Archives
December 2012
December means the holidays, and the holidays means gift-giving... and that means it's time once again for RECORDING's annual Holiday Gift Guide!
Our annual Gift Guides are very popular with our readers, because they're not just marketing hype and press releases; every item listed in the Guide has been tested and approved by our staff so you can buy with confidence. This year's Guide follows the hot trends in music and audio gear with a large selection of music hardware from Akai, AKG, Alesis, Avid, CAD Audio, Korg, KRK, MXL, Unit Audio, Zoom, and more; iOS accessories and apps from Audiofile Engineering, BeepStreet, Blue Microphones, CableJive, IK Multimedia, Moog, Primacoustic, Samson, and more; and a wide selection of books for your holiday reading pleasure.
But that's not all you'll find in this issue! Paul Stamler provides an interesting article on an audio pastime well suited to the holiday season: the capturing of family history and storytelling. Recording Fundamentals starts a series of installments on monitors. We take a look at a fascinating studio rebuild courtesy of designer Chris Pelonis. And there's a report on this year's PreSonuSphere audio event in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Whether you're looking for cool audio toys for 2013 or improving your sound today, there's something for you in the December RECORDING!
Pick it up now on the newsstand... and so you get your next issue early (and save on cost), why not hit the big red Subscribe Now button on this page and have RECORDING delivered to your door each month?
Recording's 2012 Holiday Gift Guide
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay and Paul Vnuk Jr.
Recording's 2012 Holiday Gift Guide |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay and Paul Vnuk Jr.
Feast your ears on a dozen cool gifts from Akai, AKG, Alesis, CAD Audio, Korg, KRK, M-Audio, MXL, Radial Engineering, Unit Audio, and Zoom!
Here for the holidays, reviews of a dozen products sure to please that recor......Expand
Feast your ears on a dozen cool gifts from Akai, AKG, Alesis, CAD Audio, Korg, KRK, M-Audio, MXL, Radial Engineering, Unit Audio, and Zoom!
Here for the holidays, reviews of a dozen products sure to please that recording musician in your life... even if it's you! As usual, these aren't just press releases; we've tested each product and report on our results, so you know what you're getting. Enjoy!-The Editors
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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MOTU 4pre Hybrid Audio Interface
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
MOTU 4pre Hybrid Audio Interface |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Not just stereo I/O -- this is a rugged 6-in/8-out box with a built-in DSP mixer.
Choosing a computer audio interface is a pretty daunting task. Do you get USB or FireWire? What kinds of ins and outs? How many? Add in build ......Expand
Not just stereo I/O -- this is a rugged 6-in/8-out box with a built-in DSP mixer.
Choosing a computer audio interface is a pretty daunting task. Do you get USB or FireWire? What kinds of ins and outs? How many? Add in build quality, form factor, and of course cost... it's not an easy decision. MOTU's latest offering, the 4pre, may simplify your decision in a hurry.
MOTU, once known as Mark Of The Unicorn, a Cambridge, MA based company, has been crafting audio and MIDI interfaces since the 1980s when computer recording was in its infancy. While also well known for its Digital Performer DAW software, currently MOTU offers no less than nine FireWire/USB hybrid audio interfaces among many other audio and video products.
MOTU's new 4pre packs quite a punch in a small package. It's a 6-in/8-out device with both USB and FireWire connectivity, multiple input choices both analog and digital, rugged build, priced well and sounding great...
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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iOS Music Tools: Great Gift Ideas For The 2012 Holidays
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Reviewed by
Mike Metlay with Darwin Grosse and Devon Brent
iOS Music Tools: Great Gift Ideas For The 2012 Holidays |
Reviewed by
Mike Metlay with Darwin Grosse and Devon Brent
With iOS devices popping up everywhere, hardware and apps make great holiday gifts. Check out these reviews of products from Blue Microphones, CableJive, iConnectivity, IK Multimedia, MicW, Primacoustic, and Samson, and apps from BeepStreet, Genel......Expand
With iOS devices popping up everywhere, hardware and apps make great holiday gifts. Check out these reviews of products from Blue Microphones, CableJive, iConnectivity, IK Multimedia, MicW, Primacoustic, and Samson, and apps from BeepStreet, Genelec, Go Independent Records, and Ocean Way!
