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12th June 202211th June 2022

New Arrivals: May 2022

After a couple of months with no new (to me) gear, May has been a very busy month.

There’s a few items I’ve been after, both professionally and for home use. All of these things needed to be imported: some because they’re not sold in the UK, and some because they are sold here but are constantly out of stock.

With the UK government threatening to illegally break its own treaty and start a (doomed) trade war with Europe, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get them if I didn’t act now. On top of that, rampant inflation means that buying later means paying a lot more.

Now that they’re here, what do I think of them? And how was the import process? Read on for my First Impressions.

4th June 20224th June 2022

Studio Diary #33: Things Are Clicking With My Studio Monitors

When I was doing my research into studio monitors, there was a concept that kept coming up time and time again. All the pros said the same thing: you’ve got to learn the sound of your monitors in your space.

This week – almost 18 months after getting my studio monitors – I finally understand what that means.

4th June 2022

Studio Diary #32: Rewiring The Studio Rack

Last week, I finally did it: I replaced all the home-made wiring in my rack with professionally-made cables. And, seeing as I was taking everything apart anyway, I used it as an opportunity to give everything a much-needed clean too.

Why did I do this? What was involved? How long did it take? And was it worth the trouble and expense? Read on to find out.

30th May 2022

Studio Diary #31: Attenuators Colour The Sound

This photo shows the front panel of my Fryette PS-100 Power Station attenuator. To one side, we can also see a glimpse of my Two Notes Captor too. — The Two Notes Captor and Fryette PS-100 Power Station

Attenuators are one of the reasons we can enjoy valve amps at home without upsetting the neighbours. I’ve never really thought about how they affect the overall tone … until now.

In this blog post, I’m going to look at the two attenuators that I have – the Two Notes Captor and the Fryette PS-100 Power Station – and work out what they sound like. And I’m including some sound samples, so that you can hear the differences for yourself.

12th May 202211th May 2022

Studio Diary #30: Acoustic Treatment For The Home Recording Studio

Let’s be honest … it’s past time that I did something to acoustically treat this room.

Here’s what I’ve done so far, and why.

18th April 202216th April 2022

Short-Term Review: The Fryette Power Station PS-100

Last summer, I bought a Fryette Power Station PS-100 as an emergency purchase, so that I could use my Tweed Deluxe at home volume levels.

Nine months later, how am I getting on with it? Would I buy it again if anything happened to it? And would I recommend it to you? Read on to find out.

12th April 20229th April 2022

Studio Diary #29: Setting Up Superior Drummer 3 In Reaper

I’ve recently switched back from Universal Audio’s LUNA DAW to good old Reaper. Why? Because I need to work on some midi drums, and LUNA doesn’t really support that yet.

This is partly a note to myself, and partly a tutorial, on how I setup Superior Drummer 3 and Reaper to work well together.

11th April 202230th May 2022

Studio Diary #28: Returning To Reaper, After 2 Years Of LUNA

We’ve just started band rehearsals again, after a 2 year break because of the global pandemic. That means that my time with LUNA has to come to an end, at least for now.

6th March 20226th March 2022

First Impressions: Fender’s The Bends Compressor Pedal

I recently bought a new compressor pedal: Fender’s The Bends. It has a reputation for being a very boring compressor pedal. That’s good: I’m a boring guitar player, and I like boring gear. The question is: is it too boring?

Read on for my First Impressions.

28th February 2022

New Arrivals: February 2022

This month is a tale of two eras: before land war in Europe, and after the war started.

My plan was to get Hedgehog back in action, and (if they came into stock) pick up a couple of things I felt I needed for some planned recording. And that’s how the month started.

Then Putin launched his invasion of a democratic European nation, while willy-waving his nuclear arsenal at the rest of the world. While we’re almost certainly safe from major consequences ourselves, I decided to bring forward my major planned purchase of the year anyway.