Rock n Roll Rentals Blog

Staff Reviews to be hosted on RocknRollRentals.com

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 16:09:00 +0000

We will be posting all of our informative & entertaining staff reviews and blogs on our website. Read them now. Read them later. Check back often.

http://rocknrollrentals.com/blog/

Dial in your vocal effects using the VOCO-LOCO!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 22:41:00 +0000

Over the last few years, I have tried many different methods of using vocal effects in a live setting, from using basic impedance converters with guitar pedals, to plugging mics into guitar amplifiers. Some of these methods would sound good enough to keep using, but many were very problematic, and none of them were able to accomplish the type of effects I can get when I’m recording. Using vocal effects in a live setting is always complicated by gain structure, impedance issues, signal quality and lots, and lots of feedback. Over the years I kept seeing expensive, rack-mountable vocal effect processors out at gigs, and I was starting to think that purchasing one of those would be the only way I could get decent sounding saturation without losing clarity in my vocals...that was until Radial came out with the VOCO LOCO!

Radial Engineering describes the VOCO LOCO as an “Effects Switcher for Vocals or Instruments”, but this little magic box is SO MUCH MORE. Firstly, it is a very clean vocal pre-amp that is capable of providing phantom power (which is awesome if you are prefer using your own condenser mic, or if you just like to run your mic gain a little bit hotter than the sound guy would). Secondly, there is a two band EQ with a high and low shelf, which can make your typical dynamic mic have crisp highs, or more depth in low frequency. Thirdly, it has a transformer isolated hi-Z effect loop, where you can send your vocals through a series of guitar effect pedals without having impedance issues. Radial also provides you with parameters for how hot you send or receive your vocal signal into the loop, in addition to parameters controlling the tone and depth of the effects used with your vocal. These parameters are so useful for dialing in how the way you use the effect to saturate or color your vocal. For instance, say you have a Holy Grail reverb pedal that sounds great when you hit it with a really hot signal, but you wish it was brighter. The VOCO LOCO allows you to send a very hot signal to the pedal, take a lower signal back on return, and then you can change how the tone of mix that you are looping through the pedal!

Not only does the VOCO LOCO allow you to take total control over how your vocal interacts with different effects, it virtually eliminates feedback, impedance, and signal quality issues. Additionally, It also has two stomp buttons which allow you to control either MUTE/ALL WET, or DRY/WET signal. These can both be very handy for the live setting for a few different reasons. For instance, say you have a song where you only need vocal tremolo and reverb in the chorus. The stomp buttons would allow you to turn multiple effects on and off at once, or allow you to control how much of those effects are being implemented into the signal at once, or if you want your vocal to come through at all!

When I have used the VOCO LOCO with my band Shivery Shakes, I use a TC Electronics Hall of Fame Reverb (using the spring reverb setting), with a MXR Carbon Copy Delay for slapback, and occasionally I'll punch of a Maxon 808 Overdrive pedal for a little bit of grit. In my experience, using the VOCO LOCO is the only way to achieve vocal overdrive/distortion without crazy issues with gain structure and feedback. Being able to control my own vocal effects on stage adds a whole new element to putting on a live show, where previously I have felt like that was the one way the sound of the venue limited us.

For anyone who has experimented with using guitar pedals on your vocals, or anyone who is interested having some more control over how your vocals sound live, I couldn’t recommend this pedal more. Additionally, this product has the same terrific build quality and components that Radial is renowned for (this pedal will still work when your grandkids start a band!!!!!). Come get LOCO on it for only $8/weekend or $15/month, and if you want to rent some guitar effect pedals to use with it, try out our pedal of the month club ($9/1 pedal, $15/2 pedals, $20/3 pedals).

-William Glosup

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 02:00:00 +0000

Here is an another look at our Fender guitars that we have added to our inventory! Lot's of awesome signature models, in addition to some classic reissues

Up first is the JA-90, the signature model from Jimmy Eat World singer and guitarist, Jim Atkins. This guitar is fully loaded, with a "set" neck (as opposed to the common bolt-on), which makes for fantastic resonance and sustain. It also has a two fat black soap-bar P-90 pick-ups, which sound clear, fat and amazing.

Up next is an old favorite, the Fender "Classic Player" Jazzmaster. This guitar has become legendary, especially in recent years. From Elvis Costello to J Mascis, or The Ventures to Stephen Malkmus, this is a quintessential axe that requires no introduction. Loaded with two soapbar P-90's and an a wide and long 22-fret neck, this is one of Fender's best.

Introducing a classic at a very affordable price, this is the Squire Vintage Modified Jazzmaster. All of the great aspects of a Jazzmaster, without breaking your bank. If you are interested in trying your hand at this classic, this guitar is a great way to start!

A revered player of the Jazzmaster gives his spin on the guitar - introducing the Squire J Mascis signature model Jazzmaster. All parts and hardware on this guitar are handpicked by the alt-rocker to maintain an amazing product at an incredibly affordable guitar.

If you want all the glitter and glam of My Chemical Romance, check out this Squire signature model from their bassist, Mikey Way. With a "large-flake" glitter finish, and black racing stripes, this bass is sure to catch some glances. It sounds fantastic, with a single semisonic Fender pick-up, and the very playable short-scale maple neck.

Check back for more updates soon!

New in stock from Fender

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 02:02:00 +0000

As we begin 2014, we are ecstatic start our first year full year as an official Fender dealer! Opening up the boxes to uncover these beauties was a pleasure. We want to share them with you. Come in today to pick up a classic - for rental or for sale!!

This is a Fender "Pawn Shop" Stratocaster. An awesome 70's throwback, with a few modifications. This guitar has a classic look with the maple neck, and has a very versatile range with a telecaster "lipstick" single coil as the neck pick-up, and a wide-range humbucker for the bridge.

