TU AR ML OC ARR RR aT June 2007 £4.99 SUV LCA NCHCR CIM reo LY eat The shareware DAW that’s taking Oued SseSurrounded... editor's ») comment By Stereo Pps anges, mand for surround material willbe low, As a consequence, the avallablty of g00c quality suround material wil main lea Personally love tobe able to mix in surround, knowing that the majority of people would be ableto listen to it in the same format, ‘but the sad realty is that stereo sil rules. Whats sare in many cases, even stereo speakers are incorrect set up. Psthaos the lay (or ‘gentieman) ofthe house wants both speakers to stand next to each othe (because they ook tider and thet wires canbe hidden from view), or one speakers on acofee table at knee height and the others behind a plant the corner, Unfortunately this sa common ‘occurrence; speakers in the domestic environment generally end up going wherever they wil Ff, not where they cought tobe, s0 the possibility of positioning your speakers according toa wellcofigured surround system's precisely angled placements is pretty remote. With the odds so heavily stacked against the surround sound format, what future can possibly have, other than in a film soundtrack context, where inappropately positioned speakers have ite cetrimental impact onthe enjoyment of the fm in question? ‘after so much apparent negatvity, fm actualy feling quite positive abou surround. lust notice how many people are walking abost ‘ith earphones attached to MP3 players. Yes "know that Pos ad similar devices only ‘output a stereo signal, but if someone comes up witha half decent design for surround earbuds, the commercial potentials enormous, and altering MP3 players to become compatibi with surround formats should bea tril affai.Wts because the possible rewards fer perfecting such {system are so high that I believe a boom in Suround sound wil come sooner rather than haps it wil only end up being 4.0 surround (afterall, wo wants a subwoofer tha has tobe worn asa suppository —and nobody has a frent-ceotre ea but the enhancement to the listening experience could stil be significant with four channels. Once such an earphone has been developed (headphones that work in surround ae already available, ofcourse), the revolution wil start, with huge demand for record labels back catalogues to be made avalbl in the appropriate surround format, ‘So even if you see no commercial outlet forit at present, ifs defintely worth geting some surround Sound mixing experience under your bel, in order to capitalise on thebig change’ when it comes. Now, where did put that spare pair of monitors? Paul white Fait In Chief OUND DN BouND Media House, Trafalgar Way, Bar Cambridge C823 85Q, UK Hos 7, Hd sions een Hh ovat osst rene Eh seve soundoesoand.com Th sosteancsesnndensaes con Teena ear nF Fer de Som eves ator Ce ‘evo ator Won Pde tar Db Fa ees tar Os Maes Ed osssestsetonout.con on Slr Mog Rate ‘evi Sts ange Sey ‘nati Slr Sah EE wrienicsocoendonsonad com a oan Sa Th osctneesoendonsun oe ate Mag oi hes EB conn scendonsound com nein het iy Palate mie ‘natn asia Ws [Gi srscrteesounsensoun.cor (lew seetenmen consis rae nate Un cas rope (eu) £50 rape (non-B) £75 est of Weld 75 ‘Sub salasves 5 ‘sults 35 ‘subs lates £5 ning wanes es (au Sane ss ep ye oF ewan or re a he Maing sane, oe ISSN o9ss-6836Lele ented TUBE CONSOLE See Cee cnn COOL: M1 TUBETRACKER eee OCR BO aT ee cy COOL: M4 TUBE CONSOLE Deere nny Beare oy Passionate About Tubes... High Specification Tube Consoles TL Auto Tbe consoles an signal processors have been apart of some ofthe most influential recordings and his in pee ere Teter ten teeetne Pore aT Pant re nt er nT ss seria eet evey wener i rea tnriactennt neue peer niene mento These aesthetically and soncalyplesing user rendly desk, offer he cream of analogue mixing with the acts needed in cial world together with that big console sound you love the unrivaled sound of analogue, and want the perfect parner or your ga ecordngs then our consoles simply have ne competition! Dee eee eee eS Ct TT ae Beth vee eeeBD issue) www.soundonsound.com techniques Q&A Your studio problems solved by SOS staff and contributors Living With Latency “Anything you Tecord into a computer takes time to reappear at your speakers, Wl show You ways tackle these dls Mix Rescue This month, we invited guest miescuer Luke Fletcher to create a authentic‘ fed Drum Magic: Tips To Make Your Drums Sparkle you'd ike to breathe some ie into your acoustic dram recordings, here's what you eed t knew! 136 Studio SOS The Sound On Sound team visit reader Chris Walker's home tudo, and help him fx his tea-chest bass PC Musician: Vista For Musicians Several months have elapsed since the release of Windows Vista Soi it safe for musicians to assume that mast music software and hardware is now compatible with the new OS, and upgrad features Murray Gold: Composing For Doctor Who ‘Doctor Whe's 2005 revival saw the radiophonic textures of old replaced by 3 confident oxthestral score that stands comparison with Hollywood's best. Composer Murray Gold talks technical Inside Track: Serge Tsai ‘hips Don't Le, by Shakira and Wyle Jean, is indisputably the biggest singe ofthe 2st Century 20 fae Engineer Serae Tai brought together many diverse elements to create 3 colasal hit Guitar Technology We look at Behringer USB gutar, and ge you the head up on some o hemarke. Ray Kurzweil tay Kurznel brought human feeling to digital synthesis. He's now retuned to Kurewell Music Stems to oversee he next generation of musi teenelogy Classic Tracks: Tricky ‘Black Stee!’ ‘rks highly unorthodox approach to recoxding and making music tedto the craton of one ofthe most unque and etal lauded records of the '908 Surround Plug-ins For Pro Tools iF youwart eter people to ear your suround mikes, youl ned to trcode them ito a consume format. Po Too setshave a choice of softvare fr thi purpte. Which should you choese? 180_ Playback: Readers’ Music Reviewed “he $0 tear take time out of thet hectic schedules to check aut some ofthe hundred of demas we gt through the doar. regulars What's New 240 Sounding Off Classified Ads june 2007 issue 8 volume 22 prummonc 16 184 Ableton Live's Impulse Drum Machine Live's builtin instruments are pretty sophisticated, yet they retain the tease of ue that i central tothe Ableton philosophy. This month we take 3 ook at how to make the most af the Impuke drum machine 88 Real-time MIDI Plug-ins In Digital Performer Often overlooked, MIO! plugins can give you real power-user status if you take the trouble to investigate ther capabilities. Rhythmic Effects With Cubase 4's MIDI Gate Using agate to create rhythmic performances from sustained sounds ia caste dance-masic tick, but the same approach can work in almost any contemporary music styl. ‘Making The Most Of Sonar 6's Synth Rack Sonar’ Synth Rack is a grat time saving concept that has started to NEW Alesis in control 1 top ight ofthe unit allow you to vaty the control room’ output and alter the level of two indenendent headphone courputs, Smaller than the Master Control, but punching above its weight, i the 1/0 Conttol, the second af Alesis new hardware controllers, It also features control surface and audio interface functionality, albeit to a lesser extent, having 12 inputs (two analogue inputs, plus ADAT and S/PDIF inputs), but no motorised faders and only four rotary encoders. However, th /0 Control stil features the handy Jog wheel and ships with DAW presets and panel overlays for quick reference to ‘the most commonly used parameters ofa variety of popula software applications Im 50S September 2006 (and om line at ), we reviewed Alesis’ DMS electronic drum kit, The company have now announced the DMS Pro, which offers a number of improvements over the orginal version. The heads have been changed and are now white in colour, rather than Diack. They are also made from a slightly more realstic-eeting materal. The collapsible stand, on which the OMS Pro's pads and ‘brain’ are mounted, features more robust fixings than the standard Carbon Logic makes sense 10 wamm-souncionsound.com + jana model making i ‘mote suitable for sigging Finally, Alesis have announced a product that many people have been asking for in recent years mixer with direct interfacing connections to Apple's Pod. The iMultimix 8s left-hand side resembles a standard elght-input compact mixer, the Sort that you'd use with a small band 22 pub gig: Ws got eight inputs, rotary faders, EQ and effects controls, and aux sends, But the rgbtshand side has transport cote Jog whee! and an iPod dock, making it capable of recording and playing back from the popular MP3 player. The design is very simple {ouse; simply locate your Pad in the dack and press record, and version ofthe main mix (whos level can be controlled independently) is sent to the portable music player's hard tive. When the iPod is next plugged into a computer with Mune installed, the track can be named, and even emailed to your bandmates! Far more details, check out Alesis’ website Alesis +44 (0)1252 341400 vw alesis com Yamaha MSP? pricing Inlastmots eve Yaa's MSP ate rts, we that he ISPTS on £39 pp Tey 8 ft 79 each sng VT ‘anata core Uw 44 (000839268 vee janahamae ce | Noveltech Vocal Enhancer not native Novtos Vo Entncerwas abo ested inet mosh sue Dung fa" ewe, Hee hve so at al marr ora excise fe Poor at te ore, iso te reve, we sted T Et as stbaesae pain.Vca Eanc Infact aed We Rowing tomes. neve com ‘Anew layer of Konkrete from Sonic Couturemeee aA wv a ner Bw awe Take the day off. You could go to work today. Or you could change the way you produce your music - forever Thé new Moti XS Music Product Synthesizer range Is designed to jump-start your creativity, loaded wih inteligentarpeogiators, poweriul rhythmic pattems, rapid recording features and flele real-time ‘conto. nd with more waveROM than anything ints lass, the sounds are simply breathtaking Take the day of ad experience Mati XS for youre at your focal Yamaha dealer. wWww.yamahasynth.com Molson Mn BR £2589 ran and key eon tary om 1819Sinner Yamaha in Frankfurt fader frenzy! n of mixers the way of cia mixes from Yamaha, so their ew Nseries, carrenly comprising the NB and NI2, comes asa ice surprise ney sip with, and have been specifically designed for, Cubase not Cubase 4 with the Hatin One engine and Yamaha Motif derived wave data bul n, There's even designated LED to identity winen connection with Cubase established, although other DAW packages are also supported, th Nseries mixers feature a DAW Remot Control section which, uniquely, ncudes a Click Remote, a click and control its level, The N12 has thee stereo monitor outputs, hich can be figured na 5.1 Mix mix. The N-series mixers ar also capable o acting as Freie audo interfaces, with up to 6 simultaneous inputs and outputs at it 9k possible with the N12 the NB has 2 maximum of 12 simultaneous ins and outs) (nthe analogue side, the NB has eight input channels, four of which have cass-A mic preamps, while the N12 is equipped wth eight of the same high qualty mic preamps and ‘total of12 nuts. The NB and NI2 wal cost 69 and £899 respectively and willbe available in june this yer Yamaha have updated ther MG series of ‘compact mixing desks with sx new models the NCI6ECUSB, MCI66C, M165: NCI6ECX, MGZOECUS@ and MG2O6C. These were announced and shown at Messe alonaside the four MC products that were Uuveled atthe NAMM show in