CATEGORIES

JLab Talk GO

A great upgrade on your Mac’s mic

CARROT Weather

And the outlook is: totally essential

PhotoDirector 365

Manage images, fix photo problems and get creative

Sonos Roam

The best portable speaker of 2021

WWDC 2021: What To Expect From Apple's Great (Remote) Gathering

We take a look at what developers and consumers can expect from Apple’s much-anticipated Glow and Behold event

New iPad Pro

Now equipped with the same Apple silicon M1 chip as the iMac – and it gets Thunderbolt too

Apple AirTag: Find Lost Things – With Some Caveats

Apple’s tech means you can find just about anything you have attached the AirTag to

Phrozen Sonic Mini 4K

Print with more pixels per inch than an iPhone 12 Pro, says Andrew Sink.

Intel Core i5 11600K

It’s a chip that tickles Dave James’ price/performance sensibilities.

Ro-ro-ro your synth…

Roland get their software act together but there’s plenty more in 106 land

Waves Vocal Bender £110

This appealing vocal mangler lets you give music’s most essential instrument the colour and dexterity modern pop production demands

Solid State Logic UF8 - £1199

DAW controllers let us take direct control over our projects – can SSL’s new UF8 bridge the gap between software and hardware?

LAU.RA

Laura Bettinson’s multifaceted career has found the Midlands-hailing artist leaping seamlessly from the technicolor avant-garde pop of FEMME and the cerebral intensity of Ultraísta to the fresh, wonky electronica of lau.ra. On the heels of a slew of new singles, we ask what initiated her new direction, and discover how lockdown has fuelled a new studio approach

Leapwing Audio Al Schmitt - £139

Bottling the sonic signature of the sadly departed producer, Leapwing Audio’s latest plugin promises the sound of a legend…

Cableguys DriveShaper - €39

Analogue-style distortion and creative wavefolding make this a pulsating box of gritty filth… which is far more pleasant than it sounds

SHE'S GOT CLAWS

With a sound that melds ominous synth textures with effect-driven bass guitar, yet simultaneously leaves space for sparkling, transcendent pop hooks, She’s Got Claws haven’t let a pandemic stand in the way of a fierce new record, co-produced by OMD legend Andy McCluskey

Arturia Pigments 3 - €99

The Pigments powerhouse gets upgraded to v3, adding more engines, more waveforms and more effects. Have we reached saturation point?

15 questions with…MORCHEEBA

As producers of lush, downtempo tunes, Morcheeba have had more than a quarter of a century of success. It’s been quite a ride, and we’re not just talking about the transition from Atari to Mac…

How To Achieve The Perfect Real-Time Key

Produce fantastic results with the Notch Chroma Keyer with this easy step-by-step guide

Caelum Audio Tape Pro £39.99

Tape saturation can be an excellent flavour-enhancing tool. Let’s see if this new affordable plugin from Caelum Audio tingles the taste buds

TOM HOLKENBORG

Having just scaled his personal ‘Mount Everest’ with a four-and-a-half-hour score for Justice League: The Snyder Cut, Tom Holkenborg reflects on isolation working methods, casting out his old kit and his enduring passion for boutique Eurorack synths

Spiritual Sounds

It’s time to raid the mighty Vault, and we have found a much-needed collection of samples to calm us all down a bit. One, two, three: breathe…

Tom Wolfe Premier Collection £239.99

This preset collection for softsynth classics could catapult your next soundtrack into the top division, but is it in the premier league?

New keys samples

We have two all-new packs of highly-processed keyboard samples for you this issue. You can get both packs on the DVD or download direct at filesilo.co.uk

Neuratron PhotoScore & NotateMe Ultimate 2020 £199

To scan and edit existing musical scores, the best option is a dedicated application (and one with a very long name)

The cm guide to MODULAR SYNTHESIS

Modular, aka Eurorack, synthesis has taken the production world by storm. Here’s your complete guide on how to get going, as we go from zero to modular hero…

Spitfire Audio Contemporary Drama Toolkit £169

Spitfire invite you to enjoy a world of effortless, feel-based scoring. But are these simple routes to sonic success just smoke and mirrors?

15 questions with…SNARL

Snarl might not be old enough to set foot in a club yet, but he’s already producing tracks so good that he has been described as ‘dance music’s next great prodigy’. Not that Prodigy, although he does come from Essex…

15 questions with… JIMMY EDGAR

Playing games with music, using three EQs, no compression, nor reverb. Welcome to the glorious mind of Jimmy Edgar

Pro-Tography OnePlus 9 Pro

Mobile phone evolution meets camera revolution, and the results are excellent