Best Budget Portable Recorder | Zoom H2

The Zoom H2 is widely considered the best digital portable recorder, with built in mics, on a budget. Here are some quick highlights from www.samsontech.com:

Simplicity is a beautiful thing.

It's a simple idea: provide brilliant stereo recording in an easy-to-use, ultra-portable device. Now everyone can record pristine audio in an infinite variety of applications. From seminars and conferences, to electronic news gathering (ENG) and podcasting, to musical performances, songwriting sessions and rehearsals, the H2 provides amazing recording quality. And no matter what kind of music you perform or the instrument you play, the H2 can effortlessly record it in high-quality stereo.

Zoom H2 Surround Recording Capability

Why four mics are better than two.

The H2 is the only portable recorder with 4 mic capsules on-board for 360° recording. With 4 mic capsules in a W-X/Y configuration, the audio is decoded instantly, bringing these four signals together for unparalleled stereo imaging.

But the H2 doesn't stop there. For maximum flexibility, you can record from the front of the H2 in a 90° pickup pattern or the rear of the H2 in a 120° pickup pattern at up to 96 kHz/24-bit resolution as a WAV file, or as an MP3 file at bitrates up to 320 kbps. Additionally, you can record in a 360° pickup pattern at up to 48kHz/24-bit resolution which will allow you to convert your recordings to 5.1 Surround.

Fractal Audio | AxeFx

Introducing the Fractal Audio Axe-FX. This unit has grown to become all the talk amongst gear heads since the early part of 2007. The Axe-Fx models guitar amplifier tones more accurately than anything currently on the market, offers effects in the same tier as brands like Eventide, and offers perhaps the best direct recording option for guitar. A true tweaker's delight. Here's the top resources to get you started learning about the possibilities of this thing:

Fractal Audio:
An interview with Cliff Chase, founder of Fractal Audio & the Axe-Fx
Axe-Fx User Forum
Scott Peterson's monster thread at TheGearPage.net.
The Axe-Fx Wiki, at GuitarLogic.com
The Axe-Fx Patch Exchange website.

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Looking for an Affordable Isolation Cabinet? | Avoid This One

**ATTENTION**

This business is known for bad business practices. Read the comments section of this article post for more information. Purchase at your own risk.

Grendel Sound has popped onto the scene offering the Dead Room...what looks to be a well-designed Isolation Cabinet for guitar players who wish to record cranked amp tones or simply record their amp's tone at manageable sound volumes. The cabinet comes unloaded at $359, per their website. For more information visit their webpage on the Dead Room.

Click on the photos below for larger image versions.

Really Nice Compressor (RNC) | Just how nice is it?

In late 2004, I had the pleasure of auditioning two very fine compressors. The Really Nice Compressor (aka, RNC), made by FMR Audio, really fit the bill for when I wanted a transparent "attack leveling" effect....the kind of effect that you don't hear, but makes you sound so much better...if that makes any sense. My taste favored the half-rack spaced effect, and here's my review of the Really Nice Compressor.

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Palmer PDI-03 Speaker Simulator

Ever hear of this? I didn't either until about a week ago. Looks very similar to the old Groove Tubes Speaker Simulator (and there's some tension between the two companies). In a nutshell, this rackmount device is designed to take the output signal of your amp (intead of going to the speaker) and run it into the Palmer, which will take the load, allow you to simulate a cab by shaping the EQ, and spit out a line level signal that you can run direct into a mixing console or effects processor.

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