Gear Reviews

Thomas Barefoot designed the MicroMain27 to be the only speakers one would need in a studio, functioning as detailed nearfields; as loud, impressive mains with integrated subwoofers; and (brace yourself) as mastering monitors. Barefoot developed his first-generation monitor (MiniMain12) in the...

Unlike the other Mbox 2 interfaces for Pro Tools LE (see Tape Op #51 and #57 for reviews of the Mbox 2 and Mbox 2 Mini), the Pro connects to the host via FireWire instead of USB, it supports 88.2 and 96 kHz sample rates, and it features expanded I/O. There are four analog inputs. Inputs 1 and 2 can...

There are quite a few soft synths out there which aim to emulate (or improve upon) classic keyboard sounds of the past. But what about new sounds? What about a soft synth that is built from the ground up to be its own instrument, with its own unique sounds and features? Two of Native...

In Tape Op #53, Jeff Elbel reviewed Auralex's SpaceArray diffusor. The SpaceCoupler, also within the pArtScience family of Russ Berger-designed, affordable acoustic treatment, looks very much like the SpaceArray, except where the panels of varying depth would be, you have open space. The short...

I've mentioned a number of times that I find the sound of the 192 I/O for Pro Tools HD disappointing. For what it costs, the fact that it comes with eight mediocre channels of analog I/O is kinda ridiculous. Sure it comes with eight additional channels of digital I/O, with a maximum of sixteen...

When he heard that The Weisstronauts were undertaking a mini-tour last fall, Andy "Gear Geek" Hong was cool enough to loan me a couple of his Moogerfooger pedals-by Moog Music-to try out on the road. The MuRF pedal, which sends a guitar signal through a sequenced filter matrix...

In an era when excessive digital peak-limiting has become a standard, it's a surprise that the Pendulum Audio PL-2 peak limiter is the only standalone, brickwall analog peak limiter in existence. While there may be plenty of compressor/limiters, they're really not the same thing as the...

Ostensibly all compressors are designed to perform the same function: make the loud parts quieter. (And with makeup gain after compression, the quiet parts become louder.) In its conceptual origin, the idea was simple and practical. The objective was to impart a dynamic consistency to the signal...

I don't think there's a single working engineer that hasn't heard of SSL. However, many engineers fail to realize that SSL is also a manufacturer of outboard gear, not just large-format consoles. SSL has quite a range of outboard processors, including mic preamps, numerous recording...

Josh Peck, one of the composers at my NYC studio, has his rig in the corner of a soundproofed room designed, manufactured, and assembled by IAC. The wall panels are surfaced with metal membranes -floating and some perforated for bass trapping and lower-mid absorption, and set at odd angles for...

SE Electronics is a China-based company started by conductor/composer Siwei Zou. Rather than manufacturing low-cost mics for other brands or assembling products made in other Chinese factories, SE Electronics focuses on developing products from their own designs using raw stock-all in house....

Like the rest of the Portico series, this single-channel mic preamp and EQ is a half-width, 1RU-height unit that can be racked horizontally or vertically. The preamp section, with its 72 dB of gain, sweepable high-pass filter, and Silk switch, is identical to the 5012 (reviewed in Tape Op #49), so...

Being an ardent fan of Effector 13 pedals, as well as someone who has the potential to lose days at a time while coaxing weirdness out of effects, I was psyched to have the chance to check out the Soda Meiser and its complex offspring, the Hymn Strangle/Synth Mangler. (Where the hell do these names...

Sessions with Sinatra is a fascinating account of Frank Sinatra in the studio, presented chronologically as his recording career progressed. It is an evaluation and appreciation of his recordings with details on how those records were made and who they were made with. All of Sinatra's periods...

German-based Algorithmix has released three killer EQ plug-ins, LinearPhase PEQ Red, LinearPhase PEQ Orange, and the classic PEQ Blue. Each title deserves separate consideration, so I will limit this review to LinearPhase PEQ Red and cover the others in the future. LinearPhase PEQ Red is a...