Sound On Sound - February 2016

366 Pages·054.205 MB·English

by  Magazine

THE WORLD’S BEST RECORDING TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2016
TM
MUSIC PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES / INDEPENDENT IN-DEPTH PRODUCT TESTS / ENGINEER & PRODUCER INTERVIEWS / LIVE SOUND
W I N
AUDIX PIANO MIC SET
WORTH £1315
E X C L U S I V E F I R S T R E V I E W
HAS MELODYNE 4 ACHIEVED
THE IMPOSSIBLE... AGAIN?
The 10 Biggest
Recording Mistakes
...and how to avoid them!
Iconic Roland synths reborn!
Mini Jupiter, JX & Juno
Classic Tracks: The Zombies
“We had to fork out another £200 to mix in stereo”
ROLI Seaboard Rise
Affordable ‘keywave’ controller
REVIEWS: BAE / GEITHAIN / EV / LOOPTROTTER / MESANOVIC / MIKTEK / MOTU / MODOR / IZOTOPE / SKNOTE / SOUNDTOYS
TECHNIQUE: PRO TOOLS / REASON / LOGIC / SONAR / CUBASE / LIVE / STUDIO ONE

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LEADER
SOLDERING ON
When I started out in recording it was readers I’ve visited and spoken to, there
far more common for people to build or still seems to be a reluctance to invest in
modify their own equipment than it now a decent soldering iron; and unless you
seems to be. These were the pre-Internet get a good one, soldering can seem like
days when even dial-up modems were still
a few years off in the future, so information
came mostly from books and hobby
magazines. If somebody had mentioned
high-speed fibre back then, I would have
thought they were talking about All Bran.
What set me thinking about those
long-gone days was a recent review I
undertook of a capacitor microphone
kit that involved soldering all the parts
and screwing all the sections together. It
made a nice change from simply rewiring
my guitars and turned out to be a very
satisfying experience, even though the
only real skill involved was the ability to
use a soldering iron correctly. The end
product was very worthwhile and worked “A good soldering iron should
out significantly cheaper than buying an be considered an investment,
not an expense.”
equivalent ready-built microphone.
We all seem happy enough to spend
Paul White
a fair amount of money on plug-ins and
Editor In Chief
other studio add-ons, but judging by the
February 2016 / www.soundonsound.com
LEADER
very hard work. The closest parallel I can started down that path should you wish
think of is that old acoustic guitar you to follow it — not to mention countless
used to learn on — the one that had an circuit diagrams just a few clicks away on
action so high that you could almost slide the Internet. Electric guitar repairs can
a Telecaster under the strings at the 12th be conducted with the bare minimum of
fret. How many people must have simply electrical knowledge, and repairing your
given up because they didn’t have a own cables is always more cost effective
decent instrument? than buying new ones. You’ll also find
So, why not treat yourself to a that your studio installation starts to look
thermostatically controlled soldering iron a whole lot tidier if you’re able to make
with a fine tip, rated at around 50 Watts, up cables of the correct length, rather
to brush up on your soldering skills? You than having metres of extra cable coiled
certainly don’t have to be into hardcore up on the floor behind the desk. A good
electronics to find plenty of uses for a soldering iron should be considered an
soldering iron in the studio, though there investment, not an expense, and may well
are enough kits for stomp boxes, preamps pay for itself on your first project or cable
and simple studio processors to get you repair session.
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Circulation Manager Luci Moore Classified Sales Luci Moore
Circulation Administrator Lisa Pope
Online
Media House, Marketing
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Production
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Editorial
Designers George Hart, Alan Edwards
& Andy Baldwin
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Editorial Director Dave Lockwood Classified Production Michael Groves
ISSN 0951‑6816
Editor In Chief Paul White
A Member of the
Administration
Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns SOS Publications Group
Features Editor Sam Inglis
[email protected]
Reviews Editor David Glasper
Chairman Ian Gilby
Reviews Editor Matt Houghton Managing Director Dave Lockwood
Reviews Editor Chris Korff Finance Manager Keith Werthmann
Production Editor Nell Glasper Administration Assistant
News Editor Will Betts Nicole McCammon
February 2016 / www.soundonsound.com
1958 C12
1962 C12 A
1971 C414 COMB
1976 C414 EB
PRECISION
1980 C414 EB-P48
OUR FAMILY TRADITION
1986 C414 B-ULS
1993 C414 B-TLII
2004 C414 B-XLII
C414 B-XLS
2008 C214
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C314
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and user friendly. In short, you can focus on the details of your performance because we’re totally focused on the details of our mics.
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© 2015 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. AKG is a trademark of AKG Acoustics GmbH, registered in the United States and/or other countries. Features, specifications
