When I first heard that Tim Farrant of New Zealand’s Buzz Audio had designed a new stereo compressor based around a diode bridge gain reduction circuit, I immediately knew that this was...
Solid State Logic has dominated the analog mixing console world for rock, pop, and R&B records for over three decades, and while DAWs have mostly taken over as production and mixing environments,...
Elysia, just over a decade old at this point, boasts over a dozen hardware products and more than a half-dozen plug-ins in its catalog. Their flagship Alpha Compressor and its plug-in version are...
I've followed DIYRE since reviewing their Colour 500 Series analog saturation platform kit [Tape Op #107], and they've been busy. They've released three or four new kits since 2015: a Colour mkII with...
Variable-mu compressors are renowned for their soft, gooey compression. A few of the heavyweights that come to mind are the Fairchild 660, RCA BA6A, and Gates Sta-Level. All of these come with a hefty...
I've been considering a new hardware compressor for my drum bus, and the Drawmer 1978 compressor has recently intrigued me. It's a stereo FET compression design with many extra creative features...
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders "musicians face nearly four times greater risk of developing hearing loss than the rest of the public." If you haven't...
Standard Audio, a California-based manufacturer specializing in 500 Series designs, has released an update of their much-loved Level-Or limiter/distortion processor. The original Level-Or [Tape Op...
A few months ago, I was lucky enough to travel to Copenhagen to record an LP for the awesome band Town Portal. It was easily the best audio experience of my life, and, as a bonus, our basic tracks...
You all know the scenario. You're in the studio, the guitarist is getting sounds, and even though they may have a great tone, as a recording engineer all you hear is the obnoxious buzzing hum from...
What!? Another Universal Audio 1176 clone? Well, not exactly. Black Lion Audio has been modifying entry-level gear [Tape Op #48], into top-notch studio grade equipment, while building outboard gear -...
With the Scheps Omni Channel, Waves has delivered a next generation channel strip that plays to its unique strengths in the best way possible. Over the last few years I've really embraced channel...
