Category Archives for "Gear"
- in Computer , Gear by Bobby Owsinski
Google’s AI Music Experiment
Many musicians feel threatened by the artificial intelligence programs that are now trying to create songs based on the music that they’ve learned. Yes, it’s scary when the robots take over, but perhaps we’re looking at it all wrong, as illustrated with this Google AI music experiment. A.I. Duet, as shown in the video below, is […]
Continue reading- in Book Excerpt , Gear , Music by Bobby Owsinski
2 Schools Of Thought On Guitar Pedal Order For Better Sound
I was asked by a guitar player recently why his tone wasn’t what he wanted, and the first thing that got my attention was the maze of stomp boxes he was using. Although that wasn’t the only problem with his rig, it was a good place to start, since everything was connected more or less […]
Continue reading- in Acoustics , Gear , Software by Bobby Owsinski
Just What Your Mix Needs – Surveillance Tower Reverb
I know, I know. You can’t finish that mix until you get the sound of an old surveillance tower to pull it all together. But where to find one? Well you’re in luck as the impulse responses from the Teufelsberg National Security Agency tower in West Berlin are now available. Best of all – it’s a free […]
Continue reading- in Engineering , Microphones , Recording by Bobby Owsinski
Mic Placement Tips To Help You Find The “Sweet Spot”
Mic placement may be the most important part of recording since a change of half-an-inch can sometimes make a huge difference in the sound. Finding that correct placement isn’t always easy though, so here’s an excerpt from my Recording Engineer’s Handbook 4th edition to give you some easy tips to find that “sweet spot” quickly. “Quickly finding […]
Continue reading- in Gear , New Music Gear Monday by Bobby Owsinski
New Music Gear Monday: Yamaha HPH-MT8 “NS10 Inspired” Headphones
For a generation of engineers prior to their discontinuation in 2001, Yamaha NS-10′s were a monitor fixture in every control room, no matter how big or small. They weren’t used because they sounded good, mind you, but quite the opposite – they sounded rather ordinary. That’s why it’s a bit of a mystery that the company’s new […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Guitars , Hardware , Live Sound , Video by Bobby Owsinski
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 […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Studios , Video by Bobby Owsinski
Butch Vig’s Smart Studios Story
Producer Butch Vig set up Smart Studios with bandmate Steve Marker in Madison, Wisconsin, and thanks to big hits from Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana, the studio helped define the grunge sound of the ’90s. Now a documentary has been made about the studio by former studio employee Wendy Schneider. Here’s a clip of the Wendy, Butch […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Hardware , Software by Bobby Owsinski
My Latest Top 10 Compressors
About 3 years ago I posted about my top 10 compressors, but things have changed a lot since then, so I thought it was time to post an updated list. Many of the entries haven’t changed, but a few have (especially on the software side). This list is a combination of hardware and software, since most […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Hardware , Media , Vinyl by Bobby Owsinski
This New Robot May Change Vinyl Record Pressing Forever
We’ve been hearing about vinyl record manufacturing coming into the future for some time, and here’s another example. Some Canadian design engineers who usually put their R&D talents into things like MRI machines went to work on the vinyl record press. They made some huge improvements and came up with the Warm Tone vinyl record […]
Continue reading- in Gear , New Music Gear Monday , Plugin , Software by Bobby Owsinski
New Music Gear Monday: Black Box Analog Design HG-2 Plugin
How many times has it happened where you have a great mix going, but it just needs something a little extra to bring it all together? Of course, there are now a lot of plugins available to add some “glue” to your mix, but they usually bring just one sound to the party. The Black Box […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Hardware , Microphones , New Music Gear Monday by Bobby Owsinski
New Music Gear Monday: Aston Starlight Laser Targeting Microphone
From the beginning of recording time we’ve been aiming microphones at the source by eye when first setting up. For the most part they’re pretty forgiving if we don’t point them exactly perfectly, and a quick listen will tell us if we need to adjust. But wouldn’t it be cool if there was a more […]
Continue reading- in Computer , Gear , New Music Gear Monday , Video by Bobby Owsinski
New Music Gear Monday: Antelope Audio Orion32 HD Interface
One of the problems with audio interfaces is they just don’t have enough I/O sometimes. Most interfaces are either 8 or 16 channels, which is plenty in some cases and not enough in others. While the price for a single 16 channel interface might seem reasonable, when you put two of them together to meet your […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Music , Video by Bobby Owsinski
6 Ways To Spot A Fake Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster is the most popular guitar in the world, and because of that, there are a lot of imitations out there. That’s not a problem as we can decided quickly whether we’d rather have the imitation instead of the real deal. The problem comes with the many fake Strats that are available. What do […]
Continue reading- in Computer , Gear by Bobby Owsinski
Cables – Which To Keep And Which To Toss
We all have tons of computer cables that we’ve collected over the years, many of which are obsolete, but we keep around anyway. With each new generation of peripherals comes a new cable, and that means our cable box gets bigger. CNET recently posted an article about which cables you should keep and which to […]
Continue reading- in Gear , New Music Gear Monday , Plugin , Software by Bobby Owsinski
New Music Gear Monday: Softube Acoustic Feedback Plugin
Amplifier modeling has reached new heights of realism, and it’s to the point where even die-hard purists with big amp collections now show up to a session or a gig with just a modeling pedal. That said, one of the big problems with amp emulators has always been how difficult it is to get acoustic […]
Continue reading