Archives
July 2012
Summer brings to mind sunny days, beaches, parties... and what would all of that be without a guitar or two... or three... or fifty? Come join us for the July issue of RECORDING, where we dive into the endless delights of All Things Guitar!
Frank Gambale is a guitar luminary -- a legend in the studio, an educator and a great source of guitar recording wisdom. We bring you a great interview in which Frank discusses his latest projects and explains his approach to great guitar recordings. Speaking of educators who really know how to make guitars sound great, we have two fantastic articles from Michael Schulze in this issue! The coproducer of our video series not only gives us a great primer on miking guitar amps, but goes into detail on the many applications of stereo miking as well.
If you've heard the term "reamping" but really aren't sure as to what it is, how it works, what it sounds like, or what it can mean to your recordings, you won't want to miss this issue, as Paul Vnuk Jr. teaches about the wonder and wisdom of reamping and takes a hard look at reamping products from Radial Engineering and Little Labs.
Paul also brings us a look at the Telefunken M80 and M81 mics on guitar cabs as well as other applications, and gets way into new guitar processors from Chandler Limited, aided and abetted by Allen Goodman. We round out our guitar-gear coverage with reviews of the cool new G5 processor (and its little brother the G3) from Zoom, the Korg Pandora mini, the tone-mangling FutzBox from McDSP, cool guitar and mic interfaces from Apogee, and much more.
Add in our regular features, a new Recording Fundamentals from Eric Ferguson, Readers' Tapes with Marty Peters, and more, and you have a summertime feast that's sure to satisfy, whether you're into guitars or the broader recording landscape. Come join us at the picnic for the July RECORDING!
Zoom G3 and G5
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Zoom G3 and G5 |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
A familiar pedalboard design combines with rich effects modeling and USB audio interfacing, with the option of extensive foot control and a real tube.
Zoom's newest line of guitar multieffects processors feature multiple gra......Expand
A familiar pedalboard design combines with rich effects modeling and USB audio interfacing, with the option of extensive foot control and a real tube.
Zoom's newest line of guitar multieffects processors feature multiple graphic LCD screens and sets of knobs so the effects chain appears as a set of pedals linked together, each with its own separate controls. This is a natural workflow for guitarists used to working with chains of stompboxes and the self-contained design adds a lot of advantages: no cables to break, only one power supply to deal with, less potential for interconnect noise and interference, and of course the ability to store sets of pedal settings (patches) for instant recall.
I've been working with Zoom's G3 processor for several months now and have gotten way into what it can do; recently I received the brand-new G5, which raises the ante considerably in terms of processing power and expressive control, and I'll be discussing my experiences with that processor as well.
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Radial Engineering REAMP JCR and ProRMP Passive Reampers and X-AMP, JDX, and Tank Driver 500-Series Modules
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Radial Engineering REAMP JCR and ProRMP Passive Reampers and X-AMP, JDX, and Tank Driver 500-Series Modules |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Studio guitarists rejoice -- check out these three different kinds of reamplification, sweet cabinet modeling, and a practical way to add spring reverb directly to your studio tracks.
Last year (October 2011) we introduced t......Expand
Studio guitarists rejoice -- check out these three different kinds of reamplification, sweet cabinet modeling, and a practical way to add spring reverb directly to your studio tracks.
Last year (October 2011) we introduced to you Radial Engineering's foray into the world of the API 500-Series format, including Radial's own 8-space 500 series rack dubbed the Workhorse. More than just another 500-Series module rack, the Workhorse also contains an 8-channel summing mixer with Jensen-transformered outputs, and the ability to feed modules in series, one into the next, to create your own channel strips.
The Workhorse module system also features an extra rear-panel jack on each module known as an Omniport that allows for expanded module-specific features. Radial supplemented the Workhorse with a full line of Omniport-enabled modules, four of which we examined in our October 2011 issue and two more in December 2011.