Back by popular demand....the Fender "Starcaster"!! This guitar was reissued from a 1970's classic, which was only in production for a few years. Many great guitar players have given this guitar a legendary status, including Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead (who played this guitar on most of the recordings of the albums OK Computer/Amnesiac). If you're looking for a new semi-hollow love interest, look no further.

Introducing the Fender "Modern Player" Mustang - a retro classic suited up with two MP-90's in place of the classic Mustang single-coiled pick-ups, with a modern sunburst. This guitar has the classic feel of a short-scaled Mustang neck, with two of the most revered pick-ups ever added on! Custom style!

The Fender "Nashville" Tele...a country classic Telecaster with an additional "Stratocaster" single coil, and the mellow sound of an all maple neck. Fender did not fix what wasn't broken with this all-time southern classic.

Take off to the race-track with the Fender "Pawn-Shop" Mustang Bass! One fat (or phat, if you will) bass style humbucker pick-up with stripes to match it's radical tone! Short-scaled for a wide-appeal of playability. This is a fantastic bass for guitar players making the switch or with a growing interest in bass.

We'll have more new inventory to show you soon! Check back for great new Fender products that we carry for rental or sale.

Fender Coronado II

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 22:06:00 +0000

Fender Coronado

Originally released in the 60's, the Coronado was Fender's first attempt at the hollowbody electric guitar. Fender recently released an improved version of the Coronado as part of their Modern Player series. This guitar's semi-hollowbody is made of maple with an alder center block. The rosewood fretboard has 21 medium jumbo frets. The Coronado is armed with Fender's Fideli'Tron humbuckers. I like the sound of the guitar overall. I was especially pleased with the Fideli'Trons; well rounded sound, not thin or twangy as I have come to expect of most Fender pickups. I was amazed at their clarity. My main "axe" is a Richmond Dorchester; the Dorchester has a chambered body and comes equipped with Lace Alumitone humbuckers. Both of these guitars are not unlike each other, great sound and tone. The big difference I quickly noticed was that Fideli'Tron remained very clear even at loud volumes, almost making it hard form my amp to break up on the clean channel. On the gain channel, I was pleased to hear a good clean crisp distortion. If you're like most guitar players in Austin and love Fender and are looking for something refreshing to try, come by Rock n Roll Rentals and try out the Coronado. Also available in a 4 string bass.

Written by Oscar Reyna (Guitarist at Este Vato)

Mojave Audio MA-100 Small Diaphragm Tube Condenser Mic

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 21:50:00 +0000

In 1985, David Royer (Royer Labs) started producing hi-quality condenser microphones on a small scale from his garage in Fullerton, CA. Today these mics are highly sought after by engineers and producers for their precision, character and design. After reading some back story about David, I decided to buy a Mojave MA-201fet when I was in the market for a general "all-purpose" mic and found that it gave a great sonic representation of just about anything. It has since become my "go-to" mic for recording! When it came time to record drums recently for my band The Sour Notes, I thought I'd give a pair of MA-100s a try as overheads. These small diaphragm tube condensers feature two interchangeable, 3-micron capsules, Jensen transformer and a military-grade JAN 5840 vacuum tube. I ran them through a slightly overdriven UA 4-710d preamp, which gave me a crisp, bright response that sat great in the mix! I set them up about 3-feet above the hi-hat and floor tom and used a Beta-52 on the kick, 2-57s on the top & bottom snare and an Octava MK-319 5-feet in front of the kit. Check out the final mix below by Danny Reisch and mastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound.

Song: Mannequin (Wire cover) on BandCamp
In the Meanwhile b/w Mannequin (Wire cover) by The Sour Notes
Video: Recording drums with Mojave MA-100s and Jordan Johns

by Jared Boulanger (singer/guitarist at The Sour Notes)

Making your next music video using Rock N Roll Rentals

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:30:00 +0000

This last weekend I took advantage of my job at Rock N Roll Rentals for making a music video. Few people know about the wide selection of A/V products that we carry, and I’m going to use this post to promote how easily you can make a music video or other video project using our awesome inventory.

For my project I rented two Canon MKII 7D’s, two shoulder-mounts, a Manfrotto tripod, and a Tokina wide-angle lens. Canon DSLR’s have quickly become an “industry standard” for capturing a high-quality image (1280x720p at 60 fps) through a camera where your lens selection is very wide, without having to spend $40k+ to use a RED camera or video-cameras that can collect high quality information. Though DSLRs are built for still-images the 7D is made with point and shoot ease of use in video, and can capture movie quality picture.

Using the shoulder-mounts my small crew was able to take moving shots with tripod stability, with the beautiful depth of focus that the 7D allows at 60fps. This high-quality information made it easy to create slow-motion shots, or cropping for image stabilization. For other shots we would put the two 7D’s at different angles in a room with one wide-angle shot that we could zoom (with the Tokina lens), and one still camera to pick up cross shots that we’re more focused on our subjects.

My band doesn’t have a big budget (less than $200), and we are currently editing something that looks like high-budget music video. These days making a music video is definitely a priority for bands (Youtube, Vimeo promotion), and very few bands have the money to make something that they could imagine could look like a “legit” music video. Using Rock N Roll Rentals, you can achieve a “label” quality music video or short-film with a budget less than $200!

We rent Tokina wide-angle lenses, as well as Canon’s stellar 50mm lenses for that artsy and thin depth-of-field look. You can use any of our DSLRs to do the same thing I did be that our T3I models for $36/reservation rate or our 5DmkIIs for $125/reservation. Rock N Roll Rentals is the cheapest camera/ A/V rental solution in the country, and should not be overlooked.

I highly recommend you check out our video selections for your next project here: http://www.rocknrollrentals.com/filmvideo.html

-William Glosup

Empirical Labs Mike-E

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:36:00 +0000

Empirical Labs Mike-E

The Mike-E, by Empirical Labs, is a transformer coupled mic preamp together with a compressor/saturator circuit. The mic preamp has super low noise floor and features stepped gain switching. Your instruments can also be plugged directly into the “Inst In” serving as a high quality direct box. The Comp/Sat section of the Mike-E features compression based on the world famous Distressor as well as a tape-like saturation circuit. The Mike-E allows you to mix the compressed signal with the dry signal.

