minilogue xd: First look with Kabuki (part 2)

Q. What's the best way to fix a pushed-in tweeter cone?

By Hugh Robjohns

The dome of the tweeter on one of my M-Audio Studiophile BX5 monitors has somehow got pushed inwards. Does this cause permanent damage? If it's advisable, how should I go about pulling it back out? Someone told me to use some sticky tape, but I'm concerned that this could do further damage.

Alex Dean

Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies: I'm afraid to say that if a soft-dome tweeter has been pushed in, it will already be creased, and that will result in increased distortion compared with an original unit. This structural damage cannot be repaired, although you can improve the looks of the thing by drawing the tweeter dome back out.

While it may be possible to draw this pushed-in tweeter dome back out, its performance will be permanently compromised.

Whether you can hear this damage or not depends on several factors, not the least being the quality of the original tweeter. For some, repairing the looks of the tweeter will be sufficient, but the only real way to get the original performance back is to replace the tweeter, and ideally the one in the other speaker too, so that they both will be the same age and have the same specifications. It's best to approach the speaker manufacturer directly for replacements, quoting the serial numbers of your speakers, so that they can check their production records and supply new tweeters of the correct sensitivity. This is often something that varies from batch to batch and so the speaker crossovers have to be tweaked slightly during manufacture to maintain correct overall performance.

If you can't replace the tweeter, then you might be able to restore its shape and some of its original performance. Bear in mind, though, that the coating on the tweeter dome is delicate, and trying to pull it out by sticking tape or Blu-Tac to it is a daft idea in my opinion. Such techniques will either pull off parts of the coating (making the situation even worse) or leave residues behind (ditto).

A better way of restoring the shape of the dome is to use a vacuum cleaner, because it is a non-contact approach. This is what we did to provide a temporary fix for a damaged tweeter in a Studio SOS visit in the October 2002 issue. By carefully reducing the air pressure in front of the tweeter using the hose from the vacuum, the pressure of air behind the tweeter forces its shape back out in a fairly gentle way. Obviously, it involves a strong and steady hand to avoid the vacuum cleaner nozzle coming into contact with the tweeter in any way, but, provided that you are careful, this technique can be effective.

Published December 2003

minilogue xd: First look with Kabuki (part 1)

Q. What's the difference between floating- and fixed-point systems?

By Hugh Robjohns

Could you clarify the difference between floating- and fixed-point 32-bit operation in the digital domain. I know that floating-point systems allow for data to be handled at word lengths above 24-bit, which are then dithered back down. Does it also result in a greater dynamic range?

SOS Forum Post

Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies: Accurate digital audio capture and reproduction requires, at the very most, 24-bit resolution. The reasoning behind this is that a 24-bit signal has a theoretical dynamic range of 144dB, which is greater than the dynamic range of the human ear, so, in theory, a 24-bit system can record sounds slightly quieter than those we can hear and reproduce sounds louder than we can stand. There is therefore no need for A-D/D-A converters to work at resolutions higher than 24-bit.

High-end digital consoles like the Sony DMX R100 use 32-bit floating-point processing, giving them almost limitless headroom.

However, when it comes to processing sound within a digital system, there needs to be some headroom to accommodate the fact that adding two 24-bit numbers together can produce a result which can only be described using 25 bits, and adding 30 or 40 such numbers together can produce something even bigger. At the other end of the scale, the mathematical calculations involved in complex signal processing like EQ generates very small 'remainders', and these have to be looked after properly, otherwise the EQ process effectively becomes noisy and distorted. The natural solution is to allocate more bits for the internal maths — hence 32-bit systems.

Fixed-point systems use the 32 bits in the conventional way to provide an internal dynamic range of about 192dB. Systems that use fixed-point 32-bit processing (like the 0-series Yamaha desks) usually arrange for the original 24-bit audio signal to sit close to the top of that 32-bit processing number to provide a lower noise floor and slightly greater headroom for the signal processing. (Incidentally, a 192dB SPL is roughly equivalent to two atmospheres' pressure on the compression of the wave and a complete vacuum on the rarefaction.)

