Home//Sound On Sound UK/June 2024/In This Issue
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024TRUST YOUR GUTDoes knowing about production change the way we engage with music? Definitely. And on the whole, I think that’s a good thing. Above all, it means we can find something to hold our attention in absolutely any song. The melody might be forgettable, the lyrics clunky, the vocal performance below-par, but if you have an interest in production, there’s always something to pique it. How did they get that bass sound? Is that the original sample, or have they re-played it? Why is the snare off-centre?At the same time, though, I think there is also a down side. The expression ‘I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like’ is widely mocked, but it captures something that’s quite important about how the majority of people experience music.…2 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024iZotope Trash Multiband Distortion Plug-inIf you have a long-standing love for creative distortion, it’s very likely that at some stage over the last 10-plus years you’ll have tried iZotope’s Trash 2. That fan-favourite was discontinued quite some time ago, but iZotope have now resurrected the Trash concept. The new version is not Trash 3, though. It’s called, simply, Trash. But it’s very much a new product, with a much more contemporary feel than previous versions. As well as the full desktop version of the Mk3, there’s a free Trash Lite version and, for those who make music on an iPad, there are separate AUv3 Trash and Trash Lite plug-ins available in the App Store. So, whether you are a veteran Trash aficionado, or just looking to add some further creative sound-mangling options to your…7 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Korg NTS-2 Oscilloscope KitModular synthesizers are fashionable again and pleasingly affordable, and many conventional synths now include control voltage (CV) and gate connections for interoperability with modular hardware, drum machines, and even effects devices. When connecting these things together, it’s often helpful if you can view the control voltage and gate signals to check whether they are actually doing what is expected, and it’s often handy to view oscillator waveforms too. The device needed to do this is called an oscilloscope.Traditional analogue oscilloscopes with cathode ray display tubes tend to be large, heavy, expensive and quite technical to configure and use, and they aren’t equipped with audio-friendly connectors. Modern digital ’scopes aren’t much better either. Added to which, an oscilloscope usually only does the one thing — it displays the waveform from one…8 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Dead Slow MSM: Producing Casisdead“When it first came out, I was surprised that I could listen to it,” says MSM. “I thought my PTSD would have been stronger!”The ‘it’ in question is Casisdead’s debut album Famous Last Words, which MSM was initially hired to mix. His role gradually expanded until the project took over his life completely — for eight years. “It was the most intense project I’ve ever been on in my life. I don’t think there’ll ever be an album that could ever top it for me. I was recording, mixing, editing, changing sounds, calling people in to do things. There was always a layer of: ‘Can it be better?’ in the back of our minds.“I reckon I tried to quit the album at least five times. I remember being like, ‘I…13 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Sontronics Saturn 2 Capacitor MicrophoneSontronics’ original Saturn was reviewed way back in SOS October 2010, when Paul White found much to like about this distinctive, retro-looking large-diaphragm capacitor microphone (www.soundonsound.com/reviews/sontronics-saturn). Despite it being a very successful product, Sontronics made the difficult decision to officially discontinue the mic in 2015, as a key component of the circuitry was no longer available or easily replaceable. The microphone was close to designer and Sontronics founder Trevor Coley’s heart, so it was always the plan to re-release the Saturn at some point. A new version was seemingly set for release just before the pandemic struck in 2020, which put their plans on hold. Finally, nearly a decade after the original Saturn was discontinued, the Saturn 2 is now available, and I was very much looking forward to putting…7 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024TalkBack Eduardo De La PazGrowing up in the western Mexican city of Guadalajara, Eduardo De La Paz didn’t have many opportunities to learn the craft of recording and production. Playing in bands growing up, he says, “We would scrape our pocket money together for one day in a studio in Guadalajara. I’d be the one pestering the engineer, asking, ‘How do you do that?’ Mexico has moved on a lot, but at the time there were like, two studios in my hometown. In Mexico City there were way more. So my options were either to go to Mexico City and knock on doors, or go somewhere else.”That choice eventually led De La Paz to London, working under vaunted mixing engineer Craig Silvey on records by the National, Arcade Fire, New Order and more at…9 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024How I Got THAT SOUND David Kosten • Bat For Lashes ‘Seal Jubilee’English producer and engineer David Kosten has worked with a broad spectrum of musical artists, from Snow Patrol and Keane to Bat For Lashes and Brooke Fraser. He is also a respected musician in his own right, recording and releasing contemporary electronica under the moniker of Faultline. Over the years, he’s helped create many weird and wonderful sounds, and selects ‘Seal Jubilee’ by Bat For Lashes as a favourite.Gold Standards“This is my favourite sound and not because it’s a hugely unique or special tone, or involved a complex chain of effects to create, but mainly because of its significance and meaning to me. It signalled a moment in time when I finally, after many years of trying without success, found myself working as a producer on music that felt really…2 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Antares Auto-Tune Pro 11 Pitch-processing SoftwareIf any music technology product has earned the title ‘household name’, it has to be Auto-Tune. The original pitch-correction processor, it first arrived in 1997 for Pro Tools systems before making the move into hardware and then into the native plug-in world. Over the years, it has faced serious competition from other plug-ins and, increasingly, tools built into DAWs, but Antares haven’t rested on their laurels. Just 15 months after we reviewed Auto-Tune Pro X (SOS March 2023: https://sosm.ag/antares-auto-tune-pro-x) they’ve delivered version 11.It Goes To 11Auto-Tune Pro 11 runs in Windows and macOS hosts (there’s native Apple Silicon support) and supports the AAX Native, VST3 and AU plug-in formats. There’s also ARA2 compatibility, so in suitable hosts there’s the prospect of deeper integration with your DAW. It can be bought…10 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Barefoot Footprint03 Active MonitorsSomewhat surprisingly, I’ve not reviewed a Barefoot monitor since the Footprint01 in 2017. Back then, Barefoot were still relatively new entrants to the monitor market, but these days they feel like part of the establishment, and the company should be applauded for surviving and apparently thriving in an intensely competitive market.With the Footprint03, Barefoot have in two respects entered new territory. Firstly, the Footprint03 is significantly more compact and affordable than other products in the range. And secondly, it’s Barefoot’s first reflex-loaded monitor. All previous Barefoot monitors have been closed-box designs, and the company have been evangelical advocates of the benefits of closed-box loading. It will be fascinating to see how the engineers at Barefoot have managed the trade-offs inherent to reflex loading.Baby StepsThe Footprint03 is a three-way active monitor…14 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Guest Technique: Total Dist-Os-tion!It turns out I have a bit of a fondness for distortion — Cicely is obviously entirely that, but Pandora will happily crush sounds too, and Persephone offers some nice analogue saturation. One effect I’m particularly keen on is that of putting a short delay, maybe 300ms, before a distortion, and then playing some fairly long notes into it. You get some wonderful sounds when changing from one note to another, especially if they’re quite close. The distortion obviously does its thing to the sustained notes as well, but when the notes briefly overlap because of the delay, the non‑linearity of the distortion interacts with the non‑aligned partials of the two notes to give lovely intermodulation ‘wobbles’. It’s a fascinating sound, and better yet, because it’s only when the notes…1 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Minimal Audio Flex ChorusChorus is one of the oldest BBD (bucket brigade delay) effects, arriving hot on the heels of the first analogue delay pedals. Essentially, chorus is a modulated short delay that adds pitch wavering, and when this signal is added to the dry sound, the result approximates the sound of two instruments or voices playing the same part but with small timing and tuning variations. Alternative designs were created that ran two slightly different modulated delays at the same time, in order to disguise the cyclic nature of the effect, and so the multi-voice chorus was born. With analogue delay chips each new voice adds to the expense, but software emulations can add stereo operation and multiple voices more easily!Minimal Audio’s Flex Chorus, which supports the usual Mac/Windows plug-in formats including…2 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024LiveRobert Henke, polymathic genius and one of the original designers of Ableton, has contributed a brand-new version of his popular Granulator instrument to the all-singing, all-dancing Live 12. Like the rest of this latest Live, Granulator III sees refinements to workflow and new features aplenty.For those not familiar, Granulator is a powerful granular synthesizer that processes samples in a very different way to normal samplers, and which often gives rise to completely new and exciting textures. Great for ambient sound designers and anyone who wants to experiment more deeply with sound. It also represents Ableton’s ongoing commitment to the Max audio programming language in which Granulator III is written. This new