gear giveaway

Interview about Recording and Equipment: Keepaway

The Brooklyn avant-pop trio Keepaway was born out of two overlapping friendships, one forged in Massachusetts in the ‘90s, the other San Francisco a decade later. Both involved guitarist Nick Nauman. In addition to Nauman’s guitar, the band builds its songs with drums, triple-layer vocals, and two MPC samplers, which…Click on the title for more

Interview about Recording and Equipment: Keepaway

Deep Trip Hellbender Fuzz

Most fuzz pedal manufacturers can nail the vintage sound of the ‘60’s and ’70’s if they use the right increasingly rare high-quality components and simple circuit designs. Unfortunately, many of these pedals are pretty ponies of the one-trick variety: an expensive addition to your board that only serves to produce…Click on the title for more

Deep Trip Hellbender Fuzz

Review: Decapitator Plugin by SoundToys

Working with audio ‘in the box’ provides little room for pushing past the boundaries of your device. Once you reach the upper limit of your digital gear, there’s no going any further. However, when you overdrive analog gear, the result can be very different - tube saturation, pleasing even-order harmonics,…Click on the title for more

Review: Decapitator Plugin by SoundToys

enCore Series by Blue Microphones

Blue Microphones has released a new family of mic's designed with live sound in mind. The enCore line ($89.99 to $199.99) currently includes four mic choices, each tailored for use on stage, but also with the ability to hold their own in the studio. The enCore 100 and 200 series…Click on the title for more

enCore Series by Blue Microphones

Echoplex and DBX 160VU plugins by Universal Audio

Universal Audio just released two new plugins this Wednesday, adding to their numerous emulations of classic pieces of recording gear. The EP-34 Tape Echo and DBX 160 Compressor/Limiter ($199 each) represent two units from the 70's that are still widely used and sought after. The EP-34 emulates the characteristics of…Click on the title for more

Echoplex and DBX 160VU plugins by Universal Audio

Level Pilot – Monitor Level Controller by TC Electronic

Having precise volume control at your fingertips during a mix is essential, but in a small or home studio, it can be difficult to achieve. Anyone who has spent time fumbling around for the monitor level knob on their audio interface, or trying to pull down the master fader in…Click on the title for more

Level Pilot – Monitor Level Controller by TC Electronic

History and Construction of The Drums – Part 1

The following video is the first of a three-part segment on vintage drums. The interview was shot at Steve Maxwell Vintage and Custom Drum Shop on 48th Street in Manhattan with store manager and vintage drum expert Jess Birch. This segment covers "History and Construction." Keep an eye out for…Click on the title for more

History and Construction of The Drums – Part 1

Vinyl Plugin by iZotope

Any engineer looking for a Lo-Fi tool to add to their bag of tricks at a retro price should check out iZotope’s Vinyl plugin. As the name suggests, it simulates the unique sonic characteristics imparted by a variety of record players. With lots of parameters to tweak and plenty of…Click on the title for more

Vinyl Plugin by iZotope

Pedal Review: Rocktron Deep Blue Chorus Pedal

There are numerous chorus pedals on the market today, and with so many options available, it can seem overwhelming trying to determine the best one for your needs. There is definitely no best chorus pedal, but there are multiple great ones to choose from, and if you ask five different players…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: Rocktron Deep Blue Chorus Pedal

Pedal Review: Hardwire RV-7 Reverb

The Hardwire line of Guitar Effect Pedals is made with the touring musician in mind. They are solidly built and full of useful extras (see upcoming full review of the full set for details). The promotional materials for the company's reverb pedal RV-7 regularly and enthusiastically tout Hardwire’s partnership with…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: Hardwire RV-7 Reverb

Music Players’ review of Addictive Drums Adrenaline 1.5

One of the greatest challenges facing musicians recording in project studios is capturing great drum sounds. And while drum machines have come a long way since their early ‘80s Roland and Linn beginnings, the last several years have seen the release of very impressive virtual drummer products for computer-based studios.…Click on the title for more

Music Players’ review of Addictive Drums Adrenaline 1.5

Pedal Review: Fulltone GT-500

Every effect manufacturer, from tiny boutique companies to huge multinational conglomerates, makes at least one distortion pedal. So when Fulltone announced the GT500, my first question was: "why?" Why are they competing with their own product line--which already contains some great distortions, overdrives, and fuzzes--in a market that could already…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: Fulltone GT-500