Category Archives for "Hardware"
- in Gear , Hardware , Microphones , Microphones , New Music Gear Monday , Recording by Bobby Owsinski
New Music Gear Monday: Royer Labs dBooster
Anyone who’s ever used a ribbon mic is aware of a surprising limitation – the output is low. Likewise for good sounding dynamic mics like the Shure SM7B or RE-20, and even the SM57. This isn’t a problem when the program material has a moderately high SPL level, but if that’s not the case you […]
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New Music Gear Monday: Synclavier Digital iOS App
If you weren’t around in the early days of digital audio, then you might not be aware that the field was originally dominated by two major players – New England Digital’s Synclavier and the Fairlight CMI. Although the Synclavier developed into a digital audio workstation that dominated the charts for a period of the 80’s, […]
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Cloning Vintage Knobs
Boy, do we love vintage gear. The problem is that often when we get that long lost gem home we find that a few parts are missing, and the easiest to lose over the years are knobs. That’s usually not a problem though as replacement knobs, even vintage ones, are readily available today. But what […]
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New Music Gear Monday: iZotope Spire Studio Wireless Interface
Have you ever had a great music idea but either didn’t have your gear available, or it took too long to get it set up before the idea disappeared? Yeah, me too. That’s a big part of modern recording technology in that there’s a lot involved with actually getting to the point where you’re recording. […]
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Cool Christmas Gifts For Musicians And Engineers 2018
We could all use a little bit of shopping help when it comes to buying Christmas gifts for the people around us in the music and recording business. If you’re in a quandary about what to buy, you’re in luck as I have a list of recommendations that covers a wide variety of items and price […]
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What To Look For When Choosing New Monitors
Choosing a set of monitors is a subject that I’ve gotten a lot of questions about lately, and it’s also something that I’m experiencing myself. I posted this before but it’s a good time for it again. It’s surprising that so many monitors speakers are purchased just from a review or word of mouth, since they’re […]
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New Music Gear Monday: Daking Mic Pre II Microphone Preamp
Really good standalone microphone preamps are expensive, as well they should be. There’s a lot more that goes into a great design than meets the eye, and for quite some time the price on most premium models has hovered between $800 and $1,200 or so per channel. That’s why the Daking Mic Pre II is […]
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Cyber Monday Recording Accessories That Will Make Your Studio Life Easier
Cyber Monday is a great day for a deal, so I decided to put together my own list of cool accessories especially for musicians and engineers. Here are some items that make great gifts for any musician or engineer (even yourself). Etymotic Research ER20 Earplugs – I keep trying other earplugs and keep coming […]
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New Music Gear Monday: Rupert Neve Designs 5211 Two Channel Preamp
Whenever the name “Neve” comes up, an audio person immediately envisions a high quality signal path that’s big and colored in a most pleasing way. The problem is that Neve vintage modules and even many of its clones carry a heavy price tag and tend to provide that one sound, which as great as it […]
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New Music Gear Monday: SSL Fusion Stereo Buss Processor
Ever since mixing went inside the box there’s been a debate over whether outboard hardware processing provides enough of a useful upgrade to the sound of the mix to make it worth the trouble. Outboard gear used for sweeting can include everything from a custom built summing box to individual signal chains for each main […]
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New Music Gear Monday: SPL Crescendo 8 Channel Microphone Preamp
There are microphone preamps that we use when we need some color, and there are preamps that we use when we need transparency. There are plenty of colored mic pres around and they seem to get the most attention especially when recording most pop-style music, but there are many times when we want the proverbial […]
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New Music Gear Monday: Centrance MixerFace R4 Mobile Recording Interface And Recorder
Like you I see a lot of new products and so many of them I like and can find a use for. There aren’t many that I really get excited about though, which is why the new Centrance MixerFace R4 mobile recording interface and recorder is so unusual. It’s really a cool little piece of […]
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New Music Gear Monday: Universal Audio Apollo X Series Audio Interfaces
Universal Audio has always made some great audio interfaces and now the company has taken the to the next level with the release of the new Apollo X Series. The newly upgraded units provide 50% more DSP processing power and even better A/D and D/A conversion along with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity to your Mac or Windows […]
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This Sony Music Player Has A Gold Volume Knob, But Does That Make It Worth $7,900?
It doesn’t take much to get some people all fired up about a high-end consumer audio device enough to part with some big bucks sometimes. Drop a few current buzzwords or play into the latest audiophile fad and it’s surprising how much dough some with too much of it will part with. Still, you have […]
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New Music Gear Monday: Zoom F8n 8 Track Field Recorder
Some of you do sound design in addition to music and have to capture sounds in the field. Others want a good way to capture a multitrack of your band playing live or in rehearsal without the hassle of setting up a computer. That means some sort of dedicated field recorder, and while there are […]
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