Although I monitor on loudspeakers for mixing, I do spend a significant amount of time doing detail work on headphones, and Audeze’s LCD-Xs [Tape Op#119] have been my first choice for several years now. They provide a fantastic amount of detail, are comfortable, and have been operating without...
I recently had to fly across the country for a recording session, and this time I needed to bring a bass. Normally, I would just use whatever was on hand in the studio, but circumstances demanded otherwise. Excitement for the trip was quickly followed by dread; how was I going to get my bass to a...
With the glut of studio monitors available today, it can be easy to forget that JBL was among just a handful of top-notch choices available in the not-too-distant past. I reviewed the JBL Professional 705P monitors [Tape Op#163] and was blown away by just how fantastic these compact units...
BIG stands for "Binaural Image Generator," and that's what it does. Via a 5 to 30 ms left/right split dual Haas Delay Spread and a 5 to 25 cent dual micro-pitch shifter Detune, it adds a "width" to tracks. Overall, BIG brings a certain ambience that is fairly addictive and...
Years ago, I was advising a band on how to track their gothic metal home recording project. They were using several "housemate-friendly" techniques, such as electronic drum pads to capture the percussion patterns and DI'd electric guitars into amp simulator plug-ins. After checking...
Headphones are a very personal choice – different heads, different ears – some like them hefty, some like them light. I know people who love certain headphones that are not a good match for me personally, and some of my favorites are unloved by people whose ears and opinions I respect. Another...
I don’t love dealing with bass amps in the studio, and often prefer to run the bass guitar direct. However, many engineers and artists disagree with that approach and prefer to mic up an amp. To that end, we have a vintage Ampeg SVT head at Panoramic Studios for folks who want to use an amp for...
Every music maker is constantly in search of that special something that can make their mixes stand apart from the crowd. Like its namesake, Universal Audio's A-Type multiband dynamic enhancer plug-in is based on the Dolby Laboratories A-Type noise reduction system introduced in 1965. In basic...
Hailing from Slovakia, FLEA Microphones has built a well-deserved reputation in classic vintage mic reproductions for over 20 years. They’ve tackled reinterpretations of iconic tube mics such as the AKG C12, the Neumann U 47, U 49, and M 49, and recently the renowned Telefunken ELA M 251. FLEA has...
Focusrite has had a firm foothold in the growing world of Dante-networked hardware for several years, and one of the cornerstones of their RedNet products has been the PCIeNX card, designed for use with tower computers or expansion enclosures. With many studios and artists now using desktop or...
The HOC500 is labeled as a "parallel opto compressor," and is a cousin to Hamptone's HOC1 half-rack version [Tape Op#100]. Adapted for a 500 Series chassis, there's a lot less room for controls, so a unique feature set has been adapted here. A pair of house-made opto cells are...
At almost 600 pages, this is a hefty book, and I just finished reading every word of it. Mixerman is Eric Sarafin [Tape Op #34]; an engineer, producer, mixer, musician, and writer with many decades of real experience making records. Subtitled "Everything You Need to Know About Producing...
What is plunk? It's simply a piece of grooved rubber that fits on 6-string guitars right next to the bridge, damping the strings' sustain significantly. Inspired by the Reuben Cox (Old Style Guitar Shop, Los Angeles) rubber bridge guitars that are all the rage (Phoebe Bridgers, Blake...
In late 1996, I heard the “Setting Sun” radio single (featuring Noel Gallagher) by The Chemical Brothers. The sound was so unexpected and bombastic that it felt like the opening salvo of a pop revolution. My knowledge of synth-based music at that time ran fairly deep, encompassing genres from dance...
Over the past several decades, many of our most essential tools from the analog era have either adapted to give us more flexibility, recallability, and automation, or been replaced by digital versions in which these features are much easier to implement (and now come standard). One holdout, until...
These are the most accurate speakers I’ve heard. Listening to them, especially for extended periods of time, is truly a revelation. I was lucky enough to host the public unveiling of this model during the opening party for my new home studio in Nashville. Earlier in the week, Roger Roschnik and...
Kassia Lemieux and Dan Rouleau put Montreal on notice with their circuit-bending and refinishing of audio electronics under the moniker Screwed Circuitz. Then, in 2022, the duo founded Days of Yore to develop creative tools with aesthetics inspired by mid-20th-century consumer electronics built...
Okay, my studio might need an exorcist now. We're testing out the Demon Box, an odd analog/digital hybrid instrument/controller/listening device that translates EMF (electromagnetic fields) into audio, MIDI, and control voltage (CV) signals. It's the first commercial product from...
I made a few huge decisions and changes to my studio this year, which involved selling almost everything in my control room and starting from scratch. I needed a very specific, specialized recording interface for my needs. Because I was already massively over budget, I was going to have to wait...