Reviews

Tash Sultana Signature Stratocaster FENDER MUSIC AUSTRALIA | EXPECT TO PAY: $1,999

Tash Sultana is one of the first Australian artists to be receiving a signature Fender, and for good reason. Tash has managed to carve out a space for their art within a heavily saturated industry, and has remained fresh, new and instantly recognisable; which is no mean feat in the current climate. The Tash Sultana Signature Stratocaster is a Mexican-made, alder-bodied Strat with a Double Tap Humbucking pickup and two Yosemite single-coil pickups to amplify the groovy, nuanced style that Tash is famous for. This guitar is everything you’d expect and want from a Fender, but styled and upgraded to suit Tash’s own unique playing style. The guitar features their signature on the back of the headstock, as well as a custom “Skull” on the neck plate, and a welcome glossy transparent cherry finish that really helps this Strat stand out from the pack. A vintage style tremolo offers expression, as well as unparalleled tuning stability, and the modern tuning machines that remain much more stable than Fender’s vintage style tuning pegs, as well as being easy for restringing. All of these are screwed into a painted headstock to match the body, a feature usually reminiscent of ‘60s Strat or their offset counterparts. All in all, a very feature heavy and aesthetically pleasing guitar. The Tash Sultana Stratocaster is built from alder, coated in a Transparent Cherry gloss polyester finish, which is nicely offset against a 3-Ply aged white pearl pickguard and back-cover. The gold hardware, Fender staggered tuners and a vintage style synchronized tremolo, make this guitar very classy, and the maple fretboard with black dots offers the bright spank that have made a Stratocaster what it is. The neck has a modern “C” shape, offering classic Fender feel with a focus on more contemporary playing styles. Thankfully, the guitar has a satin urethane finish that makes speeding around the neck really pleasant, while the gloss urethane on the front and fretboard give the Tash Sultana Stratocaster that classic feel and look, albeit with the striking gloss red painted headstock. The scale length is standard for a Strat, but the combination of the modern neck shape, satin finish and medium jumbo frets give this guitar vibe and mojo, and inspires tranquil jams and jazzy runs up and down the fretboard. The HSS configuration really opens up the tonal palette, allowing the player to access big rock chords and bright, percussive and jangly Strat tones if the coils are split on the Double Tap Humbucking pickup. This kind of configuration is a dream for fans of loop pedals, allowing a multitude of tones to be accessed from the guitar itself, which offers a heap of sounds for different elements in a loop and mix. The remaining single coils in the middle and neck positions are Yosemite single-coils, usually reserved for American Fenders, but featured here and a very welcome addition that really help this Strat stand ahead of the rest of the Mexican-made Fender range. In the hands, the Tash Sultana Stratocaster feels great and similar in build quality to the Vintera series, but the glossy transparent finish offers a little something extra in feel and wood breathability. The Fender offset contour body sits comfortably against the body and assists the player in really feeling the notes they’re putting out, while the sound of the pickups themselves just add dynamic to the great physical feel of the guitar. Like all Strats, it resonates nicely against the player, and the tremolo offers further expression, all within easy access of your strumming hand. One master volume controls the whole guitar, while the tones knobs control separate pickups, depending where you’re playing. The nut is made from bone, another little upgrade to an already stellar example of a Stratocaster, allowing the guitar to sustain just a little longer, helped along by the six individual saddles resonating into the tremolo springs. The Tash Sultana Stratocaster is a guitar built for the modern player, more specifically for someone who literally plays by their own rules and will continue to push musical boundaries. This Strat isn’t just a guitar, but an inspiration in and of itself, while also a vessel to channel inspiration when it strikes. The first in a hopefully ongoing line of signature guitars, Tash is an artist that remains an influence of many, and this Stratocaster, with its modern adornments and subtle upgrades from Mexican Stratocasters, reflects that. There’s a bunch of fairly standard appointments that made this Tash’s weapon of choice, but with some upgrades, such as pickups, hardware and a gloss finish that make it very much its own beast. If you’re looking for a stock-standard Strat, admittedly this probably isn’t the Strat for you. If you’re looking for a guitar to simultaneously feel like home but offer the ability to push musical boundaries, then let’s talk.

