SOUND ON SOUND
Hugh Robjohns has been Sound On Sound's Technical Editor since 1997. Prior to that he worked in a variety of (mostly) sound-related roles in BBC Television, ending up as a Sound Operations Lecturer at the BBC's technical training centre.
He continues to provide audio consultancy and bespoke broadcast audio training services all over the world, lectures at professional and public conventions, and occasionally records and masters acoustic and classical music too!
The updated compact mixers in Mackie's VLZ range may look the same as ever on the outside — but inside lurk new, high-grade microphone preamps. Hugh Robjohns tries out the new design.
As well as offering a high-quality mic preamp, equaliser, and valve compressor, the MindPrint voice channel can have digital interfacing added at a very reasonable extra cost. Hugh Robjohns does a spot of channel hopping.
'Digital loudspeakers' have been available in the hi-fi world for many years, but Genelec have now brought the technology to the home studio market. Hugh Robjohns tries out their new small active monitors and subwoofer.
Gareth Cousins talks to Hugh Robjohns about the craft of recording music for film, and his work on the recent British blockbuster Notting Hill.
The Quantum from Dbx is the latest entrant into the growing market for all-in-one digital mastering boxes, offering competition to the likes of TC Electronic's Finalizer and Drawmer's Masterflow. Hugh Robjohns finds out how well it stands up in this illustrious company...
The fashionably vintage exterior of this US-made dual-channel preamp is matched by an all-valve interior. Hugh Robjohns gets a retro perspective.
Poor studio wiring can lead to hums and buzzes, but you can avoid the worst of these problems by following a few simple rules.
BSS are well known in the live sound market, but some of their well-specified gates, EQs and compressors are equally at home in a recording environment. The DPR944, for example, has two gates and two parametric compressors, with independent ins and outs. Hugh Robjohns is impressed.
Classic studio signal processors such as the vintage Urei 1176 limiting amplifier impart a unique sound while keeping levels under control, but are rare and expensive. Purple Audio have an answer in the form of the MC76 — an old idea revisited. Hugh Robjohns does the time warp again...