Posts tagged with "ISSUE NO26"
KORG MS-20 MINI
KORG MS-20 MINI
’70S ANALOG FOR THE FUTURE
There have been several iterations of the Korg MS-20 since its debut in 1978, but none as innovative as the MS-20 Mini. At first glance, the size reduction of more than 85 percent is the most obvious new feature of this reissue. Despite its smaller size, the MS-20 Mini offers up the same sweet oscillators as the original, flavored by first-generation filtering, ring modulation and other true-to-original...
RMI BASSWITCH IQ DI
RMI BASSWITCH IQ DI
THE ULTIMATE BASS RIG
The RMI Basswitch IQ DI is the ultimate centerpiece to any working bass rig. This unassuming box includes an A/B switcher in front of a killer preamp, EQ, dual effects loop, and DI. The preamp section is bolstered by a Lehle LTMZ transformer for phenomenally faithful amplification that will thrill any hardcore tone freak. The semi-parametric four-band equalizer provides incredible tone-shaping flexibility,...
PULSE TECHNIQUES PULTEC EQP-1A3
PULSE TECHNIQUES PULTEC EQP-1A3
NOTHING COMPARES TO THE ORIGINAL
There are dozens of semi-successful Pultec-style EQ clones, but nothing compares to the genuine Pulse Techniques equalizer. Meticulously recreating the original Pultec EQP-1A component by component (often having to manufacture his own replacement parts), company president Steve Jackson revived the original Pulse Techniques model to perfection. Now available in the U.S., the Pultec EQP-1A3...
BOCK AUDIO IFET
BOCK AUDIO IFET
IDEAL VINTAGE AND MODERN TONE
The perfect choice for space-challenged studios with a limited budget for quality condenser mics, the Bock Audio iFet more than legitimizes the reputation of this relatively small microphone maker. Wielding two discrete Class A amplification signal paths, the iFet delivers ideal instrument and vocal sound. In V mode, the iFet closely resembles the warm vintage vocal microphones that defined the hit recordings...
GRETSCH G9240 Alligator Biscuit Cone Roundneck
GRETSCH G9240 Alligator Biscuit Cone Roundneck
BLUESY BISCUIT BITE
Reaching back to their roots, the G9240 Alligator Biscuit Cone Roundneck revives one of Gretsch’s classic guitars. A 99 percent pure aluminum, hand-spun Ampli-Sonic biscuit resonator cone set in a laminated mahogany top offers this gorgeous instrument its raspy, swampy, lo-fi blues sound. The resonator cone also provides a ton of natural acoustic projection and volume. It nicely...
SONY DWZB30GB
SONY DWZB30GB
WIRELESS FOR TONE PURISTS
The Sony DWZB30GB digital instrument wireless system provides total freedom for guitar and bass players without sacrificing tone. In fact, its 24-bit digital signal wireless transmission is so pure Sony added a configurable cable tone function to provide realistic guitar-cable frequency loss emulation. Operating in the uncluttered 2.4 GHz frequency range, the DWZB30GB is virtually immune to traditional radio...
KALA U-BASS
KALA U-BASS
DOUBLE-BASS SOUND IN A UKE BODY
The remarkably affordable travel-sized acoustic Kala U-Bass manages to pack warm and woody double-bass sound into an instrument that can fit—case and all—into the overhead compartment of an airplane. Tonewoods range from exotic mahogany to brighter spruce-topped models. They all feature Kala’s proprietary polyurethane strings, which are the key to U-Bass’ extremely short-scale extra-deep tone. A...
TAMA SILVERSTAR HYPER-DRIVE
TAMA SILVERSTAR HYPER-DRIVE
KILLER PROJECTION & TONE
The limited edition Tama Silverstar Hyper-Drive drum kit is an excellent choice for live and session work. Like the rest of Tama’s Silverstar lineup, the affordable kit features all-birch shells, offering a naturally warm and slightly dark fundamental tone that lends impact to recordings. To balance this tone, Tama chose their shallower Hyper-Drive sizing for the toms, which provides extra...
HAMMOND SK1
HAMMOND SK1
ORGAN PERFECTION FOR KEYBOARDISTS
There are plenty of fine keyboards with passable organ sounds, but only a few organs with good auxiliary instrument sounds. Among them, the Hammond SK1 stands alone. Built around the sound of the world-famous B-3 tonewheel organ, the SK1 features real drawbars that provide tactile control any organist demands. Loaded with impressive emulations of Rhodes and Wurlitzer EPs, Clavinets, Farf combos, church...