Este Vato recently recorded at Werd’s recording studio with engineer Joel Chalwick. We had the opportunity to use the Mike-E on vocals, acoustic and electric guitars. Personally, I was impressed with the
clarity and presence of the vocals and guitars and would definitely recommend the Mike-E to anyone. Here’s a short video of what Werd engineer, Joel Chalwick, had to say about the Empirical Labs Mike.

You can swing by Rock N Roll Rentals before your next recording project and pick up some sweet recording toys including the Mike-E. The Mike-E rents for $45 a weekend or $104 a month. We are also your local source for Empirical Labs, so let us know when you want to buy!

ADL-700 + MA-201 FET = good squared

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:04:00 +0000

Presonus ADL700 Channel Strip

I recently got to use the new Presonus ADL-700 for a couple of nights. If you haven't heard, this is the new channel strip which is Presonus's response to the success of the ADL600, all tube dual channel preamp. It starts with one channel of the ADL600, and then hits a custom built FET compressor, and ends at a semi-parametric eq. Aesthetically, they kept with the same sleek design as its predecessor. It has sturdy knobs and switches which look and feel great. I used a Mojave MA-201 FET mic and recorded some vocal. I noticed straight away, like the '600, there's tons of headroom. The vocal was loud and I had the gain structure set a little hot, and, though it was drivey, it still sounded great and kinda gritty. This is probably accredited to the 300 volt power rails inside. It's very warm. Yes, warm (aural quality is indeed measured in temperature as it turns out). There's a variable impedance selector and a high pass filter which can roll off up to 200hz. The compressor, I found to be the coolest part of the unit. All the knobs are variable pots and it's very responsive. It sounded great and the harder I compressed, the top end sounded better and better. The EQ sounded great and even when exaggerated, it maintained smoothness and clarity. Each section of the unit can be bypassed and the EQ can be put before the compressor with the flip of a switch.The compressor's setting can link out of the back if you're chaining two units together for a stereo application. The unit feels, looks, and operates like a high-end piece. And it is. I only tried it on vocals but I imagine it would sound great on pretty much anything. Even an onion.We carry it here at the shop and you check one out starting around $50 for a weekend or $105 a month. We are one of a few select dealers to stock this unit, so come buy some as well.

Mojave Audio MA-201FET

So speaking of the MA201FET, I rented it. I used it on vocals. It is designed by David Royer of Royer ribbon mics. This is a FET mic which means it's equipped with a type of transistor that some say closely mimics the tonal characteristics of tube mics without the tube. It's true, I guess. I found that this mic was very well balanced, clear, and had a nice top end. What I mean by balance, is proximity effect. It was very forgiving to the source, even when bobbing back in fourth from its position. Even with compression off, I didn't experience that cliff-like drop when your vocal gets a hair too far away and it maintained smoothness and clarity when right up on it. I really enjoyed that I never detected much harshness that can be inherant on non-tube mics, it's smooth. It's an impressive microphone with an impressive price point too (around $700). It certainly could hold its own even against it's big brother tube model MA-300 which is around double the price. It's worth trying if you wanna try a non-tube flavor of condenser mics.

Reviewed By: Rene C.

Offset Special or Thinline Jazzmaster?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 04:39:00 +0000

Let me start by saying that the two guitars that've been my favorite over the years for their diversity and functionality were my '72 Thinline Telecaster and my (current) Classic Player Jazzmaster. If I were to build a guitar myself, it would somehow embody the 'twangy-humbucking-bite' of that Tele while being just a pick-up switch away from the 'well-defined-creamy-smoothness' of my Jazzmaster. So, when the Fender Pawn Shop Series Offline Special arrived unannounced at our store the other day, I was more than excited to give it a try! I play exclusively through a 'stock' Vox AC15 with a Fender Jazzmaster, cuz I think the Jazzmaster's special single-coil pickups compliment a 'chime-y' tube amp perfectly without getting too-bright. My initial observation upon plugging this Tele into my Vox was that it sounded great clean. I tried "dialing-in" a few tone/pickup combinations, but I feel like this guitar sounds best the less you mess with it. This guitar is semi-hollowbody and very light in weight. Guitar chords sound full and bright, while single-note playing retains the smooth characteristics of the pick-ups! I would go as far as to say that this guitar sounds terrible through an overdriven amp and distortion pedals. I tried adding a little "fuzz" and "crunch" from various guitar pedals, but couldn't achieve anything but a flat, dull tone. Rent this guitar for studio work, but don't expect it to be versatile in live situations.

- Jared Paul Boulanger (guitarist, The Sour Notes)

DSLR for Dummies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:30:00 +0000

By: Sierra Norman, RocknRoll Rentals
Special thanks to Este Vato!

GODIN TO THE CORE, BRO.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:26:00 +0000

The new Godin Core has landed at Rock n Roll rentals! And it's been a head turner among employees and patrons alike. I got a chance to take it out to a couple of gigs over the weekend as a back up, and after popping a string straight away, it didn't stay benched.
Godin has made this model available in a few different variations; ours is the classic, vibey, sunburst finish option. It also features a pair of Seymour Duncan P90s nestled in a chambered mahogany body, solid maple top, set mahogany neck, rosewood fret board, Graphtech wrap around bridge, and black tuners...for sex appeal. It has a light but solid construction and is very nicely balanced when strapped. A volume and tone pot for either pick up is also featured, which is nice. The first night, I played it through a newer Ampeg tube guitar amp along side indie rock sledge hammer, Jared Boulanger. The Core sounds warm and fat in the neck position and when the volume was rolled back, it revealed wonderful bluesy, jazzy kind of tones. When opened up in the bridge position, the P90s shine with that archaic, classic rock n roll bite. In your face, but sweetly so.