Floating-point systems also use 32-bit numbers, but organise them differently. Essentially, they keep the audio signal in 24-bit resolution, but use the remaining bits to denote a scaling factor. In other words the 24-bit resolution can be cranked up or down within a colossal internal dynamic range so that, in effect, you can never run out of headroom or fall into the noise floor — there is something like 1500dB of dynamic range within the processing, if the maths is done properly.

Most high-end consoles and workstations employ floating-point maths because (if properly implemented) you can get better performance and quality in the computations. Most budget/low-end consoles and DAWs use fixed-point processing because it's easier and faster, and can be implemented in hardware more easily.

Published January 2004

volca modular: First look with Kabuki (part 2)

Q. Should I believe my monitors, my hi-fi or my headphones?

By Mike Senior

When using small monitors like Behringer's Truth 2031s for mixing, it's worth comparing the results on domestic hi-fi speakers and headphones.

I'm currently mixing a full funk band recording and have borrowed a pair of Behringer Truth B2031 monitors to do it. Everything sounds great to me, until I switch over to my Technics hi-fi to check it and it loses all bass definition and sounds muddy. When I check it again using a pair of Beyer DT100 headphones, things sound disjointed, with some things sounding miles away and others really close. Is this my lack of experience in mixing, or is there something I'm missing? How can I find a compromise?

SOS Forum Post

SOS Reviews Editor Mike Senior replies: I've used Behringer Truths before, and I've found that the port sounds quite resonant (this is done to achieve a flatter frequency response, but at the cost of time-domain problems), which makes it difficult to judge the bass and lower mid-range with any great accuracy. For example, I've found that the difference between the mixes I've done on the Behringers and those I've done with a Blue Sky Pro Desk system (which has no ports at all) has been fairly dramatic. Admittedly, there's a price differential here, so it's not quite a fair comparison. However, bear in mind that the famous Yamaha NS10s and Auratones were both unported. But as with all monitors, it's essential to listen to lots of commercially produced CDs that you are familiar with played through them so that you can begin to get used to the particular way they emphasise and de-emphasise certain frequencies.

The best advice I can give you would be to use more than one pair of speakers when mixing. I've been getting results which translate pretty well on most systems by alternating constantly between the Blue Skys and a pair of £30 multimedia speakers (as well as checking occasionally on a good pair of Sony headphones). Although you'll never get a completely accurate representation of the sound from any single system (not at this price level, anyway), the constant switching between systems really helps give you a good overall idea of the way the mix is working. If I had the space to set up even more sets of speakers I would, as moving to a dual-system monitoring setup has made a dramatic improvement to my results. I've heard it said that Steve Power (of Robbie Williams fame) uses as many as half-a-dozen monitoring systems while mixing.

Another thing to think about when mixing is the acoustic environment that you and your monitors are in; this is the most common issue we encounter on home studio visits for our Studio SOS features. Just a few panels of acoustic foam or a couple of bass traps can make a world of difference. I can't actually fix any acoustic treatment permanently into my home setup (my wife wouldn't let me!), but I still insist on putting up foam-covered boards while I'm mixing, because it makes such a difference to the usability of the system.

As to the 'disjointed' sound you hear from your headphones, the problem probably has to do with your use of effects. If things seem too far away, then you're likely to be using too much reverb or delay, or just the wrong patch. If they seem too close, then add in a bit more of these effects. It could also be that you're compressing too little or too much. Only a bit of experimentation can really help out here, but check out some of SOS's past articles on reverb and delay for some tips. It sounds like you might also be going overboard with panning to make up for mix problems. I've always considered it a bit dangerous to rely on panning to separate your sounds in the mix, because of the fact that so few real-world listening systems actually exhibit stereo performance — even most apparently stereo systems often don't deliver stereo to the listener because of the positioning of the speakers or the listener. If it's taking panning to sort out a mix problem, I usually try to reassess the arrangement instead. Something just has to go, or be filtered or something.

