Review

Reviews

By George Shilling and Russell Cottier

Sonnox Oxford Drum Gate Gate plugin
Apr 27 2020 Gate plugin
Sonnox Oxford Drum Gate

Engineers have been gating drums since the Kepex was introduced by Allison Research in 1970, and apart from the 1982 Drawmer DS201 adding useful key filters, not much new has happened in the world of noise gating, apart from the ‘look ahead’ function afforded by...

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Thermionic Culture The Snow Petrel Two channel valve mic pre-amp
Oct 4 2019 Two channel valve mic pre-amp
Thermionic Culture The Snow Petrel

Thermionic Culture have long developed products which include a valve-based microphone preamplifier section, like the Rooster, and dedicated mic preamps like the Earlybird.

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Thermionic Culture The Kite Stereo valve equaliser
Oct 12 2018 Stereo valve equaliser
Thermionic Culture The Kite

Thermionic Culture’s enormous (and expensive) Fat Bustard summing unit includes a smooth-sounding EQ specially geared to mix buss usage. Perhaps inevitably, founder and designer Vic Keary received requests for a unit that include the EQ and Attitude sections, but not the summing.

EQ
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McDSP ML8000 Limiter plugin with multi-band option
Feb 28 2018 Limiter plugin with multi-band option
McDSP ML8000

Silicon Valley plug-in boffins McDSP cite ML8000 as the next generation in advanced limiting technology. The ML8000 plug-in features two discrete processors. The first being multistage, multi-band lookahead peak detection and limiting, followed by a broadband master limiter with some rather flexible controls.

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Toneforge Guilty Pleasure by Joey Sturgis Guitar amp simulator plugin
Dec 28 2017 Guitar amp simulator plugin
Toneforge Guilty Pleasure by Joey Sturgis

Joey Sturgis is an American record producer with a studio in Indiana and a reputation as a leading expert working in the metalcore scene.

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Empirical Labs Arouser Compressor plugin
Jun 16 2017 Compressor plugin
Empirical Labs Arouser

Dave Derr introduced his first hardware unit the Distressor in the mid-1990s and scored remarkable success with what was perceived to be a modern advance on classic knee compressor designs like the 1176 and LA-2A.

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PreSonus Quantum Thunderbolt audio interface
Jan 21 2017 Thunderbolt audio interface
PreSonus Quantum

The new 26x32 channel Quantum is PreSonus’ fastest interface yet. Whilst it works with any DAW the design and integration aims to make usage ideal for Studio One users.

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McDSP AE600 Active EQ plugin
Feb 28 2016 Active EQ plugin
McDSP AE600

The AE600 is the latest in the line of active EQs from this Silicon Valley based plug-in company. Offering six bands of both active and fixed EQ this is more than just your average plug-in.

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Antelope Audio Satori Monitor controller with talkback and four headphone amplifiers
Jan 12 2015 Monitor controller with talkback and four headphone amplifiers
Antelope Audio Satori

You may know the work of Igor Levin from his Aardvark convertors that created a buzz in the early days of computer-based recording. His Antelope Audio company has likewise become known for its attention to minimising clock jitter with ‘atomic clock type’ technology.

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Tim de Paravicini and his 1-inch stereo recorder
Dec 23 2013
Tim de Paravicini and his 1-inch stereo recorder

In the music industry, there are two types of people: those who cannot wait for every new software update and aspire to own every piece cutting edge technology, and those who prefer the tried and trusted, only accepting 'new' when it has really proved itself...

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Audient Zen Analogue recording console
Dec 23 2012 Analogue recording console
Audient Zen

It’s not often you get the chance to review equipment that is named after the editor of the magazine, so the email with the subject “Zen for review” initially led me to some mistaken assumptions.

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AnaMod AM670 Stereo Limiter
Dec 23 2012 Stereo Limiter
AnaMod AM670

So, here we go again with yet another Fairchild 670 recreation. Only, hold on, this one really doesn’t feel quite right. Yes, they’ve made a good stab at the front panel, but this thing is almost as light as a feather.

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AnaMod ATS-1 Two channel analogue tape simulator
Dec 23 2012 Two channel analogue tape simulator
AnaMod ATS-1

AnaMod was founded in 2006 by two industry veterans, Dave Amels (formerly of Bomb Factory, Voce and others) and Greg Gualtieri who is currently president of Pendulum Audio. The company has a unique ethos, with a fascinating approach to design.

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API 1608 16 channel recording console
Dec 23 2012 16 channel recording console
API 1608

The 1608 is a small format recording console based on the 1604 which API produced in the 1970s and early 1980s. Although I have never encountered one in the UK, examples in the USA are still cherished and lovingly restored.

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Cartec EQP-1A Mono valve equalizer
Dec 23 2012 Mono valve equalizer
Cartec EQP-1A

Surely the audio industry’s most copied product, in hardware and latterly in software, is the Pultec EQP-1A Program Equalizer.

EQ
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CharterOak SCL-1 Stereo compressor
Dec 23 2012 Stereo compressor
CharterOak SCL-1

CharterOak have been making boutique microphones since 2002. Endearingly, rather than boosting his ego, founder Michael Deming, (an engineer and producer of some note), named the company after a local Connecticut landmark.

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