and appearance are subject to change without notice. Designed and engineered in Vienna, Austria.
CLASSIC TRACKS
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FEATURES
INSIDE TRACK
The 10 Biggest
Recording Mistakes
The same pitfalls present
themselves time and again in
project-studio recording. Learn to
avoid them and your tracking
sessions will be transformed!
Classic Tracks: The Zombies
Now considered one of the classic
tracks of the 1960s, the Zombies’
‘Time Of The Season’ almost
disappeared without trace.
Mix Rescue
Even well-recorded drums can
require plenty of work to make them
fit the track.
Inside Track: Kevin Savigar
Musically, Rod Stewart’s latest album
harks back to ’70s folk-rock, but its
writing and production were totally
21st Century.
Cymande: Recording
A Simple Act Of Faith
When cult funk band Cymande
returned to the studio, they insisted
on hiring the same production team
— 41 years after their
previous album.
Notes From The Deadline
The faster the pace of progress, the
harder it is to keep up.
Studio File: AIR-Edel
Our tour of the world’s greatest
studios takes us to London’s
illustrious AIR-Edel complex.
The Mix Review
This month, we analyse tracks by
Justin Bieber, the Weeknd, Sam
Smith, Dr Dre and Lionel Richie.
FEATURES
The 10 Biggest
Recording Mistakes
The same pitfalls present
themselves time and again in
project-studio recording. Learn to
avoid them and your tracking
sessions will be transformed!
Classic Tracks: The Zombies
Now considered one of the classic
tracks of the 1960s, the Zombies’
‘Time Of The Season’ almost
disappeared without trace.
Mix Rescue
Even well-recorded drums can
require plenty of work to make them
fit the track.
Inside Track: Kevin Savigar
Musically, Rod Stewart’s latest album
harks back to ’70s folk-rock, but its
writing and production were totally
21st Century.
Cymande: Recording
A Simple Act Of Faith WIN
When cult funk band Cymande
returned to the studio, they insisted
on hiring the same production team
— 41 years after their
AUDIX PIANO
previous album.
MIC SET
Notes From The Deadline
WORTH £1315!
The faster the pace of progress, the
harder it is to keep up.
Studio File: AIR-Edel WORKSHOPS
Our tour of the world’s greatest
studios takes us to London’s We show you how to make
illustrious AIR-Edel complex. your own flanger and
phaser in Live.
The Mix Review
This month, we analyse tracks by Save resources and share
Justin Bieber, the Weeknd, Sam sessions easily with
Smith, Dr Dre and Lionel Richie. Pro Tools’s Commit
Tracks feature.
ON TEST
Cubase’s unique
Quadrafuzz v2 plug-in is
C O V E R
useful for much more than
Celemony Melodyne 4
just guitars.
Pitch & Sound
Get to grips with
Editing Software
Reason’s individual
approach to multiple takes
Modor NF-1
and overdubs.
Digital Synthesizer
Explore creative uses for
Neat King Bee & Worker Bee
Sonar’s Mix Recall feature.
Capacitor Microphones
Fredenstein HD Mic Pre Create a convincing 2D
500-series Microphone Preamp panning effect using
Studio One’s
Akai MIDIMix
macro controls.
MIDI Controller
Roland Boutique JP08, JX03 We coax a classic house-
& JU06
organ patch out of Logic’s
Synthesizers
Alchemy synth.
SoundToys 5
Plug-in Effects Suite
SKnote Catena
Mastering Router
BAE 73MPL & B15
Mic Preamp & EQ Modules
Electro-Voice EKX Series
Active PA Speakers
Finhol Auto Stomp Player
Foot-controlled Rhythm Generator
Audix OM Series
Dynamic Microphones
Microphone Parts S12
DIY Capacitor Microphone Kit
Sennheiser IE800
In-ear Headphones
iZotope Ozone 7
Mastering Software Suite
ROLI Seaboard Rise
Keyboard Controller
Geithain RL944K
Active Nearfield Monitors
MOTU Digital Performer 9
Music Production Software
Laney IRT Pulse
USB Valve Guitar Preamp
Fluid Audio F8S
Active Subwoofer
Miktek MPA-201
Dual-channel Microphone Preamp
Finhol Classic Overdrive
Guitar Effects Pedal
Looptrotter Satur-8 24
Summing Mixer & Saturation
Processor
Laney L5 Studio Head
Guitar Amplifier & USB Interface
Music Electronics
Book Review
Mesanovic Model 2
Ribbon Microphone
Apple iPhone 6S
Smartphone
Ten Kettles Waay
Music Theory App For iOS
Looptrotter Emperor
Dynamics & Distortion Processor
Sample Libraries
Modwheel
Angklung, Humdrum & The Bends
Big Fish Audio
Vintage Rhythm Section
Toontrack
The Progressive Foundry SDC
WORKSHOPS
We show you how to make
your own flanger and
phaser in Live.
Save resources and share
sessions easily with
Pro Tools’s Commit
Tracks feature.
ON TEST
Cubase’s unique
Quadrafuzz v2 plug-in is
useful for much more than
Celemony Melodyne 4
just guitars.
Pitch & Sound
Get to grips with
Editing Software
Reason’s individual
approach to multiple takes
Modor NF-1
and overdubs.
Digital Synthesizer
Explore creative uses for
Neat King Bee & Worker Bee
Sonar’s Mix Recall feature.
Capacitor Microphones
Fredenstein HD Mic Pre Create a convincing 2D
500-series Microphone Preamp panning effect using
Studio One’s
Akai MIDIMix
macro controls.
MIDI Controller
Roland Boutique JP08, JX03 We coax a classic house-
& JU06
organ patch out of Logic’s
Synthesizers
Alchemy synth.
SoundToys 5
Plug-in Effects Suite
SKnote Catena
Mastering Router
BAE 73MPL & B15
Mic Preamp & EQ Modules
Electro-Voice EKX Series LIVE

