Category Archives for "Gear"
Taking a new electric guitar and making it look old, or “relicing,” has been around for a while and is not without controversy. Is it being done to fool people into thinking that’s it’s an original model so they’ll pay more? Is it to replicate the feel of an older instrument? It’s had a lot […]
Continue readingThe digital world that we live in presents a big problem for artists, labels, producers, engineers, and session players, and that’s getting paid and receiving credit for the work they’ve created. Even though a song is being streamed from the likes of Spotify, Apple Music or any of the other dozens of streaming platforms doesn’t […]
Continue readingOne of the things that most of us hate about the studio is having to connect gear via a patchbay. It’s a necessary evil that’s been with us since the phone company started about a hundred years ago, but it’s prone to corroded connections, intermittent patch cords, and general time-consuming setup on a large session. […]
Continue readingIt often happens that we read about a great studio somewhere in the world, and most of us are interested to see what it looks like inside. The problem is that a Google search will find us some pictures that usually don’t give us a feel for what the facility and the people that run […]
Continue readingFor about 20 years the Yamaha NS-10 was the standard monitor found in almost any studio. An untold number of hits were recorded on the speakers during that time, so it came as a major shock when Yamaha discontinued the model in 2001 as the wood pulp used in making the drivers became more difficult […]
Continue readingGuitarist Hank Marvin has been a huge influence on top British guitar players like Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler and Jeff Beck, who in turn became huge influencers on generations of guitar players that followed them. While Hank is a great player, one of the things that separates him from everyone else is the unique ambience […]
Continue readingOur electronic lives are based around a piece of electronics that most of us take for granted until it stops working. That’s the hard drive that stores all the data that we base our music around. The hard drive is an extremely complex piece of gear both electronically and mechanically though, and just how much […]
Continue readingAnyone that’s ever tried to manually create a Doppler effect simulation will know that it’s way easier said than done. It seems like a little panning, automated EQ, pitch change and ambience and you’ll have it, but it’s way more complicated than that. That’s why the new Tonstrum TRAVELER plugin is so cool. It precisely models […]
Continue readingModeling technology has become pervasive in the audio world and has reached the point where it sounds so good that hardly anyone even blinks an eye anymore at a product that contains it. One of the last bastions for modeling has been microphones though, since that always seemed like hallowed ground by the pros. Those […]
Continue readingAnother classic instrument has flew past the half-century mark as the iconic Fender Jazzmaster celebrates it’s 60th birthday. Like the Strat and Les Paul, the Jazzmaster was once thought of as almost a product-line miss as interest was lukewarm at best. It’s now enjoying a massive revival though, and if you watch just about any […]
Continue readingAcoustic stringed instrument players have always suffered from amplification problems in a live environment. Place a microphone on the instrument and you’ll get at least some change in tonal quality and usually a lot of leakage, regardless of the quality of the microphone that you use. Resort to a pickup and the instrument no longer […]
Continue readingI often get asked what plugins I regularly use, so a few years ago I decided to share my plugin thoughts with a personal Top 10 list. Here’s my edition for 2018, which isn’t all that different from last year except that it has fewer compressors, since I’ve found myself using less and less compression […]
Continue readingWe’ve all heard the pros and cons of extended warranties for everything from appliances to autos, and they’re certainly worthwhile for some and worthless for others. When it comes to musical instruments and audio gear, the manufacturer almost always offers some warranty, while the retailer might offer a third party policy for an additional extended […]
Continue readingAnyone who’s spent a lot of time recording knows that the type of DI used on a bass really matters. Use a cheap one and the bass will sound thin and dull; use one with a transformer and the bottom will be big and round, and use one with a tube and there’s a magic […]
Continue readingThere have been entire books written about the guitars and basses that The Beatles played both live and in recording, and well they should, since their sounds have influenced guitar players even to this day. While we’re all familiar with the iconic Hofner, Rickenbacker, Gretsches and Epiphones that the band played during their prime, there […]
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