Mixing drums can seem like some sort of magic. Mysterious, delightful, revelatory, fascinating, confounding, and confusing all at once. My experience begins with the love of playing drums. The power...
What's a BinAmp? Well, the fine folks at PSPaudioware love the sound of the preamp section of the Binson Echorec 2 delay, those cool metal-based magnetic drum delays from Italy, first introduced in...
In issue #126 I reviewed Benson Amps' stereo Studio Tall Bird Spring Reverb, a wonderful piece of hardware that gets used a lot at Jackpot! Recording. The original Tall Bird has been discontinued, but...
Baby Audio’s BA-1 is a reimagining of the cultish ‘80s analog synth, the Yamaha CS01, bringing with it some pure and authentic textures that are easy and intuitive to program. The CS01 was...
Built to work only with the McDSP APB ("analog processing box") units (APB-8, APB-16) [Tape Op #134], the KD1 Kinetic Drive is a plug-in that uses this interesting system. The APB essentially is a one...
Ever since getting a very patient and life-changing call from mastering engineer John Golden [Tape Op #121], where he explained that my snare drum and overhead mics on many of my mixes were out of...
Despite all the amazing plug-ins available for delay these days, there’s something inherently cool and desirable about early first generation digital hardware delay units, hence so many plug-in...
It seems fitting that Universal Audio offers the Capitol Mastering Compressor plug-in. When the first hardware units were made, Capitol Mastering engineer/tech Ian Sefchick [Tape Op #134] drew from...
There are a lot of Rhodes piano plug-ins out there, but Universal Audio's Electra 88 Vintage Keyboard Studio sets itself apart in some critically appealing ways. It has a large dynamic range, comes...
I've been a fan of Soundtoys' Little Plate [Tape Op #123] since it came out years back, but in the back of my mind I aways wondered if "Little" meant a more complicated version was coming, in the vein...
The MDWDRC2-Native represents a paradigm shift in dynamic processing for plug-ins. Rather than a traditional compressor or limiter, this is a comprehensive dynamic conditioning tool. Massenburg...
The Sonnox Claro equalizer (from their Toolbox range of plug-ins) is a fantastic sounding, intuitive EQ for professionals and beginners alike. Multiple interface options provide visual feedback in...
