Gareth started making music in 1993, and has recorded and performed with local Chicago acts Doseagles, Tales of Gesignia, and Spooky Koala the Black Holy Ghost. Currently, he does video production and occasionally plays drums while wearing an alien suit as a member of Texas-based space-western art collective Space Is Dirty. At zZounds, Gareth manages the Recording and Computer Audio categories, and writes product reviews on the zZounds Blog. Favorite instruments and tools include Apple Logic Pro, Korg Monotron, and the harmonica.
Build Your Studio Around the Focusrite ISA One
A high-quality preamp gives you a lot more than clean, low-noise gain. A preamp is the window through which your recorded audio passes, and the preamp you decide to use will impart its character to everything you record with it. If you think about your mix like a building, then you can see why having […]
Get Back to Gigging with the Bose L1 Pro32
Dialed in for pure performance, Bose L1 Pro portable line array systems advance a PA category invented by Bose into a new era of on-the-go audio for singer-songwriters, mobile DJs, and bands. Three models offer legendary 180-degree horizontal coverage, unmatched clarity and tonal balance, plus extended bass response with a unique RaceTrack woofer design. In […]
Black Lion Audio “Bluey” FET Compressor Demo
Grammy-winning engineer Chris Lord-Alge is known for crafting mixes that translate well on small speakers and FM radio. Dynamic range compression is arguably the most important tool in CLA’s sonic toolbox. And for vocal tracks, his go-to hardware compressor is his modified Blue Stripe 1176 — a one-of-a-kind customized version of Bill Putnam’s original 1968 […]
Kali Audio WS-12: The Sub for Live or Studio Use
You can’t mix the low end if you can’t hear it — so why do so many home studio owners go without a subwoofer? A decent sub is a good investment for anyone who’s serious about mixing audio for music, video projects, or films. These days even portable speakers put out an impressive amount of […]
Monophonic vs. Polyphonic vs. Paraphonic Synths
Monophonic, polyphonic, paraphonic, what do these confusing and occasionally overlapping terms really mean? There’s no need to be scared of all the jargon — we’re here to give you the lowdown on all that noise! The components inside synthesizers that generate sound are called oscillators. Synths assign oscillators to different notes depending on what keys […]
Mix Tips: Cleaning Up the High End
As you may know, the bass frequency area in a mix should be like an exclusive club — only authorized instruments and sounds are allowed in. The reason for this is two-fold: it gives you more headroom to work with in your mix (alleviating some of the pressure from your 2-bus compressor and limiter), and […]
Mix Tips: Using Slower Attack Times for Compression
Do you like to mix songs to sound huge, loud, and attention-grabbing, even if you have to distort and compress the hell out of them? Well I do. Dynamic range purists and audiophiles, feel free to stop reading here. You’re already using your compressors gently and sparingly, like a French chef uses seasoning. Well done. […]
Bustin’ Out the Korg Volca Keys
The Volca Keys was one of the first synths released in Korg’s Volca series in 2013, and it’s also one of the most versatile. The Volca series offers a few options for monophonic sounds and drums/rhythm, but the Volca Keys is the only polyphonic, analog synth in the lineup (at the time of this writing). […]
Exploring the Korg volca modular
It’s a “West Coast style” modular synthesizer! It has 50 patch points! It’s… perhaps a little intimidating at first glance. The Korg volca modular is a “micro modular synthesizer.” This means that it’s made up of individual modules: the sections of a synthesizer that perform different functions, such as selecting the sound source, adjusting the […]
