Steve Vai along with Metal Sidecar have repurposed the long unavailable Ocean Way Microphone Locker CD-ROM into a smart phone/tablet app. Originally created in the ‘90s, the CD-ROM made available for virtual audition Allen Sides’ vast collection of classic microphones at Ocean Way Recording studios in Hollywood, CA.
There are pictures, specifications and salient information about 66 different microphones including venerable classics from AKG, Audio-Technica, B&K, Beyer, Coles, Neumann, RCA, Sanken, Schoeps, Sennheiser, Shure, Sony and Telefunken. Then there is the Instruments section with pictures, notated musical ranges and generic descriptions of the 33 musical instruments used in the orchestral as well as contemporary music. The fun starts with the Combinations section where you can pair a certain microphone and an instrument to hear what it would sound like. Microphone selection is a subjective process based on the source, mic placement and the type of sound you’re trying to achieve.
Everything you hear is the “gold standard” in quality using excellent and collectible examples of classic microphones recording pro session cats playing great sounding instruments in top-notch studios! My Christmas wish from Steve Vai is that for this app’s next update, we hear him play some of the electric guitar/microphone combinations! Priced at $9.99, the Ocean Way Microphone Locker App is available at iTunes and is great gift idea for everyone from a beginning studio to seasoned pro.
