Twenty years ago, Royer Labs unleashed the "now classic" Royer R–121 mic [Tape Op #19], and (along with AEA) helped point digital-weary engineers back towards the welcome old-school sound of...
I do a fair amount of video scoring on tight deadlines, which often makes tracking drums impossible. As a result, I find myself employing drum plug-ins pretty regularly. I've been using a few other...
Manley makes audio gear in Chino, CA, for audio enthusiasts and audiophiles. In the same manner that drivers who love to drive (and have lots of money) drive Aston Martins, audio professionals who...
I must admit that I have never been a huge fan of the 500-series format. I have spent too much time repairing my friends' racking frames, usually due to the voltage regulators frying, and I always...
I'll admit that when I first tried Limitless, I found myself totally frustrated with its countless features and information-heavy graphics, when all I was trying to do was use it as a basic limiter....
The Brainworx bx_console N, E, and G plug-ins are predicated on accurate digital models of the channel strips from Neve VXS, and "British" E and G Series consoles. Clearly Brainworx are avoiding use...
Part of publishing Tape Op involves going to the NAMM show every January. It's nice to see our friends there, and there's always a lot of gear to look at, but honestly a lot of it is pretty much the...
With most pro audio gear, there's never enough control right where the gain-staging starts to get interesting. The upper range of the operating levels of a circuit is often where full-bodied...
SONAR [Tape Op #116] is dead, long live… which DAW? The shutdown of Gibson-owned Cakewalk sent thousands of users looking for a new DAW. It may be that SONAR's demise has been grossly...
In all honesty, the original SPL Transient Designer [Tape Op #21] was one of the first pieces of analog hardware that really blew my mind. The first time I played around with one, perhaps fifteen...
Yes, I'm a bit biased. I'm a fan of CruzTOOLS' solid line of problem-solving musical instrument tools. I own and use one of their Guitar Player Tech Kits [Tape Op #69] (awesome for general guitar tech...
I've been using Line 6 gear since the company's inception, from the original POD, to the rackmount POD Pro [Tape Op #22], to the later-generation POD XT Live pedalboard, which I...
As we all know, it's a new "personal listening" world out there. The majority of consumers, especially younger ones, listen to most of their music on earbuds or headphones, instead of full-range...
