Former audio engineer, current editor-in-chief of zZounds.com. When I’m not geeking out about recording gear and enforcing proper punctuation, I can be found playing the keytar. It’s a serious instrument, you know.
What does AKG stand for? What does JBL stand for? If you’re familiar with pro audio and recording gear brands, you’ll recognize many names that just go by their initials. But what do those initials and acronyms stand for? Read on for the stories behind those letters you’ve seen a million times on your audio […]
Manley Laboratories is the name behind such venerable tube-based studio gear as the Massive Passive EQ, VOXBOX channel strip, Manley Reference Cardioid microphone, and much more. Check out our photo gallery, and take a look inside the Manley Labs factory in Chino, California!
“Guitar-slinging superhero.” That’s how the venerable Nashville venue Acme Feed & Seed describes singer-songwriter Paul Childers – although you wouldn’t guess it from listening to Childers’ self-released 2017 debut, Naked Poetry. Stacked with soulful R&B influences and horn-fueled arrangements, the album serves its hot guitar licks — like the solo on “My Love of The […]
Ready to set up a home studio and start recording your music? A digital audio interface is a good place to begin building your rig. If you’ve already got a computer, one of these boxes will let you connect instruments and microphones via a USB port, and start capturing audio and MIDI into recording software […]
Congratulations — you’ve just added a studio monitor subwoofer to your home recording rig! But where should you place your new sub? And what does the “Phase” switch do? This guide will help you find the right spot for your studio subwoofer, and phase-align it to your main stereo studio monitors. Why Sub Placement Matters […]
If you use wireless microphones or wireless personal monitor systems in the United States, you should be aware of the 600 MHz wireless spectrum auction. In spring 2017, the FCC reallocated the 600 MHz frequency band (614 – 698 MHz) for wireless broadband use. This reallocation means that operating wireless microphones or personal monitor systems […]
For folk-roots rocker Adam Ezra, music is a powerful force for bringing community together. So it’s no surprise that the Adam Ezra Group’s 2017 album Hurricane Wind is an all-hands-on-deck community effort, with some 400 fans playing a role in the production process — not only crowdfunding the project, but actually producing it. zZounds sat […]
When you’re shopping for loudspeakers, you’ll see manufacturers using many different terms and numbers to describe their power handling, or wattage. Read on for help demystifying peak, continuous, RMS and program power ratings! Peak Power Ratings A speaker’s peak power rating is the maximum wattage that its voice coil can handle in very short, occasional […]
Megan Slankard is a California native, while Kenny Martins hails from New Jersey. She’s a guitar-toting singer-songwriter and indie rocker, while he’s “DJ KennyM” — a producer and DJ who gets crowds dancing with two turntables and a Maschine. But although they come from opposite coasts and different musical traditions, Megan and Kenny both rely […]