BY LEWIS NOKE EDWARDS

The Goddess Overdrive

Around 20 years ago, a boutique overdrive pedal by the name of the Goddess emerged and took the Australian guitar world by storm, with its transparent tones and versatility making an immediate impact on big name players such as Troy Casar-Daley and Diesel. Now, the BAM Goddess Overdrive, designed by respected Adelaide blues guitarist Brian Morrison to fulfil his desire to create the ultimate overdrive pedal, has reemerged to captivate yet another generation of guitarists, and this time, it’s here to stay. Boasting an incredibly versatile gain stage with tones that range from a slight clean boost to allthe-way-out red hot distortion, it’s easy to see why there’s so much hype around this particular unit. A fully analogue pedal by design, the Goddess makes use of an onboard adjustable compression/sustain circuit to give it an amp-like tonal characteristic, letting you easily adjust the attack and decay for soaring, heavenly sustain. There’s also a Stack switch that really kicks the Goddess up a notch, letting you achieve huge distorted tones that seem as if they’ve been torn straight from the soul of a sixties Marshall stack. What really makes the BAM Goddess special, however, is the amazing Medusa-inspired graphics that adorn the face of the pedal, while the chicken-head knobs and rugged enclosure only further adds to the unique character of the pedal. It almost looks like some kind of de-commissioned piece of military kit from the Cold War, and will make as much as a visual statement as it will sonically on any pedalboard. Despite what their name may suggest, there’s few overdrive pedals out there that are truly ‘transparent’ in nature – you’ll always get some kind of colour or variation to your tone, even when it’s in bypass mode. As a response to these units, the BAM Goddess sets out to deliver the most transparent overdrive experience

FENDER

Brad Paisley Signature Esquire

FENDER MUSIC AUSTRALIA | FENDER.COM.AU RRP: $2,099.00

Brad Paisley’s career as a multipleGrammy-Award-winning country music superstar has always been closely intertwined with his beloved Fender Esquire. Now, Fender have released a refreshing new take on their original “one pickup wonder” workhorse from the 50s with a unique appearance and brand-new “stealthy” pickup in collaboration with Paisley. Needless to say, this Esquire is unlike any before it. It has a ‘Road Worn’ aesthetic, with Black Sparkle lacquer, nitrocellulose finish, and aged hardware, giving it a classic "broken-in" look with a twist. Brad claims “as a West Virginian” he likens this Black Sparkle finish to someone who’s just been mining for coal with [the] guitar”, the finish is “half diamonds, half coal”. Having released his Road Worn Telecaster with Fender in the past, this isn’t Paisley’s first rodeo. However, despite the striking similarities between the Telecaster and the Esquire, the Brad Paisley Esquire has much to offer in the way of innovation and versatility. While it may appear to only have one single coil pickup to the untrained eye, in reality, it has two. A distinctive feature of the esquire is its one bridge pickup, so some may ask then what the difference would be between Paisley’s Esquire and a telecaster. But alas, this is not your average neck pickup. Earlier in August 2020, Paisley announced his collaboration with Seymour Duncan on a “stealthy” new signature pickup called the Secret Agent. Paired with a Fender custom-wound ‘64 Tele single-coil at the bridge, his “stealthy” pickup sits underneath the pickguard. The Secret Agent provides the tonal options of a telecaster while maintaining the appearance of an Esquire; moreover, there’s less magnetic pull on the guitar’s strings which means that the bridge pickup maintains the classic sustain of an esquire. According to Seymour Duncan the “stealthy” pickup offers a “full, warm, almost jazzy neckpickup tone, complementing the Esquire bridge pickup’s bark and available, maintaining its integrity even when paired with other tonesucking stompboxes or shoddy patch cables. Paired with a Stratocaster and a clean Fender-style amp, the Goddess presents itself as the perfect platform for some classic bluesy noodling, while ramping up your volume knob will dial in a slight dollop of grit for when you need to slice through the mix. The compression circuit is also suitable for achieving Slowhand-like sustain without compromising your left and right hand dynamics, while the Stack switch is a choice solution for saturated, stomping riffs and snarl”. Paisley is quick to point out that it supports the overall dimensions of the Esquire and that this configuration allows for the ultimate flow and sustain. It also features a medium-output ceramic bar magnet and in combination with the ’64 singlecoil, meaning you not only get sweet, dulcet tones from the neck pickup, but also the more punchy, aggressive tones often attributed the Esquire, which is a perfect for twang. In fact, Paisley mentioned that in terms of twang, this guitar was “taking it up another level”. Its body’s core consists of unique Paulownia tonewood, and in combination with spruce top and back, it gives this electric solid body guitar an “acousticlike” resonance. Its glossy maple fingerboard makes slides and jagged lead work – pair it with a Les Paul, and you’ll be packing out stadiums in no time. A wonderfully built unit with a colourful design that’s suited for a multitude of musical styles, the BAM Goddess is a killer piece of kit, and we can’t wait to hear what other Aussie guitarists make of it.

