Category Archives for "Hardware"
- in Gear , Hardware , New Music Gear Monday by Bobby Owsinski
New Music Gear Monday: Updated Mackie Big Knob Monitor Controller
One of the things that every DAW-based studio needs is a monitor controller, and the Mackie Big Knob has been one of the best sellers in the category for about a decade now. The series now gets an update with new electronics and a few new features. The thing about Big Knob controllers is that […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Guitars , Hardware , Live Sound by Bobby Owsinski
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Metallica And Their Guitar Amp Emulators
Let me make a bold statement. Guitar amp emulators are now so good that long-time tube amp users are switching over, at least for live playing on-stage. If you think that statement is blasphemy (and I can’t believe I’m making it myself), then you should watch this behind-the-scenes video of the live guitar rig setups […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Hardware , Microphones , Video by Bobby Owsinski
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Yes, It’s Easy To Build Your Own Condenser Microphone
We’re in a golden age of audio gear kits, with more manufacturers than ever offering DIY kits to build high-quality gear. Need a preamp, EQ or compressor? If you can wield a soldering iron, there are many kits to choose from. Need a condenser or ribbon microphone? There are multiple kits available there as well. […]
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The ScrubBoard: Scratch Live In Real Time
You may or may not be interested in scratching, but you have to love the ingenuity of Jeremy Bell. In the video below you’ll see how he built a really unique tape-based scratching machine he calls the ScrubBoard pretty much from (excuse the unintended pun) scratch. The ScrubBoard is comprised of a fully functioning home-made […]
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The Making Of McIntosh Amplifiers
There are certain products that are iconic and remain that way over time, regardless of the trends of the industry that they’re in. This describes McIntosh hi-fi products, especially the amplifiers to a T. McIntosh have also been thought of as the Rolls-Royce of power amps, noted for their high power and extremely low distortion, […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Guitar , Guitars , Hardware , New Music Gear Monday by Bobby Owsinski
New Music Gear Monday: Universal Audio Ox Amp Top Box
Universal Audio is one of those rare companies that excels in both hardware and software, so when it puts both together in a product, you know you have something worth a long look. If you’re a guitar player or want to offer guitar players more choices in your studio, then the company’s new Ox Amp […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Guitar , Guitars , Hardware , New Music Gear Monday by Bobby Owsinski
New Music Gear Monday: BAE Hot Fuzz Guitar Pedal
There are tons of guitar pedals available, and so many in the distortion/overdrive category that selecting just one to use is almost overwhelming. That said, you have to take notice when a high-end pro audio manufacturer like BAE Audio introduces one. The company’s Hot Fuzz isn’t your typical distortion pedal though, and that’s exactly what […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Hardware , MI/Audio Business , Music by Bobby Owsinski
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Don’t Look Now But Audio Tubes May Be In Jeopardy Again
Things looked bad for vacuum tube-based audio gear once upon a time as both American and British tube manufacturers shut down their plants to go solid state. Luckily, the slack was taken up by tube plants in Russia, China and Yugoslavia, and the audio and MI business never missed a beat. Things might get tight […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Hardware , New Music Gear Monday by Bobby Owsinski
New Music Gear Monday: PLUS Pedal Instrument Sustainer
Pedals, pedals everywhere. Guitar players have tons of them and are always buying more. The majority of new pedals are derivative of a few trailblazers that have come before however, and it’s hard to find something that’s truly new. It seems there was a new idea for a pedal right before our eyes all along […]
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How A $300,000 Speaker Is Made
I generally think that most high-end audio gear is pretty bogus (there are exceptions, of course), and that opinion comes from auditioning various equipment at hi-fi shows. Not the best place to listen, I agree, but in most cases things are so off that within the first 10 seconds of listening I know that there’s […]
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New Music Gear Monday: Genelec The Ones Series Coaxial Monitors
I’ve been using coaxial monitors as part of my regular studio setup for a long time. As far as I’m concerned, there’s something about their “single-point source” nature that sounds right to me, and it’s something that other speakers with separated drivers just can’t seem to deliver, at least to my ears. Don’t get me wrong, […]
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Inside The Roland Space Echo
Before the digital delay there was the tape echo machine and it was cheap enough that every band (and in some cases guitar players) had one. The problem was that most of the models available at the time weren’t exactly “studio-ready,” so they rarely made it into the average studio in the U.S. Then came the […]
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A Look At Building A High-End Turntable
There’s no question that vinyl is back with a bang, and as a result, so is the turntable business. In fact, most turntable manufacturers both big and small have experienced double digit sales growth in the last few years, a trend that looks like it won’t be stopping anytime soon. But what exactly goes into […]
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You Can Own One Of These Iconic Consoles
If you love old recording desks, then you have a chance to buy not one, but 2 iconic consoles that have huge pedigrees with tons of hits. The first is the EMI TG12345 MK IV from Abbey Road Studios made famous for the recording of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon, and albums by Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Kate Bush, […]
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The Real Scoop On AC/DC’s Angus Young’s Guitar Sound
If you were to place one electric guitar sound up on a pedestal as the one to copy, it would probably be the one from AC/DC’s Angus Young. “Back In Black” is still looked upon as an iconic record and sound, and guitar players, engineers and producers have been using a variety of methods to […]
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