AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS
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Interviews
Interviews
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AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS
Bob Clearmountain: The King of Mixers?
Early in 2010 I got to work with Bob Clearmountain while he mixed the recent Bryan Ferry album, Olympia, with producer Rhett Davies at (my long-time mentor) Hugh Padgham's Sofa Sound studio in West London. One of the world's most successful mix engineers, Bob invented the concept of the specialist hit mix engineer — having mixed anyone who's anyone from the '70s to the present day, there would be plenty to talk about! Unfortunately, by the time we all had a good handle on the session itself, there wasn't time to put together the landmark interview that I was hoping for. Consider this more like studio gossip with Bob. These were topics that came up in conversation that we're printing with his permission. Bob is one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure to work with, and I hope that we will be able to give him more thorough coverage in the near future.
AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS
Ed Ackerson: A Minneapolis Institution Goes Solo
Twenty years after his entry into the Minneapolis music scene, national success with his band Polara, opening his Flowers Studio and mid-wifing countless projects ranging from local demos to national-release works by luminaries such as The Replacements, Golden Smog, and Brian Setzer, Ed Ackerson is releasing his first solo album. The impressive Ed Ackerson contains twelve songs ranging stylistically, but all featuring Ackerson production trademarks: clear vocals, shimmering guitars, and enough tricks in the background to keep your interest.
AUGUST 20, 2025 INTERVIEWS
Justin Ulysses Morse (bonus): Behind the Gear with Roll Music
Roll Music Systems has been slowly bringing out pro audio products since 2003. Starting as a small recording studio in Minneapolis, this company (Justin Ulysses Morse and John Sommer, aka Johnny Smokes) has some unique and excellent gear.
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GEAR REVIEWS
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1176 Blue Stripe clone
For ADD readers: Yes, you can build your own 1176 clone. No, Universal Audio won’t sue you. Yes, it sounds good. No, it doesn’t sound like the current UA 1176LN. No, it isn’t easy. Yes, it’s incredibly rewarding. Yes, I would do it again, but you’re not me, and I’m not you. So please read the...
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195 large-diaphragm condenser mic
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AM670 compressor
Joel Hamilton and Allen Farmelo each spent extended time working with the AnaMod AM670, a solid-state recreation of the Fairchild 670 Limiter, one of the most revered audio components ever produced. For the review, the two sat down together and discussed their experiences with the unit. Here is an...
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Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter Plug-in
People used to find excitement in planning new gear additions for their racks. Now people get even more excited about acquiring new plug-ins for their computers. Strangely enough, the plug-ins that create the most excitement seem to be the ones that emulate actual analog rack gear. I’ve seen just...
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B80 Mothership
There seems to be a new trend developing in audio converter design. Up until recently, engineers considered converters to be part of the digital or computer side of their rig as opposed to the analog side. Concurrently, just like the computers they're directly connected to, converters become...
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Brute, Magnum, and Vogad, 500-series modules
Inward Connections from Los Angeles has been quietly producing ultra-high-end tube and solid-state mic preamps, compressors, EQs, and summing amps for about 20 years. The now legendary Vac Rac modular processing system and the TSL-3 stereo tube limiter grace the racks of top engineers and studios...
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C7 FET condenser mic
Miktek, located in Nashville, TN, is relatively new on the scene, but their microphones are making a big impression. The C7 is their large-diaphragm FET condenser mic, which is aimed at the very crowded studio vocal microphone market. Looking like the typical studio vocal mic, the C7 houses a dual,...
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CM-28 small-diaphragm tube mic
I love this mic. There - I did it. I didn't bury the lead under my normal lengthy preamble. In fact, I'm going to do the review backwards. The Advanced Audio CM-28 is an amazing deal. It provides wonderful versatility, great balance and detail, and is one of the few SDC tube mics that comes with a...
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Drumagog 5
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InVision USM shock mount
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JZ Microphones: PF Pop Filter
Sometimes a very simple basic product that does a mundane but necessary function is a much more satisfying purchase than the latest compressor or plug-in that everybody’s raving about. The JZ PF is one such product — the best, most well-designed, and well-built pop filter I’ve ever used. I saw this...
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Melodyne Editor
My relationship to pitch-correction software is complicated, as it probably is for many of our readers. On one hand, it’s just a tool, like any of the other behind-the-curtain, smoke-and-mirror tools we employ on a daily basis. On the other hand, pitch correction is the Devil’s work, since it...
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Pro Tools HD Native
Like it or not, Pro Tools is the closest thing to a standard in the world of DAWs; most every commercial studio needs to run Pro Tools, and if you’re working at a certain level, you need Pro Tools|HD. So, about 7 years ago, I upgraded my Digi 002 (Tape Op #33) and Apogee Rosetta (#40) system...
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TC-1S solar rechargeable tuner
Okay, since I’m complaining about shockmounts and headphones in this issue, I’m going to go all the way and complain about tuners. Every time I need to use our studio tuner, some asshole has pulled the battery out of it for one of their damn guitar pedals! But now I have a backup plan — the TC-1S....
Gear Reviews
TS-1 MKII small-diaphragm tube mic
Praise for the original TS-1 (Tape Op #60) was generally universal across print journals and web discussion boards. What did Chameleon Labs do to improve this well-received device? The new TS-1 MK II comes in a hard case filled with accessories that will be appreciated by all ranges of engineer. In...