My Grandma (pictured above) got to play it the second night. Lucky ol' gal. Just kidding, that's not my Grandma, that's Oscar from repair and a fellow vato. He played it through a Fender Deluxe and a hundred or so effects pedals. It sounded great, and on the clean channel, took the edge off the otherwise harsh inherent tone of the Deluxe. It needed to be tuned more often the second night, but the humid, hot, outside air may have been the culprit.
The Core is a pretty straight forward, work horse of a guitar. In addition to sounding great and looking good, they are 100% crafted and assembled in Quebec, Canada though you might not guess it with the doable street price. It's a solid build and a very comfortable play. P90 lovers will not be let down.

Come into the shop and snag this one...from my cold dead hands. :)

reviewed by: Rene C.

Radial's Workhorse Cube: Both Workhorse-like and Cube-shaped.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 06:11:00 +0000

Over the weekend, I took home a Radial Workhorse Cube to get familiar with three of their new 500-series modules: the Powerpre, the Q3 Induction Coil EQ, and the Komit compressor. The Radial products I'm most familiar with are transparent tools like DI boxes and Reampers, which they do a great job at, but I was curious what they would bring to a channel-strip-style setup like this.

I had a session over the weekend with a female singer songwriter, and had opportunities to try the Workhorse on a few things. Before you even plug it in, Radial's excellent build quality shows with their solid steel construction and baked enamel finishes, and every knob and switch feels substantial, which makes the units fun to work with. Of course, I eventually calmed down and plugged the thing in. Even this was easy thanks to the Powerpre's front XLR input, and a 'feed' switch between each channel, which sends a unit's output into the next unit, eliminating the need for patch cables. Other fun on the Workhorse's rear includes a Link switch for stereo linkage, and an Omniport input, a 1/4" jack for each unit that provides extra functionality.

My first test was kick drum. The Powerpre is wonderfully quiet for the +55dB of gain it boasts, but on kick the Q3 was what really stood out. A few mild adjustments on the 12-position Grayhill switches brought out what I was looking for on both lows and highs, while the Mid Cut knob took away some of the pesky "basketball-sounding" frequencies. The Q3's Omniport is assigned as an effects loop. My only gripe about the Q3 is a minor one, and that is that the Shift switch for each band is hard to get at, but that's a "set-and-forget" type thing anyway, so maybe I'll just stop complaining already.

Next up, I wanted to see how my guest channel strip would squash a room mic for me, so I put a Peluso 2247LE (psst, also available at Rock N Roll Rentals!) through the Workhorse. The Peluso is a great mic all by itself, and didn't need the Q3 to help it out, but the Komit squeezed my room mic nicely, gluing disparate sounds like bells and accordion together without sucking the life out of them. As with the other two modules, there are fewer than five controls (including the "On" feature), so the Komit works a lot of magic on it's own, thanks in part to it's full-size discrete electronics and Hammond broadcast transformers. With the Komit, the Omniport is a key input for side-chaining or de-essing.

Radial Engineering's Workhorse Cube and 500-series modules offered me a lot of great sounds, thanks to great craftsmanship and well-thought-out features, and it's portable enough to take anywhere. I highly recommend taking one home for yourself, especially at Rock N Roll Rentals' awesome Reservation Rate of $47 for Tues/Wed/Thurs- Monday or only $108 for a month!

Also available pre-filled! That is to say, filled with preamps.

reviewed by:
-John Pearson

X-Mas wasn't too chilly with the Mojave Audio MA-300...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:19:00 +0000

Over the holiday weekend I took a test-drive with the MA-300 large-diaphragm condenser microphone from Mojave Audio. Initially, I was skeptical about it. I had never heard of ‘Mojave Audio’ as a brand until recently, and I had assumed that it was a semi-affordable condenser to compete with AKG or Audio-Technica. I quickly found out that there was a lot more to the company and the mic than I could have anticipated.

Mojave Audio is a relatively new company, created by ‘ribbon microphone’ legend David Royer. If you aren’t familiar, Royer reintroduced ribbon microphones to the world in the late 1990’s, and became an instant legend for doing so. Royer’s work has often been compared to the quality of leading German products, and his mics are regarded as a studio essential for achieving rich and warm tones.

The MA-300 is loaded with JAN military-grade vacuum tubes, a 15- DB pad, as well as a high-pass filter, and multiple patterns (which is the only difference between cardioid sibling MA-200). It’s multiple patterns are controllable from a converter box, which allow it to use cardioid, figure-8, and Omni patterns. This converter box sends it’s own phantom power, and it can handle phantom power added additionally, which is handy if you want to use it in large mic set-ups.

To start, I set it up to record some chimey acoustic guitar. It instantly sounded so gratifying. It focused on high-mids, and cancelled out any problem frequencies that often occur on recording acoustic guitars. Instantly upon play-back, the guitar sat out in the mix, with a warm tone and the exact frequency range I wanted to it to sit in. I was so impressed! Perhaps it’s the JAN tubes in them, but this mic instantly sounds golden. Recently I tested the P-67, which I was also immensely impressed by (see Colin Laflin’s awesome P-67 review), but the MA-300 achieved the sound I was peronsally wanting to hear from Peluso’s replica.

Next I moved onto testing it on vocals, and yet again, it performed flawlessly. The vocals sat in the mix pre-EQ or compression almost exactly where they needed to be. It handled lows smoothly, and in the high mid-range (1kHz+) is where the mic added compression like warmth and voice. Something I didn’t get to try that most demos and reviews of the MA-300 praise is its ability as a drum room/overhead microphone.

I highly recommend checking out this awesome product from Mojave Audio, and the best way to take the test drive I did on your own recording is to rent it from Rock N’ Roll Rentals!!! You can get it for a “Reservation Rate” (Tues/Wed/Thurs-Monday) for $29 or on a monthly rental for $64, which is a real steal for getting to know this and other recording microphones!

