Multitracks

We are back with another day in the life of one Diego Stocco, the California sound designer and experimental musician with a resume that can kick your resume's a**. Today, he tells us how he recorded the tones of his newest experiment, aptly named the Experibass, with the help of the PreSonus DigiMax D8 and Apogee Rosetta 800.  

Earlier this week, Gearwire's Owen O'Malley rolled up his sleeves, enlisted the help of his band The Rikters, and recorded an epic demo the likes of which we haven't seen around these parts in ages. And it's a fitting demo for the Zoom R16, which has so much going on that it's just gonna take a while to explain. Let's enjoy it!  

Back in the field with sound designer Diego Stocco, we become privy to some more of the tools of his dangerous trade. As a side project to his professional media work, Stocco likes to make sound with some unusual bordering on life-threatening sources. Here he talks about the Edirol R-4 and R-09HR recorders, his trusty and sturdy little companions.  

Perhaps one of the most infectious bands we've come across in recent memory, Pomplamoose is known exactly as much for their videos as they are for their music. Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn include video as an integral part of their recording process, and the result is something with both the energy of a live performance and the intimacy of a home jam. At least, that's what we think. Hear Jack's take on it, and check out one of their most awesome videos as you read on.  

Introduced back during NAMM this past January, the Zoom R16 is a portable 16-track recorder, USB interface, and DAW control surface in one. It sparked a lot of "when's this thing shipping?" posts when we first reported on it. Guess what: your posts have been answered.  

You may typically associate Sonoma with fine Californian wines, but now you can associate with other forms of musical inspiration. Sonoma Wire Works FourTack, now in version 2.0, turns your iPhone into a musical sketch pad.  

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Portastudio, Tascam announces the new Tascam DP-004, the most compact digital Portastudio yet. Makes you wonder what all those other Portastudios were celebrating.  

The new multitrack recorder from Zoom -- the R16 -- picks up where the HD series left off, integrating even further with your computer for both standalone and computer usage. Plus, the real R16 won't be made out of cardboard like the prototype you see here.  

Chicago Recording Company's Chris Shepard, who also may or may not be an excellent bass fisherman, talks about the Studer a827 tape machine. It's the Lowrance Flasher Depth Finder of tape machines.  

Those of you who still hold tightly to your Portastudios, hording your collection like Elaine Benes horded sponges in an obscure situational comedy from yester-decade, can finally breathe easier knowing that the gigantic, mechanical claw of technology will one day, inevitably drag you kicking and screaming into the unknown. The TASCAM DP-004 Digital Pocketstudio is here to help make that transition as painless and gentle as a gigantic, mechanical claw can be  

On my way to St. Ives, I met a man with a dozen wives. Each wife had a dozen sacks, and each sack contained a dozen new Zaxcom Fusion 12 multitrack recorders, each with a dozen tracks. Sacks, tracks, recorders and wives, how many were on their way to St. Ives?  

Bill Holland breaks out a beat that he plans to send, via time machine, back into the past for use in possible relative and director "Savage" Steve Holland's next project. He uses the Fostex MR-16 HD, technology that didn't exist in Savage Steve's heyday, to show just how easy it is.  

The neo-est incarnation of the Tascam 2488 is called the "Neo." If you still haven't found the hard disk recorder that you can call "The One," the 2488 Neo may just end your search, what with its new suite of mastering effects and sleek new look.  

Bay Area singer, musician, model and more, Serena Toxicat, released her first solo track on a recent compilation. She talks about a couple of the pieces of gear she used to record the track.  

El Rey, the latest album from Leeds-based The Wedding Present, is the culmination of an eclectic career spanning over two decades. The band talks about the gear they used recording their new record -- and more.  

Jaimie Branch is cutting -- literally -- two new records with the experimental Chicago outfit Musket, and she spoke with GW about the joy of pressing a master without any ones and / or zeros.  

Sanford Parker of Semaphore Studio talks a bit about recording with Steve Albini and how the famed producer engineer influenced his (Sanford's) decision to outfit his studio with a Neotek Series 3 mixing console. Plus: Spirograph psychedelia.  

Ryan Maeker is a sound designer in NYC, and though he may come off as a somewhat threatening figure in this interview -- all talking about cuttin' fools, hitting people with cars and even threatening the life of yours truly -- he's actually a total teddy bear with a soft spot for Speilberg movies!  

Alison Chesley (otherwise known as Helen Money) talks about her Roland VS-840EX and how she uses it to record her electrified cello pieces. It may still use zip disks, but it's so convenient that Alison won't switch until such disks become extinct.  

If you've ever wanted to record a high quality performance of eight people slowly growing crazy from sleep deprivation over a thirty hour period, Sound Devices 788T will do the trick. It also has a wide load of practical uses as well.  

Been thinking about upgrading from your tape four-track Portastudio to the digital world? Before you do, sit yourself down in from of this video and let Bob give you a piece of his mind.  

Bob Popp found a board he loved online, but had a tiny quandary: his clients include both gain-addicted rockers AND fidelity-minded commercial producers. Creation Audio of Nashville solved Bob's problems with some creative engineering.  

The cassette Portastudio was surprisingly absent from the TASCAM booth at Winter NAMM 2007 -- replaced by the sleek design and more futuristic capabilities of the new DP-02. Somewhere in a farmhouse in the Midwest, a singer/songwriter is down to his last cassette, a single tear grazing past his flourishing mustache.  

I wish life was like the BOSS BR-900CD Version 2 multitrack recorder. Wouldn't it be great to be reinvented with more memory, more power, and more convenient reasons for people to like you better?  

John Cusimano, singer for NYC-based The Cringe, talks about analog recording and the mics he uses for vocals.  

Cheryl Wanner and Frank Gerace, of Boston's

Dreamchild have spoken to Gearwire about harps, basses, guitars and processors--all the elements used in making their music. The band produce a dark ethereal sound that borders...  

With a new version of Tascam's 2488 MKII coming out earlier this year, the DP-01 series has also received an update as Tascam announces the DP-02 as well as the DP-02CF. The DP-02 records to a 40GB hard drive whereas the...  

Santa Barbara California’s The Right Hand was formed by brothers O.H. Lee and his brother back in 2001.

“At that time, we were doing mostly electronica. There were some great electronic bands like Lagoona...  

Bob Lentini, as we noted in two previous articles on Las Vegas-based RML labs, has been working in audio since the early 1970s. He graduated from Drexel University and founded RML Labs in 1992 . One of the products he...  

When asked about the digital recording revolution, Guy Clark acknowledged that recording has definitely become a more accessible process, but its still a process that doesn't really interest him. For Guy Clark, creating...