CUTTING THE CORD
CUTTING THE CORD
Wireless sound offers freedom to roam the stage,but is it the right option for you?
Anyone who’s caught a major live act in the last decade has seen and heard wireless technology in action. From stage-diving rock stars to tightly choreographed pop groups, wireless mics and instrument systems have redefined the live music experience. Long gone are the days of performers tethered to the stage with restricting cords.
But is wireless...
CHAKA KHAN
CHAKA KHAN HAD ONLY RECENTLY ACHIEVED stardom when photographer Norman Seeff shot this session for Rufus’ 1974 album, Rufusized. “I was living in my studio in Los Angeles,” Seeff recalls. “She began rolling around on my bed like a teenage girl—barefoot, wiggling her big toe at me. It was fun, creative and free.” The session was the first of several Seeff shot with the R&B legend, whose talent was entwined with a fragile temperament....
PARAMORE
PARAMORE
A GAME CHANGE
Now a trio, Paramore bounces back from turmoil with a cathartic, creative new set
By Russell Hall
Sometimes it’s true: What doesn’t destroy you makes you stronger. Just ask Paramore. Two years ago, with mainstream success firmly in their grasp, two key members of the pop-rock group walked away. Remaining members—singer Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis and guitarist Taylor York—were roiled by the defection, unsure...
GREG KURSTIN
GREG KURSTIN
Blazing his own trail from jazz scholar to pop hit-maker
By Michael Gallant
He’s produced a bevy of wildly successful artists including Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Ke$ha, Tegan and Sara, James Blunt, Dido and the Shins. But Greg Kurstin came to his hit-making career through an unconventional route—as a student of jazz piano. “I loved arranging songs and finding different voicings for chords,” says Kurstin, who studied at New York’s...
THE BAND PERRY
THE BAND PERRY
Guidance from a production guru yields a meticulously crafted album
After the success of the Band Perry’s 2010 debut album and multiplatinum smash “If I Die Young,” the family band was uncertain about their follow-up record, Pioneer. So the country trio trekked to Malibu, Calif., to hone their songs with the man they called the Song Doctor, producer Rick Rubin—and hone they did. “Every song we wrote, we rewrote again and...
PAUL WILLIAMS
PAUL WILLIAMS
The once-ubiquitous songwriter returns to stage, screen—and Capitol Hill
Paul Williams became wildly successful for penning romantic 1970s hits including “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “An Old Fashioned Love Song” and “Evergreen.” But behind the scenes Paul Williams battled demons of addiction. “I did 48 Tonight shows,” he says. “I remember six.” Goodbye, Johnny Carson; hello, Betty Ford. Today, more than 20 years clean...
ALICE IN CHAINS
ALICE IN CHAINS
Setting the musical bar high and releasing no album before its time
In July 2011, Alice in Chains frontman Jerry Cantrell began working on the band’s new record, but the process proved too painful—not artistically but physically. The guitarist was experiencing severe shoulder pain and underwent surgery to remove bone deposits. A nightmarish scenario for any guitar player, Cantrell wrote it off as an occupational hazard....
STEPHEN STILLS
STEPHEN STILLS
His career at 60 years and counting, an icon looks back—and forward
By Jeff Tamarkin
Even at 82 tracks packed onto four CDs, Carry On, the new Stephen Stills retrospective boxed set, barely scratches the surface of one of rock’s most iconic careers. After all, how can one afternoon’s listening encapsulate a half-century of creativity? We first heard Stills in 1966 with Buffalo Springfield (“For What It’s Worth” remains...
BOZ SCAGGS
BOZ SCAGGS
The genre-blending genius takes on classic songs in a historic studio
By Jeff Tamarkin
Play Boz Scaggs’ 44-year-old debut album, his 1976 multiplatinum megahit Silk Degrees, or his pair of standards records from the past decade, and one constant emerges from his music: He remains true to his vision, finding that sweet spot where R&B, pop, jazz, blues and rock intersect and then customizing it. Scaggs’ attention to detail, level...
