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At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: Holowon and the Tape Soup

The first Stompbox Exhibit at NAMM is next week (Summer NAMM in Nashville!) and we want to take the opportunity to highlight the various boutique manufacturers who will be participating. Holowon is a small company based in Rochester, NY specializing in hand-built effect pedals. All their designs are 100% originals - no…Click on the title for more

At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: Holowon and the Tape Soup

Lightning Boy Audio launches the Opti-Mu Prime compressor

Based in Eden, NY, Lightning Boy Audio is a small manufacturer focusing on designing hand made analog equipment - including stompboxes (but they also manufacture studio gear including an optical compressor and a plate reverb). They currently have 4 pedals on their "roster" including 2 distortions and one EQ, and they…Click on the title for more

Lightning Boy Audio launches the Opti-Mu Prime compressor

Recording Tips: Fixing Proximity Effects, Sibilance and Plosives when recording vocals

Slow, sparse songs allow the vocals to become the central focus of the recording, and that’s when the choice of microphone and mic preamp can make a big difference. Not many can afford a Neumann U47 (pictured) through a Neve channel, but even with a limited microphone/preamp arsenal, a lot…Click on the title for more

Recording Tips: Fixing Proximity Effects, Sibilance and Plosives when recording vocals

Pedal Review: Analog Man’s ARDX20

Analog Man’s ARDX20 ($265) is the epitome of boutique production on a global scale, handsoldered in China, before heading to Japan where pedal designer Ohbayashi San and his team calibrate, tune and engrave each one. Unusually, the ARDX20 is a two-channel delay. Each channel gets three knobs, delay time, feedback,…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: Analog Man’s ARDX20

Secrets of Mixing: Resolving Midrange Conflicts

When people ask me what the secret of mixing is, I answer: “Use as few (well recorded) tracks playing at once as possible, and you are golden.” Yes, because mixing is a job that gets exponentially more difficult the more tracks you are dealing with. This is due to the…Click on the title for more

Secrets of Mixing: Resolving Midrange Conflicts

Ambassadors and the Recording Process

Ambassadors' Gear: ZVex Mastotron Fuzz " a cross between what Ray Manzarek used on The Doors' "Five To One" and what Colin Greenwood used on Radiohead's Exit Music " Ambassadors' music is full and energetic, but they aren’t scared to slow things down and get sensitive from time to time. The…Click on the title for more

Ambassadors and the Recording Process

New Pedals: TSVG’s Slow Ride Overdrive/Fuzz

Philly based stompbox boutique manufacturer TSVG just announced the release of the Slow Ride Overdrive/Fuzz, a pedal "designed for endless sustain and gritty yet articulate over driven tones." The pedal will be showcased at the Stompbox exhibit we are organizing at Summer NAMM. The two unmarked knobs are for gain and…Click on the title for more

New Pedals: TSVG’s Slow Ride Overdrive/Fuzz

Laura Stevenson and the Recording Process

Laura's Gear: Fender Roc Pro Amp " It breaks into distortion at this really distinct spot that works really well with the way I naturally play. " With the new album "Wheel", just fresh out of the oven, NYC songwriter Laura Stevenson decided to up the production value, steering away from the…Click on the title for more

Laura Stevenson and the Recording Process

Pedal Review: Diamond’s Memory Lane Jr.

At $279, Diamond's Memory Lane Jr. is more attainable by most guitarists than its $600 analog big brother, Memory Lane 2. And yet the Memory Lane Jr. has similar features, twice the delay time and it can run off a 9-volt battery. The big difference is that the Memory Lane…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: Diamond’s Memory Lane Jr.

Production Tips: Recording the banjo

The banjo - this bizarre mutation of a guitar and a snare drum - can be a difficult instrument to record. The main challenge is to find a balance between the very attacky but thumpy sound audible near the center of the head, and the rest of the instrument’s sonic…Click on the title for more

Production Tips: Recording the banjo

New Pedals: TCJ Effects’ Amalgam Smooth Overdrive

T. Jauernig Electronics, or TCJ Effects, is a small Wisconsin based manufacturer of hand made pedals that's been around since 2004. They just finalized the New "Amalgam" Smooth Overdrive. The company states that this pedal is very touch sensitive and smooth, working in the mild to moderate gain range. If you…Click on the title for more

New Pedals: TCJ Effects’ Amalgam Smooth Overdrive

Bands in the Studio: Recording Parquet Courts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPpihD340yE Jonathan Schenke's Gear: Deltalab Effectron "We have an AMS DMX Delay that is incredible... it’s the Martin Hannett/Joy Division delay, and completely unlike anything else I’ve heard." Jonathan Schenke, sound engineer and music lover, recorded the debut album of Brooklyn indie rock buzz band Parquet Courts, entitled 'Light Up Gold'…Click on the title for more

Bands in the Studio: Recording Parquet Courts