A review of the Splice Sounds sample subscription servi… - Half a Million Sounds
Written testDo you use a lot of samples in your music production? Do you pay for individual samples or sample packs on a regular basis? If so, you might want to check out Splice Sounds, a recently launched servi…
How to fix pitch and timing with the most economical ve… - [Video] Tap the Power of Melodyne Essential
LearningMelodyne Essential is the least expensive version of Celemony's acclaimed editing software, and though it doesn't have the same feature set of its big brother Melodyne Editor, it's nevertheless quite…
Improve Your Drum Tracks With a Noise Gate - A guide to mixing music - Part 48
LearningThis week I'll show you how to use a Noise Gate to significantly improve your drum tracks.
Review of the Audient iD14 USB audio interface - Keep the IDeas Rolling
Written testA little over two years ago we reviewed the iD22, the first ever audio interface manufactured by Audient, an English brand well-known for its consoles and mic preamps. Considering the crossover to th…
A review of Studio One 3 Professional - Worth the Wait
Written testStudio One users have been awaiting a major upgrade for quite some time. Studio One 3 is the first such update since October of 2011, when Studio One 2 hit the market. PreSonus has added new instrume…
Getting Creative with a Noise Gate - A guide to mixing music - Part 47
LearningUp to now we have only seen the more typical uses of a Noise Gate. Now we'll start looking into less obvious techniques that can make a gate much more interesting during mixdown.
Use a Gate to Kill the Spill - A guide to mixing music - Part 46
LearningIn the previous installment, we saw what bleed is, and the problems it can cause during mixdown. Today we'll look at how to remove or minimize this harmful phenomenon with a noise gate.
Don't Let it Bleed - A guide to mixing music - Part 45
LearningToday we'll talk about the phenomenon of mic bleed, and how it can cause difficulties during a mix.
Sonar 2015 Platinum Review - Recording Studio for Lease
Written testValue For Money awardIt's been more than a year and a half since Sonar X3 came out and, keeping up with the usual update schedule, the newest version was launched last January.
Classic synth emulations that won't cost you a dime - 5 Free Vintage Synth Plug-Ins
LearningYou often hear that a $1,000 laptop today has the power of a billion dollars worth of computer equipment from 50 years ago. Likewise, the equivalent of thousands of dollars of vintage synthesizer gea…
A review of Positive Grid Bias FX Professional modeling… - Amps and Effects on the Grid
Written testThe competition in the amp-and-effects modeling market is fierce, and there is no shortage of excellent products. Positive Grid, which established itself on the iOS side with JamUp and JamUp Pro, and…
Setting the Gate - A guide to mixing music - Part 44
LearningNow that we've seen the main parameters of a Noise Gate, let's move on to the practical side, starting with its most traditional use: suppressing noise.
Preserve Your Music! - Strategies for archiving your session files and mixes for the long haul
LearningBack in the days of analog tape, archiving multitrack sessions was not an easy task. You needed a place to store the bulky tape reels, and if you didn’t “bake” the tapes to get the moisture out of th…
A review of the UAD AKG BX 20 spring reverb plug-in - Spring Has Sprung
Written testWhen you think of spring reverb, the sound that probably comes to mind is the “boingy” one associated with guitar amps. For mixing sources like vocals, drums and pianos, you probably wouldn't conside…
Noise Gate 101 - A guide to mixing music - Part 43
LearningThis week we'll tackle a type of dynamics processing that was used all the time in the analog days, but, bizarrely enough, doesn't get called upon nearly as much in the all-digital era. And yet it's …