Gear Reviews

Microphones  |  No. 161

Universal Audio: UA Bock 251 Tube Mic

reviewed by Scott McChane, Kirt Shearer

At the last few pre-pandemic AES conferences I attended, my brief conversations with David Bock centered around his opinions about the classic microphones that were built incorrectly. Most of his...

Amplifiers, Rackmount  |  No. 155

API Audio: 3122V Preamp

reviewed by Kirt Shearer

The API 3122V 2-channel mic preamp is certainly not a new and revolutionary design, but rather a new version of a tried and true classic, originating in consoles from the late-'60s. This preamp...

Microphones, Tools  |  No. 154

Soyuz Microphones: 1973 Condenser Mic

reviewed by Kirt Shearer

This is going to be shorter than my usual overly wordy review – not because the product doesn’t warrant the page space, but because the message is fairly simple. So, let me give the...

Mic Preamps  |  No. 144

Sonic Farm: Tantra Bass Tube Preamp

reviewed by Kirt Shearer

A bass amp is not a typical product often seen on the review pages of Tape Op. Reviews usually center on mainstream recording equipment as opposed to performance amps, but I was really curious about...

500 Series, Mic Preamps  |  No. 130

Cranborne Audio: Camden 500 Preamp

reviewed by Kirt Shearer

If you are newer to audio production, you may have asked this question – and if you are a veteran of audio production you have absolutely been asked this question – "What preamp should I...

Consoles/Summing  |  No. 126

Audient: ASP8024-HE Console

reviewed by Kirt Shearer

Large-format recording consoles; there just aren't as many of them being made these days compared to decades past. A portion of the industry has moved towards totally mixing in the box and tracking...

Microphones  |  No. 121

Advanced Audio: CM 48T Large-Diaphragm Tube Mic

reviewed by Kirt Shearer

It seems like the market has never been more saturated with various types of new recording equipment attempting to emulate vintage gear. Vintage microphone recreations are hot right now —...

Monitoring  |  No. 116

Ocean Way Audio: Pro2A Active Nearfield Monitor

reviewed by Kirt Shearer

So I've been engineering long enough that the entire concept of studio monitors has changed. The ubiquitous, dual 15'', soffit-mounted monitors are not usually the "go to" reference, since smaller...

Consoles/Summing  |  No. 113

Harrison Consoles: 32cs channel strip

reviewed by Kirt Shearer

I remember the first time I saw a Harrison 3232 console when I was a young engineer visiting Southern California. At that point, I didn't have much experience on a large-format analog console. That...

Plug-Ins  |  No. 104

Airwindows: Console and Buss Colors plug-ins

reviewed by Kirt Shearer

Twenty years ago, there really wasn't much of a market for "plug-ins." Sure, there were some limited software tools for audio, but they were mostly proprietary to a specific editor. Very little...

Microphones  |  No. 102

Earthworks: PM40 PianoMic System

reviewed by Kirt Shearer

I like gear that makes a statement. The long, narrow aluminum briefcase of the PM40 PianoMic System certainly makes one. That of, "I've got an upscale rifle here" — an impression that can come...

Dynamics  |  No. 93

Prism Sound: Maselec MLA-2 Compressor, Maselec MEA-2 Equalizer

reviewed by Kirt Shearer

There's a huge variety of outboard gear out there to choose from. We live in a time where sophisticated audio tools are available at almost every price point. So why does some gear command a higher...