Homebrewed Music

I’ve read many times on the internet that condensers are too sensitive, they pick up the mouse in the next room, the refrigerator downstairs, the arm hairs brushing on the top of the guitar. People have suggested that a dynamic mic is better when there’s ambient noise, clumsy technique, or a bad sounding room. Have [...]

Four more mic comparison clips, this time including large and small diaphragm mics and a wide range of prices.

Most mic comparisons I find on the web use different performances for each mic. In my experience, most mics are lot more similar than most performances, so this tutorial shows how to reduce the outside variables in mic (and other electronic gear) comparisons.

This post will reveal the identity of the comparison clips in the post comparing the M-Audio Profire and the Lynx and John Hardy recording chain. But before providing the answers, I’d like to pose a question.
I (naively) expected that people would embrace an opportunity to do some controlled testing, using an easy but very effective [...]

This is probably about as close to a political post as I am likely to write. I think that listening “tests” that are not conducted as double blind side-by-side comparisons are just wishful thinking. We wish that human hearing were not so totally dominated by the vagaries of our brain/mind, but it is. We wish [...]

The previews of the Zoom H4n have generated a lot of excitement so I added a few airline miles to the family account and ordered one of these new hand held recorders.

Four field recorders compared, from the Zoom H2 to the Sound Devices 744.

I definitely don’t need another recording device around here, but my Recording Gear Acquisition Syndrome is not blunted by logic. The positive comments on various guitar forums piled up until I couldn’t resist the pressure. I had to have a Zoom H2 recorder.
I bought mine slightly used on Ebay. I saved a few bucks but [...]