Studio Equipment Recommendations November 2014

Review: Excellent choices for mobile musicians, sound designers, and podcasters, the USB 2.0 bus-powered AudioBox iOne and iTwo provide high-quality audio I/O for Mac, PC, and Apple iPad. These compact, ruggedly built interfaces offer high-performance Class A mic preamplifiers, record 24-bit audio at up to 96 kHz, and include powerful, easy-to-use Studio Oner Artist DAW for Mac and Windows and Capture Duo recording software for iPad.

PreSonus is famous for its tightly integrated hardware/software solutions, and the AudioBox i series is no exception. Of course you get Studio One Artist. But we didn't stop there!

PreSonus' award-winning analog signal processors and microphone preamps have long been popular among top professionals and home enthusiasts alike. So when you see the name PreSonus, you expect top audio quality - and the AudioBox i series delivers.

AudioBox iOne and iTwo are mobile interfaces in the best sense of the term. They can sit on a tabletop or fit in the pocket of a backpack or laptop bag and are powered by the USB bus, so you don't have to mess with a "wall wart" power supply or AC cord. And they're built to withstand the rigors of travel.

The AudioBox i series consists of two great 24-bit, 96 kHz mobile-recording solutions: the compact AudioBox iTwo and subcompact AudioBox iOne.

Review: Gorgeous analogue goodness in this all-rounder, featuring overdrive, filter, envelope, LFO and a nice retro spring reverb among others processing options. Tons of character.

Supplier's notes:
Today's digital effects and plug-ins can create almost perfect room simulations. However, when it comes to characteristic and charismatic reverb, analogue effect-processors are yet to beat. The reverberating sound of a spring is so lively and unique that its sound is almost impossible to recreate in the digital domain. In addition to this, Retroverb Lancet is not just a spring reverberation system - it is an analogue multi-effects-processor. It offers overdrive, filtering, VCA, envelope and LFO to manipulate the spring sound and create different sounds like auto-wah, tremolo, distortion, delay, gater and of course reverb.

The typical spring reverb sound is generated by a Belton/Accutronics type 4 spring tank with 3 individual springs. It can be placed pre or post the VCF/VCA section and equalized by the Tone parameter.

The Crash function generates the popular thunder effect that occurs when kicking an amplifier with spring tank. You don't have to kick Retroverb Lancet you simply can achieve this effect by pressing the Crash button. It also can be triggered by a Gate voltage.

The multimode filter works as lowpass or highpass with a slope of 24 dB per octave or as bandpass with 12 dB per octave. It is followed by a voltage controlled amplifier. The filter and amplifier can be modulated individually by different sources.

The Retroverb Lancet offers 3 internal modulationGorgeous analogue goodness
in this all-rounder, featuring overdrive, filter, envelope, LFO and a nice retro spring reverb among others processing options. Tons of character. sources:

Envelope follower: the envelope follower converts the amplitude characteristic of the audio input signal into a control voltage.
Envelope generator: the envelope generator can be triggered by the input signal itself, a second audio signal or a gate voltage. Depending on the trigger source it works as Attack-Decay or as Attack-Sustain-Release envelope.
LFO: the LFO offers saw up and saw down, square, sine as well as sample&hold. Additionally it can use the envelope generators settings as waveform. It can oscillate freely or reset by different trigger sources.

The Retroverb Lancet also offers a CV/Pedal input which can be feed by external control voltages or can be used with expression pedals.

Review: Classic closed-back headphones in a low-impedance version designed to play nicely with outputs on phones, laptops and interfaces. One of the best all-round options for production.

Supplier's notes:
The Beyerdynamic DT 770 Headphones 80 Ohm are closed back dynamic headphones that use the same comfortable, sound isolating design as the 250 Ohm studio version, but with a lower resistance for general purpose and mobile applications. Because of the lower resistance, the DT 770 Pro 80 Ohm headphones are louder and work on low power devices such as smart phones, MP3 player, laptops and bus powered interfaces. Therefore, if you are working in a loud environment or using a battery operated device, the Beyerdynamic DT 770Pro 80 Ohm headphones make the perfect choice of headphone.

When out and about, you really need to block as much ambient noise out as possible and a lot of headphones do this by clamping the ear-pads as tightly to your ears as possible and using materials that absorb a lot of sound. This produces two unwanted issues; discomfort, after prolonged use; and a loss of audio quality as sound being generated by the driver is absorbed by the cup. The DT 700 Pro series avoids this by using a clever bass reflex system and a large circumaural cup design with velour pads. Of course the real technology is in the transducer itself, which produces a nominal frequency response of 5Hz to 35kHz and a nominal SPL of 96dB, an exceptional performance.

Review: The P220 is a large-diaphragm true condenser microphone offering a warm and clear sound for lead vocals, acoustic guitar and brass instruments. A switchable bass-cut filter and attenuation pad make it perfectly suited for use on loud sound sources with sound pressure levels up to 155dB SPL. The rugged and roadworthy design also makes the P220 a perfect choice for on-stage applications.

The P220 represents the most popular and successful microphone within the actual Project Studio Line. It comes complete with a spider-type shock mount in an aluminum carrying case.

Review: The RODE Blimp is a complete windshield and shock mounting accessory for the NTG1, NTG2 and NTG3 microphones, as well as any third party shotgun microphone up to 325mm (12 3/4") in length. Now featuring the Rycote Lyre suspension system, the Blimp provides the ultimate in microphone suspension and isolation. Constructed from a single piece of hard-wearing thermoplastic, the Lyre provides superior acoustic suspension to traditional elastic solutions, and will never wear out, sag or snap.

The Blimp's handle has also been completely redesigned, reducing the product weight significantly, while increasing the ergonomics for handheld use. Housed inside the grip is a heavy-duty Mogami cable which splits via a junction box to a highly-flexible thin cable inside the Blimp, to minimise the transference of vibration to the microphone. With the lightweight design of the handle and suspension system the new Blimp design is over 25% lighter (550gm without microphone or DeadWombat fitted). The Blimp attaches to any standard boompole via 3/8" thread attachment at the base.

The Universal Blimp Mount is available as an option to remove the handle when the Blimp is being used primarily on a boompole to reduce weight. The Dead Wombat windshield, caring brush and tail/patch cable are included. The added confidence of a full ten year warranty* ensures that the Blimp is by far the best microphone windshield system available, further evidenced by a 2009 Red Dot Award and Australian International Design Award for outstanding product design. *Excludes normal wear and tear of Dead Wombat furry cover or any misuse, modification or improper storage and transportation of the product.