Sound On Sound UK February 2022

“Your votes really do matter. In fact, they’re the only thing that matters.” There’s been a lot of controversy about awards lately. Stars such as The Weeknd have chosen to boycott the Grammys, while the Golden Globes have been cancelled altogether. Other gongs such as the Oscars have faced mounting criticism, with charges of corruption, bias and lack of diversity being fired from all directions. The roots of these problems lie with opaque judging criteria. When nominations and winners are chosen by shadowy groups of industry insiders, it’s hard to convince the world that these decisions are always made purely on merit. The annual SOS Awards don’t have the same illustrious history as the Oscars. Winners don’t get to thank their mum and dad at a lavish ceremony, hosted by whatever edgy comedian…

German audio titans Sennheiser operate across multiple markets, and although they manufacture many headphone models that are widely used in studios, not all of these are officially ‘pro audio’ products. In particular, high-end open-backed designs such as the HD 600, HD 650 and HD 800 are categorised as ‘audiophile’ headphones, and marketed mainly at hi-fi enthusiasts. So, although the new HD 400 Pros are by no means Sennheiser’s most expensive open-backed headphones, and are more affordable than all the aforementioned models, they could nevertheless be seen as the new flagship of the company’s pro audio range. For open-backed headphones, in fact, the HD 400 Pros are aggressively priced, undercutting potential rivals such as the Audio-Technica ATH-R70x, Austrian Audio Hi-X65 and Shure SRH1440, and going more or less directly up against the…

Since I reviewed Goodhertz’ plug-in range in 2018 (www.soundonsound. com/reviews/goodhertz-plug-ins) I’ve used their tools often, especially when I want something ‘a bit different’. I particularly like their Wow And Flutter tape emulation, so was very happy when I learned of their latest release, Tupe, which combines the much-loved sound of analogue tape machines with, you guessed it, the much-loved sound of vacuum tubes. As if that weren’t enough, the core functions are joined by a generous set of creative processing options, including Goodhertz’ take on a vintage opto compressor. The GUI’s Tube section allows you to choose one of eight different tube flavours, and the manual offers a detailed explanation of each. Some are modelled on simple preamp or signal tube circuits, others recreate the sound of entire amp stages with…

Since launching EZbass, Toontrack have not held back in terms of add-on content. The subject of this review is, however, something a little different and, I suspect, something many EZbass users have been hoping for: the Upright EBX. The ‘upright’ bass is, of course, a core element of the orchestral string section and is therefore featured in many orchestral sample libraries. However, Toontrack have placed the focus here on a plucked approach as suits jazz, pop and rock contexts rather than an orchestral ‘bowed’ one. Double Up A high-end upright bass (apparently a Corsini Elite made by Calin Wultur) was meticulously sampled for the EZbass engine with an acoustic/modern (as opposed to classical) performance role in mind. A combination of on-board piezo and five different microphones was used to capture the full…

PreSonus build a wide range of studio monitors, including the affordable Eris range, but the company’s two-way R-series speakers are a little different from most of the competition as the high end is handled by an Air Motion Transformer or AMT, sometimes referred to as a folded ribbon. This type of tweeter, designed by German engineer Oskar Heil and popularised in the private studio market by ADAM Audio, has been adopted by a number of manufacturers now, as a well-designed AMT is capable of reproducing a clean and detailed high end, partly because it doesn’t suffer from resonances to the extent that a conventional tweeter does. The folding of the ribbon also gives it a much greater surface area than the ‘space’ it takes up on the front baffle: if unfolded,…

If there’s one piece of kit that I have a slightly irrational passion for, it’s microphones, and I hope I never find myself in a situation where there’s only time to rescue one of mine from a fire. If that does happen, though, it won’t be a U87 or a C414 I drag from the smoking ruins. Instead, it will be my ST8, a little-known stereo mic made by Pearl Microphone Labs. PML were founded in Sweden in 1941 by Rune Rosander. A keen experimenter, he pioneered a number of innovations, including the use of rectangular diaphragms in capacitor microphones. Introduced as long ago as 1958, Rosander’s rectangular capsule has a number of interesting and useful properties. The circular membrane used in conventional capsules has a single, strong resonance, which needs…