Studio Reviews

REVIEWS

Phoenix Audio (UK) DRS-2 Mic Preamp/DI
Smart, original design in a two-channel Class A unit

Hailing from the UK is a new Class A dual microphone preamplifier and DI. I've seen this unit mentioned on many recording newsgroups, often being confused with the crop of Neve emulators now on the market. For the record, the DRS-2 is designed from the ground up and is a completely original concept.

Speck Electronics 5.0 Mic Pre
Feature-laden microphone preamplifier/mix node

The MicPre 5.0 is an original design and packs a lot of features into a compact half-rack space and can be rackmounted and combined with the Model ASC 4-band equalizer for a powerful and versatile channel strip.

DACS Clarity MicAmp
Two-channel discrete microphone
preamplifier excels into the hyperreal

I recently ran across the DACS Clarity MicAmp, and in doing so have found a gem. Rather than waiting to the end of this review, I want to state here that the Clarity is hands down one of the best and most unique mic pres on the market today.

A Designs Audio MP-1 Tube Mic Pre/DI
A welcome addition to the ranks of top-quality mic pres in the $1,000 range

There's been lots of discussion of tubes and using them to warm the signal path, but if you didn't have a thick wallet, a true tube microphone preamplifier was probably out of reach. Getting into tubes for under $1,000 has meant hybrid-tube designs or even units that claim to have tubes, while in reality the tube had little or nothing to do with the sound of the unit and more to do with marketing.

Great River Electronics ME-1NV
Microphone Preamplifier and DI

The recording-studio market is abundant with many mic-pre offerings under $1,000 that claim to "run with the big boys." And while some of the claims may be true, what if one of the real "big boys" made a microphone preamplifier available at a street price near $1,000. Welcome to the Great River Electronics ME-1NV.

A Designs Audio ATTY Level Controller
Noiseless audio level controller has numerous applications

When I heard about the ATTY, the first thing I thought was this would be the perfect box to act as a volume control for active monitors. Now that I've had the ATTY for my own use, I've come up with other applications.

REVIEWS 2

BLUE Blueberry Microphone
Airy top end cuts through the mix

BLUE stands for Baltic Latvian Universal Electronics. Although BLUE is an American company in California, it has its own facility in Latvia, a Baltic state next to Russia. Unlike a lot of companies, BLUE designs and manufactures all its capsules and all the precision parts. You won't find any integrated circuits in their products — they are all solid state and tube microphone amplifiers based on a Class A, fully-discrete circuit with a custom transformer. BLUE builds and tunes each capsule by hand.

Safe Sound P1 Audio Processor
Mid-range preamp, compressor/limiter and expander

Safe Sound Audio P1, which retails for $699 in the US. The finish is adequate, rather than luxurious, and it won't be winning any design awards. In the same way I think the FMR stuff kind of looks like hospital apparatus, the P1 reminds me of some sort of ham radio equipment.

Langevin Dual Vocal Combo
Solid state mic pres with limiting and EQ

In 1992, Manley Labs bought the rights to Langevin name and designs and now uses the name Langevin on all of its solid-state products. Manley-branded units are all-tube, while the Langevin-branded products have all-discrete make up gain amplifiers. Manley says the EQ or limiting and metering sections in both lines are the same.

Line 6 AM4 Amp Modeler
A lot in a little box

This thing is built like a tank. The shell feels like it is thick aluminum. It's got a fairly beefy paint job on it, but I imagine that it could chip with road use. Personally, I think a little chipping would give it some "real" personality... like a scar on the face, or a three-day-old beard.

Studio Projects B1
Inexpensive but impressive mic

Here I am again, singing the praises of two other Studio Projects microphones. It's almost old news now that Studio Projects is on the leading edge of designing and manufacturing inexpensive mics which manage to compete favorably in most blindfold tests, even when sitting next to mics with more prestigious logos and the price tags to match.

REVIEWS 3

Waves IR-1 Convolution Reverb
Powerful controls and flexibilty

Most reverbs in hardware units or plug-ins, are a synthesis approximation of what halls, plates, and rooms are. However only the high end units can come close to sounding like real acoustic rooms. With convolution reverb though, we are able to get realistic reverb at a very low price.

Summing Box Shootout
Beefing up and tricking out the back end

This is not about analog vs digital summing. It reflects only my personal opinion on mixing. In the best case my impressions may help one or another with their personal search but are never a substitute for your own tests. In my philosophy the search for the right tools on our path always has been something mystical.

MXL V69 Mogami Edition
Tube microphone with vintage sound

The Marshall Electronics MXL V69 Mogami Edition tube microphone is an improved edition of the MXL V69, and features Mogami cabling throughout, from the inner wiring as well as all cables included with the kit. I've had a chance to use the MXL V69ME over several months and pass it around to some engineers, and this mic has risen above the pack of low-cost large-diaphragm tube mics currently available on the market.