Posts by Lyubomir Dobrev

AEA R84A: A super-charged ribbon mic for the modern era?

Touted as an active (phantom-powered) version of AEA's R84 ribbon mic, the R84A sounds very much the same, but with plenty more output, a 12dB increase in sensitivity, and a newfound immunity to ...

Quantakor plug-in: Mean AI-generated soundscapes and alien drones

Need a collection of moody sounds for your production? Eplex7 has come up with Quantakor, a soundscapes and FX instrument based on artificial intelligence algorithms. It packs scifi, kybernetic, experimental ...

Can this trio of plug-ins handle all your chord, melody, and bassline duties?

Developer Mixed In Key unveiled an interesting trio of plug-ins designed to help with all things songwriting - sans lyrics writing. These are the Captain Chords, Captain Melody, and Captain Deep.

NAMM 2018: Harman Professional intros AKG C636 rugged handheld condenser

the microphone builds on top of the C535's sound quality with improved reliability and performance. With a custom-tune capsule, the C636 is made to capture a vocal performance in all its nuances.

Audec rolls out three awesome free Mac plug-ins: Crush, Vibrato, and Ring

For fans of free stuff - developer Audec released a trio of free plug-ins for Mac computers. These are the adc-Crush, adc-Ring, and adc-Vibrato. The plug-ins are very straightforward, yet fairly functional.

NAMM 2018: the Samson XP108w looks like another great portable PA!

Samson's Expedition XP108w is a rechargeable, portable PA that comes with a handheld wireless mic and Bluetooth connectivity. The XP108w comes off as a powerful portable PA indeed!

NAMM 2018: ToneBoosters Equalizer 4 is the most affordable AI powered smart EQ out there

At NAMM 2018, plug-in developer ToneBoosters unveiled TB Equalizer 4 - a very interesting equalizer backed with spectral side-chain compression, machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms.

NAMM 2018: AEA TRP2 may be the ultimate ribbon mic preamp

AEA introduced the TRP2 preamp - a follow-up to the original TRP, which was likely the first preamp designed exclusively for ribbon microphones. It all starts with a hign-gain, high input impedance design.

sE unveils sharp-dressed Billy F. Gibbons signature dynamic microphone

At NAMM 2018, Chinese mic powerhouse sE Electronics presented what has to be the most sharp-dressed microphone ever - the Billy Gibbons Signature Edition V7 BFG Dynamic Microphone.

NAMM 2018: can ELK become the Android of musical instruments?

Hailing from Sweden, MIND Music Labs introduced a Linux-based operating system - a MOS (Music Operating System) designed for low-latency audio, running on pretty much everything with a chip in it.

NAMM 2018: HEDD Audio touts powerful Tower Mains monitors

German manufacturer HEDD Audio announced a new full-range monitoring system - the HEDD Tower Mains. They are designed to be cost-effective and compatible with "every possible studio environment.

NAMM 2018: Daking Mic Pre 2 brings console-grade analog sound down to 1099 USD

Created by drummer, audio engineer, and electrician Geoff Daking, the preamp basically combines a pair of standalone Mic Pre One units in 1U rackmount form. The circuitry is based on a classic console design ...

ART readies $150 dual compressor & limiter with PWM gain control

Somewhat under the radar, maker of sturdy and affordable studio gear ART is unveiling Dual Limiter - a two-channel 1U rackmount limiter that's priced a measly 149 USD. This doesn't mean ART...

Former Soundcraft guys create Cranborne Audio, introduce boutique-level $350 preamp

UK-based startup Cranborne Audio — founded by former Soundcraft personnel – debuted three pro audio products. These are the 500R8 500-series rack, the 500ADAT expansion unit, and Camden 500 mic preamp...

NAMM 2018: LaChapell Audio touts boutique preamp and channel strip at garage shop prices

Boutique preamp maker LaChapell Audio (a Digital Audio Labs brand) announced a pair of new products - the 500DT Audio Dual Topology Preamp and 500CS Audio Channel Strip. They are designed with the idea of...

NAMM 2018: Wavesfactory announces Spectre multi-band enhancer

Plug-in maker Wavesfactory announced Spectre, a rather striking multi-band enhancer for Windows and Mac. The tool combines a boosting parametric equalizer and multi-band enhancer, saturating the signal...

NAMM 2018: Soundtheory’s Gullfoss automated intelligent EQ promises quick fixes for big problems

Up-and-comer Soundtheory debuted its first creation - the Gullfoss intelligent automatic equalizer. The plug-in uses proprietary computational auditory perception technology to detect and resolve problems...

Acustica Audio Ruby plug-in replicates D.W. Fearn’s VT-5 tube EQ

Ruby is supposed to faithfully replicate the VT-5 vacuum-tube equalizer made by recording engineer and audio designer D.W. Fearn. Acustica Audio boasts that its own hardware sampling tech was...

NAMM 2018: Bose intros T8S and T4S digital mixing desks with full ToneMatch tech

Whereas Bose's T1 digital desk had a mere 3 mic preamps and a stereo input, the T8S features a complete 8 mic pres section with an additional 2 line inputs and 2 USB connectors for media playback...

NAMM 2018: Sontronics re-envisions its Apollo, Delta, and Sigma ribbon mics

At NAMM 2018, British mic maker Sontronics announced revisions of its finely aged ribbon microphones - the Apollo, Delta, and Sigma. All three models have been completely revised, rebuilt, and improved...

NAMM 2018: fill an empty spot in your 500-series rack with the API 529 Stereo Compressor

At NAMM 2018, pro audio authority API announced the new 529 Stereo Compressor. Available in 500-series module format, the 529 is based on API's famous 2500 stereo compressor...

NAMM 2018: Bose S1 Pro portable PA packs awesome tech and portability for $599

At NAMM 2018, American audio specialists Bose unveiled the S1 portable PA system. It's a very promising product that comes across as feature-packed and reasonably-priced. Priced $599, the Bose S1 will be...

NAMM 2018: Retro Revolver is a vari-mu compressor for the modern age

Retro Revolver - is a hardware dual compressor with a very interesting set of functionality and features. The machine started out as an experimental project way back in 2011, when a few prototype units...

Audified and DW Drums present DW Drum Enhancer, a shortcut to fine drum sounds

DW Drum Enhancer is designed to effectively streamline and simplify the typical drum processing chain by automatically applying appropriate settings for its in-built EQ, compression, and gate modules...