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

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  • #16
    Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

    #1 Performance
    #2 Good mics and the correct placement (also know polarity/phase relationship)
    #3 Proper compression (Tracking to eliminate peaks and/or mixing to help glue tracks together)
    #4 Proper EQ
    #5 High Pass filtering (get rid of unneeded lows to eliminate a muddy mix)
    And much, much more.

    Not necessarily in that order, but kind of.....8)

    Edit:
    # 2.5 Good Preamps. Most modern, lower cost interfaces have more than adequate clean preamps.
    Last edited by Swampy; 12-11-2019, 09:19 PM.

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    • #17
      Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

      So there's a lot I can be working on with my upper/mid tier equipment. Do you think room acoustics is important also even for close micing?
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      • #18
        Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

        Originally posted by Clint 55 View Post
        So there's a lot I can be working on with my upper/mid tier equipment. Do you think room acoustics is important also even for close micing?
        It's less important, but yes it makes a difference. I particularly notice with low end when you're recording at high volume.


        I've built a couple 3'x4' and 6" thick panels wrapped with burlap and stuffed with rockwool. They're excellent at absorbing reflections. When close micing something, or if I want to kill room sound I just move some of the panels really close to the amp/acoustic guitar/drum and then record the part. The panels eat the reflections going out, then reduce them further coming back in. It's really handy if you're doing recording in your basement rather than a fancy studio with an anaechoic chamber. :P
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        This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

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        • #19
          Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

          Originally posted by GuitarStv View Post
          FWIW . . . I've found that it's almost always better to get the sound and EQ you want by adjusting the amp and guitar BEFORE recording. Then you barely need to EQ anything to get it sounding great. Whenever I find myself heavily EQing a track, it seems that I've made a mistake somewhere.
          Garbage in, garbage out.

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          • #20
            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.
            Last edited by NecroPolo; 12-20-2019, 08:50 PM.
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            • #21
              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.
              Originally posted by crusty philtrum
              And that's probably because most people with electric guitars seem more interested in their own performance rather than the effect on the listener ... in fact i don't think many people who own electric guitars even give a poop about the effect on a listener. Which is why many people play electric guitars but very very few of them are actually musicians.

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              • #22
                Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

                Originally posted by Swampy View Post
                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.
                Originally posted by crusty philtrum
                And that's probably because most people with electric guitars seem more interested in their own performance rather than the effect on the listener ... in fact i don't think many people who own electric guitars even give a poop about the effect on a listener. Which is why many people play electric guitars but very very few of them are actually musicians.

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                • #23
                  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!
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                  • #24
                    Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

                    Originally posted by Clint 55 View Post
                    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.
                    Originally posted by crusty philtrum
                    And that's probably because most people with electric guitars seem more interested in their own performance rather than the effect on the listener ... in fact i don't think many people who own electric guitars even give a poop about the effect on a listener. Which is why many people play electric guitars but very very few of them are actually musicians.

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                    • #25
                      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.
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                      • #26
                        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.

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                        • #27
                          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.

                          Last edited by Clint 55; 12-31-2019, 10:22 PM.
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                          • #28
                            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.
                            Last edited by Clint 55; 01-02-2020, 02:00 PM.
                            The things that you wanted
                            I bought them for you

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                            • #29
                              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.

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                              • #30
                                Re: I've come to the conclusion that the pros have more than a 1 grand mic/interface

                                Woohoo!

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                                I bought them for you

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