Fender Mustang V Review - Headlong
Written testAbout one year ago Fender released the small modeling guitar combo Mustang II. Ever since, they have extended their product line with more powerful products, including an amp head we want to try out …
Wimpy Snare? Muffled Kick? Lousy Drum Part? There's Hop… - Salvage Your Drum Tracks
LearningIf a pop/rock/dance track doesn't have a great drum sound, you're in trouble. Big trouble. The Drum Replacement 101 solution is to have a drummer come along and play with the original track, then era…
Optimize Your Reverberant Space for the Best Possible S… - Understanding Digital Reverb Parameters
LearningThere's nothing like the sound of real reverb, such as what you hear in a cathedral or symphonic hall. That's because reverb is made up of a virtually infinite number of waves bouncing around within …
Native Instruments Abbey Road 70's, 80's & Modern Drums… - On Abbey Road Again
Written testWe tested the Abbey Road 60's sound bank about one year ago. In the meantime, Native Instruments has already released three more Abbey Road sound banks: 70's, 80's and Modern Drums. Let's get this sh…
Make Sure You Get the One that's Right for You - How to Choose an Audio Interface
LearningComputers can be pretty smart, but when it comes to sound, they need a translator that can convert sound waves into the digital language of ones and zeroes. Audio interfaces provide this translation.
Eagletone Raging 5H Review - Small Brute
Written testCompact tube amps are definitely "in" nowadays. They are conceived to provide a classic sound in spite of their affordable price and compact dimensions. So, when Eagletone decided to launch a small 5…
When it’s time to mix a recording, you need a strategy - Mixing - The 12 Step Program
LearningMixing is not only an art, it’s the crucial step that turns a collection of tracks into a finished piece of music. A good mix can bring out the best in your music—it spotlights a composition’s most i…
Tech 21 Characters Series VT Bass Deluxe Review - At Your Beck and Call...
Written testFollowing the Red Ripper, let's check out the new VT Bass version released by Tech 21. The unit is a preamp in stompbox format. It simulates the sound of the legendary SVT amps from a manufacturer wh…
Add that Final Polish to Your Mixes - Mastering Basics for Musicians
LearningThe article title alone is enough to cause some professional mastering engineers to run to various forums and start complaining. "That's what's wrong with this industry, these kids don't know how to …
Fender Road Worn Player Telecaster Review - This Guitar Will Wear You Down
Written testWithout any offense to purists who get a nervous breakdown every time they discover the slightest scratch on their guitar, the Road Worn Series instruments have been intentionally damaged: the varnis…
And Mastering Loses... - Speakers Meet Mastering
LearningOne of the main functions of mastering is to make a mix transportable: In other words, it should sound good over any playback system
TC Electronic BH500 and BC210 Review - Red Peril in Denmark
Written testEver since the futuristic RH450 came out (directly from a Georges Lucas film), the viking manufacturer has kept on developing products for bass players.
Fender American Special Jazz Bass & Precision Bass Revi… - Motorway Exit
Written testAfter the Highway One, updated in 2006, Fender comes back again with new affordable products from its American production center: the revisited versions of the Precision Bass and the Jazz Bass.
When Noise Attacks Your Signal, Fight Back! - Seven Ways to Reduce Noise
LearningIs noise really a problem? After all, analog tape hiss is almost extinct. We have 24-bit converters with signal-to-noise ratios that far exceed that of the CD. Low-level hum? Today's signals have ple…
Make Your Timing Tighter Than Tight - What Does "Sample Accurate" Mean Anyway?
LearningIf you think that "sample accurate" has something to do with random drug tests, you're probably browsing the wrong web site. But if you've heard the term applied to digital transfers, loop timings, e…
Mixvibes U-MIX Control Pro Review - U-Mix and U Control
Written testMixvibes was founded in 2003, when they started to market a product that allowed mixing and scratching digital files using time-coded vinyl records and CDs with the use of a sound card. Nowadays, Mix…
Proven Ways to Enhance Your Vocals - Recording & Processing the Ultimate Vocal
LearningSo what’s the best way to record vocals these days? The answer, of course, is that anything goes if it gives the sound you want. Following are some of the possibilities.
It's Possible to Get "hot" Masters without Losing Dynam… - Big Sounds without Overcompressing
LearningI was driving along one of those Floridian roads that goes between the coasts, and is flatter than the Spice Girls without auto-tuning . . . in other words, a perfect place to crank up my car's CD pl…
Tech 21 Red Ripper Review - Profile of a Killer
Written testToday, I won't be gentle: kill the Care Bears, throw the wooden cross of the "Little Singers of Paris" into the fire and make place for the distortion god.
Best of Musikmesse 2011 - Musikmesse 2011 in 14 Products
LearningMusikmesse edition 2011 is over and it is time now to take stock of the show room floor which has seen more fruitful years. Nevertheless, some products managed to seduce us, most notably from the cat…
Native Instruments Session Strings Review - Native Adds Another String to its Bow
Written testString sections from John Williams or Hans Zimmer are pretty nice but they don't sound very rock 'n' roll. So we are very happy to welcome Native Instruments' Session Strings — a string section for K…
Native Instruments Alicia's Keys Review - Alicia in Virtual Land
Written testFollowing our review series on virtual pianos, we test the results of a triple collaboration between a manufacturer (Native Instruments), another manufacturer (Scarbee) and an artist (Alicia Keys).
Sometimes Little Improvements Add Up to Big Ones - Quieter Recordings - One dB at a Time
LearningThe whole is equal to the sum of its parts…as anyone who ever used analog tape will attest. Who can forget that feeling of hearing yet another contribution to the noise floor whenever you brought up …
Meeting Multiple Needs for the Biggest Night in Music - Live Sound: 53rd Annual Grammy Awards
LearningIt wasn’t the promise of a performance by Lady Gaga that drew me in to watch the Grammys this year, but rather, some added motivation in having the opportunity to check out the live and broadcast sou…
TC Helicon VoiceLive Touch Review - The TC Touch
Written testVocal effects are present more than ever in modern music, but if you want special effects, you don't give the control to the sound engineer. Loopers are also hip, especially for artists making solo p…