-William Glosup

Rupert Neve's Time Machine Tape-o-Magnetron-alizer

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 23:27:00 +0000

Just kidding. On review here is the Portico 5042 Tape FX unit from Rupert Neve Designs, a tape simulator meant to capture the fatness and saturation of recording to tape, without the expense and Lord-of-The-Rings-caliber journey it takes to acquire magnetic tape. The general idea is simple - use all the analog components of a tape machine (fat transformers, tape heads, etc.) - and in place of the tape, have a saturation control.

It's fairly common to record sources with lots of transient content (particularly things inclined to be harsh...i.e. cymbals) like drums, acoustic guitar, and vocals to tape for a number of reasons. Tape acts as a limiter - when things peak above the area that can be written to tape, that portion of the waveform is simply shaved off, without losing the "punch"...even the best of limiters have a hard time doing this. The components in a tape machine generate a lot of "harmonics", particularly 3rd order harmonics, which for a wide variety of reasons, cancel and phase frequencies down the spectrum. In normal, practical, "actually matters" parlance, it mellows harsh things out and makes them sound "rich".

As for the unit itself, it does this far better than any plugins I've used. The transformer selection is typical for the rest of the Portico line, and imparts a very fat "Portico sound", heavy in the 300-500hz range, which can overwhelm certain things quickly, but is great for fattening up thin parts.
The saturation is great - can be driven incredibly hard and still retain punch, and because of the two channels, you can run a single source to both channels (depending on the setup of your patchbay) and treat the same signal in parallel...leaving one nearly untouched and the other smashed to heck (a technique commonly used on vocals, bass, or drum buss). The tape "speed controls" simulate what happens at different tape speeds - namely a more responsive high-end at the faster setting. This can sometimes add "harshness", depending on the source, but is particularly helpful if the Portico 500hz "fatness" is overwhelming.

My biggest gripe with this unit, one that rendered it EXTREMELY tedious, is the lack of a stereo link. For all intents and purposes, this is a dual mono unit. The pots aren't precise enough that similar settings yield similar saturation, so sending stereo sources through it like a mix or drum overheads (two MAJOR USES for analog tape) is incredibly time consuming and tedious. It took ages to get the stereo image balanced, and even then, I wasn't certain if I was achieving identical effects on the L and R channels of my overhead track...resulting in a shifty snare and kick that seemed to dance around my overhead "center". This was even more noticeable on a full mix.

If you need to run this on several mono sources, or run a single source through two different saturation units, this unit is killer. Sometimes this unit is all it took to get something to sit in the mix. If you're looking for something to reliably handle stereo channels though, you should be prepared to spend some time dialing it in. Either way, great to track through-right after the pre, before the interface - to fat sounds, nice limiting (often essential in today's demand for loud mixes/masters), and well worth the money! $43 a weekend, $95 a month, at Rock N Roll Rentals!

Hail, "Heil!"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:24:00 +0000

If you haven't noticed, which I'm sure you have - Rock N Roll Rentals is now carrying Heil microphones. The creator, Bob Heil, is really giving the big brands a run for their money with the release of his extraordinary line of dynamic microphones. I was able to experiment with the PR-40 while tracking local punk-alternative band, "Cannibal Barbie" at Werd Recording Suite.
At first feel, the mic's build and weight gave claim of an undeniably great product. The solid capsule coupled with a dense grille could even make certain GmbH microphone manufacturers jealous of it's resilience. Now, where to put it?

First came the drums. The large diaphragm, and the likeness to the Electro-Voice RE-20 begged for me to put it on the kick drum, but I did not. I was already very content with my Audix D6/Shure SM7b combination - and, let's be honest, we all know where we like that huge pickup; the snare. But why? I always enjoy capturing a full sound of the snare drum, moving away from things like SM57s, MD421s, or similar products. This is not to discount the awesomeness engrained in the workhorse dynamic mics, but we as engineers seem to always feel the craving to have our own "sound" for future generations to use the "[your name here] miking technique." In a bluegrass, jazz, or soft rock situation, I would be tempted to even use a large diaphragm condenser such as the Neumann TLM 103, but with a piccolo snare being whipped like a racehorse, no amount of padding on my signal chain would bear the intensity of the cracks - not to mention the intense bleed of the accompanying noisemakers. The resulting recording of the snare was actually not surprising at all. This is NOT a bad thing - it sounded like a dynamic mic should on a drum. The big plus was the addition of some low end - thickening the snappy sound of the snare. The lateral rejection capability of this mic was a little weak, but not disappointing. I was pleasantly satisfied with the track - but not done yet.

The following day, we tracked vocals. Again, I had to steer away from the large diaphragm condenser because of their susceptibility to harshness on loud or screaming vocals. Furthermore, we have all seen Thom Yorke's shrill mouth literally eating the end-cap of the RE-20, so I felt the need to try the dynamics on these vocals. Just in case, I put alongside the Shure SM7b as a safety precaution. I realized while setting up, the PR-40 would be much more diverse in its capabilities had it high-pass and/or 'presense' options on it (as the SM7b has). After review of the 'game tape,' I actually ended up sticking with the SM7 for these vocals. My reasoning was - the vocalist's nasally lyrics did not play well with the frequency response of the PR-40. It was a VERY close call. I even considered using both and blending the two, but in the end, the PR-40 did not make the cut for these tracks.

In the end, had I not another mic to compare to, I would have easily kept and been highly satisfied with the sound of the PR-40. At a $21/month rental rate though - really - you MUST use this mic.

