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  1. J

    Use mic-pre with line-input sources?

    Folks, I've got a new M-Audio DMP3 pre coming my way--it should fit well into my cheapo home studio (Yam aw16g standalone, SP B1 mics, etc.). Is there any use for the DMP3 besides boosting mic signals? Just wondering what you think about the pros and cons of sending line sources to the DMP3...
  2. J

    M-Audio DMP3 mic pre advice

    Folks, I've been reading mostly good reviews of the DMP3 here at the forum in recent years, and I'm finally ready to add a cheap pre to my cheap studio. I've set $200 as my limit since it's just for the late-night weird stuff that I don't want to take into a full studio. My guitars are good, but...
  3. J

    New jazz-rock guitar tune (concert opener)

    Hi all, My first visit to the clinic... I'd be glad to have anyone give my newest tune a listen, and if you have the time, do send me any feedback you might have. Please keep in mind that this is one of my solo efforts--all writing, performance, and recording by me alone with lots of...
  4. J

    Cheap backing strings (Yamaha PSRE-403?)

    Folks, I have a special need: a very basic 61-key synth with built-in sounds, under $300. I'd like to buy it new, if possible--I've been unlucky with used gear. I'm a guitar-player/composer, producing jazz-rock stuff that sometimes needs some simple backing string and synth parts. I've...
  5. J

    Optical ins and out for home stereo?

    Folks, just wondering if anyone has experience using the optical ins/outs for a CD player and stereo receiver. I understand the advantage technically, but would any difference in sound be noticeable and worth the extra cable price in a modest home system? Thanks for any insight, J.
  6. J

    Interesting monitor shoot-out review

    If you're shopping for monitors, the new issue of Future Music mag has a blind monitor shoot-out, a lengthy article that shares a group of six engineers' impressions of about a dozen popular monitors at various price points... Mackie, Samson, KRK, Behringer, Dynaudio, Genelec, etc. A lot of...
  7. J

    How much do your monitors hum?

    Folks, I've been thinking that I should tear apart my bird's nest of wires in my studio to find out if I can eliminate the ever-present low-level hum from my monitors. The hum's low enough to disappear when listening even at lower volumes, but it's very apparent when working without any music to...
  8. J

    M-Audio BX5 owners--subs are now half price

    Just want to let you know that M-Audio has a new sub out, which means that the older SBX model has dropped in price to $199. I know from my own rig how much a sub helps the BX5s, and I've heard the SBX is a solid choice. No, I don't work for M-Audio; I just know we have quite a few Spb5, BX5...
  9. J

    volume pedal--low or high impedance?

    Just wondering if anyone can explain which version of volume pedal would be best for me. My research here and elsewhere hasn't cleared up the issue for me. I need to add a volume pedal for a recording I'm working on--I'll be using it both direct to the board for bass (no effects) and with a...
  10. J

    Looking for a footswitch for Johnson J-Station modeler

    Folks, I've been searching online with no luck for the dedicated Johnson J-Station footswitch. I often use the J-Station while recording but am planning to use it for some live gigs in the near future. The J-Station was discontinued a couple of years back, but I'm sure that footswitches are...
  11. J

    Recommendations for a 12" speaker for my MusicMan amp?

    Hi, all. I'd appreciate some advice. I've been using a MusicMan RD112 Fifty amp for many years and need to replace the worn-out stock speaker. You may know that Leo Fender started this company soon after he left Fender, and I've had great luck with the combination solid-state/tube design. This...
  12. J

    (FYI) Finally found a decent set of cheap wireless cans

    To anyone interested in some cheap wireless cans... I've been wanting some wireless cans, not for tracking (nor mixing, heaven forbid), but just for casually listening to rough mixes for ideas while roaming the house and yard. I've generally found that cheap + wireless is usually a disaster...
  13. J

    Great headphones for pure listening enjoyment?

    I haven't seen this exact question posed during the last couple of years, so let me give it a shot. I'm using Senn 280s in my home studio, but I'd like to buy another set of cans for late-night listening/relaxing. Forget tracking and isolation, forget editing and rough mixing... instead, just...
  14. J

    Those reputation points: greatest single-day gain and loss?

    The link between equipment reviews and the reviewers giving them is an important if confusing one. I recently lost 4 points in one day--probably shouldn't have mentioned that I like my amp modeler as much as my tube amp for recording--and I started wondering about the biggest point gain and drop...
  15. J

    And speaking (again) of the SP B1

    Not to beat a live horse, but a tune I did using only a B1 was reviewed in this month's Recording mag. Given my small and very modest home studio, I was pleased to see the reference to the acoustic instruments I recorded with the B1, with minimal EQ or other processing and no external mic pres...
  16. J

    Yamaha DD55 vs. other standalone drum machines

    Just for anyone looking into standalone drum machines... I've been searching for some months now, trying Roland and Zoom and Alesis models, and I finally found the machine for me: the Yamaha DD55, which I finally had a chance to try this weekend. I needed the machine for my small home studio...
  17. J

    Zoom vs. Roland drum machines--any comparisons?

    Time for me to buy, and my search at this forum reveals that nearly everyone is happy with either of these brands. I need decent acoustic-kit sounds, nothing more, and am wondering if anyone here has used and compared more than one model to help me choose. As a past drummer, I fully understand...
  18. J

    "Breaking In" headphones & monitors--any truth there?

    My mind was wandering last night, about how we've all read (and maybe said) this: "Those monitors (cans) will sound a lot better after you break them in for, say, 24 or maybe 1000 hours." So I started wondering... is there really any truth to this claim? Anything more than my daddy told me...
  19. J

    An antidote for GAS?

    Hey, all. I realize that this post might not fit cleanly in Other Equipment and Reviews, but it does fit in a way. Like many of us, I've been bitten by Gear Acquisition Syndrome in recent years and seem to spend more time than I'd like researching (and dreaming of) the new gear I need to record...
  20. J

    Suggestions for open-air headphones for critical listening?

    Folks, I know we've had too many posts about headphones since I've read most of them. But most have focused on closed cans for use when tracking, and I've been happily using some Senn 280s for this purpose. Now, though, I need some better sounding phones for playback and even for roughing out...
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