When approaching a mix, it's often a good idea to start by mixing the most important musical element of your track first. Often, it's the lead vocal, but it could equally be the drums in dance styles, for example. If, for example, your lead vocal and electric piano are the most important instruments in a track, then it makes sense to process and mix everything else to fit with them, rather than compromising the lead instruments' sound to fit them around all the secondary stuff. The best mixes I've done have closely adhered to this principle, and my biggest mixing mistakes tend to occur when I stray from it. I also try to start mixing with the climax of the song first (the final choruses in a pop song, for example), so that I can pace the rest of the song and keep it from getting too big too early.

Published November 2003

volca modular: First look with Kabuki (part 1)

Q. How do I mike up woodwind instruments?

By Hugh Robjohns

I'm going to be adding some woodwind parts to a track, recording flute, clarinet, alto and tenor saxophones one at a time. Can you offer any advice on how to mike them up?

Martin Brady

Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies: Unlike brass instruments, which emit sound solely from the bell and are therefore highly directional, the woodwind family emit sound from the entire length of the instrument, as the player covers or uncovers the finger holes, effectively lengthening or shortening the vibrating column of air within the instrument and changing the pitch of the note being played. As a general rule, therefore, you need to place the mic in such a way that it can 'see' the whole thing. This will usually mean a position about 18 inches away and about half the way down the length of the instrument. As always though, experiment and listen to find the optimal microphone position and angle for that combination of instrument, player and room. A condenser mic should give you the best results.

So for the clarinet, start about 18 inches away and at a height which puts the microphone about half to two-thirds of the way down the body of the clarinet. Try to stop the musician from swaying about, and adjust the distance, height and angle of the mic to optimise the tone and body of clarinet and minimise the key action and wind noises.

The flute presents a slightly different case, as it is held horizontally rather than vertically. Start by positioning the mic level with the flute's horizontal plane, halfway along its length and 18 inches away. Classical flute playing is often recorded with the mic placed slightly above the horizontal and at a distance of three or more feet away, while for more modern styles, the mic is sometimes placed less than a foot away for a more breathy, jazzy feel. Again, you should experiment to find the sound you're looking for. If you're recording in a small room with poor acoustics, putting the mic more than two feet away may mean you pick up more of the room sound than you want.

For the saxes, try a large-diaphragm condenser placed about 18 inches away and 'looking' roughly just below the halfway point of the body of the sax. You could also use a large dynamic mic for a slightly fuller, softer sound. Angling the mic downwards towards the upper rim of the bell can help to reduce how much noise from the keys is picked up — some consider it to be an intrinsic part of the instrument's sound, while others find it unsatisfactory.

Published November 2003

Sequencing Korg prologue with SQ-1

Q. How do I mike up woodwind instruments?

• Recording

By Hugh Robjohns

I'm going to be adding some woodwind parts to a track, recording flute, clarinet, alto and tenor saxophones one at a time. Can you offer any advice on how to mike them up?

Martin Brady

Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies: Unlike brass instruments, which emit sound solely from the bell and are therefore highly directional, the woodwind family emit sound from the entire length of the instrument, as the player covers or uncovers the finger holes, effectively lengthening or shortening the vibrating column of air within the instrument and changing the pitch of the note being played. As a general rule, therefore, you need to place the mic in such a way that it can 'see' the whole thing. This will usually mean a position about 18 inches away and about half the way down the length of the instrument. As always though, experiment and listen to find the optimal microphone position and angle for that combination of instrument, player and room. A condenser mic should give you the best results.

So for the clarinet, start about 18 inches away and at a height which puts the microphone about half to two-thirds of the way down the body of the clarinet. Try to stop the musician from swaying about, and adjust the distance, height and angle of the mic to optimise the tone and body of clarinet and minimise the key action and wind noises.

The flute presents a slightly different case, as it is held horizontally rather than vertically. Start by positioning the mic level with the flute's horizontal plane, halfway along its length and 18 inches away. Classical flute playing is often recorded with the mic placed slightly above the horizontal and at a distance of three or more feet away, while for more modern styles, the mic is sometimes placed less than a foot away for a more breathy, jazzy feel. Again, you should experiment to find the sound you're looking for. If you're recording in a small room with poor acoustics, putting the mic more than two feet away may mean you pick up more of the room sound than you want.

