When I reviewed Synclavier V [Tape Op#118] last year – https://tapeop.com/reviews/gear/118/synclavier-v/, I ended the review by saying that the software didn’t include any of the Synclavier’s sample library and that it couldn’t do resynthesis. Well, that’s all changed with the updated release...
This latest soft synth moves in a totally new direction for Arturia as it’s not an emulation based on a vintage hardware synth (that’s been their stock in trade for over a decade) – it’s completely original. But concurrently to their soft synths they’ve also been making their own unique analog...
This is a future-proof controller that’s really more of a studio “director” or “headmaster-in-charge of all things bleepy-bloopy” – not your grandad’s MIDI controller, no sir. The SL MkIII is easily the most utility-driven, feature-full MIDI controller/sequencer I’ve yet to test drive. And although...
Oh lord, he's reviewing rack screws. I'll make it quick: these are some nice rack screws! The pilot point makes them much easier to start than the hardware store screws I've used forever, and they're smoother to screw in and out too. Better tolerances? I don't know, but I...
I've been a Maglite man since I was in college. They are built to be dropped, don't die under most rain conditions and the beam-focus feature has always been useful, especially for tasks like finding a black screw dropped on a dark-colored floor under an equipment rack. I just did a big...
If you’ve been following my reviews in Tape Op, then you may have already read my reviews of several virtual software instruments based on the original Synclavier hardware synthesizer [Tape Op #118]. If not, you can read those to get more background on the Synclavier and it’s unique approach to...
When Arturia introduced a new series of Brute synths and a Eurorack/power supply system at NAMM last year, we had several reviewers asking about them. Thom Monahan is an experienced analog synthesizer user and wanted to review the MiniBrute 2S, which has an onboard step sequencer but no keyboard....
Note: I was using this product and was so excited about it, that I wrote this review. Then as I was finishing it up, I remembered Tom Fine already reviewed it a few issues back [Tape Op #124] – https://tapeop.com/reviews/gear/124/m900-headphone-ampdacpreamp/. I went back and re-read Tom’s review...
I’m really digging these lightweight and discovery-laden plug-in bundles from Native Instruments; the fun-to-cost ratio is highly disproportionate! Each of these packs features three 64-bit plug-ins (VST, AU, or AAX) that offer a surprising amount of creative potential for such a low cost. I was a...
Iowa-based Sioux Guitars has been making very cool, very colorful, and very rock ‘n’ roll guitars, amps, and pedals since 2007. I have long admired their stuff from a distance – always hearing positive things but for some reason never finding a chance to try any of it myself, so I was psyched when...
I will start with the bold statement that I feel solidly qualified to weigh in on Avid’s latest control surface offerings, the Pro Tools | S3 and the Pro Tools | Dock, having purchased the very first control surface available for Pro Tools – the Mackie HUI (Human User Interface) – way back in 1999....
The Michelangelo is a discrete, Class A, all tube, full-stereo equalizer with Jensen input and output transformers. Each unit is hand-made in Texas on a first-come-first-served basis. Go ahead and order one now, then come back to read the rest of this review. I’ll wait.
Michelangelo is the original...
Here’s a surprisingly powerful new analog synth developed in collaboration with Roland and US-based synth designers Studio Electronics. This little box is the first of what Roland calls its “Boutique Designer Series” synthesizers and is in the compact and now-familiar Roland Boutique form...
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 a lot of solid improvements (I bought and built a pair); a Pultec-inspired passive...
The original Fireface UFX has been the centerpiece of my mixing studio and mobile recording rig for nearly eight years. The unique feature that sold me on the original UFX was its built-in DURec recorder, which allowed me to record all 60 channels of I/O onto a USB flash drive as a multitrack WAV...
Here's a 24-bit, 192 kHz audio interface that's a ridiculous bargain at this price point. The Studio 1824 has plenty of analog and digital I/O, plus an 18x8 DSP mixer with low-latency monitor mixing. That's all well and good, and to be honest we've tested many comparable...
Yes, I'm with you. Do we really need more Neumann U 47 and U 48 clones in the market? Apparently the Slovakian company FLEA Microphones thinks so, and has produced a pair of solid-state mics that they claim sound like the tube stalwarts among the holiest of grails in the vintage mic collection...
We unfortunately live in an age where many of the tools we use are poorly made, disposable, and destined or even designed to end up in a landfill. As a studio owner and working engineer, I enjoy the tools I own that have stood the test of time, are decades old, but still work as well as they did...