RIP Mike Skinner: Producer, Drummer, Audio Adventurist
He could leap into a frenetic beat or lock into a solid groove. He could keep it subtle or go absolutely all out. I loved watching Mike Skinner play drums. Mike Skinner (photo courtesy of Kevin...
View ArticleUnpopular Instruments in Popular Music: 9 Sonic Oddities
Tired of the traditional dominance of guitar, bass, and drums in pop music? Here are 9 instruments that have made it into popular music that you either didn’t know about, can’t pronounce, or wouldn’t...
View ArticleCrane Song Announces INSIGNA Valve-Based Tube EQ for the 500 Series
A tantalizing new unit is headed for your 500 rack. INSIGNA, the third and final edition to Crane Song’s 500 tube series debuts in December. Coming soon is the Crane Song INSIGNA, a valve-based tube EQ...
View ArticleLine 6 Introduces Sonic Port VX Mobile Audio Interface
Line 6 remains a dedicated provider of creative tools for musicians on the go. Expanding on that dedication, they have now introduced the Sonic Port VX – the second of their Sonic Port line of...
View ArticleAlternative Audio Careers: Luke Furr — Founder of Shoreview Distribution
Behind the gear in your studio is an unseen force: the distributor. Luke Furr launched Shoreview Distribution in 1989. It’s not manpower that you think about very often because, well, you’re not...
View ArticleJourney FOH Engineer Jim Yakabuski Featured in Meyer Sound Online Mixing...
October will be informative right off the bat for audio heads. That’s because the month begins with veteran FOH engineer Jim Yakabuski joining Meyer Sound instructor Buford Jones as a special guest, in...
View ArticleIs Pro Tools Certification Worth It? 3 Great Reasons (and 3 Terrible Reasons)...
Recently, I was fortunate enough to have an employer provide the funds for me to attend Pro Tools Certification training classes. I had thought about taking one of these courses on my own for a long...
View ArticleDrawmer Introduces the 1973 – Three-Band FET Stereo Compressor
Ivor Drawmer has drawn on thirty-plus years of hardware design to introduce the 1973 compressor. The three-band FET unit is split into variable low, middle, and high frequencies. Each section contains...
View ArticleVolant Studios in TriBeCa, NYC, For Sale For $2 Million Plus
If your mind’s eye is picturing a fully built out studio in downtown Manhattan, you might not have to lift a finger to make it happen. You will, of course, have to sign a large check: Volant Studios, a...
View ArticleStudio Upgrades: Sweet Sounds — Bringing Up The “Broadway”&“Crosby Rooms
One thing we’ve always liked about the SoHo studio Sweet Sounds, since we first wrote about them in late 2012, is that they’re like Lowe’s: never stop improving. The forward-thinking facility has just...
View Article“Sync Songwriter Workshop” Launched by The SongHunters & Flavorlab – 10/27 in...
Here’s a whole new way to get in sync with music supervisors. Music supervision service The SongHunters are co-launching the first “Sync Songwriter Workshop”, along with… The first “Sync Songwriter...
View ArticleStartling Startups: Hookist – Social Songwriting Collaboration
What’s the best first line of a song about coming home? The answer may well be up to you, even if the singer is world famous. Hook(ist) will hook you in. As you’re about to find out. Songs take on a...
View ArticleLaCie Announces Super Fast d2 Thunderbolt 2 External Hard Drive
Associated with professional media storage, LaCie’s hard drives provide reliable storage options for all. The latest in LaCie’s d2 line, Thunderbolt 2 comes available with USB 3.0 and – you guessed it...
View ArticleAntelope Audio Introduces MP32: 32 Channels of Rack-Mount Preamps
Antelope Audio has announced the MP32 as part of their product unveiling for the 137th AES convention. The signal chain is designed to be open and transparent, complementing their Orion 32...
View ArticleRenew Your Room Acoustics, Part 1: Waves and Pressure
The energy that we put into our listening rooms, home theaters, and professional recording studios comes in two main forms. We have waves of energy and we have rays. For purposes of this discussion and...
View Article137th AES Convention: G-Technology and Gobbler Partner For Streamlined Audio...
It’s no secret that the entertainment industry works daily with massive amounts of data. Some of those users prefer external drives, and some prefer cloud storage. Well, G-Technology, and Gobbler plan...
View ArticleApogee Introduces New Ensemble
Apogee Electronics has announced their new Ensemble 30×34 Thunderbolt 2 audio interface for Mac-based studios. New Apogee Ensemble ($2,495). Click to enlarge. With this latest iteration, Apogee has...
View ArticleIs the Mastering Engineer Still Relevant?
A Neumann lathe, used to cut master discs for the production of vinyl records. Years ago, the term “Mastering Engineer” was a very literal one. The “M.E.” was simply the person responsible for creating...
View Article137th AES Convention: RTW Mastering Tools PlugIn Makes US Debut
RTW is a software developer with nearly 50 years of combined audio software and hardware under their belt. Based out of Cologne, Germany, they are officially introducing their RTW Mastering Tools...
View ArticleSoundToys Announces Soundtoys 5 – All 12 PlugIns Together As One Effects Rack
Since their start, CEO and lead designer, Ken Bogdanowicz, has envisioned SoundToys plugins to be able to sculpt audio together as a single unit. The release of SoundToys 5 realizes this plan with all...
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