For the saxes, try a large-diaphragm condenser placed about 18 inches away and 'looking' roughly just below the halfway point of the body of the sax. You could also use a large dynamic mic for a slightly fuller, softer sound. Angling the mic downwards towards the upper rim of the bell can help to reduce how much noise from the keys is picked up — some consider it to be an intrinsic part of the instrument's sound, while others find it unsatisfactory.

Published November 2003

EK-50 tutorial: playing songs from a USB Key

Q. Can I use a Mac Mini for music?

• Hardware > Computer

I always hear people saying that the Mac Pro is the Mac of choice for musicians but, as a hobbyist, I simply can't justify the expense. I'm tempted by a Mac Mini, as I already have a decent screen, but am concerned that it won't be able to cope with the requirements of audio recording. What are the pros and cons?

Petra Smith via email

SOS contributor Mark Wherry replies: While it used to be the case that a high-end computer like the Mac Pro was essential for running music and audio applications, these days it's really hard to purchase a system that will be incapable of such tasks. It's all a matter of how many audio tracks, instruments and effects you need the computer to handle. Among the most important factors to consider in determining such handling are the type and speed of the processor, the amount of memory and the speed of the hard disk.The updated Mac Mini comes with a 2.4GHz processor, 2GB RAM and a 320GB hard drive as standard, making it perfectly capable of running decent numbers of tracks.Photo: Apple

Since the first Power PC-based model was introduced (see the full review at/sos/may05/articles/applemacmini.htm), the Mac Mini has established itself as a basic-yet-capable studio computer. The current range features Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and the 2007 MacBook Pro (which, with a 2.4GHz processor, had similar performance capabilities) gives us a rough guide of the performance you can expect: using Logic Pro 7, this was capable of running 150 PlatinumVerb instances, 54 Space Designers and 512 EXS24 voices (with the filter enabled). Today's baseline Mac Mini also has a 2.4GHz processor, so those figures should be roughly comparable.

When it comes to memory, the 2GB supplied in the entry-level Mac Mini should be just enough to get you started. But you'll find life rather more comfortable with 4GB, especially if you want to work with sample‑based instruments. It's worth bearing in mind that 8GB is the maximum amount of memory supported by the Mac Mini.

In terms of storage, the basic Mac Mini comes with a 360GB drive. But, perhaps more crucially, this internal drive runs at 5400rpm — slower than those used in most other Macs — which will limit the number of audio tracks you can play back simultaneously. As a guide, you should expect to be able to handle approximately 50 to 60 mono 16-bit tracks at 44.1kHz. However, it is possible to connect a faster drive for audio, thanks to the Mac Mini's built-in FireWire 800 port — assuming you're not already planning to use this port for an audio interface, of course, since daisy‑chaining devices isn't always possible.

Another important factor when considering the Mac Mini, and one that might initially sound a little bizarre, is price. Although the Mac Mini is the cheapest Mac that Apple sell, its£649starting price can be deceptive in terms of value, even though, on paper, it's several hundred dollars cheaper than the cheapest iMac. If you already have a suitable monitor, keyboard and mouse, that's fine. But if you factor in the cost of these required devices to even the cheapest Mac Mini, the price difference between that and the low-end iMac starts to narrow considerably.

In a nutshell, the Mac Mini remains a basic, yet capable machine that provides a good starting point. However, in many ways, the entry-level iMac represents better value for those on a budget, especially if you see yourself quickly outgrowing the Mini's capabilities. 

Published November 2010

minilogue xd Tutorial/How-to 4: Sequencer, Voice Modes, and Performance Features

Q. Where can I get raw files to practise my mixing?

• Recording

I was wondering where I might be able to find raw tracks that I could use to practise my mixing skills? I've searched on Google and the SOS forums and not yet got very far. Ideally, the type of music I'd like to practice on would be blues, rock, punk or metal.

Via SOS web site

SOS Reviews Editor Matt Houghton replies: Funnily enough, for the Mix Rescue article in this very issue (page 138), both the artist and Mike Senior have kindly agreed to let us make the entire Reaper project available for download. So not only will you be able to practice mixing on it (the full version of Reaper is free to download and evaluate for 30 days, and it's cross‑platform, which means that everyone can have a go, unless you're one of the few who are stubbornly sticking to Atari or Linux!), you'll also be able to take a look inside Mike's mix and hopefully learn a thing or two in the process.