BY WILL BREWSTER

bends a breeze to cater for more than just country-style playing. Brad Paisley’s career has spanned over 20 years, boasting 3.9 billion on-demand streams, 24 No. 1 hits, and three Grammy awards. What is so invigorating to see is how involved and excited Paisley is about this release, how committed he was to innovating such an absolutely classic guitar by cooperating with Seymour Duncan and Telecaster. It still maintains the classic feel, with its Road Worn finish and hardware, including 3-Saddle Vintage-Style Strings through Body Tele bridge with Brass Barrel Saddles, and VintageStyle tuning machines. Country music isn’t for everyone, but this guitar could quite possibly be.

Fender American Pro II Stratocaster DISTRIBUTED BY: FENDER MUSIC AUSTRALIA | EXPECT TO PAY: $3,099

How do you improve on a seemingly perfect design? As long as you don’t mind seamlessly combining Fender’s deep history of strikingly iconic aesthetic with an aspiration to be the most forward moving music company on the planet, the new American Professional II Strats may do exactly that. Leo Fender built the company on the back of listening to musicians and addressing their needs, and the American Professional II Series continues that trend. These Strats, the standard triple single-coil model and the HSS variant with a Vintage Mod II Double Tap Humbucker in the bridge, reflect Fender’s classic designs, contours and playability as well as their more recent, forward thinking ranges and designs. The guitars feature a long list of somewhat standard and expected Fender specs, coupled with a list of modern changes to refine these Strats into some of the best playing guitars on the market, and for a very reasonable price for their build quality, electronics and forward thinking design. The American Professional are a top-tier range, designed for working musicians, but the American Professional II Series is giving those workers a promotion. The first notable improvement from the original American Professional series is the “Super Natural” satin finish on the reverse of the neck, while the headstock retains that classic Fender look with a gloss urethane finish. The neck shape is a Deep “C”, which feels simultaneously slim enough for more contemporary players, but also comfortable for players more accustomed to classic or vintage Fender neck shapes. The “Super Natural” satin finish allows gliding around the 22 narrow-tall frets a dream, and the frets feel particularly good for bending leads and fretting big chords. While being a fairly standard 25.5” scale length, the tension feels particularly good on these new Strats, partly thanks to the bone nut at one end and the two-point synchronised tremolo at the other. The new Vintage Mod II pickups are as chimey as you could want them to be, while also offering the refined and dynamic spank from Position 2 on the 5-Position blade that we’re all really after. The new American Professional II Strats are alder-bodied, except for the Roasted Pine variant, and depending on your choice of colour, are available with Rosewood or Maple fretboards. The guitars are finished in gloss urethane which feels high-end and solid while allowing the wood to breathe and resonate. They’re weighted similarly to standard Strats, and feature a rounded heel at the neck joint for better access, as introduced in the American Elite, refined in American Ultra and now featured in the American Professional II range. Both Strats feature a pushable tone knob for a high end roll off that really opens up more tone options than you have with familiar Strat wiring. The tone is pushed further by the cold-rolled steel block that anchors the tremolo which helps with sustain and the bright, bell-like chime that Strats are known for. The American Professional II series overall is maybe their most on-brand move to date; continuous improvement melded with classic design and aesthetic. The American Professional series was a stellar success, but not content with simply that, the “II” series takes Fender’s success and has created an even more refined range of instruments with improved pickups and electronics, masterful designs and fantastic build quality. A comfortable neck shape finished in satin urethane, as well as wellfinished frets, comfortable string tension and a well-balanced, designed and refined bridge for an amazing playing experience. The American Professional II series overall is everything you’re used to, they’re the reason we come back to Fender, but they’re also pushing their own designs further so we can push our playing further. Take a note out of Fender’s playbook and push your own envelope.

