Proud to announce that Diego Montoto's album "Maria" is now streaming on all major platforms! Mixed by myself with direction from Bob Katz in Studio B of Digital Domain. Mastered by Bob Katz in Studio A of Digital Domain.  We had an amazing time working on this album, and it's no less to audiophile standards. Enjoy! 

"Freedom" is now available on Spotify! Check out this amazing song with a positive message. Brought to you by Vincent Corver, PredZ, and myself. Link Below:

Here's a clip from our latest show with Frequency Band playing Toto's "Africa". This amazing group of musicians are awesome to work and with have great tonality and rhythm. Makes our jobs easy, and allows us to focus on reinforcing their dynamics. This was a great evening!

​For more information on Frequency Band, click the link here. 

I was in the market for an upgrade to my current pair of JBL 305's. After some research and word of mouth, I landed on the package deal for the pair of ADAM A5Xs and the Sub8. Granted, I had gone to a friend's studio recently to listen to his ribbon tweeter speakers, but he had a pair of HEDD Type 05s. I remember a super clear image that was very silky at the same time. I thought I was sold.

I figured the sub would be fine in my studio room since it's slightly treated to control any modal issues with three large traps. I've also got various amounts of foam in hot spots. The Sub8 ended up being a charm! I am finally hearing that lower content has been missing from just a standard pair of 5" speakers. It's been great to work with, and I ended up  working out a proposal to keep the sub from the package. But the ADAM A5X speakers themselves are a different story.

Right off the bat I noticed I was missing something but couldn't quite land my finger on it without more analysis. After listening for almost two days straight, I concluded that the depth and air on the top end content was missing. The sound ended up being very flat and two dimensional, leaving my reference tracks sounding very lifeless and even harsh at times (which is very unusual). My cheaper JBLs are better at producing that content for some reason. And not being able to produce depth is just a no go for me.

I was able to tame the harshness with the high shelf option on the back, which was adjusted two notches down. Mind you, I have never had to adjust my JBLs. But even after adjusting them to my liking, the problem with no depth or air was still present.

All in all, they have great stereo imaging, and a very crisp high mid range that is nice and even desirable on certain songs, but these monitors just weren't for me. After all the hype and testimonies online, I ended up being really let down by these speakers. If I were to try a ribbon tweeter system again, I would purchase the HEDD Type 05s as a last hope that I could actually enjoy listening through them. But until then, these puppies are headed back to the warehouse. 

If you've had any similar or different experiences with these speakers, drop a comment. 

We're approaching the holidays, and more deals continue to roll out including some nice freebies. This is a free phaser plugin by Native Instruments. I added a GIF of the cool visual representation of the plugin itself. As you adjust more settings, those 'notches' start to contort. 

NI didn't hold back on simplifying this since there's a wide variety of adjustments, including one thing I can't live without, the mix knob.    : )

So don't fret! Download link below: 

Native Instruments Phasis

Softube has been working wonders in the industry by creating some of the best plugin emulations on the market. They were kind enough to give us a easy little saturation tool that will work wonders for you.

Included is a slider that increases or decreases the intensity of the saturation connected to the saturation knob. 'Keep Low' gives you a friendly saturation, whereas 'Keep High' gives no thought to keeping things subtle. Definitely add this one to your arsenal, everyone could use some saturation. Link below: 

Softube Saturation Knob

Soundtoys has always been very graceful when it comes to giving away free plugins. This time around they are giving away a free plate reverb plugin. This is modeled after the EMT-140 Plate Reverb unit that was introduced in 1957! But hurry, this is only available until November 22nd! Click the link below: 

Soundtoys Little Plate

So there was a filter being advertised on my social media that struck my attention. After listening to it on the introduction video, I was interested in seeing the price. Once I saw that it was $15 I said why not, and I was in need of a musical filter. This is my review of Saucey Filter, and it didn't let me down. 

This filter was made to be simple and efficient, so it only offers two knobs to work with. On the big knob titled 'Main Filter', we can either start a low pass sweep (starting at 20kHz and dropping to 15Hz) or engage a hi pass which is the same frequency range, just in an opposite direction. Now don't be fooled by the simplicity, because there are characteristic things going on under the hood. The small knob is a 'Pre Low Pass Cutoff' adjustment that does exactly that. Say you're sweeping the low pass and you get to some very harsh mid range stuff, but like the character somewhat in that area. You can dial down the LP Cutoff (that is "pre" the Main Filter) and roll off some of those highs to smoothen things out. And you also have a bypass slider. 

There are some downsides to having something as simplistic as this filter though. Not being able to control the resonance (bandwidth) leaves the character of this filter very static in it's capabilities. With that being said, this filter can be unique in it's own way, thus grabbing for it when it's appropriate. I will say that it sounds amazing on atmospheric pads or long drone type sounds, but I wouldn't consider using it on my drums due to it not being very transparent. The interface can be fully automated and used very quickly. 

Overall, this filter did not let me down. This is an easy way to get that current production sound on your instruments without having to fiddle with too many controls. I will definitely be using this plugin in my current setup for production, and for $15, you can't really go too wrong. 

Here is the link to the plugin: 

Julez Jadon Saucey Filter