version makes this powerful synthesis method easier than ever to work with.Those familiar with the prior version — Granulator…7 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024QUESTIONS ANSWERD, PROBLEMS SOLVEDQ Can I calculate the preamp gain difference between two mics?I have two different mics, made by the same legacy German manufacturer, that I’m ‘shooting out’ to compare them as vocal mics, and generally to make sure they’re working properly. They’re amplified by two separate but identical preamps and I’m noticing that, to get the same level coming into the DAW from each, one preamp needs almost exactly 10dB more gain. Is there a way to calculate, from the published sensitivity specs, whether this discrepancy in gain is correct — or is it not so simple? Here are the published specs for the two mics:Hugh Robjohns, Technical EditorThe only relevant specs for matching output levels are the sensitivity numbers: the higher the sensitivity, the larger the output level for a…4 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Earthworks DM6 Capacitor MicrophoneThis may be heresy, but I don’t always feel that mic choice is a make-or-break decision. What mic you use is often less important than where you put it. However, if there’s one exception to this, it’s the big round thing that we inexplicably call a kick drum. Despite endless variety in terms of tuning, drum size, type of heads and so on, mic choice always seems to make a big difference — and if you get it wrong, no amount of EQ ever seems to make it right.Over the years, I’ve tried most of the usual suspects, and I’ve never quite achieved bass drum nirvana. Mics not specifically designed for the role tend to sound boxy or flabby, whilst dedicated kick-drum models either scoop the sound too much, or…4 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Universal Audio SC-1 Modelling MicrophoneWhen Universal Audio acquired mic modelling maestros Townsend Labs, the obvious intention was to deploy their Sphere technology in more affordable, simpler products. The first step along this road was last year’s Sphere LX, and UA have now gone much further.The Sphere DLX and LX have separate outputs for the front and rear sides of the capsule, allowing the polar pattern to be manipulated in the Sphere plug-in, but requiring two matched preamp channels. The new generation of UA modelling mics are fixed-cardioid designs that connect to a single preamp input, just like any other mic. There are separate large-diaphragm, small-diaphragm and moving-coil models, plus a cut-down version of the Sphere plug-in named Hemisphere, which can run natively or on UAD hardware DSP platforms.Depending on which source mic you have,…3 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Endorphin.es Ghost Pedal Multi-effects PedalBarcelona-based Ukrainian developer Endorphin.es first collaborated with Andrew Huang last year on the Ghost Eurorack module, a creative audio processor that we’re told is “based on [Huang’s] modern music production techniques” and boasts spatial effects, dynamics processing, filtering and more. Almost a miniature ‘system within a system’, the module allows for flexible routing between its many processors at the push of a button, and on top of that they managed to cram everything onto a 16HP faceplate.With the module proving a success, Endorphin.es and Huang decided to create a pedal-format Ghost, and that’s a bigger deal than it might sound: this is the first time they’ve reached beyond the bounds of modular synthesis and into the wider world of effects pedals and outboard. With a reimagined interface, a sturdy chassis…8 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Pulsar Audio Primavera Spring Reverb Plug-inSince their first release in 2017, French software developers Pulsar Audio have been steadily building an impressive collection of plug-ins, with emulations of esoteric hardware effects and processors that, in the hardware world, would be out of reach for most of us. Regular readers will know that I have a real fondness for hardware spring reverbs, but in some scenarios plug-ins are more convenient, so I was very happy to check out Pulsar’s latest release.OverviewPrimavera promises us a smorgasbord of spring reverb options based on some classic and often lesser-seen devices: Pulsar say that it features precise emulations of both the electronic and mechanical behaviour of six classic spring reverb units. These include the Pioneer SR202, Hawk HR12 and Roland RE-201 as well as more broadly descriptive options they’ve called…6 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Focal ST6 Trio6 Active MonitorsFocal have a strong track record in producing serious studio monitors, and while some of their models are on the costly side for the home studio operator, they are actually very competitively priced in professional terms. The ST6 Trio 6 is the latest in the ST6 series, and while you might assume that the Trio in its name relates to the number of drivers (there are indeed three), it in fact refers to the fact that the speaker can play three different roles, all of which are valuable in today’s studios. This is down to what Focal call Focus mode. It’s a feature we have seen before in earlier models, but whereas those offered two