 | | New Products - April 30, 2012 | | |
| | Today's Product Review | PAR Session Trial: Trusty DI Boxes featuring BSS, Countryman, Radial Engineering, Samson & Switchcraft
By Rob Tavaglione
Our ninth Session Trial -- PAR's ongoing series of comparative, real-world gear evaluations -- examines a field of six popular DI boxes to discover if there are significant differences and any resulting application-based preferences amongst the lot. Like the Shure SM57 in our ‘Workhorse Dynamic Microphones’ Session Trial [PAR January 2010], we first selected an industry standard for a baseline reference: the Countryman Type 85 (active electronics, w/ input pad, ground lift, and thru jack). Popular on the touring scene, Radial Engineering's active J48 (pad, lift, thru, merge, low cut) and passive JDI (dual pad, lift, thru, merge) DIs were natural choices, too. We also picked an old-favorite active DI, the AR-133 from BSS Audio (dual pad, lift, thru, power switch), as well as the budget-friendly S-Direct active DI from Samson (pad, lift, thru). Adding another passive model to be thorough, the new Switchcraft SC800 (pad, lift, thru) with its rugged body and Jensen transformer completed the roster nicely. At the end of this Session Trial evaluation, I also tried Countryman's latest -- the Type 85 active DI -- with interesting results. More » | |
| | Today's Blog | Final Master Delivery for Our Post-Physical Media World
By Rob Tavaglione
Final master delivery to the client has become so multifaceted today, with so many formats and end uses to address. As a mastering engineer, that means creating many different masters, in many different file types, for each song. I don't mind this so much; if it makes for superior playback in the marketplace, it's worth it. I just hope my stressed, technology-overwhelmed clients can keep up with all the changes and get the right files into all the right places. More » | | | | | | |
