Just when you think that life couldn't get any sweeter, along comes Peavey to put the Pro into its groundbreaking Kosmos boom box, creating the next wave of over-the-top and under-the-bottom bass generation. And that's not all. The high frequencies are not only enhanced, as Peavey modestly...
Until a couple of years ago, I did nearly all my mixing using headphones. My reason for this approach was almost entirely economics-driven; usually one to maximize the bang/buck equation, I, like many budget home-recordists, determined that it made more sense to use a really good pair of 'phones...
A few colleagues of mine had mentioned using the ART Pro VLA compressors for getting crunchy drum sounds, so when I heard ART had a new compressor coming out, I wanted to give it a review. This two- channel, 1RU compressor features the standard front- panel controls plus a DI, VU gain-reduction metering,...
Leave it to Hosa, the audio industry's clear leader in coming up with innovative ways to mold plastic around wire, to come up with this family of ingenious products: short IEC power cables with a variety of male and female connectors. If you're frustrated with coils of overly long IEC power...
I first became interested in the KMS 105 condenser mic at TapeOpCon 2004 in New Orleans when both Ian MacKaye of Fugazi and The Evens along with Don Zientara of Inner Ear studios, mentioned it as one of their favorite vocal mics. Ian mentioned that he likes to cut vocals listening to the studio monitors,...
The Green Bullet, as you likely know, is designed as a mic for harmonica players. You plug it into a guitar amp, and there's your classic blues harp sound. I don't play harmonica or even know anyone who does, but I bought one anyway because I had a feeling it'd be just the thing for some...
The T.C. Electronic System 6000 is as high-end as it gets. Regardless of whether it's a piece of gear that is appropriate for your particular recording set up, there are several innovations that are worth learning about. I'm sure you'll start finding them both in other pieces of T.C....
"Sonic comparisons of audio technologies and techniques." Given that my "end rant" is about critical listening, this is a perfect CD to recommend this issue. It has 52 minutes of comparisons in fifteen categories: digital mixer vs. analog, tape vs. digital, tube vs. solid state,...
A microphone for anyone who likes outstanding build-quality, interesting sounds, and a DIY ethic, the Copperphone is handmade by Mark Pirro (The Polyphonic Spree, Tripping Daisy). It's really cool looking; it looks like a cross between a pipe bomb and the water cannon on the front of an old fireboat....
The Signal Arts MIDI Analog Performance Sequencer was specifically designed for experimental composition in the sense that it requires the user to focus on the sequencing process instead of the end product. Unlike modern matrix sequencers designed to chain preconceived sequences together to create a...
If I had put the same effort into my homework as into manually copying BASIC programs from Compute! magazine into my Commodore 64 in the early 80s, I would now be writing legal pleadings or prescriptions instead of reviews of video game synthesizers. Since then, I have been keeping one of my old C64's...
ATR Services is known around the globe as a leading authority on analog reel-to-reel machines, especially the Ampex ATR-102 series. Given this profile, ATR receives numerous questions about caring for analog decks. To help machine owners with these topics, ATR started offering one-day seminars that...
Twenty years ago, few companies were still producing modular synthesizers. The mighty Moog Modulars, ARP 2500s, and Buchla Electric Music Boxes were reduced to studio camp or tucked away in university storage rooms. Boomer-era sonic pioneers focused their interests elsewhere, often finding fertile ground...
This hard drive is kinda' like a Hummer: Totally overbuilt and over engineered. Like a Hummer, it's like killing flies with a sawed off 12-gauge. But unlike driving a silly, gas guzzling Hummer, the GT-103 is a fantastic storage medium for your digital audio files. It doesn't cost as...
Although the Frostwave Fat Controller is one of the simplest among a small scene of traditionally-styled analog sequencers, it offers essential analog sequencing functionality along with some modern extras at a reasonable price. The Fat Controller consists of two rows of eight faders that can be configured...
The perennial problem with overdrive stompboxes is that many of them excel at only one sound. And sometimes it's a bad sound. The Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS-808 and original TS-9 models) has, over the years, set a standard of sorts with its natural-sounding simulation of tube amp overdrive. For years,...
With all the ads, articles, and newsgroups hammering us with buzzwords, it's easy to think that the only "real" equipment must be either Class-A, discreet, or tube. But don't forget that there have been many pieces of great sounding gear that have used the "black sheep"...
I've always wanted one of those hi-tech, heavy duty mic stands with the hella' long booms that you see at the AES shows in the boutique audio type booths. But, when I see the price tag of several thousand dollars I quickly give up on the idea. However, at the last NAMM show, I saw the SE boom...
This little bad boy is a total life-saver. Ever had a problem putting your Audio-Technica 40-series mics close to drums because of the shockmount? Or perhaps close to another mic in a coincident arrangement? Enter the AT8741. Available as a special-order item from A-T retailers, this is a hefty little...