Analog Audio Gifts for Big Spenders

While music production is more in-the-box every year, the fact of the matter is that we are dealing with what will always be an analog medium: capturing and play sound waves. With that in mind, here’s a few pieces of analog gear that any producer will love to get:

Gift_Guide_Audio_Hi_ResAnalog Audio Gifts for Big Spenders

Distressor $1349
Literally every producer in every genre loves this thing. Why? Because it’s amazing! As you might guess from the name, this compressor goes from fairly subtle to absolutely crushing, all with a certain sonic character that you just can’t quite get from anything else (even the plugin version of the Distressor, unfortunately).

Countryman DI box $179
If you record guitars, you really should be capturing a DI track– even if you don’t intend on using it, having the option to edit or reamp is always nice. Our favorite solution for this is the Countryman DI box, which is just a bit tighter and cleaner than any of the other DI boxes we’ve used.

Central Station monitor control $599
While this may not be the sexiest piece of gear, it’s definitely one of the most important. This gadget allows you to easily switch between multiple sets of monitors with the push of a button, which is a whole lot better than plugging them in and out all the time and slowing your mixing process to a torturous pace.

Clariphonic Parallel EQ by Kush Audio $1599
The makers of this EQ say that is adds “a weird and wonderful, mysterious polish” to any mix, and while that might sound a little vague, it’s pretty accurate. In practice, it allows you to substantially boost the mids, treble and presence/air bands of any mix without sounding hyped or harsh… it’s seriously pretty magical!

“Tracking And Mixing With Outboard Gear” with Kris Crummet $49
And now that you’ve got yourself some fancy outboard gear, it’s time to learn how to use it! In this class, producer Kris Crummet (Issues, Sleeping With Sirens, Dance Gavin Dance) shows you how to use outboard gear in the context of a modern digital workflow to get the best of both worlds.

Gifting_Affiliate_Photo.net_Retargeting Banners_728x90

Finn McKenty FOLLOW >

Finn is the producer of CreativeLive's audio channel.You can email him at finn [dot] mckenty [at] creativelive [dot] com@finn_mckenty