2012 is over and overall I’m happy with how it turned out. In this article I’ll have a look back and highlight some of my favorite music, software and hardware released this year.
Music
These three bands released some of my favorite music of the year. Great recordings, emotive and I can listen to them over and over.
- Caspian – Waking Season
- Gojira – L’Enfant Sauvage
- If These Trees Could Talk – Red Forest
Honorable Mentions: Katatonia; The Safety Fire; Meshuggah; Toundra; TITAN. It’s probably obvious that I mostly listen to post-rock, metal and post-metal.
Software
- ValhallaDSP Ubermod [AGZ review April 2012]
- ValhallaDSP VintageVerb
- Toneboosters ReelBus
- SoundToys Little Radiator
- Uhe Podolski
- TC Electronic PolyTune Mini
- Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter [AGZ Review October 2012]
- DIY Recording Equipment Ferrite DI kit
- ART Pro MPA II Reference Series Dual Channel Tube Preamp
- Triton Audio FETHead phantom powered microphone level booster
- Shure SM7B Dynamic Microphone – A classic mic every studio needs
- Hakko FX-888 Soldering Station
Interesting stuff I didn’t get to try: Chris Lord Alge Expansion for SSD4; iZotope Iris; Addictive Keys;
Older software I got in 2012 that continues to impress: Slate Digital Virtual Console Collection; FXPansion Geist; ValhallaDSP Shimmer reverb;
Hardware
Interesting stuff I didn’t get to try: Panda Studios “The Intern” Robot; Universal Audio UAD Apollo interface; Steven Slate’s Raven touchscreen workstation; Audio-Technica 5040 condenser microphone; TC Electronic Flashback X4; Strymon Flint Tremolo/Reverb pedal; Strymon Mobius modulation pedal; Shadow Hills Industries Occulus monitor controller;
There’s also a bunch of hardware I bought in 2012 that rocks my socks, but wasn’t released in 2012.
I can’t think of anything else relevant but I feel like I’m missing some really obvious things.
What music, software and hardware impressed you last year?