Written by Audio Engineer/Producer Ali Ramzanali

The New U (...67 copy, that is)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:13:00 +0000

On review today is the Peluso P67, modeled after the famous vintage (discontinued, and thus wildly expensive) Neumann U-67. It's not uncommon for well-maintained 67's to sell for upwards of $10,000. Until John Peluso spent over 2 years on the p67 to get it just right, attaining its signature sound (think the Beatles' Revolver, Bob Dylan, Chris Cornell's Soundgarden tenure, Kurt Cobain on "Nevermind", among many, many, many others) - meant shelling out big bucks in an expensive studio or, if you were lucky enough to live in L.A., New York, or Nashville, renting one for nearly the price of a month's mortgage payment.

Fortunately for us, Peluso Microphone Labs put in the time with several great u-67 specimens and tweaked the p67design til it closely matched the original, creating a mic that holds its own in shootouts with the best of engineer-ears.

The original u67 finds its use primarily on vocals, acoustic guitar, and less often (though no less spectacularly) on electric guitar cabs. I can't really describe with words what it does to the sound, but as this is a blog, I'll try...and you can listen to clips below.

It seemed to be that vocally (clips 1 and 2), it captured about what I'd expected - a nice low end, detailed midrange, and a crispy but not overhyped high end. In terms of high end, I'd put it somewhere between a u47 and a c12 (or for existing Peluso fans, a 2247 and p12). The midrange is where I really sensed something unique. Interesting handling of the critical 400-600 range, and a very unique sounding upper midrange. While the response is spec'd as mostly "flat", we all know the human voice is anything but, and putting several vocalists in front yielded a consistently unique, interesting EQ curve.

The mic was dense in the midrange, with a particular emphasis in the 500 region (a region typically reserved for things that occupy the "front" of a mix), and around the forward sounding 2k region, which would ordinarily yield a very "forward" sounding vocal track, if not for the interesting phasing/compression characteristics. More on this later. There was a high frequency air present as well which began its rolloff somewhere around 8k. In many ways, this is a "midrangey" mic, not boasting the warm, resonating low end and bright, airy high end of the p12. The clips of the acoustic are a great indicator of the low and high end differences (clips 3 and 4).

Most fascinating was the mic's tendency to sound somewhat compressed already, even filtered in a way. Some reading and novice examination of the u67 schematic shows several negative feedback loops, which without getting overly technical, loops the signal back in to earlier parts of the circuit, resulting in phase cancellation at certain frequencies and gives things a very unique color and a somewhat "squished" sound. (The forward, fast, "spanky" sound of a Vox AC-30 is primarily due to its LACK of negative feedback loops. The bloom and compression heard in many Two-Rock amps, particularly the John Mayer signature head, are the result of carefully tuned negative feedback.) The tube only accentuates this tendency toward compression, resulting in a sound similar to fast attack, medium release settings on a compressor...a sound known to push things "back" in a mix. This all comes together to bring us a mic that sounds detailed and forward EQ-wise without being difficult to place into the mix. Given the desire for compressed vocal sounds, it's no wonder 67 microphones are all over modern rock records.

I was most pleasantly surprised when I decided, given its interesting midrange, to try it on electric guitar cabs. No matter what sound came out of the amp, the resulting signal (again through the neutral FMR RNP) had an unmistakable vintage, retro vibe to it, a certain throatiness (due to its handling of the 500hz range) that perfectly accentuated the sounds of a Gretsch ( see clips 5 and 6) or Telecaster.

Needless to say, next time I need to record an edgy or aggressive vocal track or am in need of a vintage "vibe" to my guitar tracks, I will be reaching for Peluso's p67. You can do so as well at Rock n Roll Rentals, for $45 (weekend rate, Tuesday to Monday) or $100 bucks for the month.

Latest tracks by Rock n Roll Rentals

by Colin Laflin

Peluso P28: Your Acoustic's New Best Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 08:41:00 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to record a mid-tempo track for Austin songwriter Paul Whitney, consisting of acoustic guitar, mandolin, brushed snare, hand percussion, and vocals. The goal here was to sound natural and close, with an intimate sense of space and a degree of polish without harsh brightness. So I set out to find some gear.

I've always felt frustrated recording acoustic guitar - it has to have warmth and body and transient crispness - all without sounding boomy or thin. I think we're all familiar with "cardboard box with strings" recordings of acoustic instruments, or worse, the god-awful "ice-pick on strings" sound often achieved by incorrectly chasing "sheen" and "polish".

Worse still, these problems can't be corrected with compression without very obvious artifacts - fine in a layered rock mix, but murderous to the vibe of a quiet acoustic song. My quest then, was to find a flat, natural microphone, one that could pleasantly squish some transients, and provide a warm tone while keeping a "woofs" and "booms" at bay.

Enter the Peluso P28 pencil tube microphone.

The Mic:
A small diaphragm condenser modeled after the classic AKG C28 (but at a fraction of the cost!) this condenser imparts the warmth and body so sought after with large diaphragm condensers (which would ordinarily "boom" and "scrape" on an acoustic guitar recording), with the accuracy and transient response of a small diaphragm condenser. Though listed as a small diaphragm condenser, at 18mm, it's larger than expected compared to something like a Rode NT5 (13mm).
What attracted me to this microphone was the tube, however - not because tubes are "rad" or "vintage" (although, they totally are), but because tubes are known for their natural compression characteristics, which seemed promising for handling pick noise and harshness.

The Setup:
Peluso p28, Rode Nt5, SM-57 Kel Audio HM7U
FMR RNP
Tascam USB 1641

I setup with a commonly used mic setup - SM-57 on the 12th fret of the acoustic, Peluso p28 on the soundhole, both mics about a foot away from the instrument, and the Kel Audio Large Diaphragm condenser capturing some room ambience. This yielded a nice sound, though not really resembling what i was hearing in the room. The 57 over-emphasized the upper mids, and the p28 was a little too "warm" and close sounding. I was pleased, however, to find that even with vigorous strumming it was immune to the boom and random resonances you often hear from other mics.

