Rather than do a ‘best of’ style post, every year I’m doing a rundown of what home studio gear I’ve used this year, and why.
Previous years: [2019] [2020] [2021][2022]
Continue reading “2023 Review: Home Studio Gear”Studio Diary #39: Why I Use DAW Plugins For Delay And Reverb On My #TweedTone Comparisons
‘Studio Diary’ is an occasional series where I talk about building a home recording setup for hobbyists and enthusiasts like us. I share my personal experiences, and the thinking behind some of the decisions that I’ve made along the way.
This time around, I want to answer a question that nobody has asked me. Why am I using DAW plugins for delay and reverb, instead of my Axe-FX 3?
Read on if you’re interested in my thinking behind this decision. And if you’re not interested, no worries 🙂
Continue reading “Studio Diary #39: Why I Use DAW Plugins For Delay And Reverb On My #TweedTone Comparisons”#TweedTone: Is The Tech 21 NYC SansAmp Blonde A Good Alternative To A Real Tweed Deluxe Amp?
I’m lucky enough to own a physical Tweed Deluxe amp. I also think that a Tweed Deluxe amp rig for home use has become so expensive in 2023, it’s difficult to justify. So I’ve started looking at alternatives, to see how they compare to the real thing.
This time around, I’m looking at Tech 21 NYC’s SansAmp Blonde pedal.
Continue reading “#TweedTone: Is The Tech 21 NYC SansAmp Blonde A Good Alternative To A Real Tweed Deluxe Amp?”#TweedTone: UAFX Woodrow vs NUX Sixty-Five For Stratocaster Tones
I’ve just finished writing up both my First Impressions of the NUX Sixty-Five and my look at Universal Audio’s UAFX Woodrow Tweed Deluxe amp simulator pedal. Seeing as both are on the board at the minute, I thought: why not get some Strat tones out of both, and see how they compare?
I think this is worth doing. As much as I love tweed tone, there might be times where something else is a better option for me. And clean-ish Strat tones just might be one of those times.
Read on to find out what I think (with audio demos!).
Continue reading “#TweedTone: UAFX Woodrow vs NUX Sixty-Five For Stratocaster Tones”New Arrivals: October 2023
This month, the second-hand market has completely taken off. After what seems like years of me saying that there wasn’t much interesting stuff out there (well, interesting to me, anyway), I saw at least twenty different pedals that I would have loved to experience.
In the end, I got precisely none of them. I’d already picked up a couple of extra items back in September that I didn’t get to use until this month. And they’re both pretty fine, in my honest opinion.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: October 2023”#TweedTone: Is The Kemper A Good Alternative To A Real Tweed Deluxe Amp?
I’m lucky enough to own a physical Tweed Deluxe amp. I also think that a Tweed Deluxe amp rig for home use has become so expensive in 2023, it’s difficult to justify. So I’ve started looking at alternatives, to see how they compare to the real thing.
This week, I’m dusting off my old Kemper to see what kind of 5e3 Tweed Deluxe tones I can get out of it.
Continue reading “#TweedTone: Is The Kemper A Good Alternative To A Real Tweed Deluxe Amp?”#TweedTone: Is The UAFX Woodrow A Great Alternative To A Real Tweed Deluxe Amp?
I’m lucky enough to own a physical Tweed Deluxe amp. I also think that a Tweed Deluxe amp rig for home use has become so expensive in 2023, it’s difficult to justify. So I’ve started looking at alternatives, to see how they compare to the real thing.
This time around, I’m looking at Universal Audio’s UAFX Woodrow pedal.
Continue reading “#TweedTone: Is The UAFX Woodrow A Great Alternative To A Real Tweed Deluxe Amp?”#TweedTone: Comparing Fractal Audio’s Deluxe Tweed Model With A Physical Tweed Deluxe Amp
I’m lucky enough to own a physical Tweed Deluxe amp. I also think that a Tweed Deluxe amp rig for home use has become so expensive in 2023, it’s difficult to justify. So I’ve started looking at alternatives, to see how they compare to the real thing.
I’ve previously looked at UAD’s Fender 55 Tweed Deluxe plugin (which did well). How will Fractal Audio’s Deluxe Tweed model in my Axe-FX 3 compare?
Continue reading “#TweedTone: Comparing Fractal Audio’s Deluxe Tweed Model With A Physical Tweed Deluxe Amp”#TweedTone: Comparing Universal Audio’s Fender 55 With A Real Fender Tweed Deluxe Amp
I’m lucky enough to own a physical Tweed Deluxe amp. I also think that a Tweed Deluxe amp rig for home use has become so expensive in 2023, it’s difficult to justify. So I’ve started looking at alternatives, to see how they compare to the real thing.
First up is the Fender 55 Tweed Deluxe plugin from Universal Audio.
Continue reading “#TweedTone: Comparing Universal Audio’s Fender 55 With A Real Fender Tweed Deluxe Amp”Studio Diary #38: Dealing With Noise And Solar Power
Regular readers will have noticed that this blog has been very quiet over the last few months. One of the main reasons for this? I’ve been dealing with problematic audio noise which started after we had a solar PV system installed at the house.
What was the problem? And what was the solution? That’s what I’m covering in today’s Studio Diary entry. Grab a drink … this is going to be a long post.
Continue reading “Studio Diary #38: Dealing With Noise And Solar Power”