Most ribbon microphones contain simply a thin aluminum ribbon, a magnet, and a transformer. This elegant design contributes much to what we love about the technology, but there are a few drawbacks:...
Veteran engineers occasionally wax nostalgic about mixing as a "community" act. Until the DAW's rise to prominence, it wasn't unusual to have half a dozen people engaged in a game of Twister above a...
If the COVID-19 pandemic has any silver lining, it’s the way it has invited the reimagining of entrenched habits. When we all mothballed our tracking rooms in March, we became pretty open-minded...
In 1947, a young Dr. Heitaro Nakajima was hired by the technical and research division of Japan’s public broadcast house NHK. Although he’d have a long and illustrious career (later...
In any discussion of large-diaphragm tube condenser mics, five models seem to get mentioned more than all others combined: the Neumann U 47, U 67, and M 49, the AKG C12, and the Telefunken ELA M 251....
I'm not sure when it happened exactly, but at some point I lost interest in tap-dancing all over huge, sprawling pedalboards. When putting together a new rig in advance of some fall touring, I opted...
Nearly all of the condenser microphones we know and love employ round capsules. Notable exceptions include rectangular-capsule Pearl and Milab mics (which, like the Ehrlund, are Swedish in origin),...
For reasons that aren’t entirely logical, I find it easier to spend money on hardware than on software. Likewise, sexy products that excel at enhancement and color can often seem more exciting...
When it comes to checking out new recording equipment, we all bring expectation biases. Some really want to believe that the latest truly is the greatest, while others are skeptical of the new and...