operating modes, the ST6 Trio 6 offers three.The ST6 Trio 6 is a three-way speaker,…7 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Arturia V Collection X Software InstrumentsThe inexorable expansion of Arturia’s V Collection continues unabated, most recently from 2021’s V Collection 8, to 2022’s V Collection 9 and, now V Collection 10... umm, I mean V Collection X, which continues the company’s tradition of including some new instruments, some upgraded ones and, on this occasion, a bunch of new sounds contained within three expansion packs. The new instruments comprise CP-70 V, MiniFreak V, Acid V, Augmented Brass, Augmented Grand Piano and Augmented Woodwinds. ‘Hang on,’ I hear you say, ‘Wasn’t MiniFreak V reviewed in Sound On Sound in April 2023, and wasn’t Acid V reviewed in November?’ Of course they were, or I wouldn’t have mentioned it. Augmented Brass and Augmented Grand Piano were also released last year, so only two of the instruments in V…11 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Midicake Arp MIDI ArpeggiatorAs the first product of Bristol company Midicake, Arp is somewhat specialised — you might even say idiosyncratic. It’s billed as a four-way arpeggio generator designed to control multiple MIDI layers and produce patterns that are neither boring nor random. Without further ado, let’s arpeggiate!(Cake)Walk ThroughHoused in a compact aluminium box (available in either black or white), Arp is covered in squishy rubber buttons and has a small but serviceable colour display. Its patterns are generated from notes made available from either the eight chord buttons or from an external MIDI controller, with a single octave keyboard provided for quick transposition and for programming the chords, which are initially set to major, minor, etc.Although I’ll stick with the term ‘chord’ throughout the review, it’s helpful if you don’t think of…11 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024TC Electronic System 6000 Native Bundle Plug-in CollectionWhen I joined the staff of Sound On Sound, sometime in the 18th Century, there were three big names in digital effects: Lexicon, Eventide and TC Electronic. And, at the time, they were all busy spinning the technology from their high-end studio processors out into more affordable units. In the case of Danish DSP wizards TC Electronic, that gave us project studio staples like the Triple C dynamics processor and M One effects unit, and perhaps most ubiquitously, the Finalizer range of mastering processors. And TC had their fingers in many other pies too, for example with rackmounting guitar effects like the Gforce, not to mention the Dice II chipset that powered many FireWire audio interfaces.As the market for digital studio hardware dwindled in the 2010s, new opportunities arose elsewhere.…14 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024PLAY TIME Finding Time To Experiment In The StudioWe live in an age in which production budgets are tight and every musician who wants it has access to decent recording tools. Consequently, many studio recording sessions are a bit shorter than they once were and they can be a bit more businesslike too: more of a focus on getting work done and less time for experimentation. As an engineer and owner of a commercial studio, I feel I must be reasonably confident that we’ll end up with something good before I choose to burn an hour setting up a mic inside a piano that’s sent to a Leslie speaker! But it wasn’t always this way, and I still feel quite strongly that a recording studio must be about more than good gear, competent engineering and nice acoustics: it…6 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024What’s NewSpanish modularists Befaco hosted a DIY workshop in London at the end of April, hosted by The Synth Shed and with support from Thonk. Befaco brought over 50 kits with them for guests to build; from the dual-channel wavefolder Chopping Kinky to the three-channel noise generator Noise Plethora. Be sure to keep up to date on future events via the Befaco and The Synth Shed websites: www.befaco.org www.thesynthshed.com Speaking of noise — and in more ways than one — Noise Engineering have unveiled yet another powerful firmware for owners of their Legio module platform: a noise generator. Morbus Legio is a rather interesting combination of both processor and noise generator; capable of both processing external audio with clipping, wavefolding, distortion and chorus, as well as noise that can be spread…1 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Cong Burn Strokes Software InstrumentWhen Strokes by Cong Burn (aka UK-based software developer, producer and label owner John Howes) was last reviewed in SOS just over a year ago it was a VST3 and Audio Unit plug-in for Windows and macOS, with an iOS-compatible AUv3 version on the horizon. It was also a sequencer, pure and simple, albeit an unusual one, with multiple drum-machine-like trigger lanes, algorithmic generative features, and step-driven modulation sources that ran inside your DAW, playing or modulating other virtual instruments. I thought it was brilliant, though you had to think laterally and know your DAW’s MIDI routing capabilities inside out to get the most out of it. One trip around the sun later, and what