Phil O'Keefe

Passive or active, the choice is yours Direct boxes are one of those things that many people don’t give a lot of thought to, but if you’re a musician, recording engineer, or live sound technician, they’re something that you should not only know about, but they are also something that sooner or later, you’re going to need. Direct boxes have a fairly limited yet important set of tasks that they need to fulfill. The first is to convert a high impedance, unbalanced source (such as the output from an electric guitar or bass) into a low impedance balanced output. This allows the signal t

The Cort Gold Series of acoustic-electric guitars was designed with a total focus on sound, but with the introduction of the Gold-Edge LE, Cort is proud to be pushing the limits on ergonomics and playability. Cort’s new “triple bevel cut” system is the new gold standard of comfort, providing the right amount of angle and depth for each bevel cut on three different strategic areas of the Grand Auditorium, Venetian-cutaway body. The result is an acoustic that’s never been more comfortable to play and, thanks to the use of master-grade tonewoods, has never sounded so good.

It’s new release day and this week we’ve got Tones, a wealth of inspiration for Melodic Techno, Deep House and Progressive House producers. Zenhiser Pack: TonesPrice: $60.00 AUDDirect Link: http://www.zenhiser.com/tones-melodic-techno-samples.html www.zenhiser.com Zenhiser | Samples, Sounds, Loops & Midi Download Packs. 100% Royalty Free | Zenhiser Zenhiser | 100% Royalty Free Wav Sounds, Samples, Loops, Stems & Midi. Bespoke Sample Packs & Sound Libraries Designed Exclusively For Music Producers, Remixers & DJ's. Downloa

Harmony Central has been publishing Expert Reviews for some time, and occasionally we’re asked various questions about the process. We thought that it was time for an article that describes exactly what goes into them and how they’re done. We know that some of you have questions about the process, and that’s what we hope to answer here. How do you decide on what gear to review? This is where the process starts. Like you, our reviewers are all musicians, recording engineers, live sound technicians and/or otherwise deeply involved in the world of music and gear; usually with m

A tribute to a legend Humbucking pickups. We take them for granted now, but before they first started appearing in guitars in the mid to late 1950s, guitarists had no choice but to deal with the hum and noise issues that come along with single coil pickups. While there is some debate over who was first to release a humbucking guitar pickup commercially, there’s no doubt that the famous “P.A.F.” was one of, if not the first humbucking pickup widely available to the public. Designed by Seth Lover for Gibson (and it should be mentioned here that Harmony Central is a Gibson bran

Something new in vintage-style strings P.K. Pandey had a problem. As a recording engineer and A/V systems design/build engineer, he had spent over 25 years seeking impeccable tone, and while he never intended to become a string manufacturer, he couldn’t find strings on the market that reproduced the sound and feel of the vintage strings from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s that he remembered using in his youth. So he began a three year process of experimentation and development that led to the creation of just the right formula of quality materials and meticulous manufacturing processes

Yes, it actually uses a real tube… There are a lot of dirt pedals out there that attempt to emulate the sound of tubes that are being driven hard, and even some that use the word “tube” in their product names, but there really aren’t all that many overdrives and distortion pedals that use an actual tube in their circuitry. Sure, there are a few, but they’re rather rare. So when Fender first announced the MTG Tube Distortion pedal, I wondered if it was just another distortion pedal that emulated what a tube can bring to the table. However, it turns out that this pedal actual

Looks like a broadcast mic, but looks don’t always tell the whole story… When it comes to large diaphragm condenser microphones, the vast majority are side-address designs. In other words, you sing into the side of the head basket, and not into the “end” of it, like you would do with most dynamic and live performance mics. While there are a lot of end address condenser mics on the market, most end-address style condensers tend to be small diaphragm models, and larger mics with end address designs are most often dynamic mics. But that’s certainly not a hard and fast rule. In the cas

A powerful mixer for stage and studio that can grow with your needs PreSonus is a name that should by now be familiar to just about everyone who works in pro audio. Currently celebrating their 24th year in business, this Louisiana-based company has released a wide range of products over the last quarter century - everything from mic preamps and outboard processors to computer audio interfaces, nearfield monitors, and even their own Studio One DAW. While I’ve owned a few of their products over the years, the one thing I had limited previous experience with was their line of StudioLi

Little. Yellow. Different? Markbass focuses primarily on only one thing, and that is making products for bassists. From instruments to amps, effects to cabinets, they make just about anything a modern bassist might need - even cables and strings. One of their latest releases is the Italian-designed Markbass Little Mark Vintage bass amp head. Just the name raises a few questions. Is it a vintage-inspired amp? Is it little? It certainly looks cool. Let’s dig in and see if we can find the answers to those questions, and see what else it might have to offer.

Like a rainbow in the dark… It’s 1977 and a 15 year old Northern Irish guitarist walks into a shop in Belfast and asks if he can order a Gibson Les Paul from America. Instead of the gold Standard that he wanted, he’s surprised six months later when the dealer tells him a wine red Deluxe has arrived instead. Undaunted, he takes the guitar home. That night he dulls the finish with sandpaper (because he’s “never liked guitars that were too new and shiny”), and he soon has it refinished locally in a matte black color. The guitarist’s name is Vivian Campbell, who of course is now world

Sometimes smaller (and lighter) is better Digital pianos have made significant inroads in the keyboard world. They are popular for a number of reasons and with a variety of musicians, from novices who are just starting out on their musical journeys to seasoned touring professionals. And why wouldn’t they be? The better models can provide very credible simulations of not only an acoustic piano, but often other sounds too, and in a package that is lighter in weight and that doesn’t have the same maintenance and tuning requirements of an acoustic piano. They’re smaller too, and

Is this drum machine analog or digital? Yes! If you like drum machines, the past 40 years or so has been quite a roller coaster. At first there was practically nothing available in terms of programmable beat boxes, then the late 70s and early 80s saw several classic analog based drum machines released, followed quickly by the first PCM sample-based models. Expensive at first, prices quickly fell to where average musicians could afford them. Throughout the 80s and 90s drum machines were essential tools for everyone from musicians practicing at home to songwriters working on demos, t