In 2005, Matt Warshaw, a well-known surf journalist who had written for just about every surfing publication that exists, published The Encyclopedia of Surfing, which became the definitive reference on the subject of wavesliding. With his new book, The Synthesizer, Mark Vail, who has written for just...
With the resurgent interest in analog gear, there are tons of new boxes on the market. Most have a straightforward purpose, but there are still some that don't fall into the "normal" categories of preamp, EQ, compressor, etc. The SP1 2UBE processor is a prime example. It's a boutique...
The Sonodyne SRP series is a no-nonsense entry into the sub-$1000 monitor scene, with five different models ranging from 3'' to 8'' in woofer size. Touting an ultra-wide sweet spot with custom waveguides for the tweeters on each model, SRP monitors are enclosed in die-cast aluminum...
When I moved my mix setup out of my living room and into a large shared studio space, I sensed that it would be helpful to have a larger pair of midfields for monitoring. Unfortunately, most of the speakers that I admired were prohibitively expensive, until I discovered the Equator Audio Q10. Modern...
My head is spinning these days with all of the available options for the 500-series format. As a kid, Baskin-Robbins and their 31 flavors seemed overwhelming. Generally, I stuck with what I knew was going to deliver. (Chocolate Peanut Butter, baby!) Why mess with a good thing? 500-series preamp modules...
I've been a bit stymied on how to start this review off, so I'll run all three of my potential intros by you:
1. To the guy who got upset by my review of I Dream Of Wires, in which I said all the music in that documentary film sounded kind of boring and too similar to me — I'm afraid I...
As someone who has been using ADAM monitors fairly religiously for the past seven years or so, I became quite interested when I heard that the former CEO of ADAM Audio had started a new speaker company, called EVE Audio. It turns out that the ADAM and EVE speaker lines have pretty much one thing in...
When I record acoustic guitars, I use a mic. A real one. Mainly mono, but sometimes stereo — especially if it's a one-voice, one-guitar recording — but definitely a mic; no pickup transducers for me thank you. Why? Because I don't like the quack attack — the poultry-like sound emissions that...
How do you get a $10,000 sounding mic without bankrupting your studio? Send it to Shannon Rhoades at MicRehab, that's how. Specifically, I'm talking about the Miktek CV4. To be fair, the stock mic is good right out of the box. The mic is sturdy, the PSU is beefy, and the price is friendly...
I've been on a mission over the last seven or eight years to find a reverb plug-in that fills the void left by not being able to place a microphone, say, 5-20 ft away from a source. I've used just about every big-time reverb plug-in out there, and while some are better than others in terms...
Andy Hong: When the Dangerous Compressor was first announced, I knew that it would be something special, like all of its sibling products in the Dangerous Music line — despite its seemingly simple set of controls. I heard quickly from veteran reviewers Garrett Haines and Eli Crews, both of whom wanted...
The 363 is the first product from San Diego-based Tonecraft Audio, but owner Jon Erickson is no newcomer to the studio equipment scene. Most notably, he spent some time at A-Designs Audio and was chiefly responsible for the Pacifica mic preamp [Tape Op #49], among other products. A bass player himself,...
Moog Music has been making big, sophisticated pedals — Moogerfoogers — since 1997. They're amazing pedals with lots of synth-inspired modulation features, but they're pretty expensive and are too complex for my puny brain. For me, Moog's new stripped-down Minifooger pedal line is more...
We've all seen photos of studios that own a wall of guitar tube heads. Certainly, having a dozen or more amps to choose from might be ideal, but the total cost can be prohibitive for a studio owner. After all, when top-shelf heads cost several thousand dollars each, you can buy an amp farm — or...
The Massey THC (Total Harmonic Corruption) plug- in is a no-nonsense analog-modeled distortion "stompbox." THC has the same familiar controls — drive, filter (tone), and level — that you'd find on your average overdrive or distortion pedal. But that's where the similarities end....
Instead of offering eight or more inputs loaded with mic preamps in a never-ending quest for bang-for-buck, some companies are designing two-channel units that put the emphasis on quality rather than quantity. Such is the latest USB interface from TASCAM for both Mac and PC. The UH-7000 costs about...
Anyone who has read my previous reviews may know that two years ago, I left the comfort of my trusted Oakland studio to start mixing primarily in my apartment in Brooklyn. I started working right away with the speakers I happened to have with me — Rokit 5 G2 monitors — planning on upgrading them as...
Confidence. Transparency. I like my monitor controllers like I like my politicians. I want confidence that I am hearing what is and what is not there. Confidence that the choices I am making in terms of signal processing are the right ones. Confidence that I have chosen the best mic and preamp for the...
When I think of AEA, I think of vintage-styled, classic ribbon mics. The AEA R-series harks back to RCA ribbon mics in both looks and tonal qualities, while AEA's modern manufacturing approach includes innovations in internal shockmounting and adding active electronics for higher output levels...