As for other sources of raw multitrack recordings, I'm surprised you haven't had more luck with a Google search. Get the search terms right ("multitrack wavs” or "multitrack download”, for example) and quite a few sources seem to spring up, including some commercial artists, such as Nine Inch Nails, who have made material freely available (http://ninremixes.com/multitracks.php), and Peter Gabriel, who has held competitions where he's made material available for would‑be remixers. Good as Google is, trying a different search engine can also throw up some different results.Some commercial artists have made their songs available to download as raw multitrack recordings, which are perfect for practising mixing. This one — 'Hyperpower' by Nine Inch Nails — was originally downloaded for Garageband, but is easily opened and worked on in Logic.

Finally, of course, there are always the potentially rewarding options of tracking some of your own material, working with someone else to track your own material, or getting out and seeing some gigs in the hope of finding a good local band and offering to record them for free!  

Published November 2010

minilogue xd Tutorial/How-to 3: Modulation and Effects

Q. Where can I get raw files to practise my mixing?

• Recording

I was wondering where I might be able to find raw tracks that I could use to practise my mixing skills? I've searched on Google and the SOS forums and not yet got very far. Ideally, the type of music I'd like to practice on would be blues, rock, punk or metal.

Via SOS web site

SOS Reviews Editor Matt Houghton replies: Funnily enough, for the Mix Rescue article in this very issue (page 138), both the artist and Mike Senior have kindly agreed to let us make the entire Reaper project available for download. So not only will you be able to practice mixing on it (the full version of Reaper is free to download and evaluate for 30 days, and it's cross‑platform, which means that everyone can have a go, unless you're one of the few who are stubbornly sticking to Atari or Linux!), you'll also be able to take a look inside Mike's mix and hopefully learn a thing or two in the process.

As for other sources of raw multitrack recordings, I'm surprised you haven't had more luck with a Google search. Get the search terms right ("multitrack wavs” or "multitrack download”, for example) and quite a few sources seem to spring up, including some commercial artists, such as Nine Inch Nails, who have made material freely available (http://ninremixes.com/multitracks.php), and Peter Gabriel, who has held competitions where he's made material available for would‑be remixers. Good as Google is, trying a different search engine can also throw up some different results.Some commercial artists have made their songs available to download as raw multitrack recordings, which are perfect for practising mixing. This one — 'Hyperpower' by Nine Inch Nails — was originally downloaded for Garageband, but is easily opened and worked on in Logic.

Finally, of course, there are always the potentially rewarding options of tracking some of your own material, working with someone else to track your own material, or getting out and seeing some gigs in the hope of finding a good local band and offering to record them for free!

Published November 2010

minilogue xd Tutorial/How-to 2: MULTI ENGINE Oscillator and Filter

Q. What's the best way to back up my data?

By Martin Walker

I have a PC running Windows XP, and currently back up my data regularly using copy and paste onto an external hard drive. The problem with my current drive‑to‑drive method is that, in the case of a full windows reinstall, it means that I still have to reinstall some software (and this eats into my downloads and licences from the developers' web site). Is specialised disk cloning or imaging software a better option?

Paul Allerton, via email

SOS contibutor Martin Walker replies:

You're very wise to back up your data regularly, but there's a fundamental difference between copy and paste backups and disk imaging or cloning: the latter takes a snapshot of everything on the chosen partition or drive, including all the hidden and system files, although it's clever enough to ignore such things as huge page files that only contain temporary data, to keep the image file sizes to a minimum.

Each image file is, therefore, a time capsule, since when you 'restore' it your computer will return to exactly the same state it was in when you created that image file, leaving your licensed software intact. Most imaging utilities also offer compression options, typically squashing the data to about half the original size, while still letting you explore and restore individual files contained within.