With this issue's focus on guitar recording we will be taking a look at five new Radial boxes that are guitar-centric. Three of them are part of Radial's 500-Series offerings, while the other two are traditional stand-alone Radial units...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Plug-in Outlet: McDSP FutzBox
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Plug-in Outlet: McDSP FutzBox |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
McDSP's FutzBox provides a fascinating palette of sound-mangling options.
The word "futz" started out as a euphemism for the infamous F-word, but now has a specific meaning of its own, to mess around or screw up: "Have you b......Expand
McDSP's FutzBox provides a fascinating palette of sound-mangling options.
The word "futz" started out as a euphemism for the infamous F-word, but now has a specific meaning of its own, to mess around or screw up: "Have you been futzing with the preamps again?" McDSP's FutzBox is a bit of a departure from its other plug-ins (see our review of the 6030 Ultimate Compressor Suite in our February 2012 issue). While it retains the clear and elegant interface design of its cousins, FutzBox's innards are designed to futz with your audio in fascinating ways...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Chandler Limited Germ 500 MkII, Little Devil Preamp, Germanium Drive, and Little Devil Colored Boost
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr. and Allen Goodman
Chandler Limited Germ 500 MkII, Little Devil Preamp, Germanium Drive, and Little Devil Colored Boost |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr. and Allen Goodman
Thick germanium tone or that Little Devil splash of color -- in 500-Series modules or guitar stompboxes, take your choice.
Chandler Limited makes high-end microphone preamps, equalizers, compressors, and more. The company pr......Expand
Thick germanium tone or that Little Devil splash of color -- in 500-Series modules or guitar stompboxes, take your choice.
Chandler Limited makes high-end microphone preamps, equalizers, compressors, and more. The company proudly states that "Your Devil is handmade in the USA by real people" using "time proven through-hole audio components, discrete transistors, and large transformers just like they did in the golden age of gear."
Chandler offers five distinct lines: The Neve-ish LTD series, the TG series of EMI reproductions, a Germanium line, and Chandler's newest entries, the 500-Series Little Devil modules and the Guitar Pedal line. Rather than being a clone, a copy or an "inspired by" series, the Little Devils are original designs by Wade Chandler Goeke, and the Pedals start off with well-established Chandler designs and add tone tweaks and features to make them guitarist-friendly.
Back in our June 2010 issue we looked at the Little Devil EQ and Compressor. This month Paul takes a look at the newest addition, the Little Devil Mic Preamp, and also at the revamped Germ 500 preamp module. The first two Chandler pedals, the Germanium Drive and Little Devil Colored Boost, are reviewed by Allen...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Korg Pandora mini
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Korg Pandora mini |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay
Diverse and inspiring tone in a guitar processor that tucks in a shirt pocket.
With the Pandora series, Korg's aim is to take great-sounding and playable effects processing and put it into a package that is so small, you nev......Expand
Diverse and inspiring tone in a guitar processor that tucks in a shirt pocket.
With the Pandora series, Korg's aim is to take great-sounding and playable effects processing and put it into a package that is so small, you never have an excuse not to have it with you. Over the years, we've looked at several Pandora effects and multitrack recorders that took advantage of current technologies to their best extent (remember SmartMedia cards?), but the Pandora under review today is something special.
With the new Pandora mini, Korg seems to have hit a magic sweet spot. This "personal multi-effects processor" offers a complete signal chain for guitarists and bassists, a fine slate of extras to round out the playing/recording experience, USB connectivity and more -- all in a package that weighs under three ounces and is about the size of a small cell phone. Any smaller than this and you couldn't plug in your guitar!...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Sneak Preview: Fender Mustang Floor
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay with Allen Goodman
Sneak Preview: Fender Mustang Floor |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay with Allen Goodman
The first-ever digital multieffect with the Fender name arrived as we were going to press; here's a quick look at what to expect.
Since the introduction of the Cyber-Twin some years ago, Fender has augmented its famous amps ......Expand
The first-ever digital multieffect with the Fender name arrived as we were going to press; here's a quick look at what to expect.
