Review

Reviews

By George Shilling and Russell Cottier

Antelope Audio Orion 32+ Gen 3 Thunderbolt and USB audio interface
Apr 20 2023 Thunderbolt and USB audio interface
Antelope Audio Orion 32+ Gen 3

Housed in a sleek 1U rack-mount, the Orion 32+ Gen 3 from Antelope Audio offers an amazing 64 simultaneous audio inputs and outputs. 32 analogue I/O is on the rear panel, with the remaining connectivity via various digital connections.

Read Russell Cottier's review

Focusrite Red 8Pre Thunderbolt audio interface with Dante & Mini-DigiLink
Apr 2 2023 Thunderbolt audio interface with Dante & Mini-DigiLink
Focusrite Red 8Pre

Focusrite has long been in both the preamp and convertor games, the Red 8Pre combines the two.

Read Russell Cottier's review

LiquidSonics Seventh Heaven Professional Convolution plugin Reverb
Mar 19 2023 Convolution plugin Reverb
LiquidSonics Seventh Heaven Professional

Seventh Heaven is a high-end reverb plug-in from LiquidSonics. LiquidSonics has been bringing advanced reverb plug-
ins to the market for the best
 part of a decade. Based on
 Fusion-IR technology these 
are more than just convolution
 reverbs.

Read Russell Cottier's review

Vertigo Sound VSC-3 Discrete VCA compressor
Mar 1 2023 Discrete VCA compressor
Vertigo Sound VSC-3

German based Vertigo Sound has been a name in high-end audio gear since 2007, launching with the VSC-2.

Read Russell Cottier's review

Miktek MPA-201 Dual-channel microphone pre-amplifier
Feb 21 2023 Dual-channel microphone pre-amplifier
Miktek MPA-201

The Miktek MPA-201 is a dual-channel Class-A microphone preamplifier providing a certain amount of character from its multiple transformer stages.

Read Russell Cottier's review

Roger Mayer 456 Microphone Pre-Amplifier Four pre-amps with tape simulation
Feb 13 2023 Four pre-amps with tape simulation
Roger Mayer 456 Microphone Pre-Amplifier

1964 he started building effect pedals for Jimmy Page. Mayer also designed and built pedals used by Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and session guitar legend Big Jim Sullivan.

Read Russell Cottier's review

Newfangled Audio Elevate & EQuivocate Multiband limiter and EQ plugins
Feb 4 2023 Multiband limiter and EQ plugins
Newfangled Audio Elevate & EQuivocate

Eventide partnered with Newfangled Audio (founded by former Eventide DSP developer Dan Gillespie) in 2017 to launch the Elevate multiband artificial intelligence driven limiter.

Read Russell Cottier's review

Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 Sampled drums virtual instrument
Jan 12 2023 Sampled drums virtual instrument
Toontrack Superior Drummer 3

Toontrack has a solid reputation in the software instrument world primarily for its flagship product, Superior Drummer. Back in May Toontrack flew journalists from across the world to Galaxy Studios, Belgium.

Read Russell Cottier's review

AMS Neve 1073 OPX Eight remote controllable mic pre-amps
Dec 24 2022 Eight remote controllable mic pre-amps
AMS Neve 1073 OPX

AMS Neve have recycled the 1073 mic preamp countless times, and adding digital connectivity is not new for Neve.

Read George Shilling's review

Vacuvox U23m Valve based vari-mu compressor limiter
Nov 8 2022 Valve based vari-mu compressor limiter
Vacuvox U23m

The first audio compressor was the Telefunken U3, used at the 1936 Olympics, and in the 1940s came the U13. Then, Rohde & Schwarz developed the third generation U23 in 1953.

Read George Shilling's review

Leapwing Al Schmitt Signature sound plugin
Jun 26 2021 Signature sound plugin
Leapwing Al Schmitt

Leapwing have scored themselves something of a coup by bagging Al Schmitt’s talents and working with him to make something useful for mixing and mastering engineers.

Read George Shilling's review

Scope Labs Periscope Condenser microphone with built-in compressor
May 31 2021 Condenser microphone with built-in compressor
Scope Labs Periscope

There have been quite a few ‘character’ microphones that provide a non-linear response, e.g. the Bastard BM88. It’s cheap fun for a bit of lo-fi telephoney character if you are going for a wax cylinder sort of sound.

Read George Shilling's review

Warm Audio Bus-Comp Stereo VCA compressor
Aug 23 2020 Stereo VCA compressor
Warm Audio Bus-Comp

Since 2011 Warm Audio of Austin, TX have built up quite a range of studio outboard based on classic designs, marketed at bargain prices. The Bus-Comp is no exception.

Read George Shilling's review

Bettermaker EQ232D Equalizer plugin from Plugin Alliance
Jul 25 2020 Equalizer plugin from Plugin Alliance
Bettermaker EQ232D

Many Bettermaker outboard processors have passed through my studio including the knob-less (but still very physical) version of the hardware EQ232P, with its excellent sonics and clever expansion on the Pultec theme.

Read George Shilling's review

Tone Projects Unisum Mastering Compressor Multiband compressor plugin
Jul 18 2020 Multiband compressor plugin
Tone Projects Unisum Mastering Compressor

Rune Lund-Hermansen is the brains behind Tone Projects – clearly a man of many talents, as for nearly 7 years he was Lead Product Designer for every wine drinker’s favourite phone app, Vivino.

Read George Shilling's review

Bettermaker Bus Compressor Stereo VCA compressor with digital recall
Jul 6 2020 Stereo VCA compressor with digital recall
Bettermaker Bus Compressor

Bettermaker’s new Bus Compressor treads a now familiar path for the Polish hardware manufacturer. They have built a reputation for digitally controlled, recallable, high quality analogue hardware since the EQ230P Pultec-style EQ.

Read George Shilling's review