BY LEWIS NOKE-EDWARDS

THE GIG BAG REINVENTED Protection & Quality at the right price

Pro Tools|Carbon INNOVATIVE MUSIC AUSTRALIA | EXPECT TO PAY: $6,070

There was a time when Avid sat upon the summit of the consumer interface market with their beloved early-gen Mbox, Mbox 2, and later the Mbox 3/Mbox Pro before quietly retiring the beloved product line in 2015. The reasons for this were as numerous as they were complex. As the manufacturers of the industry standard software in the professional space, Avid were at a unique vantage point for the rise of home recording. Whereas some other DAWs were aimed at the consumer market from the get-go, AVID had to continually figure out ways to translate the incredible leaps they were making in the post-production and professional space and make them fit the smaller footprint (and considerably lower CPU capacity) of consumer level hardware and home recording applications. While ProTools 9 will mostly be remembered for finally emancipating the native software from its proprietary hardware, it was also the exact moment where AVID really started to bridge the gap between their Pro and Consumer offerings, bringing many of the powerful features from their acclaimed HD software over to the standard version of PT. Features such as automatic plug-in delay compensation, OMF/AAF file import, Timecode ruler and multi-track Beat Detective were now readily available to the everyperson, a decision which in many ways fast tracked the maturation of home recording/mixing in the DAW era. With the software now liberated from its hardware and with home recordings continued ascendence into the mainstream, the period after has been something of a free-for-all, with a host of third party interfaces entering the fold and with AVID largely pulling back from the interface market altogether, instead focusing their attention on redefining tactile functionality in the DAW space (in the form of their Artist Mix Series) and providing large-scale solutions for the post-production market. And of course, as always, there is ProTools - quietly percolating in the background, consistently coming through with revolutionary new feature sets and sophisticated workflow improvements with every update. Features that have the ability to make your life infinitely easier, provided you are far enough along your recording journey to truly understand them. Which brings us to Pro Tools Carbon, the newest incarnation of the ProTools line and a significant release for AVID for a number of reasons. For one it sees the brand jump back into the world of interfaces feet first, but also and perhaps more importantly, it signifies Avid coming full circle and using everything they have picked up in the pro space and the standalone software market to create a ‘hybrid’ system, one that has the ability to be all things to all people. Within every significant product release there are usually a few key areas focus areas that underpin a particular product and its intent It’s clear from the outset that Avid have officially declared war on recording latency (especially with plugins enabled), making it of primary concern for ProTools Carbon, and using the hybrid architecture of their new system to achieve less-than-1ms latency by craftily offloading the demanding tasks to the DSP processors within the interface itself - all while augmenting responsibility between your computer and the Carbon interface for the less CPU taxing applications. This translates to some of the most natural and pleasant performance based monitoring out there, without the need for delay compensation or time stretching after the fact. Boasting eight HDX DSP processors, the Carbon is partway to being as powerful as a dedicated HDX Core card - but replacing the extensive HDX systems that you find in big budget studios is not the raison d’être of the Carbon, rather it’s feel more like a holistic approach to bringing this kind of processing power into the context of the home studio. Avid’s Carbon has well and truly cleared the hurdle of latency, allowing the relationship between performance and its commitment to the eternal to be symbiotic, instead of confusing and disheartening. In no mood to cut corners, Avid has decked the Carbon out with top of the line hardware. The 1U rack design of the interface is another nod to the increasing sophistication of the home studio market and the eight preamps on hand are of excellent quality. The A/D conversion is excellent, bearing the same level of quality we have come to expect from Avid’s premium product lines. Of particular note is the quality of the direct inputs on the front of the interface. This is generally an area where many similarly priced interfaces fall short, but not the Carbon. With their switchable impedence and high quality circuitry, they are some of the best I’ve encountered on a stock interface, really bringing synths and DI’d Bass to life. Another obvious and notable aspect of the Carbon is the presence of four headphone jacks. This might sound minor in essence, but to anyone who has ever struggled with having enough headphones to go round (or worse, have had to use a crappy dongle) and this, combined with the additional inputs at the rear, give the Carbon a feeling of heightened scalability usually exclusively reserved for the world of professional studios. ProTools Carbon marks a triumphant return to the interface market for one of the true titans of the space. By focusing their attention on what they do best - refined workflow, high octane processing and seamless DAW integration - Avid have all but completely closed the gap between Pro and Prosumer with the Carbon, a product that is just as likely to find favour in the home as it is in the professional studio.

