Music

About artists, music, making music, music gear

Steinberg UR22mk2 noise floor review with amp miking

by

This post is an attempt to describe the vast difference between Focusrite 2i4 and Steinberg UR22mk2 sound interfaces. I will focus on noise levels in the preamps, and not the usual topic of latency. As far as latency goes, the Steinberg is better..but I´ve learned to use direct monitoring mix when I record so latency is less of an issue. Both interfaces are capable of that.

Read more

Fixing pickguard rattle noise on Hagstrom HJ-500

by

I happen to own a beautiful jazz guitar that sounds and plays really great. It is made in China, but make no mistake, instruments and music gear made in those regions can be of very high quality. Design and engineering may take place in Europe or the US, and then they are made in China. For various reasons, maybe a sloppy quality check, or just the change of temperature and humidity, you can sometimes experience poor sound or noise. But such things are easy to fix. As long as the material, design, and parts are high standard, there is no reason to reject such a good instrument. Let´s see how I fixed the rattling noise on my Hagstrom.

Read more

Change tube and fix pots in Blackstar HT-Dist pedal

by

If you own a Blackstar distortion or overdrive pedal, you may get the feeling that there´s even more “tone” to get from these pedals than what´s delivered from the factory. Yes there is, and the solution is to replace the cheap 7025/12AX7WA Sovtek tube (or valve) that came with the pedal. In my case it´s a HT-Dist. Maybe Sovtek isn´t a bad brand, but I guess Blackstar didn´t pick these from the top shelf..

While we´re at it, why not clean the pots? You may experience crackling scratchy noise, and there is a solution for that too.

And by the way – this guide shows how to replace the tube the hard way..from the bottom. When following this guide you will probably agree that in this case, the hard way is also the right way.

Read more