One nice thing about buying gifts for a recording musician who uses iOS devices is that apps are very affordable or even free, and hardware, even good hardware, doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Here are some great gifts for the 2012 holiday season, hardware and apps alike, for you or the recording musician in your life.-MM
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Cloud Microphones Cloudlifter CL-Z
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Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
Cloud Microphones Cloudlifter CL-Z |
Reviewed by
Paul Vnuk Jr.
This inline head amplifier works wonders for ribbon and dynamic mics, adding impedance and filtering magic.
The Cloud Microphone Company, based in Tucson, AZ, produces American-made ribbon microphones based on the designs of......Expand
This inline head amplifier works wonders for ribbon and dynamic mics, adding impedance and filtering magic.
The Cloud Microphone Company, based in Tucson, AZ, produces American-made ribbon microphones based on the designs of John R. Sank, who had a hand in many of RCA's well-known ribbon designs like the BK-11 and BK-10a.
In our June 2010 issue reviewer Scott Dorsey gave us his thoughts on Cloud's JRS34 active ribbon mic as well as the JRS34-P passive version; he also took a brief look at the Cloudlifter, which was essentially the active circuitry found in the above-mentioned JRS34 microphone, but made for use with any passive ribbon or moving coil dynamic mic.
The original Cloudlifter was a direct-box-sized dual inline device that contained a phantom powered 4-FET amplifier circuit designed to add 18-20 dB of gain, and a fixed 3k Ohm impedance load to the above-mentioned mics -- in layman's terms, a better loaded and louder signal. Scott felt that the Cloudlifter was "a reasonable device to use with any microphone that wants to see a higher input Z (impedance)" that would "help you get the best sound out of the ribbon in a wide variety of environments"...
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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iOS Music Tools: Bang That Beat!
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Reviewed by
Devon Brent
iOS Music Tools: Bang That Beat! |
Reviewed by
Devon Brent
Rhythm workstations to feed your need for fantastic beats: Fingerlab's DM1 and One Red Dog Media's Molten.
Many musicians are finding iOS devices to be useful standalone systems for creating beats, whether for inclusion in other tra......Expand
Rhythm workstations to feed your need for fantastic beats: Fingerlab's DM1 and One Red Dog Media's Molten.
Many musicians are finding iOS devices to be useful standalone systems for creating beats, whether for inclusion in other tracks or for live performance. Devon Brent takes a detailed look at two of the very best apps out there, both of which are rapidly gaining strong followings. Hit it!...
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Plug-in Outlet: Studio Devil Amp Modeler Pro and Virtual Bass Amp Pro
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Reviewed by
Allen Goodman
Plug-in Outlet: Studio Devil Amp Modeler Pro and Virtual Bass Amp Pro |
Reviewed by
Allen Goodman
These two plug-ins are light on CPU load and heavy on great tone.
It's not often that I am impressed with plug-ins these days, but Studio Devil has refreshed me with not one, but two of them. Follow along as I take a listen ......Expand
These two plug-ins are light on CPU load and heavy on great tone.
It's not often that I am impressed with plug-ins these days, but Studio Devil has refreshed me with not one, but two of them. Follow along as I take a listen to Amp Modeler Pro for the guitar players among you, and Virtual Bass Amp Pro for the bassists. Studio Devil is a relative newcomer to the guitar plug-in world but has made some pretty significant inroads vs. the big boys, and when you hear these plug-ins you'll know why...
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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For Your Bookshelf
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Reviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
For Your Bookshelf |
Reviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
Ring out the old year and ring in the new with a collection of 10 great audio titles for your education, edification, and entertainment.
Zen and the Art of Producing, By Mixerman:
Unless you have been living ......Expand
Ring out the old year and ring in the new with a collection of 10 great audio titles for your education, edification, and entertainment.
Zen and the Art of Producing, By Mixerman:
Unless you have been living too sheltered a life by half, you must have heard about and probably read the author's The Daily Adventures of Mixerman and Zen and the Art of Mixing. Here he begins by discussing the various types of producers and other industry personnel as seen through the prism of Mixerman's by now well-known quirky writer persona...
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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James A. Abdo's BrokenWorks Productions
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Interviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
James A. Abdo's BrokenWorks Productions |
Interviewed by
Lorenz Rychner
In a quiet neighborhood in a city in Oregon, an corner residence hides a fabulous studio designed by audio ace Chris Pelonis. Read about how a recording musician's dream became a beautiful reality.