Since the introduction of the Cyber-Twin some years ago, Fender has augmented its famous amps with an entire line of digitally enhanced amps, most recently the Mustang lineup that includes amp modeling and built-in effects chains with user-storable presets. The Mustang Floor, Fender's first standalone digital multi-effects processor, takes the brain of a Mustang III/IV/V amp and puts it into a portable and easy-to-use floor unit combining amp modeling and a full effects chain with expression control, USB interfacing, and more. This guitar-centric issue of RECORDING was about halfway done when the Mustang Floor was released, and a production unit arrived just a few days before we went to press, allowing us a quick listening test....
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Apogee MiC and JAM
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Reviewed by
Beto Hale
Apogee MiC and JAM |
Reviewed by
Beto Hale
Whether you're singing or playing guitar, these interfaces get your sounds into your Mac or iOS device in style.
Apogee Electronics is known for producing high-quality audio interfaces intended for home-studio use, as well a......Expand
Whether you're singing or playing guitar, these interfaces get your sounds into your Mac or iOS device in style.
Apogee Electronics is known for producing high-quality audio interfaces intended for home-studio use, as well as very high-end cards geared for state-of-the-art facilities. Recording has reviewed quite a few of Apogee's products, most recently the Duet 2 (February 2012), and today we will add two more to that list -- the MiC and JAM interfaces for microphones and guitars...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Little Labs Redeye 3D
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Little Labs Redeye 3D |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Is it a passive DI box, an active DI with cool tone-shaping features, or a reamplification box? All of the above... and not just one at a time!
Jonathan Little and his company Little Labs make little black boxes that solve l......Expand
Is it a passive DI box, an active DI with cool tone-shaping features, or a reamplification box? All of the above... and not just one at a time!
Jonathan Little and his company Little Labs make little black boxes that solve little audio issues... and some big ones, too. A few months ago in our April 2012 issue, we looked at the i-VOG bass resonance tool, and this month we get to look at the new Redeye 3D.
Little Labs released the original passive Redeye nearly 10 years ago (we reviewed it in our February 2003 issue). The new Redeye 3D is equal parts active or passive DI, as well as a full-featured reamp box with additional features...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Telefunken Elektroakustik M80 and M81 Dynamic Microphones
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Telefunken Elektroakustik M80 and M81 Dynamic Microphones |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
From vocals to guitar amps and drums, these two classy mics show there are still great new sounds to be had from dynamics.
What comes to mind when we hear the word "Telefunken" is big, beautiful, large-diaphragm condenser. T......Expand
From vocals to guitar amps and drums, these two classy mics show there are still great new sounds to be had from dynamics.
What comes to mind when we hear the word "Telefunken" is big, beautiful, large-diaphragm condenser. This applies to the vintage warhorses or the new USA reproductions, or even the more affordable R-F-T series like the CU-29, AR-51 or AK-47MKII, all three of which we have reviewed in these pages over the last few years.
This month we break the mold and take a look at the two hand-held dynamic entries in the T-Funk line: The M80 and the brand-new M81...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Recording Frank Gambale's Soulmine
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Interviewed by
Beto Hale
Recording Frank Gambale's Soulmine |
Interviewed by
Beto Hale
The legendary guitarist's new album has his handiwork not only as a player but as a recording musician and producer. We glean lots of worthwhile recording tricks from Frank and from engineer Robert M. Biles.
Guitarists world......Expand
The legendary guitarist's new album has his handiwork not only as a player but as a recording musician and producer. We glean lots of worthwhile recording tricks from Frank and from engineer Robert M. Biles.
Guitarists worldwide know Grammy-winning player Frank Gambale as the creator of the "sweep picking technique." In addition, he has earned a place in the history of jazz thanks to his work with Chick Corea. Gambale is also a composer, songwriter, and author of numerous instructional books and DVDs.
Robert M. Biles is an LA-based recording and mixing engineer with enviable album credits such as Smokey Robinson, Brian McKnight, Tom Coster, Vital Information, and most recently, Kevin Eubanks. He has recorded live groups for album projects, television music and orchestral film scores, and has an affinity for acoustic music and extensive experience as a front-of-house mixer for large and small venues, specializing in remote recording for live albums or DVD releases.
