HC Notes: Evolving Recording Technology, Focusrite ISA Two, ORTF Mic Technique & More!
By Guest |
Issue 176
Topics News User Reviews Forums Articles Videos Classifieds
| Dear Musician, |
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Evolving Technology. Here at HC, my colleagues and I review a lot of gear, and it’s encouraging to see regular, unrelenting progress made in technology, design, and overall sound quality across the board. I don’t think it’s selective memory to say that gear is just a whole lot better now than it was in decades past. We almost never see something that’s a “total dog.”
A total dog presents the reviewer with a conundrum: You question why you’re wasting keystrokes and other people’s eyeballs on something no one should buy. Or something that was released with some profoundly deal-killing flaw that will be fixed in an upgrade. But that just doesn’t happen anymore. Only very rarely must a piece of gear be reviewed that is both a Dubious Thing and a Thing Which Cannot Be Ignored. There are examples of Things Which Cannot Be Ignored in other arenas—such as the release of a new Woody Allen film or a Van Halen album—but gear doesn’t fall into that category. It's always good, it seems. Even when a new release is controversial (for example, grousing about what long-awaited Pro Tools wishlist item wasn't included), updates never go backward in terms of improvements or features.
Stop Threaded Parts from Vibrating Loose and Rattling
By Phil O'Keefe
Rattling guitar bridge? Jack nut or strap lock coming loose? Here's how to take care of those problems, once and for all
| Featured Industry News |
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This week's pick hits from our News section Sony’s New Affordable DWZ Series Takes Digital Wireless Technology to New Levels Sony’s newest wireless microphone series combines ease of use, superb RF transmission reliability and high sound quality into four affordable and highly flexible packages.
Producerloops.com Releases "Symphonic Series Bundle (Vols. 1-3)" Sample Pack This bundle serves up all the flavors of the cartoon music you grew up with, along with massive, epic sounding action movie soundtracks, and the beautiful and exotic sounds found in Arabic music.
Eastern Acoustic Works Debuts Next-Generation SUB.two Subwoofer System By combining a dual 12-inch bass horn-loaded with a single 21-inch direct radiating cone speaker, SUB.two produces crisp, powerful concursion at 80 Hz and deep, warm lows down to 20 Hz.
HARMAN’s DigiTech Next-Generation Whammy with Chordal Pitch-Shifting Is Now Available in Stores DigiTech’s next-generation Whammy pedal, features chordal Whammy pitch-shifting, additional Whammy intervals and true bypass operation.
Alfred Music Publishing Releases New Shred Guitar Book, Shredding the Composers A collection of classical pieces from 8 of the world's greatest classical composers taught through a heavy metal perspective in both standard notation and TAB.
Guitar Center Opens New Danbury, Connecticut Store Guitar Center’s newest Danbury location features showrooms for customers equipped with the latest products for musicians—from guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments and keyboards to live sound, DJ, lighting and recording equipment.
Introducing the Amptweaker TightFuzz Pedal The TightFuzz includes a Tone control to tame the fuzzy edges and the Tight control, a mainstay of Amptweaker pedals, which varies the pick attack from smooth and thick to tight and aggressive.
Mapex Drum Company Announces Meridian Black – The Raven Limited Edition The Meridian Black Raven kit is the first in a series of “Player Designed” kits with features directly filling the needs of the modern rock drummer.
Sheet Music Direct for iPad Version 1.1 Loaded with New Features Enhanced app from Hal Leonard now offers .PDF import, push notifications and more Line 6 Ships StageSource L3m High-performance Digitally Networkable PA System StageSource L3m combines multi-function design with Smart Speaker modes and digital networking for the widest variety of live sound applications. |
| Forum Watch |
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A few of this week's top discussions from our ForumsGuitar Hacks: Little Tricks that Make Guitarists’ Lives Easier Forumites contribute tips & tricks for setting up, maintaining and repairing guitars—everything from changing strings to shimming worn nut slots to removing stuck knobs and bridge pins. Greatest Recordings of Electric Guitar Ever Made? The best part about these kinds of threads isn’t just the opinions, but all the embedded videos presented to back up those opinions. Enjoy! Billy Corgan on Today’s Music Industry Check out the link . . . then check out the comments from the Music Biz community. Gimme Your Pitch for Getting Live Gigs! So how do you approach a venue about getting a gig? The Solo and Duo Acts forum does a lot of this, and offers some valuable advice. Post Your Favorite Oddball Guitars There’s a long tradition of weird and whacky guitar designs that can trace its roots back to at least the 1960s and some of the more offbeat offerings from brands like Kay, Eko, Harmony, Silvertone, Guyatone, and Teisco. Even larger companies such as Epiphone and Yamaha occasionally release similarly weird designs. Looking for something off the beaten path? This thread’s for you. Slate Digital Virtual Tape Machines Plug-In Slate’s new plug-in is getting quite the buzz. Do they live up to the hype? And there’s also a bigger picture: Is it possible—or even desirable—to try and emulate the “real world”? All amps (including guitar amps) can run hot, especially if the ambient temperature is also hot (e.g., an outdoor gig or inside a club where the AC is on the fritz). Whatever the cause, it’s good practice to dissipate your amp heat with a fan—and this thread discusses some easy and inexpensive solutions. What’s My Best Option for Plugging My Guitar into a Laptop and Recording It? As it turns out, there are quite a few options . . . but as usual, what’s best for any individual depends on exactly what they need. Guitar only? Mics too? USB or FireWire? Get some answers here. A fascinating look at effects pedals being used to create music and sound on their own—not merely manipulating and modifying the signal from an instrument. Check out self-oscillation, feedback loops, drones, and other alternative techniques and approaches to using effects. Can You Distinguish a Precision, Jazz, and StingRay Bass by Ear? Step up, bass players . . . how well do you know your basses? Take this test, and find out. |
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Editorial Craig Anderton, Editor in Chief • Jon Chappell, Senior Editor • Phil O’Keefe, Associate Editor • Chris Loeffler, Reviews Editor
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