Summer Gear Review By Keith Hatschek | August 2008
It’s time for our regular Summer gear round-up, and we’re going to take a look at what’s in demand in recording technology. This month, PSE checked in with two pro retailers, Tom Tague at Philadelphia’s iconic 8th Street Music store, and Geoffrey Clegg at Skip’s Music in Elk Grove, CA. We’ll profile some useful analog devices, some underappreciated studio mics, and get a quick update on the plethora of compact hand-held recorders that are some of the hottest items on the recording gear scene.
Tom Tague, 8th Street Music
If you’ve ever been to Philadelphia, you must have made it to 8th Street Music, where musicians in the City of Brotherly Love have shopped for more than forty years. Resident expert Tom Tague confirms that home and project studio engineers continue to want to mix it up with regard to the digital and analog worlds.
“The interest level in adding analog tools to the digital workstation world is very steady here at our store. Going out of the computer to into analog gear gives your recording a warmer sound. One of the pieces of gear that’s a popular choice of our customers is the Drawmer 1968 Mercenary edition stereo bus compressor. A lot of our clients who purchase it report back that they have a lot more life in their mixes after processing them with the Drawmer. It tracks whatever you run through it very accurately, which results in a transparent sound that has more presence in the final mix, even when you are compressing it heavily.”
The Drawmer 1968 Mercenary edition is a tube compressor that offers outstanding performance.
The Drawmer 1968 also has a switchable “BIG” mode that retains the low frequency oomph in your mixes by applying less processing to the low frequencies, resulting in a solid low end and smoother overall compression. The Drawmer 1968 Mercenary edition sells for $2,150.
Other units among Drawmer’s classic “Sixties” tube series of processors include the original Drawmer 1960 mic pre/tube compressor; the 1961 tube equalizer, and the 1969 Mercenary edition mic pre/tube compressor. The ’69 Mercenary is an updated version of the original 1960 that features a different sound and a number of enhancements, including a tube pre amp for saturation effects on the built-in DI, true stereo link operation, and Burr-Brown op-amps. The 1969 resulted from collaboration between Drawmer in the UK and Mercenary Audio in the US.
The ART Pro VLA II opto-compressor provides a cost-effective tube stage for mixes or individual tracks.
“Two other products that have been steady sellers,” continues Tom, “are the ART Pro VLA II optical compressor and Empirical Labs Fatso. With the VLA compressor, it’s hard to believe that for roughly $300, you can purchase a dual-tube opto-compressor that actually sounds good. People are continually surprised by the sonic performance of this unit, so I have no hesitation in recommending it, especially for studios that are just starting out in adding some analog outboard gear. A few of our clients have also taken the VLA series one step further by purchasing exotic tubes that have their own unique sonic characteristics to further enhance the performance of the VLA compressors.
The Fatso delivers realistic tape emulation along with other analog processing effects.
”The Fatso is an analog signal processing device that emulates the sound of analog tape saturation. Sales of this unit have really exploded, even though it requires more of an investment than the other pieces of gear we’ve been talking about. The big advantage the Fatso has over an actual tape recorder is that there is no alignment, no tape to purchase, and no hassle finding spare parts for an aging tape transport. You just patch it into your signal chain and get that fat saturated sound of tape.”
The Fatso has a street price of $2,250. In addition to its convincing tape emulation mode, the Fatso also offers Empirical Labs classic knee compressor, transformer and tape head emulation, and a soft clipping distortion generator.
“Ultimately, almost none of the albums you listen to were done entirely in a computer. Whether it’s in mixing or mastering, hit albums are processed by a whole range of analog outboard gear. That’s why you’ll find racks of outboard equipment in every top studio, much of that gear has a signature sound all its own.”
JBL's LSR 4328P delivers a new level of control for your mixing environment.
The next piece of gear that Tom has been recommending enthusiastically is JBL’s LSR series of studio monitors. “I have a pair at my home studio, and for a moderate-priced monitor they perform spectacularly. The LSRs allow you to do a real-time analysis (RTA) of your room by utilizing the software and test microphone that come with the monitors. The software generates pink noise tone bursts that your computer analyzes. Based on the measured room response curve, you can adjust the frequency response curve of your monitor system to adjust for any room nulls or peaks. This is especially important if you are recording or mixing in a room that wasn’t designed to be a studio.”
