Third Take

Cakewalk DAW Labs looks like a good resource for building or buying a new PC. They have links to pre-built PCs that have been “tested and approved by Cakewalk Tech Support” as well as tips for those of us who build our own. The list of supported audio interfaces makes it easy to compare different sounds cards’ capabilities, and identifies which ones have 64-bit drivers available.

I recently purchased a pair of sound isolating earbuds for live use. At one of my guitar gigs, we have an in-ear monitor system and I wanted a nice pair of earbuds that would block out stage noise and let me hear the monitor system clearly. Then I had a brainstorm: why not use them when recording vocals in my home studio? Read more

I bought the M-Audio DMP3 Dual Microphone/Instrument Preamp a few months ago to add another two preamps to my system. I chose this preamp because of my positive experience with the preamps in my M-Audio Omni Studio, which are reportedly based on the DMP2, predecessor to the DMP3. I’ve been using the DMP3 for a few months, and am pleased with the preamp despite one major flaw. Read more

Today I got an E-MU Xboard 49 MIDI controller keyboard from zzounds. I picked this controller because it has driver support for Windows x64, according to Cakewalk. So far, I’m really impressed with the hardware, but I’m having trouble with the included soft synth.
Read more