BY LIAM MCSHANE

Shure MV7

JANDS | EXPECT TO PAY: $499

With the ever-increasing army of podcast producers hungry for the highest calibre podcast microphone they can afford, Shure have delivered with the MV7. Taking inspiration from the immortal SM7B (famous for being used to capture vocals on Michael Jackson’s best-selling Thriller), this hybrid mic is designed for capturing pristine vocal recordings both inside the studio and at home. Good design can inspire you, give your home set-up a refreshing air of professionalism or spark a conversation with a potential client. The SM7B influence is immediately apparent in the striking silhouette of the MV7. Look closer and you’ll see that subtly concealed in this retro design is a built-in touch panel which gives you tactile control over gain and monitoring levels. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack to give you immediate monitoring over your vocal performance. Its solid build and robust construction feel DB AUDIO VISUAL It feels almost remiss to be reviewing such a tried and tested, historic piece of studio lore (especially one that has been in production for over 60 years). After all, when it comes to providing high quality, transparent, workable audio, the Coles 4038 has nothing left to prove. Since the early 50’s, it has been the passive ribbon de jour for the working studio set, providing natural, sonically pleasing capture across a whole range of open air applications, including (but not limited to) acoustic/electric guitar, brass, vocals and especially on the drum kit, where it absolutely excels as an overhead or room mic. Originally commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1951 to meet the rigorous technical demands of the burgeoning broadcast and TV industries, the iconic Coles 4038 is a microphone with a rich history and an even richer sonic signature. With an exceptionally flat frequency response between 30Hz to 15KHz, coupled with the 4038’s incredibly tolerant on-axis/ ready for the impromptu nature of podcast production. Being the egalitarian and mobile medium they are, means podcasts are often being produced in imperfect recording environments. Shure know what a modern producer needs and that’s why Voice Isolation Technlogy is at the fore of the MV7’s design. The MV7 is designed with a unique pick-up pattern to capture purely your voice with minimal room or background noise. USB connectivity and free software allow for further fine-tuning of the sonic palette; including adjustment of the tone of the recording and setting the distance of the microphone from your voice. Auto Level Control will be another popular feature given the large dynamic range of vocal recordings (I think we’ve all heard enough distortion from gamer’s speed runs to last us a life-time). If you’re no stranger to FX chains

