same painstaking attention to detail.

When it comes to achieving a balanced frequency distribution in your mix, Sonible’s true:balance metering plug‑in can let your eyes support your ears.

This powerful alignment tool is now easier to use and boasts new functions — along with impressive results.

Is Synthogy’s Ivory 3 the best virtual piano you can buy?

Virtual piano, virtual pianist or virtual songwriting partner? Toontrack’s EZkeys 2 attempts all three.

UJAM’s Usynth range is about getting good results quickly, and GLAM is no exception.

Walrus Audio have come up with a pedal whose five switchable preset program types interact with the other controls to provide a range of granular effects that range from smooth and hypnotic to glitchy and agitated.

With seven amp and six cabinet emulations, there’s a wide range of guitar and bass tones on offer here.

With the release of their ‘Next Generation’ preamp, Wes Audio have made it possible to assemble a full 500‑series analogue channel strip with DAW plug‑in remote control!

ZAPS is designed for fast, percussive sounds that spit, splat, zip and zap, although it won’t shy away from the odd melody either.

Can off‑the‑peg IEMs really compete with custom moulds?

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. As with the original Atlantis release, the style of the vocal samples for Atlantis 2 suits epic fantasy with a strong medieval/Celtic vibe.

The launch of the original Jamstik Studio marked a real advance in the world of pitch‑to‑MIDI guitars — and there’s now an alternative model for guitarists who prefer to play something more familiar.

This enduringly popular vocoding plug‑in has been treated to much more than a graphical refresh!

A few tweaks to your MIDI data can make software piano parts much more realistic — and much easier to mix.

These audio files accompany the Better MIDI Pianos article in SOS August 2023 edition.

Recorded completely at home, Jyoti Mishra’s irresistibly catchy hit single ‘Your Woman’ inspired a generation of bedroom producers.

Drum mics can occupy a lot of channels in your DAW, and they can quickly multiply as you experiment with different processing — so it pays to impose some discipline!

Create drum machine‑style grooves in a flash with Cubase’s Beat Designer.

These four audio examples accompany the text in the SOS August 2023 Cubase workshop.

DP’s extensive Bounce options make exporting stems a breeze.

With Angels & Queens, LA’s Gabriels have produced one of the most adventurous albums of the year.

In this third episode David continues looking at preamps, outlines the use of VU meters, and explains the benefits of balancing a track prior to mixing.

In this fourth and final episode, David Mellor delves into Gain Staging your plug-ins and how to avoid clipping during the mixing and mastering stages.

Stephen Street has worked with the Smiths, Blur, the Cranberries, the Pretenders, Babyshambles and Kaiser Chiefs, and here he details his favourite sound from Blur's 'Song 2'.

The success of Noel Gallagher’s Council Skies owes much to his resident engineer Callum Marinho, who not only tracked but mixed the album.

We continue our crash course in editing and mixing drums.

Navigate busy sessions with ease using Pro Tools’ new Markers system.

We explore how Studio One’s Snap, Grid and Quantize settings interact.

Does sending phantom power to a dynamic microphone cause any problems or affect the signal?

An image in Genelec’s GLM manual suggests placing a subwoofer in a position to send the direct sound waves right through the underside of the mixing desk. Is it perhaps not an obstruction issue because the sub‑80Hz frequencies aren’t so directional?

Suffering from mysterious hums and buzzes in your studio? This down‑to‑earth explanation will help you identify and solve the problems — or hopefully avoid them in the first place!

We visited Alan in his state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos mix room at Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions studio complex in Santa Monica, California, to hear his extraordinary life story and find out what's involved in mixing a blockbuster movie score.

Alan R Pearlman founded Tonus in 1969, a company that would soon become ARP Instruments, and began producing synthesizers such as the legendary ARP 2500, 2600 and Odyssey.

Cristobal Tapia de Veer has become a first‑call Hollywood composer — by ignoring Hollywood’s rules.

'Listening To The Music The Machines Make' - Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983, sets out to examine the multitude of influences that led to the synthpop revolution that spanned a five year period.

Having joined the team at Moog Music back in 2015, product strategist Max Ravitz was a key player in the development of the widely lauded Moog Mother‑32.

Take control over probably the single most important factor in delivering a good performance: the cue mix.

A formidable and wildly-dressed character, Kabeaushé produces an eccentric blend of pop, hip‑hop and electronica on his latest album The Coming Of Gaze.

I believe SOS still stands out. If you look at its coverage of events like Superbooth, I think you can see that difference.

Kali Audio, based in Burbank, California, was founded at the start of 2018 by some former employees of nearby industry giant...

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the AES, President Bruce Olson talks to Hugh Robjohns about their history, their role in developing standards across the audio industry and their entrance requirements for new members.