Featured Equipment Of The Week: RME Fireface UCX USB/Firewire interface

RME Fireface UCX USB/Firewire interface
The Fireface UCX is a highly integrated pro audio solution in an ultra-compact format for studio and live recordings. It continues RME's long tradition of designing compact high-end interfaces, packing into a half-rack size unit what usually would be spread out over two or three 19 inch panels.
Find out more: RME Fireface UCX

FEATURES
With the Fireface UCX RME reinvented an already perfect product, by improving existing features and characteristics plus adding sophisticated new ones:

• Low Latency mastering grade converters with outstanding specifications.
• Two mic preamps with the premium technology from RME's high-end recording bestsellers Micstasy and UFX, including the AutoSet overload protection.
• A newly developed Hammerfall audio core, supporting USB and FireWire with the maximum performance and ultra-low latency operation, combined with the legendary RME driver stability and maintenance, on both bus protocols.
• TotalMix FX with the complete Fireface UFX DSP engine, including all effects up to 192 kHz.
• Monitoring Controller: combining the impressive flexibility of the TotalMix FX monitoring tool set and the included RME Remote Control.
• RME's unique DIGICheck metering and analysis toolbox for Windows PC and Mac.
• Plus support for RME's Advanced Remote Control, active jitter suppression technology, professional reference level support, advanced stand-alone functionality, full 192 kHz operation, and last but not least two high speed MIDI I/Os.
• On top of it: The Fireface UCX is the first professional audio interface with Class Compliant mode to work with Apple's iPad, for perfect stereo up to 8 channel recording and playback, and the addition of truly professional I/Os.

All in all the Fireface UCX is the new compact-sized dream interface, created with care for every detail, and a new premium solution for any desktop and live usage, without compromises in sound, stability and ultra-low latency operation.

Buy RME Fireface UCX at Revolution Audio

Featured Equipment Of The Week: AKG K702 Premium Open-back Headphones

AKG K702 Premium Open-back Headphones
The K 702 are the new reference for open-back dynamic AKG headphones. They combine an extremely accurate response with yet unseen agility and spaciousness. This is achieved by using revolutionary flat-wire voice coils and a patented Varimotion™ two-layer diaphragm. A totally open design and a high performance cable complete these reference headphones.
Their comfortable, specially shaped “3D-form” ear pads and a padded genuine-leather headband ensure a perfect fit. They are individually tested and numbered.
Find out more: AKG K702 Premium Open Back Headphones

 
TOP FEATURES
 • Revolutionary flat wire technology
• High performance neodymium magnets
• Patented Varimotion 2-layer diaphragm
• Detachable professional cable
• Unique and replaceable heavy duty 3-D cut ear pads
• New soft cushioned genuine leather headband
• Pre-selected transducers
• Individually tested and numbered
• Made in Austria

AKG K702 studio headphones are available at Revolution Audio

Using Guitar Pedals For Mixing

Today I have a quick tip that can make mixing a lot of fun.
Use guitar pedals for mixing

Plugins are great but its just not the same as running sounds through real analog circuits. You can send sounds out of your audio interface, tweak the pedal settings and even 'play' the pedal to do realtime automation. It can be a lot of fun to work this way.

For the demonstration I've recorded an electric guitar directly into my DAW with Amplitube for amp and cabinet simulation. I'm going to then run the signal through an Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy analog delay pedal.

Here is the sound of the direct guitar.
Direct Guitar
Here is the guitar with the Amplitube plugin added (stereo, amp+speaker+mic)
Guitar + Amplitube

Now I'm going to run the sound through the pedal. To do this in your home studio you need an audio interface with a couple spare analog outputs, if your interface has 4 analog outputs, that's perfect.
Connect a guitar cable from output 3 of the interface to the input of the pedal. Connect the ouput of the pedal to one of the instrument inputs of your interface (usually in 1 or 2). In this case, I'm going from output 5 through the Memory Boy and into input 1 of my Profire 2626.

In the DAW you need to tell the signal where to go. Most DAWs will have a plugin for hardware inserts. In this next example I have the hardware insert before the amp, just like if I had the pedal before the amp. When you do this remember to keep the mix control of the pedal to about 50% or less, you still want to have the clean guitar get through.
Hear how it sounds with the delay before the amp
Guitar + analog delay insert

There's another way to use pedals and that's as a separate FX track. Add a new mono track to your project. You can either use the the hardware insert plugin again and have the other tracks send to this track, or set the track to monitor the analog input and have the other tracks send to the analog output.

Here I have the guitar track sending to my delay track, which has the hardware insert plugin set the same as before. The direct guitar signal goes into amp plugin, then to the master output. The signal from this track is also going to the delay track. It then goes into the insert plugin, out the interface, into the delay, (set to 100% wet, no clean sound) and then into the interface and to the same track. I hope this makes sense. The benefit of doing it this way is you can blend in as much of this signal as you want. You can also use plugins before and after to shape the sound independently of the original tracks. Also, you can send multiple tracks in at the same time.

Here is the guitar through the delay as a send. (delay after the amp in the chain)
Guitar + Delay Send

And finally, here is what the delay track sounds like soloed.
Delay Return Soloed

I hope this has been helpful.