gear giveaway

Spark by Blue Microphones

Blue Microphones has introduced a new product designed to impress home and project studios with Class A electronics and Blue’s distinct profile at an affordable price point. Set to be available this November, the Spark microphone ($199) is a solid-state cardioid condenser mic suited for use in a variety of…Click on the title for more

Spark by Blue Microphones

Shure announces Beta 181

Coming this fall from Shure: A compact side-address condenser mic with interchangeable capsules. The Beta 181 will be the company’s first wired mic to have swappable polar pattern capsules (cardioid, supercaridioid, omnidirectional, bidirectional) that attach to the mic body with a locking ring for a secure connection. With it’s extremely…Click on the title for more

Shure announces Beta 181

Mad Professor Ruby Red Booster

Finland-based amp and pedal manufacturer Mad Professor has begun shipping their new Ruby Red Booster pedal ($169). This pedal is a combination of two boosters, based on the BJF Little Red Trebler and the Red Rooster Booster, and you can use it as a treble boost, clean boost, or as…Click on the title for more

Mad Professor Ruby Red Booster

Tascam’s Solar-Rechargeable Tuner

For the Eco-friendly guitarist in your band, Tascam now has a solar-rechargeable chromatic tuner: the TC-1S. A bank of solar cells on the front of the unit charge the tuner's internal battery, and a nylon strap and clip allow you attach it to the outside of your gig bag so…Click on the title for more

Tascam’s Solar-Rechargeable Tuner

ADK S-7 and A-6 Microphones

Over the course of two weeks I anticipated a delivery of two new ADK microphones to be used for a month of extensive testing. This review was done over the course of a month of tracking with various rock bands at Monsterland Recording Studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Everything was recorded…Click on the title for more

ADK S-7 and A-6 Microphones

Auto-Align by Sound Radix

When two or more sources are used to record a single instrument, there is an inherit delay between the tracks, because each mic will be a slightly different distance from the instrument. Examples of this would be a snare top and snare bottom mic; miking a guitar while also taking…Click on the title for more

Auto-Align by Sound Radix

Radial Workhorse 5000 Lunchbox Frame

Radial Engineering is about to release its much delayed and long anticipated lunchbox frame, the Workhorse 5000. The unit houses and powers up to eight analog modules of the popular 500 series ‘lunchbox’ format. However, it differs from its competitors by including a master section with analog summing of all…Click on the title for more

Radial Workhorse 5000 Lunchbox Frame

Royer R-101 Ribbon Microphone

Royer Labs first came on the scene in 1998 with the R-121 passive ribbon mic. At the time, there were few manufacturers still making ribbons, and vintage models were fragile and bulky. Royer’s mic was a game-changer; with the ability to combine the warm, natural tone of vintage ribbons with…Click on the title for more

Royer R-101 Ribbon Microphone

CrashGuard drum mic shield by Primacoustic

Trying to tame excessive hi-hat or cymbal bleed from snare and tom tracks is a source of frustration for many engineers. Gating your snare track can take the life and air out the performance, and using EQ can kill the tone. Rather than modifying the track or using drum replacement…Click on the title for more

CrashGuard drum mic shield by Primacoustic

New Release: Drumagog 5 by Wavemachine Labs

Wavemachine Labs has just released the fifth version of their popular drum replacement software Drumagog. With a redesigned graphic interface and a clutch of new features, this version is sure to impress both longtime users and newcomers. Drumagog 5 ($149.99 Basic) is a tool that allows you to replace recorded…Click on the title for more

New Release: Drumagog 5 by Wavemachine Labs

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