a change there’s been. So much so, that Strokes is easily worth another look.Same Strokes/…14 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Universal Audio Verve Analog MachinesUA have an enviable track record of creating analogue modelling plug-ins. But typically these have been emulations of specific gear that offer the user lots of control. Verve Analog Machines and its ‘lite’ sibling Verve Analog Machines Essentials tread a different path: they present a choice of different emulated devices, each of which has only one or two controls that allow you to refine the sound. Both versions are available for desktop Mac and Windows hosts and run natively (you can’t run them on a UA DSP interface or accelerator card).These plug-ins are all about warmth and distortion, and the flavours on offer range from gentle saturation at the subtler end of the scale through to crunching overload and squelchy obliteration. In Verve Analog Machines Essentials, there are just four…5 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Warm Audio Warm BenderWhen fuzzboxes first began to appear in the mid-1960s (starting with the Gibson Maestro), UK engineer Gary Hurst came out with his own take on the effect and called it the Tone Bender. His design went through a couple of revisions. Warm Audio have now built a pedal called the Warm Bender that offers both those versions along with a third ‘silicon’ transistor setting to give the user three distinctive fuzz voicings.The first Tone Benders were housed in wedge-shaped enclosures but the Tone Bender was also produced by Sola Sound, who used the pressed metal base of a wah pedal as their enclosure. Housed in a pedal that seems to combine aspects of both the wedge and Sola Sound shapes, the Warm Bender has controls for Attack (drive) and Level…3 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Studio OneI’ve been reviewing Studio One for SOS since version 3, and in every review since, I’ve moaned about the fact that PreSonus haven’t come up with any new instruments since Mai Tai. That was nearly 10 years ago. Well, guess what they snuck into version 6.6? That’s right, it’s a brand-new and sparkly virtual instrument. Let me introduce you to Lead Architect.Lead Architect is a sample-based virtual instrument with synth-style filtering, modulation and effects. With a stylish, sci-fi-looking front end and a bit more depth hidden behind the scenes, it has the aroma of one of those Kontakt-based instruments that comes with a large library of sampled sounds and the impression of synthesis. Lead Architect builds its sound through the combination of three parts, each with its own editable synth…9 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024CubaseThe Sampler Track (which is a feature in the Pro, Artist and Elements editions of Cubase) is a simple but undeniably creative tool, so it’s great for experimenting with sample-based sound design. It’s been with us a while, but in Cubase 13 Steinberg added some new features, including some intriguing spectral-based modes for the sample playback engine. For this workshop, though, I thought I’d explore another of the new options: the shape-based drawing tools now present in the Pitch, Filter and Amp modulation panels. These make it so much easier to design tempo-based patterns, so that risers, pitch drops, patterned filter sweeps and rhythmic volume effects should all feel well and truly in sync with your project.I want to keep things simple to follow, so with that in mind let’s…8 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024WHY I LOVE... VINYLLast year I watched Almost Famous, and that film made me realise something incredibly sad: I’d never heard anything on vinyl. You see, I’m 12. My friends and I have grown up in a world of smartphones, headphones and playlists, where we can listen to anything we want, anywhere and at any time, and where technology tells us what to play next.But music means so much to me that I wanted to try listening in a different way, and I decided I’d explore the world of vinyl. I begged my parents for a hi-fi separates system, and last Christmas, the fat guy with a beard (sorry Dad!) actually delivered it. I wouldn’t trade it in for the world! It’s made up of second-hand bits (I prefer ‘vintage’), but with a…3 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Electro‑Voice Everse 12 Active PA SpeakerCombining Electro-Voice’s loudspeaker technology with Dynacord’s design expertise in amplifiers and DSP, the two-way Everse 12 is the big brother to the Everse 8 we reviewed in January 2023, employing a similar setup but with a 12-inch woofer running alongside its wave-guide-mounted, one-inch, ferrofluid-cooled titanium-dome tweeter. Once again, the superpower of this speaker is its ability to run from its own rechargeable lithium-ion battery, giving up to six hours of use at high volumes or around twice that with more moderate use. When no signal is present, a power-saving mode preserves the battery charge, and the battery charges whenever the speaker is plugged into the mains, even when powered off.Moulded from polypropylene and also available in white as an alternative to the more usual black, the ported cabinet is shaped…7 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Microphone