monome: monome 40h
reviewed by Josh Boughey
I came across monome in April, while trolling the web for information on step sequencers. I found myself drawn to the Spartan aesthetic of monome.org and the minimalist principles expressed there. And...
Gear Reviews
The means contribute to the end. Usually.
Primacoustic: RX7 Recoil Stabilizer speaker platform
reviewed by Andy Hong
Every once in a while, an idea comes along that's so elegant in principle and brilliant in execution that when you experience it, you think, "Duh!" That's the Recoil Stabilizer. What it does is so...
Chandler Limited: Germanium Compressor
reviewed by Mike Caffrey
The Chandler Germanium Compressor is yet another amazing piece from designer Wade Goeke, and "Chandler Germanium" continues to be synonymous with innovation. The Germanium Compressor is unlike any...
Dangerous Music: D-Box
reviewed by Thom Monahan
Hey kid, wanna make a record? Lord knows how you're going to do it. At home on a laptop, in some studio doing basics, probably to a computer, but maybe you're using tape. Your session changes...
Line 6: GearBox Plug-in Gold Bundle
reviewed by
This is a plug-in bundle with a hardware front-end which doubles as a copy-protect dongle. As a plug-in suite for Mac OS X or WinXP, GearBox Gold is a home run! But, if you only want to use the...
Beyerdynamic: M 88 dynamic mic
reviewed by Steve Silverstein
The M 88 is an easy microphone to overlook. It lacks the instantly-recognizable visual profile of its closest competitors, the Electro-Voice RE20/PL20 and the Shure SM7, and it cannot rival the RE20...
Green Glue Co.: Green Glue
reviewed by Garrett Haines
I wish I had known about this stuff years ago. It would have saved me time and money. It's a construction adhesive that turns regular drywall into one of the best sound-control building materials you...
Karma Audio: K6 phantom-powered ribbon mic
reviewed by GH & Chris Moore
Karma is one of the newer microphone companies out there. They specialize in mics with unique sounds and designs at very affordable prices. We've been working with Karma on the beta versions of the K6...
Focal: Sub6 Be active subwoofer
reviewed by Allen Farmelo
In Tape Op #60, I gave a glowing review of the Focal Solo6 Be studio monitors, and now I turn to the Sub6 Be, a mighty subwoofer especially designed for use with Focal's 6-range speakers. The Sub6...
Audio Upgrades: High Speed Microphone Preamp
reviewed by Mike Jasper
Jim Williams has been making his Audio Upgrades High Speed Microphone Preamp since 1994, but largely on the down low-no advertising, no reviews, just a page on his audioupgrades.com website. The first...
Cakewalk: Sonar 6 Producer Edition w/ Rapture & Dimension Pro
reviewed by Joseph Briggs
In my music production work, I employ huge audio and MIDI track counts, oodles of plug-ins, and heaps of audio editing. I might use 50 tracks for vocals alone, and another 40 for guitars. For example,...
Solid State Logic: XLogic Alpha Channel
reviewed by Andy Hong
If you primarily record to DAW and you're in need of a high-quality recording channel, take a look at SSL's XLogic Alpha Channel. It streets for $1695, which is $50 less than the Rupert Neve Portico...