Milab has announced the newest member of their microphone family to join the world, the DC-96C side-address cardioid condenser microphone. The DC-96C is a cardioid microphone with a large, rectangular capsule mounted in a side-facing configuration.

The DC-96C is designed to be used primarily for recording studio vocals and acoustic instruments, but also has a place on stage during live shows to mic guitar cabinets and cymbals.

The DC-96C will officially showcased for the first time by Milab at the upcoming Musikmesse expo in Frankfurt. Pricing and availability has not been announced yet.

How do you feel about replacing drums in the studio? Like many of you, I've spent a lot of time with clients in my studio working very, very hard on getting perfect drum sounds, and sometimes, it's really hard; a drummer might have bad technique, bad gear, or both.

I first started using Sound Replacer to replace individual drum hits a few years ago, and moved to Drumagog a couple years ago.

So, what's the policy in your studio? Do you replace drums, or make it mandatory to get the sounds naturally the first time?

I've been really impressed by the great responses lately from my readers -- thank you!

This week, I'd like to ask a question about your humble beginnings. What was your first recording rig? What setup got you interested in recording, and how did it help your evolution as a recording engineer?

For me, my first recording rig was very simple. I bought a pair of binaural microphones from a small company in New Jersey, along with a small battery power supply, and a Sony WM-D6C analog cassette deck. My goal was to make concert recordings, and maybe some home recordings playing guitar. It was all uphill from there!

What's your story?

Slate Pro Audio has announced the release of their DRAGON Dynamic Processor, a device aimed at smaller project studios needing excellent all-in-one dynamics processing at an affordable price.

The DRAGON is a lot more than a basic compressor; with it's FET compressor with high-pass filter, added saturation options, and plug-and-play settings for "character" of your overall sound, the DRAGON attempts to cover many possibilities with one box.

While it's not the cheapest on the market, the DRAGON's $1999 pricetag is great considering it's features. DRAGON is available now, worldwide, via the Web.