COLES 4038

DB AUDIO VISUAL | EXPECT TO PAY: ENQUIRE

there’s a manual mode to adjust off-axis characteristics in both the horizontal and vertical planes the 4038 is one of those microphones that lends itself to quick and easy placement, garnering instantly useable results with a minimum amount of fuss – provided you don’t place it at 90 degrees to the source! It’s this workability (coupled with the 4038’s iconic ‘hooflike’ aesthetic) that have seen it become one of the most recognisable and treasured icons in the broader recording space, with the British manufacturer still making the 4038 by hand, just as they did in 1951. That’s not to say that the 4038 is an overly ‘vintage’ sounding mic by modern standards. On the contrary, its buttery, eraappropriate smoothness and broad, sympathetic capture have seen it thrive in the era of home recording, and for many, a single 4038 over the kit is all that’s needed to minimise phase issues, downplay HF flutter and tame harsh transients all in the one fell swoop. an EQ, Limiter and Compression settings. An XLR input makes the MV7 compatible with any professional studio. You’ll lose the adjust controls but the signal chain you’re recording the XLR into will hopefully have these instead. There’s no small overlap between podcast producers and musicians and I think this is who Shure had in mind with this hybrid aspect of the MV7. Being able to record a demo at home on the computer is great but getting to bring it to life with preamps, EQ’s and compressors certainly appeals to us at Mixdown Magazine. It’s a smart move by Shure to make their iconic SM7B vocal mic not The build quality of the current day 4038’s is still just as sturdy as ever. There is something about the ruggedness of that perforated grille and the heavy duty, post war vibe of the XLR input that gives the 4038 a feeling of battle ready hardiness, despite the preciousness of the ribbon house therein. Moreover, the 4038 harks back to time where studio mics were perhaps at their most pleasant sounding, while also bearing the look and feel of something out of a German panzer tank. It’s a pretty interesting dichotomy when you think about it. I’ve thought about it a lot. A truly ‘pro’ sounding mic in the classic sense of the word, the 4038 is one of those rare studio acquisitions that has the ability to instantly improve the overall sonic quality of a project, simply only more affordable but better suited to a digital workflow. They know that podcasting with entrylevel equipment is a short-lived affair and those in it for the longrun are after a quality microphone. The ShurePlus MOTIV app really opens up a refined set of tools to shape the sound the MV7 can capture, to get the most out of your voice in a limited recording environment. While the SM7B design works so well for Joe Rogan with his professional team of producers, the MV7 offers the perfect podcast mic for producers looking to go the next level, without having to invest in an entire studio.

BY DAN NICHOLLS

by virtue of its frequency/transient profile. It’s detailed and rich enough to take centre stage on a lead vocal, but at the same time its naturally sympathetic voicing make it an incredibly adept ‘counterpoint mic’, expertly offsetting the kind of chirpy, high/mid build up that can plague a dynamic and condenser heavy session. Jack White is a big fan, as are legendary producers Steve Albini and Glyn Johns (the latter of whom employed the Coles 4038 to awesome effect as part of the ‘Glyn Johns Drum Technique’, responsible for the incredible depth and bombast of the Led Zeppelin recordings). Josh Homme and Mac Demarco have also fallen for the smooth, dulcet tones of the beloved British icon. Worth every penny.

