Contents - January 2001

in this issue
january
2001
issue 3
volume 16
sound-on-sound.com / sospubs.co.uk k
cover
p82
Fostex D2424
p126
p200
reviews
Alesis Air FX Multi-effects Processor
34
Aphex 1100 Tube Mic Preamp
146
AVI Bigga-Tron Red Spot Monitors
164
Eventide DSP7000 Ultra-Harmonizer
Effects Processor
82
Fostex D2424 24-track Hard Disk Recorder
126
Korg CX3 Modelling Tonewheel Organ
200
Little Lanilei Rotary Wave Speaker
80
MindPrint DI Port Stereo Preamp & A-D/D-A
Converter
M Audio Delta 66 Soundcard & Omni I/O
Front End For Mac & PC
102
Ntonyx Style Morpher 2.4 MIDI Arrangement
Software For PC
114
Philip Rees C16 MIDI Controller
72
Roland XV88 Workstation Keyboard
96
Magma CB2S 2-slot PCI Expansion Chassis For
Mac & PC Laptops
90
Steinberg/Wizoo VST Drum Sessions Drum
Performances For Cubase
MXL V77S Tube Microphone
Tech 21 Sansamp Acoustic DI Box
32
94
168
80
p96
p72
p34
4
SOUND ON SOUND • january 2001
p174
p102
te chnique
Q&A
36
Sound On Sound’s answers to readers’
technical queries get more popular every
month, so we’ve moved them to the
front of the magazine!
Vintage Effects
122
Modern digital effects units frequently
include emulations of old analogue
effects such as tape delay, chorus,
flanging and phasing — but none of
them ever seem quite like the real thing.
This article demystifies how these
effects worked, and offers some insight
into how our digital approximations of
them could be made more accurate.
Understanding & Writing
Lyrics: Part 2
138
Whenever we hear or read song lyrics,
we are hearing the voice of a person,
whether that voice is the songwriter’s
own, exploring his or her own emotions
and feelings, or someone else’s. The
second part of this series explains how
you can write for different voices to put
across different messages.
Synth Secrets 21:
From Polyphony To
Digital Synths
feature s
Cutting Edge: The Future Of Music Technology
28
This month’s Cutting Edge questions Apple’s corporate strategy and ponders the implications of
Microsoft’s desire to have their Media Player running on as many platforms as possible.
PC Musician: Making Music With Laptop PCs
42
The idea of a virtually silent, compact and completely portable PC recording workstation has
obvious attractions. Building such a system around a laptop PC is possible — but the potential
pitfalls are many. Discover the options that are available, and the dangers to avoid.
Tracks: Florian Senfter • Zombie Nation:
Recording ‘Kernkraft 400’
66
SOS catches up with the man behind one of the year 2000’s biggest dance hits, and hears about a
tangled web of remixes, bootlegs and licensing deals — and the most bizarre synth around today.
155
Polyphony is hard to achieve on
analogue synths without incurring
hideous expense. This month, we look
at how manufacturers employed digital
technology to overcome this problem.
Frequently Asked
Questions:
Surround Sound
p32
180
Surround mixing is becoming
increasingly important to all of us, not
just those who work in audio for picture.
But what techniques do you need to
learn to work in surround, and how will
you have to upgrade your studio?
Advanced Compression
Techniques: Part 2
226
Part 2 explores the positive effects that
properly-used gain control can have over
an entire mix, and explains the value of
multi-band compressors in mastering.
Using G-Series Macs & iMacs For Music: Part 3
76
Having explained some of the audio and MIDI interfacing problems facing owners of new Macs,
this month we test some USB MIDI + audio devices to see what awaits the unwary...
David Sinclair Whitaker: Composer & Arranger
174
One of Britain’s top orchestral arrangers, David Whitaker has worked on everything from the
original version of ‘My Way’ to S Club 7 — and he’s still going strong after 35 years in the business...
Interview: Ralf Schluenzen of TC Works
186
SOS meets the head of TC Works to discuss the company’s new PowerCore card, a DSP engine
designed to relieve host-based MIDI + audio sequencers of some of the strain of running
processor-intensive plug-ins.
Networking In The Internet Age
190
The growth of the Internet and email-based communications should have made it easier to contact
the people who could help you further your music career — but, of course, it’s not that simple. We
offer advice on how to use message boards, email and newsgroups to develop useful contacts...
Readerzone: Graham Woodcock & Andy Bramhall
210
Graham Woodcock and Andy Bramhall had a dream: for 20 thousand pounds, they would build
their dream studio. But when their first consignment of timber and neoprene rubber arrived, the
bill was already nearly half their total budget. We find out how they rescued the situation...
Net Notes: MPEG4
234
This month’s Net Notes explores part of the MPEG4 specification: Structured Audio, which allows
music streaming with no loss of quality at extremely low data-rates. Is it the way of the future?
Logic Notes & Cubase Notes
244 & 248
This month’s Logic Notes column explains the uses of Logic’s Transform window.
Continuing an in-depth explanation of Cubase’s Logical Edit functions, Cubase Notes looks at the
role of the Processing stage, before moving on to the greater complexities of Expert mode...
Retrozone: Korg DDM110 Programmable Digital Drum Machine 262
The Korg DDM110 was one of the first digital drum machines to reach the mass market. This
month’s Retrozone rediscovers its distinctive, punchy sound and revels in the simplicity of its
programming.
win
p66
p120
TC Electronic
M•One, D•Two
and Triple•C
regulars
News 6 • Doing The Business 218
Demo Doctor 220 • Crosstalk 224
Atari Notes 238 • Sample Shop 240 • Apple Notes 252
PC Notes 258 • Mail Order 274 • Readers’ Ads 280
Classified Ads 283 • Sounding Off 304