Years back
What was the buzz in music software a decade ago?
We put your mixes on a diet in April/May 2008 (CM125), explaining why trimming them down could make them sound bigger and better. A decade on, we’re considering fighting the musical flab once again: we all have to deal with middle-aged sonic spread sooner or later.
In News, we reported on Apple’s decision to let third-party developers create iPhone software for their new App Store. What a game-changer this would turn out to be! In fact, we speculated elsewhere in the mag that Ableton, Steinberg and Cakewalk wouldn’t get
“We all have to deal with middle-aged sonic spread sooner or later”
involved with Apple’s mobile platform: wrong on all counts. Still, we did accurately predict that GarageBand would come to iPhone. We also heralded Windows Vista Service Pack 1’s arrival. Heady days indeed.
In Reviews, we looked at Digidesign’s archly-named Eleven guitar amp sim – we refused to play along with the joke and awarded it a still solid 8/10. Meanwhile, our Out There gadgets section featured a USB cassette deck for digitising your old C90s. These days, tape is hip again, so trend-setting producers are more likely to be doing things the opposite way round. Vinyl is so last year, after all...