Category Archives for "Gear"
Andrew Scheps is not only noted for his excellent mixing abilities for acts as diverse as Adele to Metallica, but he’s also one thoughtful guy, so when he comes out with a plugin, you can bet it’s something special. For instance, there are a lot of Neve 1073-style plugins available, but his Scheps 73 is […]
Continue readingAudionamix is a very clever company with a variety of intelligent software products specializing in extracting tracks for a full stereo mix. The company just introduced its new XTRAX STEMS app that will separate any song into its drum, vocal and remaining music components, which is a pretty cool trick when you think about it. […]
Continue readingIf you always needed a computer interface and also wanted to get into Universal Audio plugins but didn’t want to pay the price for an Apollo, now you’re in luck. UA has introduced a brand new, scaled down version of the Apollo Twin called the Arrow. The Arrow is that same as a Twin a […]
Continue readingIt often takes plugins to catch hold of the market, and many times they fail to capture the attention of pro users no matter how good they are. That’s not been the case with FabFilter, as the company’s products have been used on countless hits almost since Frederik Slijkerman and Floris Klinkert, started the company in […]
Continue readingAs the world of Star Trek (and science fiction in general) gets closer and closer to reality, there’s been a rethink of the controllers that we’ve used in audio. We’ve all gotten used to what was the norm of analog knobs, faders and switches, but what if you were freed from those restrictions? Touch Innovations […]
Continue readingLarge commercials studios often go to many lengths to make sure that what you hear is as close to an accurate representation of the music as possible. This includes the often overlooked areas of power and grounding. With a studio it’s understandable, but what if you’re an avid hobbyist? These Japanese audiophiles have gone to […]
Continue readingConsole maker Solid State Logic has a new owner and it’s Audiotronix. The audio conglomerate purchased the iconic console company from majority shareholder Peter Gabriel, who’s owned the company for 12 years. SSL now joins a corporate umbrella that includes DiGiCo, DiGiGrid, Calrec and Allen & Heath. This fills out the product mix for Audiotronix, since SSL […]
Continue readingGated reverb on drums is a sound that you either love or hate, but either way, you have to admit that it played a big role in music in the 1980s. All things in music recycle, so gated reverb is back again on hits by Lorde, Haim and Taylor Swift, among many others, so it’s […]
Continue readingWe 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 […]
Continue readingThere’s so much attention given to vinyl these days that I though it might be a good idea to cover exactly what goes into actually pressing a record. It’s actually a primitive process by today’s standards, and it’s pretty amazing that they sound as good as they do. Here’s an excerpt from the 4rth edition […]
Continue readingDid you ever have an unusually dynamic vocal where your compressor works perfectly in one section of the song, then springs into over-compression on another? Of course you did. That’s something that everyone runs into on a regular basis. One way around this is to automate the parameters of the compressor, but that’s gets time-consuming. […]
Continue readingYou might not have heard that there’s been a huge advancement in battery technology that’s likely to surpass anything that’s come before it. Samsung has developed a technology using graphene balls that not only will extend a battery’s capacity by 45%, but speed up the charging process to be about 5 times faster than what we’re […]
Continue readingI was reading an excellent article on the Sweetwater blog about 10 music products that haven’t changed in a long time, and it got me to thinking about microphones that haven’t changed in at least 20 years. After a little research, here’s what I came up with Shure SM57 – Introduced in 1965, it’s been […]
Continue readingI usually don’t post on new guitars in this slot, but the new Fender EOB Sustainer Stratocaster is just different enough that it deserves a mention. This is the signature guitar from Radiohead’s Ed O’Brian, but it features the inclusion of a Fernandez Sustainer circuit that gives guitarists the ability to create those long ethereal […]
Continue readingGibson Brands (formerly Gibson Guitars) has announced that it decided to cease development of Cakewalk products. Cakewalk Sonar has a dedicated following and was one of the DAWs that PC users loved, although the company has recently fielded some Mac products as well. Here’s the company’s official statement: Gibson Brands announced today that it is ceasing […]
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