United Plugins: FrontDAW
reviewed by Mike Kosacek
Full disclosure: I saw an introductory promotion offering the United Plugins FrontDAW plug-in for free, so I downloaded and registered it. The promotion has since expired, and the plug-in is now...
Gear Reviews
The means contribute to the end. Usually.
Royer Labs: Model 140NM Plate Reverb High Performance Magnet Assembly
reviewed by Larry Crane
I could write 10,000 words about plate reverbs, modifications, reasons I feel these physical reverb units are unique sounding, and why I love the EMT [Elektro-Mess-Technik] 140 that I own. But the...
Antelope Audio: 10MX Rubidium Atomic Clock
reviewed by Christopher Koltay
One of the things I love about studios is the way they grow over time and the delineations in sound that happen due to gear changes along the way. You hear this all the time; "...then we got a...
Mara Machines: Transformer-Based I/O Card
reviewed by Anthony Gravino
At this point, it is safe to say that analog tape recording is not going away. Tape machines still have a loyal and enthusiastic user base all around the world, ranging from professional engineers and...
Triad-Orbit: Advanced Stand System Accessories
reviewed by John Baccigaluppi
Back in Tape Op #130 I reviewed the Triad-Orbit reissue of the Starbird mic stand and was very favorably impressed, as have been all the engineers who've used it here at Panoramic House Studios. Since...
Cranborne Audio: 500R8 500 Series Chassis & Interface
reviewed by Geoff Stanfield
Cranborne was not an audio company I was familiar with. When first contacted about reviewing the 500R8, I was immediately intrigued. Here's why: the 500R8 is an 8-slot 500 Series rack and 28-in/30-out...
Sonnox: Oxford Drum Gate Plug-In
reviewed by Larry Crane
For years, I've been tortured by drum gates. First, in the analog realm, where I'd be mixing poorly-recorded tracks (sometimes my fault) and I'd attempt to use gates to add punch and clarity to my...
Steinberg: SpectraLayers Pro 6 Spectral Editor
reviewed by Garrett Haines
SpectraLayers Pro is an exceedingly powerful program for restoring, editing, and manipulating audio. I mistakenly ignored this product, classifying it as just another spectral editor. Ultimately,...
Stedman: PureConnect GP-1, SK-1, PK-2 Connector Cleaning Kits
reviewed by Larry Crane
Sometimes it's the lesser heralded, helpful products that catch my eye more than some fancy new compressor or microphone. Stedman's PureConnect connector cleaning kit series – the GP-1 Gig Pack,...
Apogee Digital: Clearmountain's Domain Plug-In
reviewed by Gus Berry
Bob Clearmountain [Tape Op #84, #129] is responsible for mixing some of rock music's most iconic records and happens to be one of my favorite mixing engineers of all time. So, when I heard Apogee had...
TC Electronic: June-60 analog chorus pedal
reviewed by John Baccigaluppi
Anyone familiar with the iconic Roland Juno-6 or 60, will know and love the analog bucket brigade (BBD) chorus effect that is part of that instrument. Now that classic effect is available as part of a...
PreSonus: FaderPort 16 Control Surface
reviewed by Ben Bernstein
I recently received the PreSonus FaderPort 16 Production Controller to review. Since the biggest difference between this model and the FaderPort 8 [Tape Op #119] is the additional eight channels, I...