Gear Reviews

Okay, let me be as clear and concise as possible: the Telefunken AR-51 is the best condenser microphone I’ve ever tested for this mag (and I’ve tested a few). This mic utilizes circuit design elements of the revered Telefunken Ela M 251 and C 12. While they maintain their status amongst engineers...

The CV4 comes from Miktek in Nashville, and it combines modern construction with classic tube mic design and componentry. Right off the bat, the mic gets your attention with its chrome head, brushed steel body, and black trim. The build quality and weight of the mic and power supply are impressive...

 sE Electronics recently teamed up with Rupert Neve to produce a new series of microphones, including the RNR1 active ribbon (Tape Op #85) and the RN17 small-diaphragm condenser. The principle designs were inspired by Rupert Neve and engineered and built by sE Electronics. True to all Neve...

Glyph Production Technologies recently released a new member to its line of professional drives. Called the PortaGig 62, it packs the full features of a Glyph in a space that fits in the palm of your hand. At about 3.5’’ x 4.5’’ x 1.5’’, it really is the little brother to the larger GT 062E. Inside...

Maybe I’m old school, but I find it difficult to record and mix without a console. When making decisions about the sound of a piece of music (as opposed to the structure of the song), I find it much more intuitive to use faders, knobs, and buttons instead of a mouse; as Allen Farmelo explained to...

Tonelux was one of the first companies to design and build summing amps, and as the field continues to grow, Tonelux has released their newest offering, the OTB16, a 16-channel summing amp designed by Paul Wolff. (Mr. Wolff owned API for much of the ‘80s and ‘90s.) The OTB16 elegantly exemplifies...

Are your ears being damaged? Do you attend loud concerts? Set up mics on fidgety drummers? Rehearse in a small room? Ride the subway? I don’t think that most of my friends are aware of the damage that is being done to their ears, and this is why I’ve started recommending (and handing out) the...

Fairly young and becoming something of an instant legend, the Event Opal is getting tons of attention. It’s not often that a company scales a rather diverse monitor range down to a single product (recently updated to two). So is the attention all hype, or has Event once again created a new class of...

The Opticom XLA-3 uses a photocell-based detection circuit coupled with tube make-up gain. The first famous compressor with this topology, of course, is the Teletronix LA-2A; its rich and dark tone has produced classic vocal sounds for decades. At the other extreme, the Manley ELOP demonstrates...

When Steinberg announced the plug-in versions of the Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5033 EQ (Tape Op #57) and 5043 Compressor (#59), I jumped at the chance to try them. These plug-ins are based on Yamaha’s Virtual Circuit Modeling technology. VCM utilizes carefully tweaked, digital reproductions of...

  SNAZZY FX

In the current age of computer-based recording, it’s easy for in-the-box effects like reverb, delay, and such to come off as sounding too “under control.” I’ve found myself extensively re-amping signals, printing real tape delays, using plate and spring reverbs, and blasting sounds...

 Rockruepel

With so much amazing boutique gear available these days, I have to confess that I don’t get all that excited when I hear about yet another expensive tube compressor being made in small numbers by experienced designers to quality standards that surpass every military spec known to...

This hefty, 350-page hardbound book is based on the studio design firm Recording Architecture Limited’s 23 years of experience in recording studio design — from small, private project studios (Kravitz, Bernard Sumner, Sade) to large, commercial studios (Lansdowne, Konk). Inside are over 140 project...