Bob Guido

"I was spoiled by working in studios that had original Neve consoles built in the 1970's. These sound pretty good. They transfer your performance in a way that leaves you feeling like it's better coming out of the speakers than was when you performed on your instrument. It used the be the secret magic fairy dust that only privileged engineers had access to but the whistle has been blown"

"I don't think anyone will argue that this is the world's best vocal compressor and has been for the last 25 years"

"This is the box that I use to add agressive coloration to sources. It can be just the right thing on some sources like bass guitar to make it jump out of the mix. It can also really destroy the integrity and beauty of an instrument. Don't be running every single track through this baby unless you're making punk rock!"

"This compressor works great on drums and enhances transients in a way that no other compressor does. It's also okay on vocals in opto mode with the attack around 6-7 and the release around 3-4. Not my frist choice for vocal compression though. It tends to shrink the size of the singal and add a bit of a gitty texture. Sometimes that what you want. Expecially in rock music"

"My favorite outboard EQ. The filters are amazing for shaping any kind of texture from an instrument or ambient treatment. The top end boosts are super smooth and this equalizer's character is that it never sounds like you are using an EQ. The sound remains natural as if there was no EQ patched in"

"Mixes sound huge when this device is engaged accross the mix bus. Even just 2dB of compression at the slowest attack time and fastest release times blows up the size of your audio image into something a lot more convicing"

"After nightmares with other audio interfaces, who's companies have pretty terrible customer support as well as flaky drivers and bad frimware updates that can create an ongoing battle to get any work done, this company RME out of Germany goes for a no compromises approach to their very industrial designs"

"I've been using the Fractal Audio Axe-Fx since 2008. The most powerful 2 rack spaces ever"

"I use this box for one sound that no other pedal or rack unit does. This box has a very cold digital sounding cathedral reverb that has a lot of early reflection buildup that sounds really great 100% wet on different sources. When I was a kid, I used to have an Alesis Quadraverb that had a plate reverb algorithm in it that didn't really sound like a plate. I used to turn the decay time all the way up and set the mix level to 100% wet and I would just play my guitar very slowly and softly into it to make ambient washes of sound. That was at a time before the internet existed and ambient guitar didn't exist as a style of music yet either. The Quadraveb Pate II algorithm sounded more like the Catheral algorithm that is in this TC M350 cheapo multi-effects unit. Metallic, icy cold reverb"

"My favotire mic that I basically use on everything. This mic does something that no other mic does. It hides the nasty and it makes everything sound more texturally complex that it really does in real life"

"Rupert Neve didn't exactly design the Neve console. He hired a team of engineers to design all of the different modules that made up the famous mixing desks. One of those engineers and one of the world's leading authorities on what makes a real Neve sound like a real Neve is Geoff Tanner. Aurora Audio is Tanner's company and he hand builds new gear that perfects the original Neve designs."

"Bass guitars love this preamp and it makes the insturment tight in the bottom and punchy in the midrange with it's very unique frequency curve. The opamp and transformer topology of this design is what makes it such a unique sound. If you want deep but tight bass to punch through a mix, this is the piece of gear you want for both your DI and amp/mic signal. It will allow you to hear every single note across the bass guitar's fingerboard with clarity and definition. For me, bass guitar will only ever go through the API 512C. The 512 is even punchier than the earlier API312 preamp. I prefer the 512C on bass guitars and toms to make them punch through a mix but also fit into the mix with less time wasted playing with an equalizer to try to make things fit. The Neve is too mushy and loose in the botttom end for a bass guitar and it's too scooped out in the midrange for the most resonanat area of the bass notes to sing through the mix. Bass guitar tracking is one of the few times where there is a better choice than the mighty Neve."

"I was forutnate enough to work in studios that owned the holy grail vocal mic, the Telefunken U47. The Wunder Audio CM7 is the best evolution of that signature smooth velvety, deep and rich sound. While the original Telefunken mic has been the go-to vocal microphone used to capture every great singer in the past six decades, the Wunder is simply an improvement on that design. The Wunder CM7's more airy top end with a slight scoop in the lower midrange gives you a vocal track that sits in the mix perfectly without requiring any extra treble boosting or low mid cleanup"

"These are the industry standard headphones for good reason. Music and sound will translate very well to these headphones. They have a very flat frequency response and an accurate stereo image that is no exaggerated"

"Last year I went on heaphone pilgrimage in New York city. During my extended stay in the city, I visited several giant headphone listneing stations located in some of the world's largest high end audio/video/photo/electronics stores. Between all my visits I got to listen to and try almost every headphone that is manufactured worldwide. Every time I put on the Sennheiser HD600's it was obious that they were in a league by themselves. Even the higher end Sennheiser headphones didn't sound as smooth in the extreme treble area but also extremely detailed and clear. The bottom end was extremely accurate and tight like none of the other headphones. What really surprised me was the price. It seemed that $300 is the point where the sound quality stops and your dollars keep on going. No other headhones in the $300 - $3000 price range sounds as good as these"

"These are very flat and accurate and translate perfectly to my favorite Sennheiser HD600 headphones"

"I've grown to love some of the custom programs I have been able to make with this plugin. What I love most is the user interface and it's minimalistic design. Being a person who worked for years on Lexicon 224, 480L and PCM 70 through 92, I can really appreciate how Sean Costello of Valhalla has found a way to make the Lexicon sound more ready, willing and able than it ever was. This software is fun!"

"Love everything inside the box with this stuff"

"I personally prefer to track real drums and arrive at a unique drum sound for each record I make. It is nice however to have such a wonderfully intuitive drum programming tool that far surpasses the drum machines of previsous generations"

"My favorite DAW for reliability, workflow and sound qualty"

"Most vibey P90 tone I have ever found in an instrument. This guitar has a ghost living inside of it"

"The sound of this acoustic guitar sits right in the mix perfectly without much EQ neccessary to blend it into a track. That's pretty much why I bought it. Shimmery top end, schooped mids, tight bottom. Especially on the models with a Rosewood back"

"My favorite tool for recording bass besides the API 512C preamp. This thing just makes the bass growl and punch through a mix. I love to combine it with a DI and amp signal for that final extra bit of magic that makes the bass really cut through"

"These are the best humbuckers I have ever heard. Clear and accurate with the character of the best vintage PAF pickups"

"Jimmy Dunlop Nylon and Hedrim nylon picks have a special kind of tone to them that gives you more bite and edge, especially on the .60mm ones that bend and give a little when you play hard"

"Jimmy Dunlop Celluloid picks sound great on a bass (Heavy) and on some single note melodic guitar lines. I don't use the faux tortoise shell ones because they are hard to see. When I hold a pick, I like to be able to see it clearly so I use white ones"