AUGUST 4, 2025 INTERVIEWS
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Gear Reviews
500-series Analog Delay
I tend to think of things in reference to a chronology of gear purchases. Like, "Oh yeah, we had just gotten that mic when we tracked those vocals!" Along those same lines, my studio's chronology seems to be divided thusly: pre-Moog, and post- Moog. Sure, I've had tons of Moogs in and out of my...
Gear Reviews
B173 mic preamp
Lately, Chicago-based Black Lion Audio has been earning praise for its sensibly-priced homages to classic audio gear. In particular, the B12A preamp, a half-rack-format API-inspired mic preamp, has been turning heads for its high quality and similarity to the API, as well as for its surprising...
Gear Reviews
EXTC 500-series guitar effects interface
My wife: "How was your day, Honey?" Me: "Oh, it was awesome. I ran the lead vocal of this song I'm mixing through a cool fuzz pedal made for bass and an analog delay made for guitar and cranked up the repeats until it went whomp whomp whomp bzzzzzzzzzzzzzringggggggg." Wife: "How is that different...
Gear Reviews
Heider FD312 500-series mic/line preamp
So there are two companies called API? Sort of. The original API, or Automated Processes, Inc., started manufacturing modular mixing consoles in 1969 and moved on to develop the 2520 op-amp, conductive plastic faders, fader automation, VCAs, tape synchronizers, and microprocessor controls. API...
Gear Reviews
HOC1 optical compressor
I've been using a pair of Hamptone HOC1 single-channel compressors on my mixing and tracking sessions for several months now, and they have become my favorite tools. I think this is a very unique and versatile compressor. First of all, let go of any notion you may have of optical compression being...
Gear Reviews
LED covers
Over the past year or two, I have had many pieces of both professional audio gear and consumer electronics that employ exceedingly bright LED lights. In the studio, these lights can be especially distracting when the room lights are turned down low for artistic ambience. I came across this product...
Gear Reviews
NT1 condenser mic
The original NT1 was a big deal when it hit the market. Back then, most large- diaphragm studio condensers cost over a thousand dollars. Australian company RØDE aimed for the small studio and recording enthusiasts, and the NT1 was a success. Dave Johnson had one at Drywall City in Seattle back in...
Gear Reviews
ONE USB audio interface
After making enhancements to the company's two-channel Duet [Tape Op #65, #89] and introducing the four-channel Quartet [#93], Apogee went on to upgrade 2009's original ONE audio interface [#78]. Now targeted for maximum convenience with iPad applications, it remains as useful with the Mac as ever....
Gear Reviews
P-84 SK stereo condenser mic kit
Every time I try a new mic, I have to be able to justify the purchase, because it has to be useful enough to earn its place in the mic locker at Studio G Brooklyn [Tape Op #41]. The place is filled with classics as well as great modern mics, all handpicked through many years of experience because...
Gear Reviews
RED48 Summing Console
The RED48 is the love child of a control-room monitoring system and a 48-channel summing mixer, housed in a 2RU- height rackmount box with a companion desktop remote. I don't know if anyone else offers all of this functionality in a similar package. Moreover, the sound quality is top-notch. Looking...
Gear Reviews
RK-47 mic capsule
What do you get when you combine the guts of a Porsche 911 with the body of a VW Beetle? You get a high-performance sports car that does not look like one. This is analogous to what is offered by Microphone Parts. They sell upgrade kits for inexpensive mics. I tried two of their modified MXL 990...
Gear Reviews
RX 3 Advanced
When I began work on what would become Elliott Smith's New Moon album in 2006, I knew I might have a few noise issues to tackle. One song in particular, "Angel in the Snow," had been recorded onto 1/2'' analog tape at a very low level. The song was beautiful, but the tape hiss was not. I rented a...
Gear Reviews
Scratchpad for iPad
I have seen the future, and it is touch. And fun. Cakewalk's Scratchpad is their first foray into iOS apps and is exactly what it sounds like. The main portion of the on-screen interface is divided into a 3×3 array of Expression Pads. A Browser panel on the left displays a menu tree for navigating...
Gear Reviews
Sterling ST6050 condenser mic
Sterling Audio teamed up with legendary engineer/producer Allen Sides of Ocean Way Recording to create an affordable go-to FET condenser mic, the Sterling ST6050. Recently, I was lucky enough to try out a stereo pair of the large-diaphragm mic, which features a 1'' diameter, 8 micron thick, gold...
Gear Reviews
Sweet Ten 500-series rack
The 500-series market has seen a flood of new products, to say the least. I keep waiting for Dyson to come out with a 500-series vacuum. Or maybe Bodum will make a milk frother for the format. The cool thing about everybody doing something is that it makes the exceptional stand out even more in sea...
Gear Reviews
SwirlyHook headphone holder
Headphones tend to get dropped, placed, or temporarily forgotten on the studio floor - right? And then stepped on, tripped over, and/or kicked and busted. And once they are broken, they need to be replaced (at $40-$150 a pop), since almost none of them are user- repairable. One solution to this...
Gear Reviews
Unpainted Nebraska diffuser
While making acoustic adjustments to one of our control rooms, we decided more absorption and diffusion were needed for the front wall. Diffuser City is a small company that makes one-of-a-kind diffuser panels hand-assembled in the U.S. from 100% reclaimed wood. (Since their products are...
Gear Reviews
Z-67 tube mic
The Neumann U 67 is one of my favorite mics of all time; I use it on nearly every tracking date that I do, on a variety of instruments, including electric and acoustic guitars, as well as vocals. When I got the Z-67 from ADK's Z-Mod line to review, I rang my friend Jonathan Tyler and asked if he'd...