January: the MGB2CX, MGIO2C, MGI24C and MGI24CK The new models have addtional features, such as singleknob compression, which s now standard. SXcualty muit-ffets (on models with an % suff and stereo USB 0 identiable by the ‘USB atthe end of the mode! number) are also avalible, and the topotthe-range models feature both ofthese extras as standard Improving on the physical able MG specification ofthe previously ava models all ew desks have Neutrik ‘connections, while the larger models have more robust rackmount eas than their predecessors The largest new models the M2O6C and MC2OECUSB, both feature 16 mic preamps, making them handy for use as DAW although you can always use the insert pons The USB-equipped models ship with Cubase A and pices start from £99, ranging up to £4 They should be shipping as you read ti, Finally, Yamaha's range of USE-equioped mixers, the MW range, has expanded, wit {new eight channel unit and higherspecifiaton developments ofthe 10- and 12 triggering delay within MIDI sound madules guitarist, The problem is that the guitarist isnt usually a problem. Guitarto-MIDI has quested that he plugs bis guitar (an converters inevitably Introduce some delay _ electroacoustic model! directly into my because they takea fraction of a second to system. He wants ito sound like an measure the pitch ofthe guitar string. Sut ‘amplified accustc guitar, not an ‘acoustic these days even those work so quickly that guitar through a mic! Have you any idea delay isn an issue, unless you play at what this might mean in practical terms? Shreddertype speeds —in which case the I dont have a separate Dl box, only an thing probably won't track anyway Some of instrument input on the Pent, with which the most responsive units on the market are | was planning to track the vocals. The Terratec’s Axon products, which are atsts have also said they don't ike reverb ‘ompatile with Roland's 13-pin‘CK' pickup on the voice, and they dont ike system. Having said this, Ive had na compression. It ems that they're ater problems with Roland's MIDI guitar syaths a raw stripped-down soun, which | am (the GR33, GRZ0 and s0.0n) when it comes tempted to believe is only possible with totracking speed. What's more ofan issue higher-end gear and really good recording with ll these devices i the risk of finger space. | have asked them to mention specific noise triggering unwanted notes. You can _atists they want to sound lke, but fm not usually avoid these if yu play really cleanly. falar with any oftheir suggestions, Assuming the MIDI gutar interface has James Pyott sounds builtin, you can connect it to your computer's MDI interface and hear sounds Editor tn Chief Paul White replies: There during recording and playback. Make su ae a few points to cover here, soles start You switch the synth module ."ocal off and connect both its MID! input and cutput to your computer's MII interface. if you ant to experiment with some of the soft synths or the £4524 sampler in Logic, there wil be some latency depending on the buffer size. (This can be set in Logic’s Audio ardware and Devices menu.) f you can set the buffer to 128 samples without the ‘system losing stability, then the latency sould be too small to worry you, and if you are playing sounds tat havea slow attack, vou can get away with an even bigger buffer size before you notice any delay How do I record an acoustic duo with my setup? {have a small home setup based around 2 Yamaha AWA) 6 multiracker and 2 Focusrite Penta compressor. Usually, just record myself, but I've agreed to record a demo fora female vocalist and her 22 ww.soundensound.com « ju with the acoustic guitar. If this has active pickups — that run on batteries ~ you can record it directly inc a line input on your rmultitracker. IF has a passive pickup of some kind, then youl need a high-impedance DI box, but these can cost 20, although the more expensive ones tend to handle the low end with greater accuracy. The output of the pickups creates a harder sound than that produced when miking and acoustic guitar 0 you shouldn't need to do much tothe signal other than adding some compression and reverb, And this isthe ont where you wil have to don your diplomat at. You said ‘that your clients “don ike compression but if you explain to them that you only need a hit of compression to even up the levels, they should be reassured. Using the same level of tiplomacy, tel them that rather than adding reverb, you'e going to introduce a litle simulated room ambience to make up forthe fat thatthe guitar has been Dd. An early reflections preset or ambience seting should create the right sense of space without adding averpowering reverb, Now let's deal with the problem you have with tacking guitar and vocals site as simultaneously. As your Penta is preset based stereo compressor, with no ‘option to split the stereo into two mono channels, you won't be able to record the ‘guitar and the vocal simultaneously, even ‘though It has separate inputs fo instrument and microphone, as you rightly point out However, using a couple of channels on your AN416, you could record both tracks ‘ry, then use the Penta to process them separately later date, Doing this wll ive you mare flexibility, as you wil be able to audition 3 number of different compression settings hile playing your comped tracks back. Remember to keep albackup copy ofthe original vocal) Use automation to get the level us even as possible. then feds from the J cae ofthe off only four or peak levels, 10 final leveling, You can tell them that thsi anormal approach for non rock music and it will sound very natural. None ofthe people asin cies bende vaca wii to reduce the amount ef hwaredroom ambience beng eceded erabing yout a40n6 ‘Sympathetic eer tate stage\ 4 The new vintage. 