It's always safest to store these image files onto external media, such as DVD or an external hard drive, to cope with the worst‑case scenario of your entire computer blowing up or being struck by lightning. In which case, when you get your replacement PC, you can restore your external backups onto this and avoid days of reinstalling Windows and applications, and authorising copy‑protected software. However, if, like many musicians, you have several hard drives in your audio PC, you can also store routine images of one drive to another, so that if one drive goes belly‑up, you'll still have a recent image file on your other drive to restore when you've replaced the faulty one.

We explored different strategies for backing up your data in the October 2007 issue of Sound On Sound (see /sos/oct07/articles/data_protection.htm), and it might be worth giving that a read for more information.

There's a bewildering array of imaging utilities on offer, so here's a quick rundown of some of the best alternatives. Windows 7 now includes its own Backup & Restore application that many users find perfectly sufficient, and for Windows 7/XP/Vista a very popular commercial package is Acronis True Image, especially since free licensed versions are available from various hard-drive manufacturers, for use with their own products.

An imaging utility (such as Paragon Backup & Recovery, shown here) will create a complete snapshot of your computer's hard drive and save you having to reinstall software after a crash or drive failure.

There are also various utilities that work with all makes of hard drive and are totally free for the home user. After trying out quite a few, I've ended up using Paragon Backup & Recovery 2010 (www.paragon‑software.com/home/db‑express), which has a free advanced version that is fairly unique among the free utilities in offering an incremental backup option that only stores files newer than your previous image files. I've been very pleased with its clear and easy‑to‑use interface, and my slimmed‑down 10GB Windows partition takes just four minutes to back up to a compressed file of some 6GB.

This free version of Paragon Backup & Recovery 2010 runs on both 32‑bit and 64‑bit versions of Windows 7, Vista, XP and Server 2003/2008. It can create a Linux/DOS recovery environment onto CD, DVD or Flash memory (so that you can boot your PC from these media and restore image files even if your computer refuses to boot up by itself). You can even assign a drive letter to 'mount' an archived partition, so you can access the files within using Windows Explorer. More sophisticated versions are available, but to date I've been perfectly happy with the free one.

Published December 2010

Ghost Note at (le) poisson rouge in NYC

Q. Where can I get raw files to practise my mixing?

• Recording

I was wondering where I might be able to find raw tracks that I could use to practise my mixing skills? I've searched on Google and the SOS forums and not yet got very far. Ideally, the type of music I'd like to practice on would be blues, rock, punk or metal.

Via SOS web site

SOS Reviews Editor Matt Houghton replies: Funnily enough, for the Mix Rescue article in this very issue (page 138), both the artist and Mike Senior have kindly agreed to let us make the entire Reaper project available for download. So not only will you be able to practice mixing on it (the full version of Reaper is free to download and evaluate for 30 days, and it's cross‑platform, which means that everyone can have a go, unless you're one of the few who are stubbornly sticking to Atari or Linux!), you'll also be able to take a look inside Mike's mix and hopefully learn a thing or two in the process.

As for other sources of raw multitrack recordings, I'm surprised you haven't had more luck with a Google search. Get the search terms right ("multitrack wavs” or "multitrack download”, for example) and quite a few sources seem to spring up, including some commercial artists, such as Nine Inch Nails, who have made material freely available (http://ninremixes.com/multitracks.php), and Peter Gabriel, who has held competitions where he's made material available for would‑be remixers. Good as Google is, trying a different search engine can also throw up some different results.Some commercial artists have made their songs available to download as raw multitrack recordings, which are perfect for practising mixing. This one — 'Hyperpower' by Nine Inch Nails — was originally downloaded for Garageband, but is easily opened and worked on in Logic.

Finally, of course, there are always the potentially rewarding options of tracking some of your own material, working with someone else to track your own material, or getting out and seeing some gigs in the hope of finding a good local band and offering to record them for free!

Published November 2010

minilogue xd Tutorial/How-to 1: Intro to minilogue xd

KROME EX - Sound Instruction Video

Laptop Vs Desktop; Front-panel USB 3; AudioMulch

By Martin Walker

If your laptop's giving you ground-loop problems, maybe it's time to go back to battery power...

More and more musicians are relying on PC laptops. But, sadly, more and more are also running into ground-loop problems when they plug in their laptop mains power supply, connect the output of their audio interface to other earthed mains gear and then hear various unwanted 'digital nasties' in the background.