Parts SDC-84 Small-diaphragm Capacitor MicrophoneMicrophone Parts is one of those names that leaves you in no doubt as to what the company make! Based in California, they specialise in components for upgrading affordable capacitor mics, but also offer complete self-assembly kits and fully assembled microphones. Most of their own designs are based to some extent on classic models from the likes of Neumann and AKG, and none more so than the SDC-84. A small-diaphragm capacitor mic loosely modelled after the Neumann KM84, it’s available as a kit, but you can also opt to buy it pre-built individually or as a stereo pair, and it was the last of these options that was sent for review.What’s In A Number?Neumann discontinued the KM84 in favour of the KM184 sometime in the ’90s, and although its replacement…5 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Drawmer Electronics 1977 Analogue Channel StripBritish company Drawmer Electronics have been around since 1982 and today they offer several lines of outboard processors, along with monitor controllers, master clocks, signal routers and even plug-ins, via a collaboration with Softube. For review here is their latest analogue channel strip: the 1977. It’s a mono, 2U rackmount device that combines a preamplifier, an EQ, a compressor and a saturator with some useful routing facilities. It connects to mains AC via an IEC socket on the rear, and can operate on 230V 50Hz or 115V 60Hz power — to prevent accidents you must unscrew a metal panel and insert a suitable fuse if you wish to change this.Externally, the build quality is good: unfussy, solid and fit for purpose, with very clear panel markings. On the inside most…10 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024HARDWARE V PLUG-INSHardware versus in-the-box mixing has been a hot topic for almost as long as any of us can remember, but I don’t think there has ever been a true A/B comparison. Has anyone completed a full 48-channel mix using hardware, then meticulously replaced it all with plug-in equivalents, matching the levels and carefully replicating EQ curves — not just using equivalent plug-ins, but also using test tones and spectrum analysers in an effort to make them sound, as far as possible, identical? I don’t think so. In fact, I don’t believe there has been an A/B test of any sort on a full 48-channel mix. Until now: I’ve done just that, and in this article, I will take you through the process I used and report what at least some…18 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Electra One MkII MIDI ControllerThe Electra One, by a company of the same name, is a small desktop MIDI controller with a touchscreen, a dozen high‑resolution rotary pots, six buttons, and USB and DIN MIDI ports. Its superpower is a mature Web MIDI platform that allows you to create custom controllers and switch between them at the touch of a button. There’s even a scripting language enabling anyone with a small amount of programming or scripting skill to create custom features, including two‑way MIDI communication, bulk SysEx interpretation, custom display formatting, and MIDI effects like arpeggiators and LFOs.In essence, the Electra One can be a controller for DAWs, live performances or an editor/librarian for any MIDI equipment, new or old. At first, I was most excited about making editors for some older rack equipment…17 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Andy Sneap • Judas Priest INSIDE TRACKAndy Sneap is one of the leading producers and musicians in the metal genre. In a career spanning more than 35 years he has been involved in the making of over 100 albums, by bands like Megadeth, Dream Theater, Hell, Kreator, Opeth, Killswitch Engage, Saxon, Testament, Exodus, Overkill, and countless others. Even so, when he was asked to work with Judas Priest, it was a childhood dream come true. “I got into metal when I was 11-12 years old. I had Judas Priest posters on my bedroom wall! They were one of the big metal bands in the world and I loved them!”Sneap engineered, mixed, mastered and produced Judas Priest’s Firepower (2018) and this year’s Invincible Shield. “In 2016, Mille [Miland Petrozza] of the band Kreator suggested to [guitarist] Glenn…19 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Cinesamples Musio Virtual Instrument CatalogueCinesamples’ extensive catalogue of Kontakt-based orchestral sample libraries will be very familiar to those who inhabit the world of film and TV composition. They create premium libraries suitable for high-profile projects and, as with the obvious competition from Native Instruments, EastWest, Spitfire and others, they are also priced accordingly. For example, one of Cinesamples’ most popular orchestral strings libraries — CineStrings Core — will currently cost you upwards of $400.Understandably, therefore, building a complete orchestral palette via individual Cinesamples Kontakt libraries represents a significant investment. Or maybe not... because Cinesamples have now introduced Musio. This platform provides access to a substantial (and growing) selection of their sample libraries for either a $9.99 per month subscription or a one-off payment of $399. So, what exactly is Musio?Top-tier SoundsThe Musio platform combines…7 