jaime traba

Jaime is a recording engineer and producer with a guitar pedal addiction. Professionally, he has worked with the likes of Grammy-winning songwriter Steve Mostyn, along with a wide scope of New York-based and international talent. When not trying to replicate Star Trek references into his writing for B&H, he’s an avid reader, guitarist, and general tech enthusiast. His mom thinks he’s pretty cool, too.

Latest Articles

Logic and the Touch Bar: Time to Upgrade?

9 years ago

After sighing a deep sigh and promising myself I would not work in any puns about Apple incorporating the Touch Bar into their flagship DAW being “Logical,” I opened the Late 2016 MacBook Pro and downloaded Apple’s Logic Pro (version 10.3 is required). The two main DAWs I use are Pro Tools and Logic (where I prefer to do my programming and MIDI work), so having a familiarity with the software…

Computer Audio

Laptop Computers

Things We Love: The Kemper Profiling Amplifier

9 years ago

Aside from tracking drums, playing or recording electric guitars has always been a game of compromises for the apartment musician and recording engineer. You need to juggle playing and recording in rooms that just don’t sound right, and ultimately you can never really crank your amp to reach that “sweet” spot without drawing the ire of your neighbors. So, what do we apartment…

Guitar Amps

Things We Love: Focal Spirit Pro Headphones

9 years ago

As we continue our very own B&H-flavored version of Oprah’s Favorite Things just in time for Valentine’s Day, one thing that comes screaming to mind is headphones. Everyone uses them, and they elicit passion, from casual listeners all the way to audiophiles. I fully admit I am something of a low-end Lothario, or dynamic-driver Don Juan, (depending on how you want to alliterate) when talking…

Headphones

Professional Headphones

It's a Small World: IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitors

9 years ago

Music production has, for the most part, gone small. Large-format consoles, massive 2-inch tape machines, and stacks of outboard gear are no longer the only way to produce quality tracks. Realistically speaking, many (if not most) home studios consist of a laptop, which get consistently smaller every few months, a small interface, a MIDI controller, and a pair of monitors. This is true especially…

Audio Accessories

5 of Our Favorite Effects Pedals from 2016

9 years ago

Guitarists and bassists are always chasing for the “Holy Grail” of tone—the often undefinable sound (you'll know it when you hear it) that represents their personal playing style. Purists will rightfully tell you that your tone is in your fingers, but stompboxes have long played an integral part to the sound of the most lauded guitarists in history. Whether it's Steve Ray Vaughn's masterful use…

Effects Pedals

5 Quick Tips for Pedalboard Bliss

9 years ago

For the guitarists and bassists who employ pedalboards, there is an air of sacredness to the way they set them up. While the core of any excellent tone comes from a player’s fingers, instrument, and amp, an array (or just a choice few) of effects can unlock creativity and, in many cases, help establish a unique tone or playing style. As many musicians will tell you, setting up a pedalboard can…

Audio Accessories

High-End in Your Hand: Top Shelf Audio on the Go

9 years ago

Presumably, as long as there has been recorded music, there have been people trying to perfect the art of listening to it. I’d like to imagine these folks in the 1890s, some sort of proto-audiophile, insisting a certain cranking method or wax sourcing makes for a better Edison Cylinder listening experience. Realistically speaking, however, modern-day audiophiles find their roots in the late ’60s…

Audio Accessories

Unplugged: The 3.5mm Headphone Jack (1963 – 2016)

10 years ago

Long the standard bearer for delivering portable audio, the 3.5mm headphone jack had its plug pulled one final time, in Cupertino, on September 7, 2016, and reportedly met its fate with a steely courage you don’t often see outside of Apple designers. In its long and storied life, it survived countless audio formats, from vinyl to 8-tracks, cassette tapes, and CDs. In recent years, it had even…

Headphones

Bluetooth Headphones

4 Pieces of Everyday Technology Predicted by Star Trek

10 years ago

September 8, 2016, marks the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek The Original Series (TOS), and as I write this piece (with my Tasha Yar and Hugh the Borg action figures staring back at me from my desk), it’s hard not to dwell on the legacy of this franchise with which I have a borderline odd preoccupation, going to the lengths of getting B&H’s head editorial honcho to agree to…

Outdoor Accessories

Tablets

3D Printers

4 Tips for Protecting Your Hearing

10 years ago

It is much too easy to take our sense of hearing for granted. However, let’s face it—if you saw someone walking around treating one of their other senses the way our hearing gets abused, you’d call social services. It’s common sense not to stare directly into the sun, or not to pick up a hot pan with your bare hands, but we regularly expose ourselves to the damaging sound pressure levels (SPLs)…

Audio Accessories

K-Tek Stingray Bags Keep Your Audio Rig Organized

10 years ago

Any seasoned sound pro will testify to the importance of organization; in an industry where each second quite literally costs money, you should not be fumbling through your bag to change a setting on your recorder or grab a cable. I'll admit it may just be the over-sensitive audio guy in me, but it seems too often audio on set plays second fiddle to the visual. I understand the…

Audio Accessories

How the Audio-Technica E Series Changed What I Think of Earbuds

10 years ago

I admit it: I am an audio snob, but at the same time, I find the concept of some “audiophile” gear to be ridiculous. Some people go to lengths to enjoy their music that are well beyond reasonable and border on the absurd, and my experience as a recording engineer always has me reaching for the practical approach. While I track audio at high resolution rates (24-bit, 88.2 or 96 kHz) for mixing…

Headphones

In-Ear Monitoring

Professional Headphones

Transmissions from NAMM 2016

10 years ago

Thursday, January 21001: Head West Old Man 07:31 EST, Newark Liberty International Airport An early-AM Uber has brought me to gate C104 at sprawling Newark Liberty International airport, waiting on a 9:03 AM flight into LAX to attend the NAMM 2016 show to schmooze, network, report back, and provide input to the company’s buying staff. Always fun flying on someone else’s dime. It’s been well over…

Audio Accessories

K-Tek KSTG70 Stingray Bag: Luxury Ride for the Tascam DR-70D & DR-701D…

10 years ago

Give your Tascam DR-70D or 701D the luxury of a custom-tailored ride with this Stingray bag from K-Tek. Its rigid vertical frame assures your recorder is protected from the wear of day-to-day use, as well as from the elements, and allows you to carry it hands-free, thanks to the included…

Audio Accessories

ROLI Seaboard Rise Flip Case & Stand Protects Your Controller

10 years ago

A controller as unique as the Seaboard Rise deserves a cover to match, and that’s exactly what ROLI has provided. The lightweight cover can protect your Seaboard Rise from dust…

Audio Accessories