I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

[Gtrjunior]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

I've always got to figure out where my dog is before recording with condenser mics. So many takes have had to be tossed because she decided to bark to go out, to go clacking across the floor in from of the amp, do some loud snoring, or started rolling around on the floor at an inopportune moment. I usually have the amp up high enough that it's not caught until mixing (dog's stone deaf and often sleeps right in front of the amp).

Those are the pieces of magic you want to keep on your recordings! Lol

[GuitarStv]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

I've always got to figure out where my dog is before recording with condenser mics. So many takes have had to be tossed because she decided to bark to go out, to go clacking across the floor in from of the amp, do some loud snoring, or started rolling around on the floor at an inopportune moment. I usually have the amp up high enough that it's not caught until mixing (dog's stone deaf and often sleeps right in front of the amp).

[Clint 55]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

[Clint 55]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

[Clint 55]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

Woohoo!

[Gtrjunior]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

Just clean it off when you’re done.

[Clint 55]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

Having sex with my Neumann TLM 49 condenser.

[Clint 55]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

I can kind of see what you guys are talking about the recording skill being important. The quality of each track on this albam is not that good. But it's performed well, mixed well, and it's some of the best composition you'll hear. The (re)mastering doesn't sound to be that effective lol. I want the quality tho. PS: Elliott performed every track on this albam.

[Demanic]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

I like condensers. But then most of my recording is live sound in a small room.
I would probably use a combination of a dynamic for close micing along with a condenser for more room sound, if I were recording isolated tracks.
I've always been curious about ribbon mics too.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

[Clint 55]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

I see what you're saying about the disadvantages to condensers. How they're more sensitive, can break up if it's too loud, pick up more of the room. But dynamic mics are just plain old too dull for my application. I record quietly in my room and clean is my priority since I'll probably never spend 10 grand on an epic amp rig that will have sound that will beat dirty amp sims. Tried an sm57 - sounded like crap; sennheiser md421 - ok, could be good for live sound; sennheiser md 441 - pretty good but still too dull and bassy; my 1 condenser a sennheiser mk4 - pretty good. Sounds perfect on my jazz rig but still a tad dry and harsh on my rock rig. Gonna try an upper tier condenser the neumann tlm 49 and see how things go. I'm running out of things to get so that's good. Very happy with my computer and interface. Just gotta find a mic that's good for me.

[dystrust]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

I scored a $1,650 condenser for $850. I've decided to go with condensers because dynamic mics were too dull for me. I also record at low volumes anyway so condensers give me more detail. Gonna sell my other 4 mics and should recover a grand or so!

They also tend to be A LOT more sensitive and have less off-axis rejection in most cases. Depending on the room you're recording in, you may have just bought a ticket to less sound quality, or possibly a bunch of expenses in the form of sonic treatment. Out of curiosity what did you end up with? At that price it's probably a multi-pattern mic; I would advise only using cardioid or hypercardioid unless you have a well-treated (ideally large) space to work with.

There are no shortcuts to great quality sound when it comes to recording. Most importantly you need to have the right microphone in the right place, and there is no "one mic to rule them all". If there were such a thing, there would be no need for the amazing diversity of mic choices.

[Clint 55]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

I scored a $1,650 condenser for $850. I've decided to go with condensers because dynamic mics were too dull for me. I also record at low volumes anyway so condensers give me more detail. Gonna sell my other 4 mics and should recover a grand or so!

[dystrust]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

Edit:
# 2.5 Good Preamps. Most modern, lower cost interfaces have more than adequate clean preamps.

I'd add that "good" in this context means "enough clean gain to do the job effectively" rather than "expensive". It's been a few years now, but Sound on Sound did a double-blind comparison where they recorded a clean signal through a bunch of preamps including an API 3124+, AMS Neve 1073LB, ART Pro MPA II, and Mackie VLZ Pro. For recording a line-level signal rather than deliberately over-driving, you'd be surprised how little the cost of the preamp ended up mattering.

[dystrust]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

Knowing your gear and knowing your room are more important than the gear that you have. Steven Wilson recorded vocals and mixed all of the Porcupine Tree records in his old bedroom at his parents' house years after moving out because he knew the sound of the room inside and out.

[NecroPolo]

Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

Just like guitar playing, it is all about the skill. Okay you need a straight-to-the-point pack to start with but it is not the expensive gear that makes a recording good. I've seen a lot of guys producing crap with 1-grand-plus-plus gear and other guys making excellent records with simple stuff (that the expensive guys tend to look down to). There is a loooong looooooooooooong learning curve and zounds of crap decisions until someone starts to make good decisions. There is no tutorial video, school or class to get you there. Only time spent on learning from mistakes and practical knowledge does that.

I don't know, I don't classify myself. It is not my task to give it a name and I don't care about being labelled as pro. I feel I'm still learning after 25 years of doing it. All I know that guys keep giving me mix / master assignments. They are much deeper in trouble considering the production **** than me and seem to be willing to pay for my help.

The fist paying mixing gig needed 5 years of bad decisions on mixes made at home and learing from them. The first paying mastering gig needed 10 years of making bad masters at home. Apart from improved plug-ins and a major DAW change and a little better interface, I'm still using the very same gear for 25 years. Most of them are sub-grand.

I hope that helps a little to reveal the process. Be patient and experiment the crap out of what you have. Every day is school.