Natural, musical, clear, detailed, open — these are all buzzwords that you hear in studio monitor speaker talk. The search for new monitors can be daunting, and wading through opinions of...
I’ve loved listening to music in headphones since I was a child, but I’ve come a long way from those flimsy freebies that came with my yellow Sony Walkman. As an adult, I’ve spent...
The single-channel, three rack space Mercury 666 MKI is inspired by the Fairchild 666, a later cousin of the Fairchild 660/670 limiters. Unlike those units, the 666 was a hybrid solid-state and tube...
When I first saw the Lindell Audio LiN2A Vintage Leveling Amplifier, I admit I got excited. I use my Lindell Audio LiN76 [Tape Op #153] quite a bit, so I couldn’t wait to try this one. As soon...
With the Hornet, Useful Arts had a mission: In 2018, the company's founder, Peter Swann, teased that a yet-to-be-named solid-state mic pre/DI “small enough to throw in a backpack” would...
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...
I’ve been looking for a hardware compressor for tracking purposes, so when I saw the attractive price of Lindell Audio’s LiN76, I decided to grab one. I’ve owned a few 1176-style...
I’m gonna come clean right out of the gate: I’m a big believer in Empirical Labs [Tape Op #33]. I have owned at least one EL8 Distressor [#32] in my personal studio since 2009, and it...
As of this summer, I have been mixing fully in the box and loving it. Part of my new mix setup, however, does include two Radial Reamp Station boxes. This allows me to send audio to my guitar pedals...
I recently moved into a new control room, and because of this much of my gear, interface, monitoring, and general workflow changed drastically. My new mantra was to scale down the physical footprint...
This new box from Radial has saved my bacon. I’ve become a bit of an effects pedal hoarder, with a desktop pedalboard rig that has grown to an unwieldy size and become somewhat of a staple for...
The Boss GT-1000CORE is mainly marketed as a new cornerstone for a guitarist's effects pedalboard, but its compact form-factor and advanced functionality make it an exceptional desktop recording and...
The P331 Tube Loading Amplifier is the debut product from Whitestone Audio Instruments. Dave Rosen investigated making a device for line level audio signals to enhance wife Kim Rosen’s [Tape Op...