7 ee cS) NT re eee em ea er “The Sputnik captured the 2007 Editor's Choice award for offering ides rea ievtelic nist areas at etn aoa gaseeen Sere eer Meanens lecronic eae “The M-Audio Sputnik is my new favorite microphone. Anyone searching ‘or@ high-quality tube microphone can begin and end their search with See ee ee ee ene Sareea DD oe ee ee ee gatitous colouration. Engineers love well-made valve mics because ee ee es some ofthe same, the Sputnik won't disappoint” Sea De ne ee et eg the attendant purchase or servicing costs... a great performer and a Pell eo) Caer) Se ee mr Seo ee a ee a eon CO en Ror} eee rete rs Do eT ee ay rer ScermPoWwERED M-AUDIO nents CEO a a eee Ro eae eeeD tha they listen to wil be recorded with no compression or reverb, even fit sounds that way tothe untrained ear Finally, ou mentioned your recording space posing possle problems. Ifyou find that i's not dry enough, just hang up duvets in aU’ shape around the back ofthe singer. Doing this should mop up most of the room reflections, Again, when adding the revera back tothe sound using software, pick a shor, ambient type to give the vocal some sense of space, as recording ina dry oom will rob it of any spatial character. With any luck, these things should give you the raw sound you're ate. AS long as you let your cliens vet the effect you add, they should be happy. Just try not to pick anything too obvious! Which mic for recording tablas? | realise that it’ almost impossible to name specific mode forthe job, but could you tell me what type of microphone I should be using to record my tablas? Umesh Patel ‘Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies: As you mention, i's vey ificlt torname a mic on specification alone, 35. dozens of microphones are capable of doing the jo. When considering mic type, however, there area few things to consider Moving: coil dynamic models work well on heavy percussion, because the relatively igh mass of the diaphragm and col acts as ‘ahind of acoustic compressor. Fast transients ae largely ignore, resulting in ‘higher average sound energy level and beefier drums. However, with hand-played percussion, the transient detallis often a critical part ofthe overall sound, 50.4 more responsive microphone is required this means either a ribbon ra capacitor mic. Probably the most We cording perceive instruments ih camer toni conten, condenser or rnken mics sly vue Race’ stereo condenser opto, stom he, fearesacussedpai af salt apheagm psies ands realy capac eng you togetansetl sto signa wth rin intuit aye 24 wmmsoundensound.com + june 2007 Teter eelng agli was common in thes anos, and was cary ten onthe otf he compesois of tin, suchas the Teltonis LAK picture blo. Tis util martactured by US tmnufcrers Unie ud I's no suis, thereee, hat hy alte ever arplier badge some of theirtber roduc ncn te 24s, pcured abe) og he tha Vietage jee sas uo, oman approach for tablas (when used in _Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies: acoustic musics the use of a capactar mic. They are infact all variations onthe same Tve achieved great results inthe past with thing. The tem ‘levelling amplifier is just bath argediaphragm mics, suchas the AKG another name fr a compressor. was the (C41484¢ and small diaphragm mics, such as popular name back inthe SOs and "6D and the Rode NTS: ‘stems from the idea that a compressor is Pacement would typicaly be between the used to evel out variations in volume. rams, far enough back to ensure even However, you wil til se the term used in coverage ofboth. Ifyou requitea stereo ‘modem products, such as the Universal fect, youll needa pat of mic, and again Audio 2LA2, which i 2 eature enhanced there are severl alternative approaches ‘two-channel version ofthe Teletronix LAZA, ‘ope to you. The simplest way is to place The difference between a compressor ‘mic overlooking each drum and pan thelr and a limiter is only in the compression ratio signals accordingly, to provide the required used. limiter is intended to limit the stereo spread, Adda litle stereo reverb and maximum level, normally to provide ypou'l have an impressively spacious and ‘overload protection. Ths involves setting pleasing sound, a threshold close to the maximum desired Another approach would be to use uo level, and using a very steep ratio crossed pair technique, either with two {anything above 10:1). What ths means is ‘mono mics aa singl-bodied stereo one. that the input signal has to go 1048 above Wve had good results using the Royer $12 the threshold before the output wil rise 148 stereo ribbon inthis kind of application, but above it. And in practice, that means that in a stricter budget, Fd ty the Rade NTS, as the signal doesn't exceed the limit threshold it would provide a usable sound and would to any significant degree be easy to place. Of course, ifyou situate ‘A compressor is used for less drastic. the mics close tothe drums, the stereo ‘more creative dynamic cairo, and tends to cect wil tend to be quite exaggerated, but use lower ratios typically 5:1 or less. A ratio paling the mics back a lite wl help to (of 2:1 means tha for every 248 of input create a more natural spread. Remember level above the threshold, the output level you can always turn the pan pots back only rises by 148, so the dynamic range towards the middle to narrow things down. above the threshold Is halved. The only other significant difference between a compressor and limiter is thatthe Levelling amps, ietSsyesbue mn ne atch limiters and release times, so that it can respond to brief transient peaks very efficiently, and without compressors... What’s feng