EVE
EVE
After a decade of changes, the rapper turns up the intensity on a new set
In the 11 years since her last album, Eve has been rather busy. She released singles, made guest appearances on more than a dozen tracks for other artists, had her own sitcom, appeared in the two Barbershop films, and launched a fashion line. But Lip Lock, her long-awaited return, wasn’t a snap decision.
“It’s been a bit of journey. I’ve been trying to put out...
SPIN DOCTORS
SPIN DOCTORS
The alt-rockers revisit their blues roots and reinvent their sound
While touring in England behind the 2011 release of Pocket Full of Kryptonite: 20th Anniversary Edition, the Spin Doctors made a discovery: Their future lay in their past. Before the band hit the charts in the early ’90s with peppy, poppy alt-rock tunes such as “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” “Two Princes” and “Jimmy Olsen’s Blues,” their stock...
PATTY GRIFFIN
PATTY GRIFFIN
The beloved singer-songwriter crafts a melodic tribute to her father
“When I was younger, I could dive headfirst into writing about things like I knew a lot about them,” says Patty Griffin. She pauses, then laughs, “Now I realize I don’t know anything about anything.” Considering the singer-songwriter’s poetic and revealing lyrics have led artists like Emmylou Harris and the Dixie Chicks to record her material, many would...
TALIB KWELI
TALIB KWELI
Proving labels can’t confine or define him on his latest project
Talib Kweli has a well-earned reputation for being a smart, socially and politically aware lyricist. But with Prisoner of Conscious, his fifth solo album, Kweli is hoping to show he’s in touch with his emotional side. “Just calling the album Prisoner of Conscious,” says the rapper. “I don’t see myself as a prisoner of conscience, so I set out to make an...
ADAM ANT
ADAM ANT
The former U.K. chart-topper gets back into the swing of performing
Creatively speaking, Adam Ant has soared over the mountaintops and stumbled on the valley’s floor. Clinically diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2003, he had fallen off the radar eight years earlier, after the release of Wonderful. He eventually battled through the disease to release Adam Ant Is the BlueBlack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner’s Daughter, his first studio...
KIM RICHEY
KIM RICHEY
On her latest effort, the acclaimed singer-songwriter highlights harmonies
Kim Richey has been on the move—Colorado, Boston, Washington, South America, Europe and London, where she spent three years. She returned to Nashville for the third time last summer to make her new album, Thorn in My Heart.
Richey’s first venture to Music City after college included a stint as a cook at the famed Bluebird Café where she glimpsed singer-songwriters...
TRIAD-ORBIT MIC STANDS
TRIAD-ORBIT MIC STANDS
Standing apart from the crowd
When we saw the Triad-Orbit mic stands at AES, we knew they were going to be a game changer for both recording and live-sound engineers. This modular stand system is made from the highest quality materials, providing extreme placement flexibility and stability. The mechanical limitations of the average mic stand require the entire stand to be moved into position. Conversely, Triad-Orbit stands feature...
DANGEROUS MUSIC SOURCE
DANGEROUS MUSIC SOURCE
Mojo for your monitors
While recording enthusiasts gleefully scarf up pricey mics and compressors, they often skimp on what may be the single most valuable piece of gear in their signal chain—the monitor controller. People often forget that every mic they place, note they play, and track they mix hinges on the ability to accurately hear the audio. With a staggering array of configurations and ganging capacity, the Dangerous...
RADIAL STAGEBUG SB-1 ACTIVE ACOUSTIC DI
RADIAL STAGEBUG SB-1 ACTIVE ACOUSTIC DI
Tiny DI with big features
Although the Radial Engineering SB-1 is small enough to fit in your guitar case, the company didn’t skimp on features or durability. Built specifically with acoustic guitar in mind, this phantom-powered DI features a phase button for feedback cancellation you can control onstage and a switchable -15dB pad for high-output active electronics. A parallel quarter-inch jack complements...
DW COLLECTOR’S SERIES CONCRETE SNARE DRUMS
DW COLLECTOR’S SERIES CONCRETE SNARE DRUMS
Killer sound cannon
DW Drums has built an all-star roster of endorsers by crafting a line of drums as versatile as they are roadworthy. The 5.5×14” and 6.5×14” Concrete Snare Drums are the latest addition to the DW Collector’s Series, and they’re more than worthy of the DW badge. We were especially blown away by the outstanding textures, tone and dynamic range the 5.5” model delivered....