So I changed my approach, using a technique more often found in bluegrass and country settings - the Peluso over the player's shoulder, pointed down at the soundhole where the pick hits the strings (about a foot away), and given the p28's warmth, the nt5 on the 12th fret a foot away (in case i needed to mix in additional brightness). This position really hit the spot - yielding a warm, natural sound with a little bit of roominess to it, with a smooth high end, that, due to the tube and careful positioning, avoided the terrible ice pick scrape sound. After a little tweaking, we were off to tracking. See clips 1-4 on the player below.

P28 Review by Colin Laflin

Next was the Mandolin - I used a similar position (why change what's already working?) to great results - see clips 5 and 6 - the p28 providing more warmth and body to the mandolin than what was actually present in the room! It really made a $300 dollar mandolin sound alot more expensive than it was. I added a little LA-2A compression to smooth out the high notes, and boosted a little 500-600hz to emphasize the "throatiness" of the instrument.

Next was the brushed snare part - a driving rhythm that runs through the song, we needed airiness without harshness or too much snap. I can't say enough about how well suited the p28 was for under the snare - 4 inches away from the bottom head, 45 degree angle, just slightly short of where the snares hit the head, taming what can often be a terribly NASTY snap of snares into a palatable "pit pat". Add a 57 on top for some body, and I had my snare sound. The clips you hear below have no compression or eq...the squish and gush you hear is all that beautiful little tube!

Just for fun, I tracked some shaker with the p28 as well - again, accurate transient response with the right amount of gush and swish, smooth, present highs.

I was thoroughly impressed with this mic - I will never, ever record another snare without trying one of these underneath. And the same goes for the acoustic guitar - unless I'm layering on top of a massive rock mix, I plan on having a pair of these around anytime I need to track acoustic instruments. Natural, warm, smooth high end, and immune to booms and harsh, scrapy highs. Nicely done, Peluso. The c451b's should be shaking in their shockmounts.

I should probably also mention that everything used in the recording - including the guitar and mandolin (with the exception of the Kel HM7U room mic) - can be rented at Rock n Roll Rentals!

In particular, all of this Peluso P28 goodness can be yours from Rock n Roll Rentals for the weekend rate of only 17 bucks!

Reviewed by Colin Laflin

Red is the new White!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:57:00 +0000

I heard that Jack White loves using Ribbon Mics exclusively while recording electric guitar. Though, I play nothing like he does, I do like his guitar sounds more often than not. By recommendation, I decided to use a Shure KSM313 Bi-directional 'Roswellite' Ribbon Mic in front of my Vox AC15 the other night while recording a few guitar parts. Shure hand-makes these mics with a super-elastic paramagnetic material, modeled after Crowley & Tripp's conventional foil ribbon designed to produce 2 distinct impedance gradients on each side of the transducer. I started out by placing the mic dead-center, about 8-inches away from the grill... and it sounded so good right off the bat, that I didn't move it. The front 'logo-side' of the KSM313 captured a full, round sound slightly mid-range and on the dark-side. I recorded some 'jangly' guitar chords this way and it hit the spot! When I turned the mic around, I recorded a few single-note guitar melodies, slightly overdriven, it seemed to capture a bit more of the higher frequencies, while still retaining alot of the low-end. I'm going to continue trying out various Ribbon Mics on guitar in the coming months after my positive experience with the KSM313 and I recommend using it on your next electric guitar recording. Also check out the other 'Red' gear we have in stock at Rock N Roll Rentals. (see also Nord)

by Jared Paul Boulanger

API/ATI 8MX2: Classic Taste, Modern Face

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:41:00 +0000

Automated Processes, Inc. (lovingly known as API), has been creating modular '500 series' studio gear since 1968. Their inevitable growth in popularity brought them much success, as well as the opportunity to develop more lines of gear and better circuitry. After their recent aquisition by ATI, API released the 8MX2 8 x 2 x 8 Mixer/ Mic Pre.

I was able to use this solidly-assembled tank of pre's in a recent session with Miranda Dawn & The Lucky Break Horns at Werd Recording Suite. The application was for a 3-piece horn ensemble (tenor sax, baritone sax, and trombone) using 3 Royer R-121's, as well as a Peluso 2247LE as a room mic. Ribbon mics are notorious for being able to round of the harshness of a blasting horn - and round, they did. Coupled with the 8MX2, I was able to not only boost my gain enough for the ribbons while adding minimal floor noise, but I was also able to soft limit the horns' raging signals.
The final product? Brilliant. No, they're not 500 series ATI Pre's, but good-gosh - they will be an awesome addition to your rack (at a meager $170/month at Rock n Roll Rentals.)
by Ali Ramzanali

Compress your Preamp or Pretend you're on 'Mash'...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:40:00 +0000

One of the perks of working for Rock N Roll Rentals besides 'Pizza-Saturdayzz' is that we get to test all sorts of musical and recording equipment most of us otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to experiment with... This luxury comes especially handy when you're a poor musician and can't afford to record in a studio. So here I am needing to track drums for my band The Sour Notes in my guitar-player's East-side warehouse apartment... Two of the pieces of gear I chose among others was the JDK R20 Dual Channel Mic Preamp and R22 Dual Channel Compressor.