rere ote aus signal ‘Compressor tend tobe se up witha slower the difference? tac specifically so that they dont squash 1 know they are all dynamics processors, but the attack transient on percussive sounds waste eference between aleveling The also usually havea slower release so amplifier, aint and a compressor? that thelr gain changes ae more gentle; Chris Hastngfield mor like pushing a fader up and dows. 2Win Universal Audio | UAD1e Extreme Pak » 0 cially fou rol ere) designer and ay Senic in the 1950s, the Universal Audio brand is behind some ofthe longest serving audio processors inthe industry, acading the 1176 and LAZA compressor/imiters. Apart fom hs hardware desigs, Putnam Srs aso credited with designing some ofthe best sounding such asthe United and Western studio complexes in Holywood which are now Ocean Way and Eastwest, spectively), and engineering some ofthe biggest names i recording history, ncluding rank Sinatra, Duke Ellington and Ela itera. Saly, Putnam died i 1989, leaving fis sons to carry the baton, which they dd by relaunching Universal Audo in 198, In 2001, alongside their redevelopments of classic Universal analogue hardware, the ompany also went dita’ and released the UDI DSP plugin card (heck out SOS be: 2001 for the review) The UAD} system featured aco would run exclusive UAD ‘powered plugins freeing up the host computers native power for other tasks at the same time ital, {handful of plugins was avalable,inciding, ofcourse, software emulations of Unive Auio's 1176 and LA2A compressors. T of available pl today the collection includes 32 ins inevitably grew, and Who cgay ended Unive aio? ‘faite ‘bit Ptnan ‘BilPana ob Unies ‘iw nary seed lpi ae bued Intheunditae Pal? ae hse ca one Wat deste andr Pl? Gree Reale ctatena tapes ee | oi. , ame) = professional quality software processors, ‘many of which ae emulations of legendary comes with all 32 powered plugins. The prize has been kindly donated by UX oistributors hardware unis from the bkes of Neve, Roland, Pultec and Fairchild With the introduction of the PCI Express (Cle) compute interface format, Universal Source Distribution and normally costs £1599 IF yout tke a chance to win this fantasti prize, fil out the erry form at the ettom of this page and pos it tothe address on the Coupon, Altematvel, you can enter using the electronic fom on the Sound On Sound web site. Pease make sure you answer all the ‘Audi released the UADIe to comply with the ‘ew protocol At the same ine they unvelled ‘new bundles that enabled the user to suit a UADLe setup to their budget, but also to aid further plug-ins when needed. your daytime telephone nu This month, as par of address, including postcode cur competition, wove gat for erties is 30th June 2007, a VADIe Extreme Fak to give away to one lucky read ‘questions and the te breaker. We also require closing date This includes, of course, the AD Ie DSP card, but aso the sa pi Universal Audio tie-breaker Onl ins son UAD ites ur roe rne ate ‘Whey apfone two pr sterspenn watt, | dnd eos ns pe Oooo Qooo ooo tl Woy Br Canna C2 58,ee Te WWW .SCAN.CO.UK :0870-755-4747 SCAN COMPUTERS SCAN 3XS - ATHLON 64 Dual Core BTA LS Bae or core as neers oa Dar jee ciclo worst. lop rok Eooneniens andi realy shows." throughout Computer Musle - December 2005 UND AY AOLND SCAN 3xS - Dual-core Athlon 64 PC For Music This scan system tums in a stunning performance for a very reasonable price. | think we can safely assume that dual-core systems ate going 10 be exiremely popular with the PC musician, and that Scon themselves expect plenty of customers for their 3XS audio PC sy: Sound! On Sound - Janvery 2006 Hendrix, the true performer, in a league of his own... reincarnated to build systems... BePplier of performance hardware and workstations SALT RE — a SCAN (intel) posses =! M-AUDIO Drpincpl business i to bud ana supoty Featng elo Advanced Dita Media Boost, Audios the diving force inthe industry emo ‘gessednighpermance systems and sel/PC__—_aealrating a ecad ange of apieatons. melon ng muticane to ces, pocorn one reseed nak Seria ers Yomaraace ged aa ot rc complete mobie harare/sofwraresokiions fat Natetred end mailorder Heavy iwestmetin cur ene ral enjnoeing and have feever changed when, whare an how music is ied ones carbene ye woos schnie eppeatone ite ave. sunt tng conpettvelna.nearpeecty a vibrant media experience ed Where do you want to take your music? OF More sense than money... Buy now, pay in 9 mantis and pay no interest*.Charter Oak S600 Large-diaphragm Tube Microphonesia sturdy, lockable metal attaché case, ‘complete with duakchannel power supply, ales, anda par of shockmount cradles. easures roughly 210mm in length and 0mm in diameter, and weighs about $90 grams, so this is a substantial tents body is finished ina highly polished Dano-lack, with anodised capsule grille The mic itself and integral wire mesh screen. At the base ofthe mic 2 threaded XLR stem, which into the rotating collar of the shockmourt. he sever-pin XLR connection accepis and provides the audio output through that unit inthe sal way Seral number, along withthe Charter Oak lego, bu there are no other facilities: no fiero pad switches, or example The capsule isa traditional one-inch, wer from the supplied PS tched on the body isthe mies 4 pronounced proximity effect if used closer than about six inches. Sensitivity is given as 13m¥/Pa, whichis ‘quite healthy, but the self nase is surprisingly high 2248 weighted. For ‘comparison the Neumann M147 cardioid valve mic has a sel noise of 12dEA. Maximum SPL forthe $600 is 125d8 for 0.5, percent distortion, which means that i wll cope with mast musical sources, even with lose placeme Unusually fora lrge diaphragm