I

've offered loads of advice in the past on how to solve such issues, and the dedicated thread I created on this topic on the SOS forum at /forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=222392 has already been read in excess of 70,000 times. However, sometimes the easiest solution for ground-loop problems is simply to power your PC laptop from its battery.

Batteries Included

Up until a few years ago, most laptops had NiMH batteries that, for longest life, always benefitted from being fully drained before recharging. Just to confuse us, the Lithium ones found in today's laptops should be treated in exactly the opposite way.

For the longest life, you should not fully discharge them before recharging, because if you leave them fully discharged for any length of time, they may not subsequently be capable of holding any charge at all. So if you rarely power your laptop from its battery, partly drain it of power, then remove and store it. Your Lithium batteries should not be constantly trickle‑charged from the mains, either, since their charge capacity can apparently drop by up to 20 percent each year when used in this manner, and they can also catch fire if overcharged or damaged. The best approach for longer Lithium battery life is somewhere between these two extremes: use your laptop regularly on battery until it's getting low on power, then charge it up again.

Want to measure how long your laptop battery will survive when running audio software? Try the Battery Eater bench-test utility.

Some musicians are reluctant to rely on battery power, as they are worried that the battery's life will slowly dwindle to nothing, However, there's an easy way to determine how long your battery will currently last under various load conditions. Battery Eater (www.batteryeater.com) is a Windows‑only donationware utility that can measure the operation time of your laptop battery under maximum workload (which is, after all, how most musicians use their laptops when running audio), as well as when idle and in less stressful word‑processing modes.

Still In The Fan Club?

Meanwhile, for those of us still relying on mains‑powered desktop PCs, Seasonic have recently released some new PSU models worthy of a close look. Seasonic PSUs are already extremely popular among musicians for their rock‑solid performance and reliability. I've been relying on one in my current PC for almost four years now, and have been well pleased with the very low acoustic noise levels of its fan.

The latest version of AudioMulch offers many new features to tempt the sonic experimenter.Having said that, the Holy Grail in a studio environment is being able to abandon the fan altogether, so it's not surprising that Seasonic's X‑series fanless models are already getting a lot of attention from both commercial and home DAW builders. To design a 'noiseless' supply that doesn't overheat is tricky, but Seasonic have achieved this goal in two main ways, by first offering excellent design efficiency, to minimise the heat generated by the PSU itself and, second, by using a honeycomb‑mesh PSU case to significantly increase ventilation, and thus let warm air from inside your computer and PSU escape more easily.

The PSUs are initially available in X400FL (400W) and X460FL (460W) versions, but these wattages are probably not sufficient for the musician whose PC is stuffed to the gills with DSP cards and RAID hard drives. However, they are excellent choices for the more typical i5/i7‑based audio PC, as long as you can afford to pay the premium price: the 400W model typically retails at around £115$140, which is roughly double the price of a fan‑cooled device of similar capacity. However, these units are built like tanks, and they do say silence is golden!

PC Snippets

Front-panel USB 3: While USB 2 audio interfaces now seem to be popping up all over the place, those who are backing up huge files to external hard drives will no doubt be pleased to hear that ASRock is the first motherboard manufacturer to launch motherboards offering front-panel USB 3 connectors. Featuring an Intel-designed 19-pin plug/socket and typically better than 120MB/second sustained transfer rate, this product finally means that users won't have to ferret about behind their PC to plug in an external USB 3 drive. Let's hope other motherboard manufacturers follow suit shortly! See www.asrock.com for more.

AudioMulch 2.1.0: Ross Bencina's incredibly flexible AudioMulch software for real-time sound creation and improvisational composition has been updated to version 2.1.0. Time signatures can now be entered in the various looping modules, rhythmic units chosen in many other modules, and there are also various new rhythmic matrix pattern editors, all of which augur well for polyrhythmic exploration. Along with new dynamics modules, MIDI device hot-plugging and various bug fixes, this latest version is a must for the sonic experimenter and is free to existing users. Check it out atwww.audiomulch.com.

Published December 2010