Upon first look at the gear... the rugged, militaristic design and simplistic control panel immediately attracted me to the R20 & R22. I'm a big fan of machines that don't have too-many buttons to fiddle with and when it comes to audio processing, I'd like to think things tend to sound a bit more 'natural' the less you do to it. With the R22, you'll notice, unlike most Compressors, that it doesn't feature 'attack' or 'release' functions, but fear not... You can achieve very controlled compression on whatever you run through it, just with a few less knobs to turn. I've used many similar types of 'rack-compressors' when recording and one thing I appreciated most about the R22 was it's ability to retain most of the original sound's dynamics even when 'hard' compressing. I ended up running a 'top-snare' mic and kick drum through it and found that with a few flicks of a switch and minor dial adjustments, my kick drum tones varied from big ballon-type roundness to quick, punchy-pops all while retaining alot of what I started with coming out of the preamp.... Which brings me to the JDK R20 Dual Channel Preamp. It's pretty basic! 1 gain knob really... What I'm gathering is that JDK products are really into processing your sound 'subtly'. Simple and smooth-sounding... Less is sometimes more!

by Jared Paul Boulanger

Tour without bringing your own gear!... sort of

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:49:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to perform at the CMJ Music Marathon in NYC... The only problem was that I didn't find out my band The Sour Notes were officially selected until the previous week, meaning the band would have to jump on a plane last minute and travel across the country for a 'one off' show without our gear. The venue we were playing did have a minimal backline, though not accommodating (speaker cabinets without 'heads')... so, since we couldn't make a tour out of it and drive our gear up there in the van, we had to come up with an alternative to 'checking in' our precious tube amps at the airport. Luckily, Electro Harmonix has a nifty line of portable guitar amplification that fits in your carry-on bag called the 22-Caliber & the 44-Magnum, which my band-mate Chris and I both used instead of our amps. We plugged them straight into 4-10 cabs at the venue and were amazed at how great they sounded. The 22-Caliber & 44-Magnum power amps are easy to use, having just a volume knob and a bright/normal switch that gives you two tone options. In my opinion, these little boxes of magic sound just as real as a guitar amplifier and can even 'break up' a little when dialed right. So, if you're already a minimalist pack-er and want to travel even light-er, look into renting the EHX 22-Caliber & 44-Magnum power amp magic boxes from us at Rock N Roll Rentals!!! They, like us... are show-savers!!!

by Jared Paul Boulanger

Royer's R-101 Budget Ribbon Studio Mic: An Intro to Royer

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 04:16:00 +0000

Any gear head will tell you that despite the amount of upkeep and special attention they require, ribbon microphones can produce a tone that can not be matched by any small, medium, or large diaphragm condenser, and therefore are worth their minty price tag. The richness and stability of the tone, as well as the ability to withstand outrageous SPL's makes the ribbon mic a must have. Drum overheads, electric guitar amps, and brass instruments are probably the most common applications, but when put in breathing proximity to an acoustic guitar or vocals - a characteristic 'vintage' sound reminiscent of the RCA heydays is produced.

Royer Labs, creators of the studio-staple R-121, have released a ribbon mic at a price almost $500 less than the 121, making it their most affordable mic. Despite the lower list price - their infamous 'offset-ribbon transducer' patent was still able to make its appearance in the R-101. Unlike the Californian sister mics of the R-101, the capsule is manufactured overseas (surprise!). However, this does not at all discount the capability of this mics performance.

I was able to try the R-101 earlier this month at Werd Recording Suite to record a piece for the bassoon entitled "Sonata" by Johann Friedrich Fasch, only it was played on a saxophone.

The heavyset mic is set - front side toward the bell for the 'less bright' tone.

Breathe in, press record, monitor carefully, press stop, exhale.

Not surprising, that ribbon tone in through my 80's-era Studiomaster pre's and out through a pair of Adam A7s displayed a tone that warmed my blood and almost stopped my heart - almost.

The presence of the saxophone's reedy resonance showed characteristic of a Royer mic, but there was something different - a darker tone. Personally speaking, it was not the best tone for this application. Perhaps the back of the mic would have sufficed.

Overall I was satisfied, but not thrilled about this mic, but for the price - it would be hard to say no to add the R-101 to your mic collection.

Check it out for yourself at Rock N Roll Rentals for $24 weekly or $48 monthly!

As an added bonus, a clip of the recording:

Written by Audio Engineer/Producer Ali Ramzanali

Boss PS-6 Harmonist Stomp Box

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:44:00 +0000

Boss PS-6 Harmonist

By Oscar Reyna

As Boss likes to do, they have taken one of there older pedals and updated it. In this case they have taken the PS-5 Super Shifter and tweaked it a little. The result is the PS-6 which is somewhat of a multi-effects pedal that allows you to harmonize, pitch shift, detune, and super bend. This pedal allows you to do 3 voice guitar harmonies with the option select the key. A variety of intelligent pitch shift modes recall the Digitech Whammy pedal. Boss’s new technology, the Super Bend, lets you make up to four octaves of pitch bending by stepping on the pedal as if you were engaging it, which is also a feature of the Digitech Whammy pedal. You can also control pitch with the use of an optional expression pedal. The detune function is capable of creating a lush chorus sound without sounding totally cheesy. The PS-6 is a great and versatile pedal for the price (about $189 street price) all in one small stomp box. Guitarists who are fans of the Whammy pedal and bands like Radiohead, Failure, and locally Exeter will definitely want to pick this up.

The BOSS Harmonist is available for rental and sale at Rock n Roll Rentals

"You got any a dem Nooomans?"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:01:00 +0000

The answer is 'Yes', we have a wide variety of Neumann Microphones available for rent at our warehouse. Neumann is an industry standard for high quality studio mics from Germany. I recently took home a pair of Neumann TLM 102 cardioid mics to try them out while recording a string quartet on a song for my band The Sour Notes. I set up the pair of TLM 102's in an X-Y configuration in the middle of the string quartet who were arranged in a 'half-moon' shape about 4 feet away. I was immediately surprised how well the TLM 102's captured the sharpness of the violins without sounding too-bright, which many large diaphragm mics tend to do. The mic's are a little 'hot' and on the mid-range-y side, but after some minor adjustments with seating the string quartet, like moving the cello furthest away, I was able to get a nice blend of high, mid and low end from them. The mic's really made recording that day a breeze and with the right stereo panning you can get them to sit nicely in the mix with plenty of room to breathe. I'd recommend these mics to anyone recording strings, acoustic guitar, hand-percussion, tamborines, etc... To my ears, they seem to work well with the types of sounds you would want a little dark while retaining it's clarity.

-Reviewed by Jared Paul Boulanger