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Korg Volca Sample 2 Korg rework their popular Volca Sample with some welcome additions. In his review of the original Korg Volca Sample in the SOS February 2015 edition, Paul Nagle believed it to be “the most versatile Volca yet,” and he’s not wrong. With the aptly named successor, the Volca Sample 2, it retains everything Paul liked about it and all the things he didn’t because it is almost entirely the same machine. The only noticeable changes to the exterior are a USB port that has...

Access Analog Love the sound of high‑end analogue kit, but don’t have the space or the money to buy it? No problem... Access Analog is both a business name and a mission statement. The goal is simple: to make high‑end studio equipment available to everyone who would like to use it. Perhaps you’d love to mix through analogue outboard, but can’t afford it. Maybe you work on the road and you can’t always be where your hardware is. Or possibly you’ve reluctantly given up on outboard...

Novation AFX Station Novation have injected the Bass Station II with a healthy dose of Aphex acid. Anything sporting the name of IDM superstar Richard D James, aka Aphex Twin, aka AFX, is likely to get a lot of attention in synth circles. Novation got quite the scoop back in 2019 when they updated the original Bass Station II synth with ‘AFX Mode’ as a free software update for all users. They also added a slew of other new features since the Bass Station II’s original release back in ...

You Me At Six: Recording Suckapunch Producer: Dan Austin You Me At Six producer Dan Austin.Photo: Ed Whitfield For their latest album, You Me At Six threw out the rulebook and spent six weeks at a residential studio in Thailand. Producer Dan Austin was at the helm. Hailing from Surrey, England, five‑piece outfit You Me At Six have spent the past decade and more pushing boundaries both musically and sonically. Never a band to rest on their laurels, their ambitious sonic experimentation...

12 Things People Worry About Too Much When Mixing Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff! Photo: skynesher The only universally applicable rule of mixing is that stimulating an emotional response in the listener trumps all other aims. While it’s obviously a great idea to seek tips, tricks and guidance when you’re learning how to mix, and to consider how you might apply that advice, you also have to be careful that in the process of applying it you don’t lose sight of the big picture. With t...

Anna Meredith Few artists straddle the line between classical and electronic music with as much success as Anna Meredith. We talk to her about the creation of her recent Mercury‑nominated album. How does a composer with an open disregard for the fetishism of synthesizers go about creating an album that is as dependent on its hypnotic electronics as it is on classical instrumentation? For London‑born, Scotland‑raised Anna Meredith MBE, the musical success of Mercury‑nominated second alb...

Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator Modular Modular Synthesizers & Sequencer True to form, Teenage Engineering’s approach to modular synthesis is about as idiosyncratic as it gets. The Pocket Operator Modular range was first introduced to the world around the time of NAMM 2019. They were bold, striking, unexpected and slightly odd. With everyone around them going mad for Eurorack, Teenage Engineering seemed to offer a more unique approach with these stunning objects of sound and colour...

Focusrite Red 8Line The spearhead of Focusrite Pro’s Red range enjoys some light refreshment. Back in 2016, Focusrite’s Pro division entered the market for high‑end audio interfaces with the Red 4Pre. Not just a good‑sounding Thunderbolt interface, the 4Pre was also a gateway to the wonderful world of audio over IP, providing both native systems and Pro Tools HDX rigs with the means to access up to 32 I/O streams from a Dante network. Focusrite swiftly followed up with 8Pre and 16Lin...

Steinberg Cubase 11 Steinberg turn the dial up to 11 with a stonking new version of Cubase. While death and taxes may still be the trump cards in the game of certainty, the inevitability of a tempting upgrade to your favourite music production software can’t come far behind. For many years, Steinberg have been very consistent on this front, with annual upgrades to Cubase released towards the year end. Cubase 11 — in Pro, Artist and Elements versions — is therefore now with us. These...

OWC Docks & Storage OWC make high‑quality computer accessories with musicians in mind. Other World Computing are a long‑established supplier of storage and expansion solutions for computers. One of the things that sets them apart is that many OWC products are designed to meet the needs of professionals working in audio and video. This, in turn, means the company have much more of a focus on the Mac platform than most manufacturers in their field. On the software side, they are responsible...