https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/does-vintage-gear-need-recapping 2026-09-13T18:05:59+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/IMG_3599.jpg?v=1789301927 Does It Really Need Recapping? An Honest Answer, With Prices A Korg Polysix on the bench, the analogue polysynth best known for the leaking battery that eats its circuit board https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/akai-sampler-buying-guide 2026-09-13T18:05:59+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/IMG_3348_9cbdb149-a0c5-4f10-b7f1-7a61ed237af8.jpg?v=1789301947 S612 to S5000: Which Akai Sampler Do You Actually Want? An Akai S950 rackmount 12-bit sampler, front panel and floppy drive https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/bop-studios-mmabatho 2026-09-13T18:14:59+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/bench-bop-focusrite-console-5.jpg?v=1789311533 BOP Studios: A Neve, an SSL and a Focusrite, in a Country That No Longer Exists Focusrite Studio Console number 5 in The Focusrite Room at Platinum Underground, Arizona, restored after being rescued from the shuttered BOP Studios https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/importing-vintage-studio-gear-into-africa 2026-09-13T18:06:14+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/bench-import-wooden-crate.jpg?v=1789311584 What It Actually Costs to Land a Vintage Synth in Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi or Accra A plywood shipping crate on a pallet base with steel corner brackets, the packing standard heavy vintage studio gear needs for international freight https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/dbx-160-which-version-to-buy 2026-09-13T18:06:14+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/dbx160-01.jpg?v=1789301930 dbx 160, 160A, 160X, 160XT, 160VU, 160S: Which One Are You Actually Looking At? A dbx 160 VU compressor, the original half-rack model with wooden cheeks and a single VU meter https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/juno-60-vs-juno-106 2026-09-13T18:06:14+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/IMG_8537.jpg?v=1789301949 Juno-60 or Juno-106? The Honest Answer, Including the Chip That Kills Them A Roland Juno-60 analogue polysynth, sliders and chorus switches across the front panel https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/where-fela-kuti-recorded 2026-09-13T18:05:58+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/bench-fela-kuti-in-the-studio.jpg?v=1789312044 Fela Never Had a Studio: Where Afrobeat Was Actually Recorded Fela Kuti playing tenor saxophone in the studio with two singers of Africa 70 beside him https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/how-africa-got-multitrack 2026-09-13T18:39:58+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/bench-soundtracs-console-wide.jpg?v=1789311701 How Africa Got Multitrack: A Continental Timeline in Track Counts A restored Soundtracs CMX4400 analogue console, sixteen VU meters across the bridge and the routing matrix at the right https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/buying-a-used-tape-machine-checklist 2026-09-13T18:06:14+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/PHOTO-2026-06-16-12-26-52.jpg?v=1789301932 What to Check Before You Buy a Tape Machine (And What a Dying Capstan Motor Sounds Like) A Revox PR-99 quarter inch reel to reel tape machine, heads and transport visible https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/how-highlife-was-recorded 2026-09-13T18:36:50+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/bench-highlife-band-live.jpg?v=1789317410 Two EQ Knobs and a Fader: How the Golden Age of Highlife Was Actually Recorded A highlife band on stage, the bandleader holding a guitar and pointing off-mic, singers beside him with a shaker and a gong-gong https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/server-racks-for-studio-gear 2026-09-13T18:05:59+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/bench-server-cabinets-data-centre.jpg?v=1789312893 Server Racks for Studio Gear: What Fits and What to Change Four-post server cabinets in a data centre, square-hole mounting rails visible, the source of most cheap second-hand 19 inch racks https://innerpieces.art/blogs/the-bench/how-kwaito-was-made 2026-09-14T12:06:44+02:00 weekly https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0751/5992/9071/articles/bench-kwaito-pantsula-dancers.jpg?v=1789380072 How Kwaito Was Made: The Pitch Fader, the Speed Switch and a Tempo Nobody Chose Pantsula dancers in a circle on a tarred township street, knees high, spectators ringed around them, shot in black and white.