Product Reviews

Headphone extensions have been the bane of many a sound engineer's existence. The cables on IEMs are never long enough to get from the musician's head to the Aviom or M-48, which means we need to provide some sort of extension cable. In the past, I've tried buying 1/4" headphone extensions and used 1/4" to 1/8" adapters, but those cheap, off-the-shelf adapters are very stiff and the adapters don't always work.

Recently, we've tried making our own. I found some super-thin cable and put a 1/4" TRS on one end with an 1/8" cable end on the other. Those worked well; at least until the 1/8" ends started failing -- which was about week 3. We then switched to regular cable (Mogami 2792) with a TRS on the PM end, and a locking 1/4" cable end with 1/4" to 1/8" adapter on the other. We even zip-tied a carabiner to the musician's end so they could clip to to their belt loops. Those work OK, but we've still had issues with the adapters (usually the left side cuts in and out).

While walking the trade show floor at WFX, I was tipped off to a possible solution. 

Read more: Personal Mixer Headphone Extensions

by Mike Sesser, ChurchTechArts.org

We first saw it at NAB in the spring, and have been anxious to get my hands on it ever since. The R-1000 is a 48-channel recorder/player that plugs right into a V-Mixing system using REAC. It can also be used in a MADI environment if you have an S-MADI Bridge...more on that in a moment. There a number of options for doing virtual soundcheck and multi-track recording out there, but the R-1000 has a few tricks up it's sleeve.

First, we'll consider it's use in a V-Mixing environment. If you are familiar with REAC, you know it's a 40-channel protocol. The R-1000 can record and play back up to 48 channels. It accomplishes this by having two sets of REAC ports. REAC A loops out to C, B loops out to D. Thus, if you have two stage boxes, the R-1000 drops into the system between the stage boxes and the mixer. You can easily pick off which channels get recorded up to a maximum of 48.

Read more: Roland R-1000 Multi-Track Recorder Player Review

That subject line caught my attention.  Maybe the author should write marketing materials, as opposed to microphone reviews.  If you're interested in reading more about a really high-quality drum microphone, check it out.  I don't think that I could even begin to write a review like this, so I'll remind you that I didn't.

This reviewer admits to some "pointless digressions" but I thought that his observations were worth a read.   If nothing else, I liked this comment in review of the new and improved DP30 snare & tom drum mic.

A point of interest is that the reviewer provides links to mp3's of non-drum recordings made with the DP30 so that you can hear the quality and versatility of the DP30.

Designed as a tom microphone, the DP30/C features a new and strengthened flexneck to better resist movement and aid positioning, along with a new machined "aluminum conic capsule back" to deflect direct stick hits, and the fastest transient response of any drum mic across 30hz-30khz. That last part is according to Earthworks, but I have no reason to not believe them.

The DP30 can also be purchased with or without the RM1 rim mount bracket. $799 without the RM1 and $999 with the RM1.

Call us or click here for more information about this and other High Definition Earthworks products.

The XD-V70 digital wireless microphone system from Line 6 delivers tremendous wireless performance. Exclusive digital technologies and the 2.4GHz broadcast ensure against all types of audible audio interference. Full-range frequency response, wide dynamic range and seven selectable models of popular live-sound mics allow you to tailor microphone selection for every vocalist and vocal application.

The handheld transmitter features six digital models that are based on top selling live-sound mics, including the Shure SM58, Shure Beta 58A, Sennheiser e835, Audio-Technica AE4100, Audix OM5 and Electro-Voice N D767a mic models.

Also included in the XD-V70 is a seventh model, the L6-DC7. The L6-DC7 is based on the combination of the frequency response of top condenser mics and the wide dynamic range of dynamic mics. As an added feature, the removable L6-DC7 capsule allows users to further customize the mic's polar pattern, frequency response and more.

If you need a great handheld system for under $500, take a look at the XD-V70 from Line 6.