The LSR 4328P Pak comes with a pair of monitors, measurement microphone, remote control to adjust speaker parameters, JBL Control Center software and USB cable. The 4328s offer an 8” woofer and 1” tweeter, biamped with a total of 220 watts of power. Street price for the LSR 4328P Pak is $1,299. The LSR 4326P is a slightly smaller version with similar specs, but a 6.25” woofer that streets for $999. Both systems offer front panel output level metering for each speaker that also provides level control, individual speaker solo function, input source selection, and high and low frequency EQ settings on the speaker’s front panel or via the remote control.
Tom's latest studio addition: the Poly-Evolver hybrid synthesizer.
In closing, we asked Tom what his own most recent purchase had been. “I’m a synthesizer guy, so I just added a Dave Smith Poly-Evolver synthesizer to my studio. It’s a digital/analog hybrid with four oscillators that has one of the best step sequencers available anywhere.” (Editor’s Note: Dave Smith was the founder of legendary synthesizer company Sequential Circuits that designed and built the first microprocessor-based synthesizers in the 1970s.)
Geoffrey Clegg, Skip’s Music
Heading across three time zones to Elk Grove, CA, a suburb of Sacramento, Geoffrey Clegg finished up a sale then took a few minutes to update readers on some of the latest gear that he has been recommending at his store.
“Probably the hottest thing right now is the stunning array of hand-held recording devices that are flooding the market. Zoom started things out a few years ago, but the combination of demand for these products and the price of storage spiraling lower and lower has led to just about every major company having a hand-held recording product. Roland, Yamaha, Korg, TASCAM, Zoom, and others all now have pocket recorders on the market.
(Left) TASCAM's DR-1 packs a lot of performance into a pocket-sized package. (Right) If you are looking for audiophile 1-bit pocket recording, the Korg MR-1 will nicely fill your needs.
At the lower end, I like the TASCAM DR-1, which sells for $299. It’s a fine stereo digital recorder but also has a built in tuner and allows for overdubbing for songwriting and demos. It comes with a 1GB SD card right out of the box and uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery that is also provided. Looking at the higher end of the price spectrum – but delivering the most jaw-dropping performance I’ve heard so far from a portable pocket recorder – is the Korg MR-1. It’s based around the 1-bit recording technology developed for Sony’s SACD format and that has been the heart their Sonoma Recording system. To my ear, the 1-bit system captures greater amplitude and detail, that’s why it’s used for so many orchestral recordings.”
The MR-1 designers took a different approach from the DR-1. Instead of compact flash storage, they have integrated a 20 GB hard drive that allows for up six hours of stereo recording at the highest resolution available on the MR-1 (1-bit 2.8224 MHz stereo), or approximately thirty hours at CD quality (16-bit 44.1 kHz). If you opt to record using the unit’s 1-bit technology, you will need to use Korg’s Audio Ease software which is included with the recorder to edit your files. Audio Ease allows you to convert your 1-bit recordings to WAV or AIFF film formats at a variety of bit rates. It also offers real-time conversion and playback of 1-bit files using your computer. Rather than the integrated stereo mic on most of the other units in the pack, the MR-1 features a removable stereo condenser mic, allowing the mic to be placed a short distance away from the recorder. The MR-1 sells for $699.
(Left) Rode's SVM stereo mic delivers high fidelity audio for any video shoot. (Right) AKG's C5 is a dual-purpose mic that is at home on the stage, but performs well in the studio as well, especially for vocalists with power and range.
When asked about which mics have been selling consistency, Geoffrey cited Shure’s Beta series as being consistently popular, reliable, and in his opinion, “well worth the extra money they cost beyond the standard Shure line.” He also stated that he loves the Rode mics, and has been recommending their stereo microphone designed to go on a video camera, the SVM ($249).
Finally, Geoffrey mentioned the AKG C5 and D5 as two more “unsung heroes in the reasonably priced microphone category. They are designed for live performance but sound so good, many of my customers also use them for recording vocals.” The C5 is a condenser mic that sells for $229 and has been specially designed to optimize response for singers using in-ear monitoring systems. The D5 is the dynamic version of the mic, which offers a different capsule and slightly different response. In checking online reviews of both mics, vocalists raved about the clarity these two AKG mics delivered. “I especially like them for a vocalist who has a really large range, as they sound smooth and even all the way up and down the scale,” concludes Geoffrey.
So as you shop around this summer for new gear, keep an eye and ear out for these products and have a great summer recording your music!
