Vintage King Blog

Kim Rosen is a mastering engineer based out of Ringwood, New Jersey, where she owns and operates her own studio, Knack Mastering. Over the course of the past decade and some change, Kim has put together an impressive resume of records, including Grammy®-nominated releases from Betty Lavette, Bonnie Raitt, and The Milk Carton Kids, in addition to a win for Aimee Mann's Mental Illness. We had the pleasure of talking with Kim as a part of our ongoing 20 Questions series in which we interview top engineers and producers about their careers and day-to-day lives. Continue below to learn more about how Kim got started in the industry, find out what song defines her mastering work, and get details on the tube amplifier she created with her husband. Continue reading →

Over the last decade, Detroit-based band Protomartyr has been pushing the boundaries of post-punk and how it's defined. The group's earlier work reminds one of Mark E. Smith's The Fall, but they've transitioned into something much broader and more experimental with the release of their fifth record, Ultimate Success Today. When preparing to record the album, the band's record label linked the members of Protomartyr with engineer and producer David Tolomei. David has built a robust resume since getting his start in 2008 with credits on releases from Dirty Projectors, Beach House, !!!, and John Cale. Continue reading →

Being one of the most prestigious studios in the world, the bar is set incredibly high for the quality of gear utilized at EastWest Studios, especially for audio converters. When deciding what gear to bring into the studio, EastWest's manager Candace Stewart often looks to her clients as a source of inspiration. "We find out what our clients want and we get it," says Candace. "I can't remember who introduced me to the BURL Audio converters, it might have been Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton / Sturgill Simpson), but they said they needed new converters. The people wanted a better converter." Continue reading →

Just over a month ago, Universal Audio announced the release of the Apollo Solo and Apollo Solo USB. Both versions of the interface pack high-quality conversion, Unison-enabled mic pres, and UAD-2 processing power into a road-ready chassis that stands as the most affordable Apollo yet. Typically when we are done shooting video and photos of a new product, we send it back to the manufacturer. This time we thought to ourselves, "Why don't we give this Apollo Solo to one lucky fan?" And guess what... We're doing just that! Continue reading →

For nearly 20 years, iZotope has been dedicated to creating intelligent audio technology that helps musicians, music producers, and audio post engineers get better results, faster. Now they’ve raised the bar once again with the release of RX 8; the newest version of the renowned audio editing software. With new modules like Guitar De-Noise and Spectral Recovery, and improved features like batch processing and horizontal scrolling, RX 8 gives you more control over your sound than ever before. In this blog, we’ll explore all of the new features available in iZotope RX 8 and compare the different versions to help you decide which version is best for you. Continue reading →

With its pulsating screen, input/output transfomers, varied control options, and unique sound, the Tegeler Audio Raumzeitmaschine has become a favorite reverb option for many engineers. One listen and you'll be hooked! The Berlin, Germany-based brand set out to create a reverb that offered "natural surround sound." Using both analog and digital components, the Raumzeitmachine accomplishes Tegeler's goal and gives users the ability to control it via the physical unit's knobs, presets in your DAW, or the accompanying plug-in version. Continue reading →

Over the last few years, podcasting has continued to rise in popularity. Now with social distancing in effect, podcasts have become one of our primary forms of media. You’d be surprised at how easy it can be to create a professional-sounding podcast from the comfort of your own home. If you've got the knowledge and a concept, we can certainly help you achieve podcast glory. Continue reading this blog to discover some of the essential gear needed to make your own podcast or improve your current set-up, in addition to some proper techniques for recording, editing, and mixing. Continue reading →

We're past the halfway point of the year, and while it feels like we've lived a lifetime in the last eight months, many of us are lucky to still be working in the studio pursuing our craft. Fortunately for us, plug-in manufacturers have given us some new toys to make our jobs even easier. And while we still have four months left in 2020, we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of the plug-ins that have inspired us to create new sounds, shape tones, and make records in different ways. Let’s take a look at some of the hottest plug-ins of the year so far. Continue reading →

As a trusted resource of repairs for over decade, Echo Fix has certainly established themselves as the go-to when your tape echo machine has gone haywire. So it makes sense that the Australian company would go even further down the prototyping, testing, and design rabbit hole to create their own take on the classic tape echo. The resulting Tape Echo EF-X2 is nothing short of stunning. This unit has an extremely deep feature set, which starts with four basic functions; tape echo, real spring reverb, DSP reverb/chorus and preamp. From there, the possibilities to tweak and develop creative sounds are endless. Continue reading →

Wargirl is a six-person garage rock band co-founded by Matt Wignall in 2016. The band combines an eclectic range of influences including current events, world music grooves, dub-centered rhythms, and lyrics of substance. Wargirl makes music that matters, but also makes you want to get down — the soundtrack of our times. The band recently recorded their new record, Dancing Gold, at Matt’s garage-based Tackyland Studio in Long Beach, California. In addition to producing and recording Wargirl’s albums, Matt has also worked with indie-rock icons like Cold War Kids and Mando Diao. Continue reading →