January 2024 Magazine Contents

Licence‑free wireless is fine for smaller shows, but more serious calls for a more serious system.

Transitions are the name of the game here, and as always Baby Audio and Andrew Huang encourage you to get creative!

Have Black Corporation managed to capture the spirit of the Jupiter‑8 in a 19‑inch rack?

The Endless Processor from Kyiv‑based Blukac does one thing. It takes a sound and sustains it to infinity.

Lurking within this humble arranger keyboard is a completely new form of synthesis...

It’s hard to believe that the humble VU meter has been with us for almost 85 years. How does the Crookwood Stereo VU Meter measure up?

Cymasphere aims to make more complex chord construction available to all.

DPA’s new directional mic takes aim at an untapped mid‑level market in location recording kit.

It might not look like a classic ribbon mic, but there’s a lot more to Extinct Audio’s BoRbon than meets the eye.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ 4/5 Stars

Encourage new ideas with some controlled MIDI randomisation.

Bring studio sound to the stage with these live‑oriented capacitor microphones.

Although less well known today than the Pultec EQP‑1A, the versatility of LANG’s valve‑less PEQ‑2 won it plenty of admirers.

The audio examples available on this page accompany my review of the LANG PEQ-2 equaliser by Heritage Audio. This recreation...

The Sealegs is a reliably useful yet fabulously creative workhorse multi-mode delay module and a more‑than‑worthy sibling for the Rainmaker.

Ozone still offers traditional mastering tools — but its AI‑fuelled options open the door to so much more!

Korg’s Wavestate and OpSix are back, and they’re bigger than ever...

Krotos Studio makes custom sound design accessible to almost anyone.

Does Lindell’s LiN2A sound as classy as the famous compressor that inspired it?

The best plug‑ins make under‑the‑hood sophistication simple in practice...

With up to four parallel chains available, you’re free to design pretty much any amp and effects chain imaginable.

The Xer Mixa mixer is something of a step out for Noise Engineering, but also takes the LA‑based company back to their roots.

The Eris series of monitors continues to offer remarkable value for money.

Standard low‑frequency acoustic treatment needs a lot of space, but PSI’s active traps fit anywhere.

Have RME made the perfect USB audio interface?

The FlexBar can make all sorts of dual‑mic placement jobs quick and easy.

Just why would you make the humble noise gate ‘smart’? Sonible asked that question, and this plug‑in answers it!

We try one of the keenest‑priced 1073 clones currently available.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ 4/5 Stars. Iconic Violin provides a solo violin recorded in a historic church in Heidelberg, Germany and offers a fantastic sustain articulation with legato.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ 4/5 Stars. The tonal characteristics of orchestral brass instruments are notoriously difficult to capture and reproduce in sampled form. Does this library succeed?

Strymon’s reputation for making top‑quality digital effects pedals is second to none, but now they’ve made some of their creations available as DAW plug‑ins.

UA add emulations of three iconic Marshall amps to their acclaimed UAFX amp pedal line‑up.

These audio examples accompany our review in SOS January 2024 of the Universal Audio UAFX Lion ’68 Super Lead Amp stompbox.

The 1960s: a time of sexual revolution, radical politics and microphones with built‑in spring reverbs.

The latest Vienna string orchestra offers a unique dual perspective.

This all‑in‑one, five‑module channel strip is based on the sonic characters of the processors and plug‑ins Grammy‑winning mixer Andrew Scheps uses in his studio.

In terms of pure bang for your buck, it doesn’t get much better than Yamaha’s CK keyboards.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5/5 Stars. For dramatic male vocals that would grace any fantasy‑style music cue, Ethera Gold Prometheus is absolutely epic.

Wrestling with low‑mid mud? Cubase’s dynamic EQ can help.

These three audio examples accompany our Cubase workshop in SOS January 2024.

Digital Performer has everything you need to work with audio for picture.

Howard Jones burst onto the scene in the early 1980s with a collection of era‑defining synth‑pop hits such as ‘What Is Love’, ‘No One Is To Blame’ and ‘Things Can Only Get Better’. Asked to select a favourite sound, he circles back to the first of these.

Perpetual licence or subscription plan? Find out which is best for your needs.

U2’s residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas is revolutionising live music.

Studio One now includes some powerful notation and tablature options. Let's explore...

We condense nearly 50 years’ worth of producing and engineering experience into 36 indispensable tips!

I’d like to purchase an in‑line gain booster and would appreciate your recommendation.

I want to record some vinyl into my DAW, could a turntable simply be plugged into any audio interface and the EQ applied after amplification?

Specifications can be a useful guide when choosing equipment. Our new series, in association with Audio Precision, explains how to understand and compare the specs of competing products.

Kevin Paul talks to Record Producer and Mixer Danton Supple, who gives a fascinating insight into learning his trade at Sarm and Westside Studios during the 1980s and how he approaches the different roles of Recording Engineer, Producer and Mix Engineer.

Since breaking through with BTS’s ‘Dynamite’, David Stewart has been making his mark on modern pop music with hit after hit.

Roland Lamb talks about the inspiration behind the ROLI Seaboard, the challenges faced when creating a new type of instrument and the three product ranges from ROLI: the Seaboard, Block System and LUMI.

If we’re not going to embrace new technologies, if we’re not willing to learn and exploit new tools, what are studios going to be for?

The man behind colossal hits for Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus and Florence + the Machine takes a surprisingly old‑school approach to writing and production.

Henrietta Smith‑Rolla, aka Afrodeutsche, bridges musical worlds like few others. The crossing of borders has always been a subject close to home for the British‑Ghanaian‑Russian‑German composer, DJ and producer, whose moniker was chosen after an exploration of her heritage.

Since a work trip to the Seychelles, I’ve created a sonic album of every trip I’ve been on and it’s glorious; I can’t believe I didn’t think to do it earlier.