gear giveaway

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

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