Gear Reviews

There are probably two groups of people reading this review. First is the group that shelled out around $4800 for a hardware Massive Passive. This gang (myself included) wants me to conclude that the plug-in is not the same as the real thing. The second bunch is comprised of those who have suffered...

     I’ve learned the hard way that small, powered monitors are ideal for my mobile recording work. As the mix setup in my apartment has grown more permanent, I have also found that I need a separate pair of speakers for mobile from the pairs that are inconvenient to move from behind...

Here’s another game-changing product that deserved multiple opinions. Allen Farmelo, who also collected opinions from several other well-known engineers, leads with his review, and F. Reid Shippen follows with his opinion. (Each $2500 street; www.burlaudio.com) –AH

The notion that a piece of audio...

I bought my first Empirical Labs FATSO Jr (Tape Op #24) almost ten years ago, soon after purchasing my first digital multitrack recorder, a TASCAM MX–2424, (#22). Since then, I’ve purchased four more FATSOs, and I do almost all of my tracking through them. I love how the four processors in each of...

This new trio of plug-ins from UK-based Sonnox (the group that brought us plug-ins based on the Sony Oxford digital console) includes Oxford DeClicker, Oxford DeBuzzer and Oxford DeNoiser. They represent over a year and a half of research and development, and promise significant advances over...

  Over the last couple years, Strange Weather has picked up a number of nice microphones. Most of them are vintage, and as you’d expect, the repair and upkeep costs can be staggering. So of course, I do my best to keep them in optimal condition. My favorite resource for mic maintenance is...

Every once in a while, you run across a product that is seemingly simple, but offers so much more than its faceplate implies. The BAX EQ is one of them. After reading the review that Allen Farmelo submitted below, as well as the additional opinions printed here from Greg Calbi, Eric Broyhill, Dave...