The two veterans had worked together in the past, and recently teamed up again for Gambale's latest album, Soulmine, which was recorded by Frank at his home studio in Palm Springs, CA, and mixed by Biles and Gambale.
Following is an in-depth exploration into the process of obtaining a wide variety of guitar sounds for this CD of original songs, which features Frank's wife, vocalist Boca. Frank and Bob shared many of the techniques they used for this project and past collaborations as well...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Recording Electric Guitars
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Written by
Michael Schulze
Recording Electric Guitars |
Written by
Michael Schulze
We get more questions about this topic than possibly any other, and it's always good to revisit the basics in order to capture the best possible tones.
In this article I will talk about doing something that was once unthinka......Expand
We get more questions about this topic than possibly any other, and it's always good to revisit the basics in order to capture the best possible tones.
In this article I will talk about doing something that was once unthinkable: placing a microphone only inches away from a powerful amplifier to record an electric guitar. In the mid-1960s and earlier it was thought by many recording engineers that placing a mic so close to something so loud would result in damage to the mic. It was also thought by many that listening to the music being played by some electric guitar players would result in widespread debauchery, and time has proven that assumption to be absolutely true. However, we now know that most modern microphones can handle the sound pressure levels at the front of the amp with aplomb, and this placement has become a big part of the sound of popular music...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Hybrid Analog/Digital Recording
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Written by
Geoff Gray
Hybrid Analog/Digital Recording |
Written by
Geoff Gray
Is it possible to meld the clean editing and flexibility of digital recording with the lush sound of analog tape? You bet it is, and it's neither difficult nor costly. Learn how!
The true definition of this type of recording......Expand
Is it possible to meld the clean editing and flexibility of digital recording with the lush sound of analog tape? You bet it is, and it's neither difficult nor costly. Learn how!
The true definition of this type of recording is "recording to tape combined with recording to DAW". Here's my take on this method, and how we stumbled onto its benefits in the first place.
In the late nineties I was working on a wonderful Latin project that required us to fill up all the tracks on our multitrack tape machine. Then the producer said, "I have two trumpet players from the Copacabana and one of Tito Puente's percussionists lined up to record." At that time I used a DAW to mix only, and this emergency forced me to scramble around to use the computer as a multi-track recorder, with the tape machine as a slave, with SMPTE time code and a synchronizer.
Here's the outcome...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 7: The Music Production Process-An Overview from A to Z
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Written by
Eric Ferguson
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 7: The Music Production Process-An Overview from A to Z |
Written by
Eric Ferguson
From basic song ideas to a product in the public's hands, here's what the modern workflow of the recording musician looks like.
Yes, it's a cliche, but the Internet killed the video star. When my parents were young, radio ru......Expand
From basic song ideas to a product in the public's hands, here's what the modern workflow of the recording musician looks like.
Yes, it's a cliche, but the Internet killed the video star. When my parents were young, radio ruled the music world, and through it the record industry steered popular music style and culture. When I was a teenager, MTV was king, and together with radio the major record labels maintained their hold on popular music consumption. This all changed around the millennium, when technologies such as the Internet, Napster, and the iPod tore up the conventions of the music business.
Today's music world is vastly different. Essentially postmodern, popular music no longer orbits a central core of mega-selling chart toppers. Thousands of sub-styles now thrive and cater to the diversified tastes of individual listeners. Platforms such as iTunes and Spotify dominate the new reality, marketing music of all genres to and from all corners of the world. It now seems possible that anyone can make and record music and see it propelled to international success.
Of course, digital technology has also affected how music is recorded. Computerized workstations, home-based studios, and new music styles have brought about entirely new production methods and aesthetics. Where once the recording process was relatively consistent across styles, today there are no norms. Understanding the steps of the music recording process is a key fundamental for all engineers and musicians...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Reamping -- Your Second Bite At The Apple
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Written by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Reamping -- Your Second Bite At The Apple |
Written by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
How would you take guitar tracks out of your DAW and send them back to your amp... and why would you want to?