mic, the ‘600 isan end ire design: you have to point Itat the source, instead of facing the side to the source ikea U87 or C414, This looks very ‘odd wer mounted inthe wationaly designed, elasticated shockmount — although itseems to work well enough, Ths isan Americar bulk mic, and the stand adaptor “The gently falling high end gives a slightly smooth character, without any trace of resonant brightness or sibilance on most vocalists.” side teri ated design with a Nylar daphagm, sputtered with a six micron layer of gold, A fequency response of 18Hz {o 20KKzis quoted, but no limits are given The frequency esponse charts supplied with the mics show a pretty lat response, but not a fatas the generic trace published on the Companys web site, They were bath within a couple of dB from 60H2 to 7kHe, with nt peak at about Skt, above which the leve falls ff gracefully Thematching of the two mics is very close Irdee, with only a minor discrepancy around Skitz on the review models, s the 3te no problems there. The mic has om al withthe review models hada 5/6 ich thread ro 3/8:nch European adaptars were supplied. The knuckle joints tightened witha large buterty bolt, which proved able to tighten Securely and release easly during testing The power supply isa large, black, metal brick, with HEC matin ower switch and vltage selector on one end, and two pairs of cin and signa-out XIRS a the other. Listening The S600 sounds lke ahandtlred large-diapheagm mic It quite defintely has 2 character, which is slightly warm and quite sch despite the apparently fat frequency response Presumably ths characters the result ofa combination of sue capsule iluminated valve and custom output-tanstormer Aistortions. The genty falling high end gives ita fay smooth sound too, without any trace of resonant brightness or sbiance on mast vocalist Charter Oak suggest using 600s as ‘overhead pairs on drum kis, and can see the sense in that, particularly for rock gum kis where a itl extra character and shimmery cymbals would be useful. Another suggested application is for electric guitars and bass guitars, building on the mic’ slid low end and smooth, resonance-fee treble tie the mic ona couple of diferent electric uitar/amp combinations and found Iti indeed work very well, capturing the required Sound ina pleasing, musical way, with plenty of deta! but without harshness Alot of capacitor mics can sound rather The most ety comparable copes te ‘Sousa tine ands bye ‘Sabu edhe SE Eons Ge a, Howes he sausstaraye te ricoptane oneal anes. ote Sen, hour sesh a el ser ow robot awa tokat peng strana Terasinle micupho stead pa brite on electric guitars, but not so the $600. The proximity effect doesnt really ‘ome into play untl you get within abaut sb inches ofthe source, as mentioned eae, but close miking can certainly be used to take advantage of the aditional warmth and body that results, Asa vocal mic, |w Impressed with the ate tess 0. The relatively high selfnoise was moce ofan issue for me in his cole, especially with delicate vocals. Iwas able to use a recently acquired AEA mic preamp to ralse the S600 output to line level, which yielded decent enough results. This preamp desian was intended for rbon rics, but works wel with valve mes too, and is extremely quiet Using more standard-fare mic preamps (Mackie VLZ Pro, Focusrite ISA428) revealed slightly higher noise —not so much as to make the mic ‘unusable in any way though personally think stick to using the $600 as an instrument mic, rather than for vocalists or Summary At around £1400 fora stereo pat, these a fay expensive mics — and f you're only looking for a single mic, his sort of money vill open the doors 10a wide range of very respectable and high-quality models, both solid state and valve, There ae also more versatile mics that might be a more appropriate starting point fora collection, However, the sonic quality and character of the 6005 wil jusiy the cost for many and they would certainly enhance an already Wwellstocked mic cupboard. The kit of parts Is also nicely fitted out, with te cables, shockmounts, mics and power supply all in solid, professional looking case Finally they ae also, without question, things of beauty, which will generate Interest and comment: not least the imeuitable questions about whether you are Pointing them inthe right direction! x2 une 2007 + wew:soundonsound.com 29software ker canang tg pat tty hei lage suece Code mam tgs iret eee paca toe eer Cased aa as heen incredibly papular, while in the US the home team are Cakewalk with their Sonar range. Both product ranges started life as >Mronly but gradually incorporated audio features as computers became mare powerful, Cockos Reaper Can a 40-dollar shareware application take on the giants of the music software world and win? With its remarkable flexibility, advanced feature set and responsive development team, Cockos's Reaper has the potential to do just that. Means, Samplitude s quietly gaining an enthusiastic following forts allin-ane approach, complete with onthesly CD Reaper provides anexsy tose ional nee buming legen have Been bulking Bs Co Sees ad dolorup the sequencing functionaty of thee Fro Teolsrange. There's also a groundswell of ‘ehus.asm for simplerto-use applications 3s Mack's Traction, Don't Fear The Reaper into ths wald of heavyweights comes Reaper {Rapid Environment fr Aud Prototyping and fclent Recording), from developers Cocks incorporated, Founded in 2004 by engineers ted of working within large y have lats of previous jxoerence, between them developing many wellknown products — Reaper development is spearheaded by Justin Frankel, wbo created bath Winamp andthe Gnutella peer-to-peer fe sharing network. Reaper’ ital PConly preview release in December 2008 atracted a small but erthusastic following of novi austin was so responsive to use requests nd so prolific wth hs updates that by the time ofits oficial shareware release in August 06, Reaper ae ber of new feat ady contained a huge As more and more musicians tried tou and more and mare professional features were add, attitudes started to change, and fered seriously by ve tothe leading Audio sequencers. nevertheless remains extcemely compact witha download sizeof just 2MB you can just sal hese over the top of your existing vesion), and pats are stil being released onan aimost daly bass, 50 by the time you Reaper's now bea co many people as an ae mercial MIDI tad this Reaper will no doubt aleady have Deny moc features, A preview Universal Binary version for Mac OS 10.4.5 aso now zvalable fr download va the Cockos forums ead. onp=4220, and the full ac 05x version s premised by the last 2007 uae 0 Sharing Is Good feaper uns on Windows 98, Mi 1 and Vista, athough Windows 2000/x/Vistaare recommended, along with 168 RAM. The ful version of Reaper can be fourloaded for evaluation with no 2000, wt imeimited features (Cockas describe as uncropled, unexpiring shareware), but if youre sil using iter 30 days you shou purchase a lcence. The non-commercial icenses just $40, while anyone who makes Iron fom thelr music should get ‘commercial icense for $200, Having a Herc entitles you to use versions of Reaper ‘to 1.99; version 2.0 is anticipated by August 2007, Some people have been confused bythe distinction between these two licence types, so) asked Justin to elaborate, He told me that (nee ue ‘Togire you an ea of Reapers Moxy, new rejects can have auto sample ates between ‘ited 19262 and dept of 8, 15,23, 4H fot and 64 ost; nara, Reaper ‘sos a 648K ming ensne to provide excaet ‘do fly. Supers fe formats intae WAN, AIF, WavPack, FLAC, OGG Vet, MP3, HID and ‘SYK and tho’ alo auto eeeodngi0 review suport for A, WIR and MP ie [MOV it you abet have Quilt Inst. a atin to the many aud formats aeady ‘mentioned ou can also export as an ale CO Image CUE/BIN arnt an ba this ety to ‘aio CD, or erate an image Het pot ter eb uring sorte. In ts PC incamstion. Reaper suppots Wave ‘ut, WOM Kemet Stein, Dect Sound ae ‘S10 aver oats, nc con thavfare be used it tut any au doi, aout ‘econmend sticking with ASI al possible, for he lamest inten: you device eaoe't ‘appr th fomat, densa the teoware ASIOAALL Unerel AIO diver om So eaperals sports matin MIDI ns and Ost hat 008 any ombinton Ifyou sel 10 copes of your CD he doesnt expect you to buy a commercial iene, that if you sel! 1000 capes you probably should So what mates isnot your intent in making money, but whether or nat you actualy do. However, since i's impossible for CCockos to palce such a distinction, is itimately up to the use to act on his or her Look & Feel When you ist launch Reaper you wont get ny nasty surprises: ts general layout fllows that of most other MIDI + Auli sequencers, ‘making it very easy to get ito. There's the usual bar of drop-down menu commands across the top, with an icon based toolbar beneath, To the right ofthis sa timeline where you can click and drag with the mouse to define scng selections and loops, wile ‘each of the horizontal track panes intl area displaying audio of MDI media clips has its own Track Control Panel tothe le, rather like the Cubase Inspector However one major diference between that you can dock various of ts windows onto the bottom Docker area of the main window and choose between them via tabs, Some of Reaper and many other audio ap the items you can dock ince the Mixer, «Media Explorer for impering MIO! or audio files, rather lke that of Sonic Foundry’ Ac e Undo Mistery, 2 Big Clock display, a virtual MIDI keyboard, an incredibly detailed Performance meter, and the very versatile Routing Mati, This just so much easier than navigating between a hos of Hoating windows "you want to got realy ‘weaky, there ae laa of acl buteing and these pry settings contig al septs of eordng ad Playback pedoanatce. Reapers Peformance Motors oa revelation or per ses, not ony plying total CPU use and har eve ‘ctty, bat ale remain sytem momo, ies haey fr heavy ser of spies and uert RAM us. You ca een se your RAM consumption cop i you dsb India gin ‘aphicnetaces in fvou of singer generic Intrtece. Even beter or those who rn tha PSs ‘ose te the es, th facts CPU tae ‘separately spayed Doh atta ire an ‘tack, so you can se ext which ligne ar eat your CPU cytes, ‘hen that Reaperie downloaden, and has li of eaties tate growing ona anos. ly basis, to get he al, poate ete at "aug you study the test dato the Cokes web ite You cn find festa overview mo coekos cor eae. 2 OM etal evan o fates at oe coho. center ears jw hl tectmeal speciation at oo reaper eabtecepecn pp Containing mixers, F, instruments, transport controls and soon, and ofcourse youl never lose one window behind all he rest. By faut, Reaper places a transport bar beneath the main ‘arrange area, wth the mixer in the Docker area across the bottom af the screen, but you can undock these and revert o floating window versions if you wish, oF acker area and let it eat ‘on top wherever you wish, In ths mode it features vaiab le opacity, so you can stil see whats going an underneath it ‘All ofthe various display areas andi COCKOS REAPER D> individual windows ae resizeable, so you can, for Instance, keep the mixer ‘manageably small dating the recording ané arranging phases, then create rally tall Fach wack asso Route isd where you can ate a Speicher ctu, fire Sendst ter tacks, or enen eng the optnal Rexoute Rtn) end isouputa other auto ppiatins meters and faders during