I like many, was saddened when it came to light that the Sony M10 handheld recorder was being discontinued. The incredibly portable machine has decent mics, batteries for days, and a formfactor that allows it to be carried almost anywhere. In the year or two since it's discontinuation, sound professionals have been waiting and wondering if there was a successor. When Roland … [Read more...]
Instamic Pro — First Impressions
This time around I decided to do something different: instead of an article, I’ve created a video to better demonstrate a few of my experiences with the Instamic Pro so far. While there will be a full review of it, I thought it would be noteworthy to talk to you about some observations. … [Read more...]
Hilarity in Unexpected Places
Let the Libraries Laugh! Curating and organizing libraries is a part of this discipline that I love. Previewing, testing, merging into databases, updating master caches, and of course, designing. Libraries are just...fun. For this month’s theme I wanted to embrace that wilier side of this more clerical end of our work. I always like to stumble across sounds that take me by … [Read more...]
Zoom H2n Review — A Portable Storyteller
Whenever I meet someone who's keen in getting into post audio the most common thing they mention is that if they had the right tools, only then they would be able to break into the industry. While we tend to associate higher quality with higher price, this relationship is not always accurate and for sound that is no exception. It's true that expensive recorders are expected to … [Read more...]
Sony ICD-SX2000 review
Audible tears were heard slowly rolling down sound designer’s cheeks when Sony discontinued both their M10 and D50 field recording models recently. They were affordable recorders with built-in mics that also offered plug-in power for attaching microphones with an 1/8” connection or a preamp for XLR mics. The recorders were well regarded for their small footprint, … [Read more...]
Dehumaniser II v1.2.1 Review
I remember remarking to an audio plug-in developer at GDC earlier this year that for a plugin to be widely adopted amongst working professionals (especially those in the film post-production community) I felt that before anything else, it had to save the user time. Original ideas, new workflows and cool sounds are all well and good, but if it extends an already complex and … [Read more...]
BaseHead 4.x Review and Dev Q/A
Sound library software isn't a particularly sexy category of product. They don't direclty improve the sound of your work and they often look very utilitarian, but for professionals, they are an indispensable tool that saves time by making your pallet of sounds more immediately accessible and navigable. In that spirit, I'm abandoning convention and to save YOU time as you read … [Read more...]