Issue No. 23

Plug-Ins, Software, Virtual Instruments

B4 Virtual Instrument

by Native Instruments  |  reviewed by Rich Hardesty

(VST 2.0, MOTU MAS and Digidesign DirectConnect) I recently had the pleasure of using Native Instrument's Hammond B3 plug-in appropriately dubbed the B4. For those of you like me, who have lusted...

Accessories, Media, Tools

3D Mic CD Microphone Evaluation CD

by 3D Audio  |  reviewed by Eddie Ciletti

Do you ever wonder if some people truly have a vision or whether they just get lucky? I still haven't figured out what attribute to apply to Lynn Fuston, perhaps a little of both. Last year, just...

Dynamics

Triple C Multi-Band and Envelope Compressor

by T.C. Electronic  |  reviewed by Hilary Johnson

I recently had to mix a record at a studio with literally NO outboard gear. What's a girl to do? So I went to the local music store and bought one device: the D2 Digital Delay by T.C. Electronic. I...

Effects, Signal Processors, Tools

DCX Declicker, CRX Decrackler, DHX Dehisser

by Cedar  |  reviewed by Eddie Ciletti

My dad raised me on swing-era big bands and crooners. In the heat of the summer, we'd be down in the cool basement with a stack of 78 RPM records. Many years later, he showed up at my New York...

Monitoring

NF-1A monitor speaker

by FOSTEX  |  reviewed by Eddie Ciletti

On first listen the Fostex NF-1A sounds different from most monitors. Many have a smiley-faced EQ curve, with lots of boom and sizzle to make things sound good. If your critical listening needs have...

Dynamics

DS201 Dual Gate

by Drawmer  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

I used to think that gates were all the same. I bought an inexpensive quad gate years ago and have used it quite a bit for cleaning up a bit of tape hiss or amp noise during mixing. When I tried to...

Dynamics

L2M Mastering Limiter/Expander

by Requisite Audio  |  reviewed by Larry DeVivo

You know how there are certain things that come in to your life and once they do you realize that you just can't live without them? That was the experience I had when I first heard the L2M Mastering...

Accessories, Synchronization, Tools

RW 100 Rhythm Watch metronome

by Tama  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

Playing to a click track is a blessing or a curse, but I'm sure every musician or engineer has had to deal with it more than once. For a while I was burdened with one that would only give me 2 bpm...

Media, Tools

online recording courses

by ArtistPRO  |  reviewed by Steve McAllister

Before I jump into a review of these courses, allow me to tell you little bit about myself. I've been home recording for about 13 years or so, first with a 4-track and an Shure 57, now with an...

Interfaces, Mic Preamps, Recorders

Portastudio 788 digital 8-track

by TASCAM  |  reviewed by Colin Frangos

The right-honorable Portastudio line has now entered the digital realm, and once again they've produced a well- engineered, affordable product. At the risk of sounding like I'm on the payroll, the 788...

LDCs, Microphones

JM 47 “Meekrophone”Condenser Mic

by Joemeek  |  reviewed by Roger Lavallee

Being familiar with Ted Fletcher's colorful (literally and sonically) line of preamps, compressors and EQs, I was very intrigued by this new microphone. It is a large diaphragm true capacitor...

Microphones

IM27 dynamic mic

by Byetone  |  reviewed by Scott Craggs

This Russian beauty will amaze you. It sounds really, really good. Its frequency response is 60 - 17 k and is nearly flat from 170 - 17 k (there are some slight 2 dB...

Accessories, Tools

Proscreen 101 pop filter

by Stedman  |  reviewed by Larry Crane

One relatively inexpensive piece of gear that can have a lot of impact on your recordings is the good old pop filter. For most, this is a fabric mesh screen to place in front of a vocal mic in order...