Gear Reviews

These two virtual instrument plug-ins are the two best simulations of a real instrument that I've seen and heard to date. Although Walter Sear might disagree with me, both of these simulations do a very credible job of recreating the classic sounds of the original instruments. They're...

The DPS-V55 was released in the U.S. around 1996 and came in two flavors: the DPS-V55 and the DPS-V55M, which included a front panel mic/line jack. Both models are 2U-rackmount, quad-DSP boxes that can function as a four independent mono processors, two independent stereo processors, or as a...

The DPS-R7 is part of the single-rackspace series that Sony manufactured in the early 90s. It has 100 factory presets and room to store 256 user-created settings. The front panel has a scroll knob, several buttons for programming, a green backlit LCD, a stereo input-level meter (nice!), a...

The UAD-1 card is a PCI card that uses an onboard DSP engine to run high-quality plug-ins on various DAW systems without taking a big hit to your host computer. When I first saw the card demo'ed a few years ago, I was extremely impressed, and I couldn't wait to get one. I ended up buying...

The PEQ1 is a Class-A, discrete mic-preamp and equalizer that can be used as a replacement module in vintage Neve 80-series consoles. For those who don't have an 80-series, a 19'' rackmount version of the PEQ1 is available (with controls rotated 90 degrees). Despite the inevitable...

Back in early 2002, while I was reviewing another acoustic drum instrument plug-in, I had what I thought was an epiphany. Why not design the instrument's interface so that it resembles a fully-mic'ed drum kit; with which one could not only fine-tune each piece, but control how each mic is...

After reading John's review of various software samplers in the last issue, I thought I'd give my opinion as to what's happening in the soft-sampler scene. NI touts Kontakt as the most advanced software sampler ever, and I am inclined to believe them. Here's why. Having used...

I recently got to try out M-Audio's new large- diaphragm condenser mics. The two are well constructed and moderately priced (though not as dirt cheap as the many bargain-basement Chinese condensers out there). The Luna mic is the simplest of the two. It has a fixed cardioid pattern and lacks...

Recording drums has always seemed to be more of a hassle than recording other instruments. A lot of this can be attributed to multiple microphones, phasing, etc. One area of recording drums that has always been the biggest pain to me is keeping the drums in tune. This problem is even worse if...

I recently updated my Logic Platinum installation to Logic Pro 6 and wanted to mention some of the additions and improvements (besides the slicker-looking graphics). One major new feature is the Project Manager, a way to keep all of your sound files and samples organized. Project Manager makes life...

Seasoned readers of Tape Op will recall that I purchased one of the first Sony DMX-R100 mixers four years ago and felt that it was the first digital console I'd used that didn't compromise "the sound." (See the review in Tape Op #25.) Before that, I owned a Panasonic DA7....

Hey kids, a convolution reverb is a big word that means this is a reverb that has actual sampled (IR Short for impulse response) spaces in it. That's right, instead of suffering with digitally-modeled reverbs like we have for years (though a few are kinda cool!), we can now use the sound of...

Sometimes I get sent a piece of gear to review that I think I don't really need, and then once it's in use at my studio, I don't know how I lived without it. Apogee dropped me a line asking if I'd like to review their Mini-DAC after I found myself in love with (and keeping)...

With music production moving to DAW-centric recording and mixing, the monitor controller is one of the fastest-growing hardware categories in Pro Audio. Providing monitor volume and switching along with talkback and much needed utility functions like dim, mute and mono, the monitor controller...

I seem to recall Steve Albini saying something at one of the TapeOpCons about how he wished there was a box that could turn the hi-hat down on a drummer's kit. Well, since he doesn't use Pro Tools, he won't be able to use Transmod, which, among many capabilities, will do exactly...

This is such an ingenious, useful, and simple product that I'm surprised nobody came up with it earlier. But Auralex continues to figure out new ways to make acoustic foam useful in the studio, so it's no surprise that they were the ones to bring this to market. The Xpanders kit is made...

E-MU's last product entry for the PC audio-interface market was five years ago. I don't know why they stayed away so long, but they've returned with a line of well- integrated, all-in-one desktop audio production systems with professional-grade specs and functionality. The 1820M is...

Over the last five years, quite a few DAW controllers have come onto the market that offer up such features as motorized faders, shortcut and transport buttons that give direct access to commonly used production functions, rotary virtual pots for pan, EQ and the lot... but, I've yet to see a...

Theremins. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. On the one hand, they're just ridiculously difficult to play in a musical way. On the other, as far as crazy noisemakers go, their cool-quotient is off the charts. I've noticed Theremins have become nearly...