fates ‘mixdown to better view your | channel levels and edt your the Sends list named 7 Reverb and new level and pan faders appear beneath the tk box so you can set up send levels, along wath the ‘option to place the send before or ater the insert, effects and chanel fader Helpfully, when you next look a the /0 Routing forthe Px. Reverb’ ack, the Receives, ! which you can't even do from Cubase, even ‘routing which means that the novice can get want to run several simultaneous insert i ‘get stuck in straight away without getting in the mixer, which in turn is routed to the Each track can also be routed to any number Routing and return for adding global effects ike Using ll these routing features and subject of side chaining when take a lok at the bundled Cockos plugins, since some at bu these provide four inputs (main stereo input Support for Propellerhead Software's Rewire, , a ee undertaking sevelopere of ay complex wellingessed wih te uty fhe eat Rot sch trickery, Cubwse users ae sil welong } ‘npleaten, an ely Reape ores sy dst ovr tha eta St ty for such features, despite many requests over ‘sepia demote ep emcees tt you cana werk your way esp the aplication downlod sn sallas righ AD vdeo tol outs of Reaper wet Oh hel seucsih guru eva, Due tothe Hequeney oem ‘ietraaud' Theres even a section devetd to. re outing features in Reaper inhale ‘eons spy became ari so aate were, pk and bag oper. Reamot, away tink mip PCs in ocho deeded to concert on wig em Th ny andvartage ofthe mal page network and use the remote ones to add ‘soto teatres and let its wer eaaborat» ene formats that mins we keto extra processing clout your main computer. Imereti a WA on4ne manu cantsinngats computer nay tom te intel aitmare To Joths you atta foopor er ace crits and pe. Youcan'ead his Reapr eu to dovlod in hu speiat 08 R18 machine and then enable Rearte onthe Re er, Tae nete s eto rem ‘master machine from the Preferences menu, vos iy Seno Gossett and a outa Users le PDF fomat has een stad . ‘mare showt the origi and piloophy of Wks at based othe samc datas tho oni veron, ‘THIS tm searches for Renmote slave ‘tenure W/O ay not be s comprehensive ot uptodate et machines onthe network and add thelr ‘Such an aprach to manunbwiing mit te sie EM dounloaate ee fr hand! plugsn ist tothe armoury. There's also 32 wwm:soundonsound.com + june aee7Native Plug-ins from ToD aCe) aetirr tia |> COCKOS REAPER hhave been used to being able to plug any studio output into any input Effects & Soft Synths Reaper hosts both VST and DirectX eects, and anyone who uses a lat of plugins in their Songs willbe reassured to know tha offers full automatic latency compensation throughout the entire signal chain, Unusually, Reaper makes no distinction between MIDI and audio tacks, so when you insert anew track and cick on its Fx button, a dialogue appears that allows you toad ar remave OX plugins, DX instruments, VST plugins and VST instruments, in any ere. Asin Sonic Foundry’s Vegas, you can create and save ‘your own plugin chains, and you can also re-order your chains by clicking and dragging their components. [eee item OMG hrc rahe ol Seer ee ‘umaynotake amorous, bt he Rowing Hat oe ocd Send ons provide ie move experienced ‘ser mth anne amount of conta ove Sens Ret, buses, Gaps and Speci iesimets soca, you want one of your tacks to hold MDI Compressor nd Gate sie chen instead of audio data, you just click on Record Arm button, whereupon an input level hich allows you to connect Reaperto other _interseets an output column all your ‘meter will appear inthe Track Control Pare similarly equipped audio applications, such as interconnections, such a sends, canbe easly Clicking on this will allow you to select the Cubase, Reason and Sona, and send MIDIand seen. New connections can be created by appropriate input channel — inthis case, audio data between them in perfect sync lefclcking, and the send level/pan settings most probably, MID! input fiom your Rearoute, which was originally Intended as and routing options canbe elited by keyboard rather than a mono a stereo audio replacement for Rewie, before support for __elghtclicking to launch a small window iput. Then you ether insert a VST instrument this was ate added, is also worth containing the relevant controls ‘or DX Instrument, using the track’ Fx button, mentioning, I's an optional ASIO driver that veal this sam incredibly versatile ‘or use the track's burton to route its Drovdes 16 inputs and outputs so youcan _—syster, which canbe largely ignored by the output toa MIDI output that you have plugged send audio to ar receive it ram another ‘novice yet enthusiastically explored by the into hardware MIDI synth. you want to pplication. is stil there as an option, and fs more experienced, It willcertaniy appeal! play your MII or soft synths in Reoper when certainly handy if you want to work with those familar with traditional patchbays, who your songs aren playing, youl also need toe non-Rewie applications. Finally, Reaper provides the Routing Hatrix window (above for those who want urate control aver routing. This isa table displaying all possible Sources down the ef side, Including track inputs, hardware inputs, and Rearoute inputs if enabled, and all he destinations from left to ih, including ack ‘outputs, hardware outputs and Rearoute outputs. Here you can click on each input to Record Arm it, while where an input row In eaper, 3M wack tie teen tan asivone, and D4DK, VST dV intranet, ugins ca alc ext inthe Same fet cain A huge sure ofbudled pls is ls elem oth Cachas (te he compressor ith side enable the "Always run wack PX option. es 4 different approach but i surprisingly simple to adjust to, and ultimately found it ess