Interviews
By Justin Colletti, Bing Putney
Chris Coady is the engineer responsible for some of the most emblematic and critically acclaimed indie rock records of the early 21st century. Teaming up with producer David Sitek to build Stay Gold Studios in the early 2000s, he's worked with countless breakout artists and critics' darlings...
Interviews
More than two years after his passing at age 94, Pete Seeger's legacy only continues to grow. For seven decades he was living ...
Interviews
In 2012, I ran across a series of in-studio videos of Bloomington, Indiana's Lily & Madeleine on YouTube. I found myself u...
Interviews
Scott Hull is one of the top seasoned professionals of the trade — a skilled, sought-after...
He started off playing bass in the clubs of Detroit. His group, Was (Not Was), rolled out some funky dance pop in the '80s. He's produced big records for the Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, John Mayer, and The B-52s. But today he is in his office, high atop the famous Capitol Records tower in Hollywood, as President of the venerable jazz label, Blue Note Records. How did Don Was get here? How does he approach production? What makes him tick? I knew someday we would have this discussion, and everything that drives him does stem from a true love of music — just as I had always imagined.
I remember the first time I saw a Harrison 3232 console when I was a young engineer visiting Southern California. At that point, I didn't have much experience on a large-format analog console. That was in the days before non- linear recording, so a lot was required of a console in terms of routing...
The revised Universal Audio Apollo series of interfaces are selling so well that we had a hard time getting a review unit. We were impressed with the price and performance of the original Apollo interfaces [Tape Op #95, #99, #101] and wanted to see more. Two issues ago, Dana Gumbiner covered the...
Everything I wrote about the sound of the original ATH-M50 headphone model [Tape Op #63] still rings true for its replacement, the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Professional Monitor closed-back headphone. Like its predecessor, the newer model has wonderful clarity. In the highs, there's a slight...
When it comes to mastering, people often ask, "What goes on?" While many have a general idea, there is still a lot of mystery surrounding the process. While I heartily recommend Bob Katz's Mastering Audio: The Art and Science [Tape Op #64], I feel that book better serves a more experienced reader....
When it comes to checking out new recording equipment, we all bring expectation biases. Some really want to believe that the latest truly is the greatest, while others are skeptical of the new and novel (particularly when it appears someone has tried to fix what isn't broken). Despite striving for...
DrumClips came to me by way of a professional session drummer I'd worked with recently. During our session together, I walked into the live room with a roll of gaffer's tape — an all too familiar scene apparently. The drummer smiled knowingly and whipped out some strange, but ingenious, little...
When F. Reid Shippen reviewed the 500-series Mäag EQ4 [Tape Op #88], he gave the six-band EQ high marks while pondering, "I also have to wonder if the EQ4 might not be a really cool mastering tool." Well, the guys at Mäag Audio have delivered, and here is a rackmount, stereo version of the EQ4 —...
MBHO might not be a household name, but you've probably used their gear. Based in Germany, the company has had a hand in products for broadcast and studio for decades. Audio engineers will recognize MBHO's contributions to well-known gear from Telefunken, Audix, and Brauner. MBHO was founded by...
Some gear in my studio falls more under the category of "problem solver" and less in the "glamorous" camp. The N-8 is a 1RU-height, rackmount, eight-channel version of the stereo Phoenix Audio Nice DI, and it is certainly a "solver." What was the problem? Every time synthesizers, samplers, drum...
Scott, John, and I have all become quick fans of Sonnox's latest plug-in, Oxford Envolution, so all three of us decided to contribute to this review. Sonnox publishes Native (AAX, AU, and VST) and HDX (AAX DSP) versions of Envolution, and the plug-in is also available for purchase for Universal...
If there is one brand of ribbon mic you see in almost every well-stocked mic locker, it is Royer. Royer Labs introduced its first product, the R-121 passive ribbon mic [Tape Op #19], in 1998, and a year later, released the SF-12 stereo ribbon [#25]. In the years following, Royer grew its offering...
The RNDI is an active, transformer-equipped, direct interface. It not only provides the best-sounding DI signal I've ever heard, but it can also handle line-level signals, as well as the speaker-level output of guitar amps (more on this later). I was most interested in the RNDI as a direct box,...
Black Lion Audio, based in Chicago, started out as a "hot-rodding shop," modifying equipment by other manufacturers to improve the sound quality. After gaining traction in the upgrade business, the company slowly built up a catalog of its own designs, including digital master clocks, mic preamps,...
Standard Audio caught my attention around six years ago when I reviewed the amazing Level-Or [Tape Op #78]. With the Stretch, Standard again took the DNA of some hard-to- come-by vintage gear and built an extremely useful new processing unit out of it. This time, the inspiration was more of a class...
I was first introduced to Crimson Audio Transformers through their useful Mogaine ribbon mic pre-preamp [Tape Op #110]. I later tried one of their modded SM57 mics while I was working back at Treelady Studios in Pittsburgh a few months ago and was really floored with the guitar sound it produced....
I recently moved to a new location to have a dedicated mix space. I came across a spot that was so beautifully Seattle in its setting that I wanted to — no, had to — make it work. The room is out over the water on a dock, with boats coming and going, and views of the bridge and surrounding city...
It's almost annoying. This is the second UnderToneAudio product I've had my hands (and ears) on, and the second to become immediately indispensable to my recording setup. However, to be honest, I didn't think I'd ever find myself in a position of wanting/needing/relying upon one of the more typical...
A year ago, I stumbled across a Kickstarter campaign to build a robotic mic mount. I'd always wanted something like this, where I could remotely move a mic from the control room while actively listening to the changes in placement for the optimal tone. As there was an investor's 33% discount, I...