ALTEC: 1589 mic preamp
reviewed by Scott Callan
I am a home recordist with a humble 12-space rack filled with affordable (and occasionally interesting) gear. I am also a sucker for anything odd, old, and esoteric... and bonus points for strange...
Gear Reviews
The means contribute to the end. Usually.
Telefunken USA: Ela M 260 small-diaphragm tube mic
reviewed by
It's funny how the audio industry sometimes seems to go in waves. Four years ago, summing mixers, like the Dangerous 2-BUS (Tape Op #35), were the new thing, and two years ago, monitor controllers...
ASK Video: Cubase 4 Tutorial DVD Level 1
reviewed by Andy Hong
David Hidek and Garrett's positive review of the ASK Video Sibelius Tutorial DVD bundle (Tape Op #62) prompted me to check out ASK's Cubase 4 Tutorial. In short, if you are new to Cubase (or to DAWs...
Samson Audio: G-Track USB mic
reviewed by Andy Hong
My wife is a filmmaker, and her primary platform is Final Cut Studio running on a Mac Pro. She is neither an audio engineer nor a gear geek like many of us are. For her current project, she needed to...
Voxengo: r8brain PRO Sample Rate Converter
reviewed by Garrett Haines
Voxengo is a company that has been selling digital audio processing tools online since 2002. The r8brain PRO application is a high-quality sample-rate converter for PCM audio. While it's hard to get...
IK Multimedia: Miroslav Philharmonik Orchestral Workstation (Classik Edition)
reviewed by Dana Gumbiner
This plug-in has quickly become a go-to for my clients who ask for realistic string and orchestral parts. It's simply the best orchestral sampler I've heard at this price point. And that's my review!...
KRK: Expose E8B active monitor
reviewed by Jeff Elbel
I've been using a pair of KRK 7000B speakers, driven by a Bryston 3B-ST power amp, as my nearfield monitors for a dozen years. I trust them and know them inside-out, but after working with higher-end...
Neve: 8801 channel strip
reviewed by Neil Mclellan
The 88RS console-inspired 8801 incorporates a mic preamp with hi and low-pass filters; four-band EQ; and a compressor and gate. You can reorder the functions as you like and assign the filter and/or...
Groove Tubes: SuPRE mic preamp
reviewed by Craig Schumacher
Following on the heels of the success of the ViPRE, Groove Tubes has created another fantastic tube-based microphone preamplifier. Called the SuPRE, it looks like the twin little brother of the ViPRE....
TL Audio: 5021 2-channel tube compressor
reviewed by Andy Hong
I can't remember what I did with the first compressor I ever purchased-an Alesis 3630. But the second compressor I bought is still in my rack-an HHB Radius 30, the purple-colored rebadge of the...
Digidesign: Pro Tools LE 7.4 upgrade
reviewed by
I've been a fan of the UK band Senser ever since their first full-length (Stacked Up) was released in the US, around the time the band began to lose members. Now that the original lineup are back, I...
Audio-Technica: ATH-M50 & ATH-PRO700 SV headphones
reviewed by Andy Hong
The ATH-M50 "Professional Studio Monitor Headphones", as Audio-Technica like to call them, really are usable for recording and mixing applications. They sound amazingly clear. The top end has a...