Polyverse Comet Reverb Review
Apr 21, 2022
Production and Creative
Comet is a beautiful sounding reverb with a powerful yet intuitive design. The GUI has an…
Korg opsix FM Synth Review
The opsix is a powerful little FM based synth from Korg that sounds really good. Korg has made FM programming accessible with the opsix. They've included many of the iconic key and bell sounds you'll recognize from the DX-7 days but that's just a fraction of what the opsix is capable of. The presets are so good. Come for the built-in sounds, stay for the addition to discovery.
After downloading the 2.0 update we were impressed by many of the new presets that are complex patches that sound really good. With or without the built-in effects of the opsix the instruments you can create are very musical.
We love the way the opsix pairs with something like a subsequent 37. It's just the right combination of analog and FM we like. We found ourselves firing up the opsix more and more to simply explore the sounds and tweak the faders and knobs to see what we could come up with. We don't remember FM being this fun with the DX-7.
The opsix is cheaply made and does not inspire confidence upon unboxing. It's a lot of plastic with a really cheap keybed and, well, it's a lot of cheap plastic. We feel we could accidentally damage any of the various in/out jacks on the back of opsix easily. The main controls, knobs and faders are fine and we also love the way the opsix looks. It photographs really well. But it's really cheaply made. The BOM or bill of materials must be really low on this sucker. So kudos to Korg for making what we imagine is a fairly profitable unit at scale.
So yeah, it's cheaply made and we would have liked a much better keybed. However, what counts is the sound and the opsix sounds great. It really does. The built-in effects are really good and it pairs nicely with outboard gear too. At times, we simply forgot we were playing an FM based synth. It's that good. It's not just bells and biting sounds. The opsix can do warm pads, poly sizzle, and interesting atmospheric sounds as well. It's an extremely versatile synth and would be a great first synth to learn what FM can do.
Would be nice to see Korg release a sound module version of the opsix unless they plan on doing a better versions with a proper keybed with a much better feel and aftertouch...etc. For users where this is not their primary keyboard this isn't an issue. However, it wouldn't take much much to improve the keybed for the opsix plus.
Visit Korg for more information about the opsix and all the specs.
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- Category: Production and Creative
Man Blows up Tesla after Being Frustrated with Battery Repair
These guys really took their time to document what happened and why they decided to blow up the car.
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- Category: Fun and Entertaining Videos
BENEE - 3 Pack - Tough Guy / Supalonely / Snail
This has a such great vibe and this just shows you how versatile she is.
A rising star with talent and humor. We should be hearing a lot more from her. "Bubble in My Eyes" at 1:26 got us hooked on this track.
There is a pure joy to her music.
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- Category: Music Mix
Kelly Clarkson - Underneath the Tree Live!
Kelly sings with such joy, effortless and powerful. This is one of her best performances and this song has become a Christmas Classic. Her smile at 0:17 is everything.
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- Category: Music Mix
Lord Huron - Mine Forever
Discovered this one on the legendary XRT in Chicago. Just a great track for cruising the Lake Michigan shore.
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- Category: Music Mix
Ladyva - Ladyva's Stomp
Would be amazing to see Ladyva live in a small venue.
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- Category: Music Mix
Clif Family Winery
We love their mantra of sustaining their business, their people and the planet.
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- Category: Travel
ART Precision Phono Preamp for Turntables Review
One of the things we've been doing during Covid is listening to more vinyl. It's been nice to revisit the analog realm of the spinning discs. Of course, it was also a good time to check out some phono preamps. We created a nice compact setup with our vintage Pioneer turntable, Yamaha studio monitors and an ART Precision Phono Preamp. We pick it up for $65 and think it provides excellent value. It's small, easy to connect, nicely labeled and sounds great.
The ART includes settings for moving magnet and moving coil cartridges. It has a switchable low-cut filter and includes standard photo line input and output jacks. It's a very small unit so the power supply is external. On the front there's a gain control, clipping indicator and really bright power light. Really. They could make this 1/10 the brightness and that would be fine. ART should have a dimming capability because if you want to fall asleep to some vinyl this light is going to keep you up. Now, if you prefer to have a nighlight this offers extra value. Depends how you look at it but yes we had to put a cloth over that light at night. It's distracting. <br<
Other than that, this is a great little preamp. The sound quality clean and transparent with plenty of ouuput. We were able to drive our Yamaha studio monitors to very high output level no problem. For a simple, clean and very good sounding setup the ART Precision Phono Preamp is an excellent value.
Learn more and get all the specs here.
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- Category: Home Electronics
Metric - Brie Larson - Blacksheep - Emily/Brie Mashup - 2021
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Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Headphones Review, 250 Ohm version
The Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Headphones offer an excellent value in the $150 price range for professional level headphone with excellent isolation and long lasting comfort. There's a reason so many of our production friends refer to these as “the clouds” and you're seeing podcasters and field mixers replace their trusty Sony MDR-7506s with the DT 770s.
The DT 770s come in several versions depending on what type of device you think you'll be using to drive them. We've tested both the 80 Ohm and 250 Ohm versions and recommend the 250 Ohm version when connecting to professional gear and quality headphone amps. The 250 Ohm version pair nicely with a Mackie mixer for example and we could mix with confidence on par with our studio monitors. We found the 80 Ohm version a little boomy and less accurate.
The DT 770s are nicely made with beautiful velour ear pads that make them comfortable to wear for extended sessions. Since these pads are inherent to the design you get the comfort and the quality sound. If you replace the ear pads on the Sony MDR-7506s with velour pads the sound is not the same and they're still not as comfortable to wear as the DT 770s. The DT 770s have a better feel overall. We also like the look of the silver pads.
The DT 770s are not nearly as heavy as they look. Before taking them out of the box we expected them to just feel heavy. That wasn't the case and we were pleasantly surprised by the design. It's just the right mix of metal and plastic. You can't really fold them up in a compact way like the MDR-7506s but that's not a concern in the studio. They're kinda too nice to take in the field anyway. That's what the Sony's are for.
We're not sure why we waited so long to try the DT 770s. We just got so used to the $100 headphones from Sony, Shure and AKG. If you can, spend a little more and check out the DT 770s, especially the 250 Ohm version. You'll find them on Amazon as low as $125 but typically around $150. They're certainly worth a listen and will be in our arsenal going forward.
Visit Beyerdynamic for more details and all the specs.
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- Category: Production and Creative
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