REVIEWED BY Dana Gumbiner
You guys, my home studio now sounds like the Blade Runner soundtrack, and looks like the set of TRON. And, what? There are Ks where all the Cs should be! Wait — lemme explain.
Native Instruments sent us their latest MIDI controller keyboard to test, the Kontrol S-series, along with the latest iteration...
REVIEWED BY Geoff Stanfield
The U 47 fet reissue from Neumann is a faithful recreation of the solid-state version of the U 47 manufactured from 1972 to 1986. It has a fixed cardioid polar pattern and employs a K 47 capsule and the same head grill and nickel finish as the original U 47 fet, as well as the classic Neumann badge...
REVIEWED BY Adam Kagan
One of my biggest frustrations as a mixer is importing audio files from a client and finding 160 stereo audio tracks have been created in my DAW. Most of the time, I'll figure out that the bulk of the stereo tracks delivered to me do not actually contain any stereo information but are, in fact,...
REVIEWED BY Eli Crews
It has always been a priority for me to provide the ability for each member of a band to dial in her or his own headphone mix during a tracking or overdub session. It was essential to me when building my first studio nearly 15 years ago, and the long-discontinued Oz Audio Q-Mix HM-6 boxes [Tape Op #37]...
REVIEWED BY Dave Hidek
I'm a fan of compressors that bring something to the table other than transparency, so I've had an eye on the legendary ADR F769X-R Vocal Stressor, an early outboard "channel strip" incorporating the Compex compressor alongside an EQ, for quite some time. When Boz Digital Labs announced...
REVIEWED BY Tom Fine
A few months ago, I took on a project that pushed me into the dreaded realm of needing new studio monitors. After about ten years of using a pair of Behringer Truth B2031A passive monitors (don't turn up your nose or ears until you try them; they blew away all similarly-sized speakers I tried until...
REVIEWED BY Adam Kagan
It goes without saying that our studio monitors, be they speakers or headphones, influence the sound of our productions more than any other processor, instrument, or device. Recently, the technologies of speaker system design and advanced materials have allowed manufacturers to produce accurate monitors...
REVIEWED BY Garrett Haines
Many of us remember the days of cassette-based 4-track machines. Likewise, we can recall the days of receiving mixtapes on actual cassette tapes, not over email. I have found that the problem with playing old cassettes is usually mechanical in nature - crinkled tape, broken tape, or the worst-case scenario,...
REVIEWED BY Andy Hong
I'm always impressed with the sheer value that PreSonus is able to offer across its product lines. For decades, the company has been selling affordable audio gear and software, while still managing to include features and deliver sound quality beyond what you'd expect for the price. Take for...
REVIEWED BY Eli Crews
The quest for the right studio monitor can be long and frustrating. Or, the first pair you audition can instantly become the pair you know and trust, allowing you to do your best work right from the get-go. Focal Professional's flagship French-made SM9 monitor was the latter for me — and for everybody...
REVIEWED BY Andy Hong
I haven't spent any time on a Harrison console, but I do know that many important albums and films were recorded or mixed on Harrison consoles over the decades, and company founder Dave Harrison kickstarted his console-designing career with the MCI JH-400 series, the first production desks with...
REVIEWED BY Andy Hong
I love this new model from Audio-Technica's growing line of professional studio headphones. It features open-back earcups housing proprietary 45 mm drivers, and a unique headband with spring-loaded "wings" that self-adjust the fit. It's by far the lightest and most comfortable circumaural...
REVIEWED BY Jesse Lauter
The AES Convention is one of the more entertaining and overwhelming events in our little universe of audio. I flew out to Los Angeles for the conference this past October and walked the convention floor several times over to mostly familiar sites. One booth caught my eye and eventually my ear. Locomotive...
REVIEWED BY Chris Koltay
The use of effect pedals at the mixing board is by no means a new thing. I remember studio owners thinking I was crazy in the '90s when I patched in a SansAmp Bass Driver DI or BOSS DM-2 Delay pedal on vocals at mix. Then everyone was talking about that Strokes vocal sound and saying it was a Rat...
REVIEWED BY Geoff Stanfield
There's gear that does its job in technically proficient and sometimes even colorful ways. In the capable hands of skilled producers and engineers, the gear brings to life the instruments and sounds that run through its electronic pathways. And then there's gear that is musical in its own...
REVIEWED BY Brad Williams
21st century perspective reveals that, in many ways, the advancement of recording technology has been chronologically non-linear. Rather than a tidy progression from primitive-to-sophisticated, we could easily characterize the developments as an evolution from one set of priorities to another. The best...
REVIEWED BY Scott Evans
We roam the frigid, soulless digital landscape, searching in vain for the analog mojo that was once ours. We buy expensive A/D converters, we compress everything, we emulate tape, and sometimes, we just distort the shit out of shit. I'm down. Whether it's adding subtle hair to otherwise pristine...
REVIEWED BY Alan Tubbs
The new SONAR that replaces SONAR X3 will be the last one ever — no more numbered editions according to Cakewalk. But that doesn't mean that this is the last release you'll ever need. Cakewalk is dropping the numbers and no longer following a software cycle of major and minor releases....
REVIEWED BY Dave Cerminara
The Splice MKII is an 1176-style FET compressor in a 2RU-height rackmount chassis. The original Splice, which is no longer available, was a 500-series module. The roomier faceplate of the MKII rackmount unit allowed Serpent Audio to incorporate additional features. The result is a fresh take on one...