Passive balanced line mixer

Passive balanced line mixer

To kick off 2014, I am streamlining my live gigging rig. The 2 keyboards (Roland Fantom G7 and Korg Kronos 73) will remain the same, but I am completely changing my stage monitoring setup. For several years I have used a small Soundcraft Compact 10 mixer feeding into...

Alctron HST-11a mod (Apex 460)

Alctron HST-11a mod (Apex 460)

  This is now the 3rd microphone mod I have embarked upon. This time around, I am implementing one of the popular micrphone mods out there, popularly known as the Apex 460 mod. In my case, however, the donor microphone is an Alctron HST-11a, which is identical to...

Alctron GT-2B modification

Alctron GT-2B modification

  Following on from the MXL 990 mod, I am now starting on modifying an Alctron GT-2B. This is a chinese built tube condenser with the standard format of PSU that allows a stepped nine-position sweep though omni, cardioid and figure-8 polar patterns. For the...

MXL 990 modification pt. 2

MXL 990 modification pt. 2

This is the follow-on article from the previous blog post on the MXL990 modification. The job starts with dismantling the mic by unscrewing the retaining nut on the bottom of the mic body and then unscrewing the main lower body cover. Then unscrewing the 2 bolts that...

MXL 990 modification

MXL 990 modification

I am just about to embark on a set of microphone modifications and builds after having been inspired by the Recording Hacks website. To this end I recently nabbed an MXL990 microphone off eBay for only £40 and thought it would make a suitable candidate for my first...

Enjoy the Silence

Enjoy the Silence

Back in the early 90’s I was happily making music with an Atari ST, Roland MT32, Casio CZ-101 and a Roland TR-707. It was quite a powerful system for the time given it’s relatively low cost. As I have always done, I had converted a spare bedroom into a makeshift home studio to be able to setup my ever expanding collection of musical equipment. I was writing some of my own original music, was co-creating original music as part of a synth-pop duo (the duo was called “Gotcha” – with the very talented Steve Austin) in which we also did some covers. One of the covers I created to an almost obsessive degree was “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode.

How I got started in ColdFusion

How I got started in ColdFusion

  I'm following the suggestion to make 1st Aug "How I got started in ColdFusion" day (How I got started in ColdFusion Day). To set some context, I was employed at The Daily Express (I was there for 14 years) and moved into some web based applications as we were...