Is reamping the best-kept studio secret? It's not a new technique, but if you ask around you'll find that not ever......Expand
How would you take guitar tracks out of your DAW and send them back to your amp... and why would you want to?
Is reamping the best-kept studio secret? It's not a new technique, but if you ask around you'll find that not everybody has tried it, let alone mastered it. Could it do wonders for your working habits? You bet!
Reamping means miking and recording an amp that gets its input signal from the output of a recorder. It re-plays, and you re-record, what had already been recorded once before. That's why this second pass is called reamping or reamplification...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Stereo Microphone Techniques
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Written by
Michael Schulze
Stereo Microphone Techniques |
Written by
Michael Schulze
Add space and realism to your recordings by capturing the space you're recording.
Back in the good old days when the world was a much simpler place, there was no such thing as stereo. Your beer came in a bottle, your phone w......Expand
Add space and realism to your recordings by capturing the space you're recording.
Back in the good old days when the world was a much simpler place, there was no such thing as stereo. Your beer came in a bottle, your phone was connected to the wall, and your music came out of a single speaker. This glorious aural simplicity was called monophonic sound, translated from Greek as single sound. During the 1930s the bold and magical idea of stereophonic sound was born. Stereophonic, again from the Greek, means Solid Sound, referring to sounds that seem to float between a pair of loudspeakers.
These days we can pan a monophonic sound, like a bass guitar, to the center of our mix, but before modern mixers were invented, classical recording engineers had to record full orchestras in stereo with only two microphones and no panning. Some of those recordings are still regarded as masterpieces of audio engineering, allowing for the limited frequency response, dynamic range, and signal-to-noise ratio of the recording equipment of the time...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Scott Petito on Guitar Recording
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Written by
Scott Petito
Scott Petito on Guitar Recording |
Written by
Scott Petito
Handy tips for recording both electric and acoustic guitars from an award-winning engineer/producer.
Scott Petito is a bassist and producer who has produced and recorded a wide variety of A-list artists, often at his NRS Rec......Expand
Handy tips for recording both electric and acoustic guitars from an award-winning engineer/producer.
Scott Petito is a bassist and producer who has produced and recorded a wide variety of A-list artists, often at his NRS Recording Studio in upstate New York, and frequently adding his bass playing to the project. Check out his site at scottpetitoproductions.com.
What prompted us to pick his brain this time around was the incredible variety of guitar stylists and tones he has recorded, from a raunchy blues guy like Lucky Peterson to someone like Larry Campbell and, at the epitomy of acoustic artistry, Romero Lubambo. We asked Scott to go into detail about the many aspects of choosing and miking guitars, in a nutshell.--Ed....
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Fade Out
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Written by
Mark Waldrep
Fade Out |
Written by
Mark Waldrep
Recording Acoustic Guitars: An Audiophile's Approach.
Forget everything you know about recording acoustic guitars! Forget placing one microphone at the bridge and another near the fingerboard. That often taught method, if pr......Expand
Recording Acoustic Guitars: An Audiophile's Approach.
Forget everything you know about recording acoustic guitars! Forget placing one microphone at the bridge and another near the fingerboard. That often taught method, if presented in stereo, results in spatial and timbral separation that diminishes the richness of the harmonic spectrum of a really great sounding guitar; it reduces the three-dimensional original performance and flattens it to the equivalent of a painting hanging on the wall compared to the three-dimensional scenery it depicts.
I love the sound of acoustic guitar and have had a lot of experience with a variety of instruments as played by a number of fabulous players. As a guitarist myself and the owner of a really nice Martin D-18 (I purchased it new at the Ann Arbor Folklore Center for $371 in 1971, I still have the receipt!), I know the sound of an acoustic 6-string guitar. I've spent many hours playing and practicing. And I've spent a lot of session hours in front of friends like Laurence Juber, John McEuen, Dorian Michael, Albert Lee and Carl Verheyen playing exquisite guitars for my microphones...
Read more in the July 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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