In the digital audio workstation (DAW) ecosystem, "Extra Quality" signifies a leap from standard amateur tools to commercial-grade assets. For Issue 280, this meant curation without compromise.
A custom-designed saturation plugin that adds harmonic warmth to sterile digital tracks.
The term "extra quality" here refers to the level of curation and production value in a sample pack. Many sample packs are simply collections of sounds. However, a high-quality pack like Cartography offers several key advantages:
: 526 specialized samples from Cyclick Samples and Groove Criminals, including 77 delayed beats and 14 guitar chord echo one-shots.
The '80s focus also extended to the magazine's reviews section, which highlighted software emulations of classic gear from that period. It even included interviews with '80s icons like Blancmange, who demonstrated how to use the decade's music as a platform for reinvention.
When a digital synthesizer or distortion plugin generates aggressive harmonics that exceed half the sample rate (the Nyquist frequency), those frequencies cannot be represented digitally. Instead, they bounce backward into the audible spectrum, creating harsh, unharmonic digital noise that muddies the mix. Implementing Oversampling
For (released in early 2020), the "extra quality" refers to the high-value bundle of exclusive software, high-definition video tutorials, and massive sample libraries included with the issue.
These are your standard EQs. They introduce minor, localized phase shifts. They sound natural and warm, making them perfect for individual instrument tracking.
: Use a smooth high-shelf boost above 12kHz for premium sheen.