SOUND
Active PA Speakers
Why buy a mic
Finhol Auto Stomp Player LIVE
when you can
SOUND
Foot-controlled Rhythm Generator build your own?
Audix OM Series LIVE Microphone

SOUND
Parts’ DIY
Dynamic Microphones
alternative can
Microphone Parts S12
save you money
DIY Capacitor Microphone Kit
and help you
Sennheiser IE800 brush up on your
soldering skills.
In-ear Headphones
iZotope Ozone 7
Mastering Software Suite
ROLI Seaboard Rise
Keyboard Controller
Geithain RL944K
Active Nearfield Monitors
MOTU Digital Performer 9
Music Production Software
Laney IRT Pulse
USB Valve Guitar Preamp
Fluid Audio F8S
Active Subwoofer
Miktek MPA-201
Dual-channel Microphone Preamp
Roland’s Boutique range
Finhol Classic Overdrive
recreates three of the company’s
Guitar Effects Pedal classic synths at a fraction of the
cost of the originals.
Looptrotter Satur-8 24
Summing Mixer & Saturation
Processor
ROLI’s new instrument further
Laney L5 Studio Head develops the technology of their
Guitar Amplifier & USB Interface revolutionary Seaboard Grand —
at a much more affordable price.
Music Electronics
Book Review
Mesanovic Model 2
Ribbon Microphone
Apple iPhone 6S
Smartphone
Ten Kettles Waay
Music Theory App For iOS
Looptrotter Emperor
Dynamics & Distortion Processor
Sample Libraries
Modwheel
Angklung, Humdrum & The Bends
Big Fish Audio
Vintage Rhythm Section
Toontrack
The Progressive Foundry SDC
ON TEST
Celemony Melodyne 4
Pitch & Sound
Editing Software
Modor NF-1
Digital Synthesizer
Neat King Bee & Worker Bee
Capacitor Microphones
Fredenstein HD Mic Pre
500-series Microphone Preamp
Akai MIDIMix
MIDI Controller
Roland Boutique JP08, JX03
& JU06
Synthesizers
SoundToys 5
Plug-in Effects Suite
SKnote Catena
Mastering Router
BAE 73MPL & B15
Mic Preamp & EQ Modules
Electro-Voice EKX Series
Active PA Speakers
Finhol Auto Stomp Player
Foot-controlled Rhythm Generator
Audix OM Series
Dynamic Microphones
Microphone Parts S12
DIY Capacitor Microphone Kit
Sennheiser IE800
In-ear Headphones
iZotope Ozone 7
Mastering Software Suite
ROLI Seaboard Rise
Keyboard Controller
Geithain RL944K
Active Nearfield Monitors
MOTU Digital Performer 9
Music Production Software
Laney IRT Pulse
USB Valve Guitar Preamp
Fluid Audio F8S
Active Subwoofer
Miktek MPA-201
Dual-channel Microphone Preamp
Finhol Classic Overdrive
Guitar Effects Pedal
Looptrotter Satur-8 24
Summing Mixer & Saturation
Processor
Laney L5 Studio Head
Guitar Amplifier & USB Interface
Music Electronics
Book Review
Mesanovic Model 2
Ribbon Microphone
Apple iPhone 6S
Smartphone
Ten Kettles Waay
Music Theory App For iOS
Version 7 of iZotope’s mastering
Looptrotter Emperor package adds cutting-edge
Dynamics & Distortion Processor codec monitoring features as well
as vintage-themed processors.
Sample Libraries
Modwheel
Angklung, Humdrum & The Bends
Big Fish Audio
Vintage Rhythm Section
Toontrack
The Progressive Foundry SDC
REGULARS
News Classifieds
Live News Sounding Off
Q&A
February 2016 / www.soundonsound.com