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Steinberg WaveLab Pro 12 Audio Editing SoftwareSteinberg’s WaveLab has been with us for nearly 30 years. For the initial release, designer and developer Philippe Goutier’s intention was to provide a powerful audio editor platform for those working with the new (at the time) sampler technology. However, over subsequent releases, WaveLab’s feature list has adapted to support a wide range of additional application areas and the software now provides a very sophisticated cross-platform (macOS and Windows) audio editing and mastering suite.Of course, many current DAWs now include their own audio editing toolsets, and there are plenty of dedicated options for audio mastering, some of which are highly automated. Outside of WaveLab’s established professional user base, therefore, might some potential new users need convincing that they actually need a product like WaveLab Pro 12? Well, Steinberg are obviously…10 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Modular InterviewExpert Sleepers’ Andrew Ostler gives us a blow‑by‑blow account of the thinking behind his new analogue modules.On PandoraPandora’s a bit of an odd one. The germ of the idea was that of using a CMOS inverter IC as a high‑gain analogue amplifier, as in the classic EDP Wasp’s filter, but here I’ve done it with discrete power MOSFET transistors instead of the logic chip. These form a band‑pass filter, much like that in an 808 kick‑drum circuit, which is why Pandora has that switch to drop the frequency range. And then of course it has vactrols for extra flavour. I’ve made some wild rhythm tracks by feeding Pandora noise and a load of rhythmic CV modulation.On CicelyThe Octavia pedal is a particular favourite of my long‑standing collaborator Mike — we…2 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Firesonic FireEQAvailable through United Plugins, FireEQ supports macOS and Windows hosts and AAX, VST, VST3 and AU formats, and is authorised with a personal licence key that allows use on multiple computers.FireEQ combines several EQ methodologies with a view to making mixing and mastering flexible but without adding too much complexity. It employs 64-bit internal processing and supports sample rates to 192kHz and beyond.FireEQ’s low- (30-450 Hz) and high-shelf (1.5 to 10 kHz) filters have a ±16dB range and use analogue modelling to emulate vintage hardware, while a single Dark/ Bright balance knob can control the overall tonal shading of a mix without resorting to the individual EQ controls. Depth sets the amount of processing and a further knob, Magic, adds complex dynamic processing that evens out the sound while lifting…2 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024SAMPLE LIBRARIESSRM SoundsMax Richter PianoKontakt InstrumentComposer Max Richter’s works encompass solo albums, concert hall and theatre performances, ballet, film and TV, including scores for Hostiles, Black Mirror, Taboo, Mary Queen Of Scots and Ad Astra. This prolific creator now turns his hand to sample libraries with Max Richter Piano, the first of a series of instrument collections released on the composer’s SRM Sounds label. The library is 98GB installed and requires Kontakt Player or Kontakt version 6.8.0 or higher.Recorded at Studio Richter Mahr, Oxfordshire in collaboration with UK company Song Athletics, the product has impressive specs: the piano is a world-beating Steinway D-274 concert grand, while the acoustically isolated studio’s near-zero noise floor is ideal for savouring the lingering die-away of note tails. Such subtlety invites a light touch — as…9 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024Pro ToolsThis article was inspired by a recent conversation I had with some fellow Pro Tools users about things that would have saved us a great deal of time if we’d known them sooner. There is no theme to the material presented in this month’s article beyond all of these things being very useful, so hopefully there’s something new here for everyone. Certainly in the conversation I was having there were examples where the reaction of seasoned users went everywhere from sagely nodding agreement through to outright astonishment.I’ll start with some useful tips which will benefit you before you even get into your session. These tips use Mac modifiers. PC users should substitute Option with Alt, Command with Control and Control with Start.Window PainWe’ve all had the fun of clicking away…7 min
Sound On Sound UK|June 2024LogicLogic Pro’s mixer has implemented busses for pretty much as long as it has been a digital audio workstation (remember, there was a time when Logic was only a MIDI sequencer). With an architecture based on that of analogue mixers, the Logic mixer is intuitive, flexible and robust. But every once in a while I need to remind myself that not everyone has been using Logic Pro for two-plus decades, and that many Logic users aren’t dyed-in-the-wool analogue console veterans. In particular, confusion can arise if you aren’t fully aware that sends, busses and aux tracks, while related, are three distinct entities in Logic.Most hardware mixing consoles have several ‘aux send’ knobs on each channel. Each of these sends distributes signal from that channel to additional outputs on the mixer.…7 min
