Guides

New Features and Original Effects at Home in the Studio

Eight Excellent Choices on the High End

(Hardware Version)

From Handheld Models to Over-the-Shoulder

Eight Modern, Proven Models From $99 to $999 Street

Using Modern Absorption and Diffusion Tools

Large-Diaphragm Condensers

Compact, Powerful Speakers for the Mobile Engineer

Multichannel Audio Interfaces With Preamps

Mix Surveys Digital Boards with 24-Plus Channels

Live Mixing From Anywhere in a Room

There’s good reason why the putative majority of top tracking engineers choose a Shure SM57—a $99 Everyman’s mic—to record snare drum. These pros have access to the world’s priciest transducers, but they know expensive isn’t always better. Creative whims aside, a mic’s inherent physical, acoustic and electrical properties are what determine whether it’s the best choice for a given application.

THE WIDE-RANGING OPTIONS OF MULTICHANNEL PLAYBACK

Amazon’s new Amazon Cloud Drive, Amazon Cloud Player for Web and Amazon Cloud Player for Android allow music lovers to store more in “the cloud” and play it on any Android phone, Android tablet, Mac or PC. Users upload their music library to Amazon Cloud Drive and can save any new Amazon MP3 purchases directly to their drive for free.

TWO SETUPS TO FIT YOUR BUDGET

UNDERSTANDING AND RESTORING ANALOG TAPE

TUBE MIXERS, TUBE MICS, DATS, A CLASSIC VCA PROCESSOR

TOOLS FOR AUDIO RENEWAL

WHAT'S NEW IN MULTICHANNEL LOCATION RECORDERS

NEW LARGE-DIAPHRAGM CONDENSERS

GOING GREEN MIGHT BE EASIER THAN YOU THINK

500 SERIES GEAR IS HOT, HOT, HOT!