Recording Studio Equipment

I’m looking forward to my future recordings using the 802 – It is always fun to have a new toy! Highly recommended piece of equipment that is nice value for the cost.I was looking for a low cost mixer to use with my other recorder and did a little research on the leading brands. Just looking at it with it’s inputs, number of controls, I would have guessed it cost close to a couple hundred bucks. Imagine my surprise when, after reading the positive reviews, that I discovered this thing was only ! I bought it immediately and, right out of the box, it did exactly everything I was expecting it to – this is a truly nice little piece of equipment for getting the recording control and flexibility that is not inherent on some of the other models.

I baught purchased this mixer years ago from Guitar Center to record my band. It did a really good job. For the price and quality, it’s just good!

I would have valued this mic far above what it is being sold. Right off the bat, the construction is pro grade, all the way. Solid metal, heavy weight and a nice mat bluish silver finish. The sound quality is excellent. It records warm and rich vocals: running through a Digidesign Mbox 2 mini. It picks up every nuance and every breath. It’s almost too clear. Haven’t used it to record any instruments, only voice in studio. My voice sounds better on this than other mics I’ve used. Very very impressed. And it was well under $100!

I was using a USB headset microphone for my LibriVox volunteer work. A few weeks ago, I upgraded to this AKG Perception 120 condenser microphone.

It is awesome. It sounds warm and full and has an overall beautiful sound. I’m very happy with this microphone. I should have upgraded a long time ago.

One warning: be sure to purchase a stand in the same order. I ordered my stand separately, so I had to hold the microphone while I used it for the first few days. It’s a heavy piece of equipment, and my arms got tired very quickly.

When my 2.1 Altec Lansing speaker system that was bundled with a 1998 Dell desktop computer (and had been transferred to later desktops through the ensuing years) stopped working due to a wiring problem that I could not repair myself, I decided to buy a new speaker system. After a diligent online search and reading user reviews, I selected the M-Audio Studiophile AV30 and I could not be happier. Although it lacks a sub-woofer, which my earlier system had, the bass is hefty enough for my taste when the bass boost switch is set to the on position. The speakers provide a clean, crisp sound, with excellent separation of the musical lines from each instrument. I’m hearing elements in my music files that I had not noticed with my earlier speakers. The volume level can be cranked up to much more than I need, without distortion, but I mostly have it set near the low end. And with only two speakers, I don’t have to maneuver to find space for a sub-woofer.

These speakers sound so good I hate to turn off my computer, which I frequently use solely to listen to Internet radio stations.

The bass notes between 128 and 248Hz, specially the lower C note on the bass guitar, are very loud. No, it’s not my room, and it’s not the sound card either. I’ve tried other speakers on the same computer and in the same room and they all sound normal. I then tried these speakers on my friend’s system, in his room, and had the same problem. I contacted M-Audio’s technical support through their website, and they said that the sound is a matter of taste and is not covered under the warranty. A matter of personal taste, huh? Every time I have people over to listen to some music, they go “WTF!?”. “A matter of taste” MY A**!

Also, the headphones output port is totally useless. The volume on the headphones is very low; you have to increase the volume, but then you get a constant static noise on the headphones. Oh, and make sure you lower the volume before unplugging the headphones or you risk damaging your eardrums.

It may have worked well for others, but my speakers are definitely defective and the company is not taking responsibility for it. I ended up paying another $50 to buy Hear ([...]) in order to fine-tune the sound output, but it turns out that the program is not really stable on OS X 10.5 and 10.6 either (it stops working for some reason and you’ll have to reboot your machine to make it work again). I’m really pissed off!

I’m leaving these out on the curb tonight and buying a pair of monitor speakers from a local music store AFTER listening to them.

This was the required text book for a course I took at Berklee and is probably the single best book I have read on this topic. If you are new to audio theory/practice or have been messing with it for a while but want to improve your fundamental understanding, this is definitely the book you want.

Topics include a brief history of audio reproduction, the fundamental physics of sound, the mechanics of capturing and reprocing sound, digital audio theory, and psychoacoustics (how your ears and brain process sound). Also, many practical topics such as how to evaluate and acoustically treat rooms are covered. All of these topics are covered in sufficient detail, but presented in a very clear and understandable way.

A textbook for students of no direction.The author dips into everything possible in the subject of audio production ,in a schematic, superficial, lightweight, naive and easy way that the reader is left without real information, motivation ,inspiration or
means of accomplishing anything – being sound design and manipulation or music creation and production.In fact it’s a feel-good book written for those ignorant or already knowing a bit, provided they are not interested in learning anything more.
The title appears deceptive (actually it is much more enticing than the author’s credentials).
Do you remember those “look busy” screensavers of the old days?They made you look to others as if you were doing something very serious and difficult while doing really nothing; well, leave this book open in your DAW desk : it’s the printed equivalent.