While looking up some musi......Expand
In a quiet neighborhood in a city in Oregon, an corner residence hides a fabulous studio designed by audio ace Chris Pelonis. Read about how a recording musician's dream became a beautiful reality.
While looking up some musician friends in Oregon earlier this year, I sat in on a session at a studio in Ashland that struck me as being in an unlikely location -- a sizable and well equipped studio in a residential side street, taking up the lower level of a split-level house. It is ideally suited for the purpose, with direct access to the spacious tracking room through the garage off a driveway -- a dream come true for a commercial business. But it turns out that this is a part of the owner's family home, making it truly a home studio. I figured that our readers would want to know more, and owner Jim Abdo kindly obliged...
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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A Time To Give
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Written by
Paul J. Stamler
A Time To Give |
Written by
Paul J. Stamler
The holidays mean family get-togethers, and that's a great opportunity to use your recording skills to capture family histories and preserve memories forever.
December -- a time to give. Giving to people you care about, givi......Expand
The holidays mean family get-togethers, and that's a great opportunity to use your recording skills to capture family histories and preserve memories forever.
December -- a time to give. Giving to people you care about, giving to your community. How can you use the skills and equipment you've accumulated as a recordist to make people happy? For the last three Decembers you've given a CD of your songs to everyone on your list; maybe it's time to try something new.
Here's an idea out of left field: what about using your talents and gear to do oral history with family members? Everyone has stories to tell. Did Grandpa get muddy at Woodstock? Did Grandma march against Jim Crow with Dr. King?
These are the stories that give texture to history; they are your personal contact with the fabric of the world. And they pack some surprises. I knew my mother was a Rosie the Riveter, but had no idea that Dad knew bluesman Big Bill Broonzy ("Not well, but I knew him"). The stories, and the surprises, enrich your world and that of your family.
But as generations pass, the stories get lost. That's where you come in, you and your microphone...
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 12: Monitors Part 1
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Written by
Eric Ferguson
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 12: Monitors Part 1 |
Written by
Eric Ferguson
Nothing, but nothing, in your studio is more important to your sound than the devices that bring that sound to your ears. It's time to learn more about them.
What is the most important piece of gear in your studio? A fancy t......Expand
Nothing, but nothing, in your studio is more important to your sound than the devices that bring that sound to your ears. It's time to learn more about them.
What is the most important piece of gear in your studio? A fancy tube mic? An expensive Class A preamp? A DAW, fully loaded with ungodly amounts of processing power? While these and other shiny objects typically get the lion's share of gear worship, studio monitors, often overlooked due to their pedestrian purpose, are perhaps the most important items in day-to-day recording and mixing.
Monitors dictate our very perception of sound. Practically every decision, opinion, and debate originates from listening through our studio loudspeakers. With so much at stake, it is essential that we understand the strengths and weaknesses of our monitors...
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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PreSonuSphere 2012
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Written by
Mike Metlay
PreSonuSphere 2012 |
Written by
Mike Metlay
The audio company's annual user conference is growing by leaps and bounds, with hands-on workshops, lectures, live music, applications galore... and did we mention the jambalaya?
Last year I was privileged to be one of the o......Expand
The audio company's annual user conference is growing by leaps and bounds, with hands-on workshops, lectures, live music, applications galore... and did we mention the jambalaya?
Last year I was privileged to be one of the only representatives of a major music technology magazine to attend the inaugural PreSonuSphere at the Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (see my show report in our March 2012 issue). This year, PreSonuSphere grew in a number of ways, and I spent a whirlwind two days trying to see and do everything at once...
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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Fade Out
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Written by
Mark Waldrep
Fade Out |
Written by
Mark Waldrep
To Master, Or Not To Master, That Is The Question.
Virtually everyone that's been involved in the engineering/production of music for a decade or more is aware of the so-called "loudness wars", the seemingly endless quest by......Expand
To Master, Or Not To Master, That Is The Question.
Virtually everyone that's been involved in the engineering/production of music for a decade or more is aware of the so-called "loudness wars", the seemingly endless quest by mastering houses to produce the world's loudest record releases. What began as a reasonable final step in the record-making process to sequence a record and make subtle timbral and volume adjustments to a potentially disparate collection of album tracks has been hijacked by overzealous mastering engineers under the direction of misguided label executives... and the sonic results are not good...
Read more in the December 2012 issue of RECORDING!
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