EVO 8 STUDIO CONNECTIONS | EXPECT TO PAY: $330

In the audio industry, there lies a very set evolutionary arc, one that generally starts with a clunky attempt at replicating a traditional workflow (see the primitive ‘soundcard with cheap preamps’ interfaces of the early oughts) and ends in something like the hotly anticipated EVO 8 from British stalwarts, Audient-an interface that takes the brands well earned reputation and absolute dedication to audio quality in the professional space and applies it to an endlessly mobile, extremely affordable, one knob solution for the modern home recording chain. Like its more minimalist forebearer, the Audient EVO 8 also bears with it a similarly stylish, sleek aesthetic. It’s a small footprint box that serves as the perfect nucleus for any laptop-based setup, doubling the I/O of the highly touted EVO 4 and edging the EVO’s unique one knob layout closer and closer to full band spec. This, in turn, increases the workflow possibilities and positions the EVO 8 as a perfect choice for for the itinerate recording engineer or songwriter on the go. Operating on a single USB-C connection, the EVO 8 keeps a minimalist footprint right down to the connections, a welcome sight for any MacBook users sick of unsightly adapters and hubs occupying prime desk space. The fact that the unit is entirely bus-powered, meaning nothing in the way of chunky AC adaptors only further increases this feeling of free movement and ‘one knob, one cable’ operability and certainly goes a long way to liberating the EVO 8 of many of the time consuming set-up requirements of other ‘portable’ recording solutions. In keeping with this contemporary ethos and aesthetic, the outputs are quarter-inch stereo TRS, omitting the commonplace yet chunky XLR outputs. This serves as a nod to the kind of small scale, portable monitors this interface is likely to be paired with and only further adds to this focus on portability and ‘pro-on-the-go’ workflows. The addition of dual headphone outs also goes a long way towards opening the EVO 8 up to the kinds of collaborative workflows rarely accounted for on interfaces of this size. For a band or musical project with programmed/sampled drums, you have a high quality four channel recording setup that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. This level of scalability and flexibility only increases the more you move away from traditional live performance style recording, a testament to the evolution of the modern recording workflow and its preference for track recording. If you were looking to add mono or multi-mic’ed overdubs to a pre-recorded track (especially in a home recording context) then look no further. You would be hard pressed to find anything better suited to the task, in terms sound quality/portability. And this may be the area where the EVO 8 hits its biggest home run. For a four-input, four-output interface at this price-point, it’s simply unparalleled in regards to the quality of the preamps and the level of A/D conversion on offer here. To have it housed in a unit that you can carry in your pocket is quite remarkable and really says a lot about how far interfaces have come in recent years. This, coupled with the EVO 8’s intuitive and excellent playback capabilities (a trait that echoes Audient’s longstanding position as the pre-eminent ‘monitor controller de jour’ for commercial recording studios the world over) result in an extremely adept, extremely flexible interface for both tracking and playback. Content creators and those working in mixed media will no doubt welcome the small physical footprint as well as the ease of use afforded by the Smartgain feature, with its intuitive level setting capabilities allowing for the Gen Z answer to a ‘set and forget’ type workflow. Suffice to say that the aforementioned ‘Smartgain’ feature is there to make everyone’s life a little easier (not just those new to recording), and there is something incredibly novel about letting it do it’s magic, while sitting back and enjoying the benefits of clean, distortion free recording with a minimum amount of fuss. Of all the possible applications, this seems most pertinent to podcasters who are perhaps stronger in charisma and interview technique than audio gain staging expertise and in this regard the ‘Smartgain’ feature perfect to get recording here and now and learn about the intricacies of headroom later. Another interesting feature undoubtably aimed at the content creation crowd is the ‘audio loopback’ feature which allows you to capture your computer audio in addition to your microphone inputs. This is perfect for capturing in-game audio as well as a headset mic for a Twitch stream, or for podcasters with a library of pre-recorded material, stingers or remote guest interviews via Skype calls. For fine-tuning of all these sound sources, accompanying Audient EVO software provides virtual control over all features, so you can produce a full, balanced mix ready to uploato your contenthungry followers. Both content and music types alike a sure to make use of the dedicated artist headphone mixes, allowing you to customise and store mixes for different users. True to form as something of an upsetter in the audio industry (with a reputation for over delivering on audio quality in a way that puts the fear of god into many of their more expensive competitors), Audient are at it again with the ‘Evo by Audient’ series. A line that in many ways marks the next chapter for the beloved British manufacturer continues on this legacy for extremely high quality audio solutions at an egalitarian pricepoint. As a no-fuss, effortlessly versatile little interface with an extremely pristine capture, the EVO 8 instantly jumps to the front of the queue for the army of creatives and home recordists looking for the best quality capture possible, at an accessible price and little in the way of physical footprint. For this kind of application, the EVO 8 is an awesome choice, ticking all the appropriate boxes whilst also having the added flexibility of a more versatile I/O layout. Perhaps the crux of the EVO 8 – and where this ‘Evolution’ is on best display – is in how seamlessly Audient’s famous preamp and A/D quality is so excellently replicated in the context of a (very) small interface. In the case of the EVO 8, we can see how well integrating this level of quality into an affordable portable solution can directly translate into applications far beyond that found in just the traditional musical domain, because it’s 2020 and everybody deserves the best quality audio possible. Viva Evolution!

BY DAN NICHOLLS