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.
Your typical podcast recording setup doesn’t include a 24-channel digital console, a wall of custom-modded guitar amps, and a full drum kit. But Chicago Acoustic Underground isn’t quite your typical podcast. In his quest to capture the work of unknown artists, CAU podcast host Michael Teach has crammed his modest Chicago apartment with musical instruments […]
Michael Teach listens intently as singer-songwriter Sarah Eide and her band knock out a set of original tunes in the living room of his Chicago apartment. “I love that!” he proclaims into his Neumann TLM-103 microphone as the group wraps up their first number. “What a cool song!” Your average 70-year-old doesn’t get quite this […]
What difference does a word clock make? Read on to find out. For this shootout, we recorded acoustic guitar with the Black Lion Audio Micro Clock Mk3 vs. no word clock, and piano/vocal comparing the BLA Micro Clock Mk3 with its predecessor, the BLA Micro Clock Mk2. What Does a Word Clock Do, Anyway? Digital […]
2015 has been quite the ride so far for bassist/guitarist/songwriter Marc Walloch. With a career that includes stints playing guitar for Juliette Lewis, and several years rising through the alt-rock ranks as a founding member of Company of Thieves — the Chicago band that launched powerhouse vocalist Genevieve’s career — Walloch is currently on the […]
So far, 2015 seems to be the year of the iOS/USB microphone for mobile recording. Two of the latest iOS/USB mics to arrive at zZounds are the IK Multimedia iRig MIC Studio — a new addition to IK Multimedia’s iRig line of made-for-iOS gear — and the Shure MOTIV MV51, part of Shure’s MOTIV family […]
This post is part of a “Shure Week” (August 6-13) series celebrating the release of the new MOTIV line of USB and iOS microphones and interfaces. Check with us through the week to learn more about Shure! Shure has been making microphones for over 90 years. While some of Shure’s legendary products — like the […]
PreSonus Studio 192 USB Audio Interface I see the Studio 192 as PreSonus’ answer to the other hot rackmount audio interfaces coming out this year (see Universal Audio Apollo series; Focusrite Clarett series). Unlike those Thunderbolt interfaces, the Studio 192 is USB 3.0. And man, this thing shoves a LOT of I/O through a USB […]
SampleTank 3, the long-awaited update to IK Multimedia’s well-established sample-based software instrument, was released in fall 2014 with much fanfare. IK’s version 3.5 update — free for ST3 owners — arrived in spring 2015, enticing even more new users with 11 new sound libraries plus reliability improvements. It’s easy to see why SampleTank 3 is […]
Akai Advance MIDI Keyboard Controllers Last year, we got Native Instruments’ Komplete Kontrol S MIDI controller keyboards. Building on the theme of rainbow-candy-colored USB MIDI controller boards, the Akai Advance MIDI controller series has arrived. What makes the Advance controllers really special is the software they come with — AKAI calls it VIP, which stands […]