Share Your Music (it probably sucks but that’s not why we do it)

[G650 14229]

I just had a small light bulb in my brain. Being an objectively awful pianist, I'm struggling to put together a keyboard intro to some new material. I know we have some actual talent on here, maybe one of you Rachmanioff level guys would help an inept old rock guitarist brainstorm some ideas?

The main thing I can offer is untold millions of dollars in royalties when the song becomes the next Stairway.

[Goredho 17394]

42 minutes ago, G650 said:

I just had a small light bulb in my brain. Being an objectively awful pianist, I'm struggling to put together a keyboard intro to some new material. I know we have some actual talent on here, maybe one of you Rachmanioff level guys would help an inept old rock guitarist brainstorm some ideas?

The main thing I can offer is untold millions of dollars in royalties when the song becomes the next Stairway.

Time to put up the @sidis signal.

[Celery Man 20929]

 

[sidis 9821]

20 hours ago, G650 said:

I just had a small light bulb in my brain. Being an objectively awful pianist, I'm struggling to put together a keyboard intro to some new material. I know we have some actual talent on here, maybe one of you Rachmanioff level guys would help an inept old rock guitarist brainstorm some ideas?

The main thing I can offer is untold millions of dollars in royalties when the song becomes the next Stairway.

 

19 hours ago, Goredho said:

Time to put up the @sidis signal.

whatcha need, stud?  one would need length, tempo, key (or keys), time sig, conveyance of what emotion, song concept in totality, accompaniment preferences if any, and finally, what the transition is into...

[G650 14229]

The initial thought intro is Ab Maj IV-I-V-I at 115 bpm ish, 4 measures with one chord per measure then what will be the songs chorus figure which is bVII-IV-I-V once then bVII-IV-bvi-I. I was dragging out the bvi and I for two measures each at the end there.

 

My first impulse is a Chuck Leavell or Billy Preston thing, I may add in a slide guitar just doubling those chord shapes with it, the main body of the song I am feeling a shuffle beat, but that is somewhat tbd as my drummer and I have only run through it one night so far. In my minds eye I hear a stage piano or maybe even a Rhodes. I think a Hammond would be over doing it a bit but who knows.

 

Hopefully after the holidays I should have a full scratch demo of the main song, minus vocals.

[TexPx 2322]

I suck but my neighbor just released his first single. Pretty interesting. A touch of ragtime with a hint of bluegrass.

He owns Neighborhood Arts and Music School and recently opened a recording studio, Noise Umbrella.

https://texasselectradio.com/featured-artist

[G650 14229]

4 minutes ago, TexPx said:

I suck but my neighbor just released his first single. Pretty interesting. A touch of ragtime with a hint of bluegrass.

He owns Neighborhood Arts and Music School and recently opened a recording studio, Noise Umbrella.

https://texasselectradio.com/featured-artist

Nice. I have to say he has the Ancient Aliens guys hair going on though.

[sidis 9821]

1 hour ago, G650 said:

The initial thought intro is Ab Maj IV-I-V-I at 115 bpm ish, 4 measures with one chord per measure then what will be the songs chorus figure which is bVII-IV-I-V once then bVII-IV-bvi-I. I was dragging out the bvi and I for two measures each at the end there.

 

My first impulse is a Chuck Leavell or Billy Preston thing, I may add in a slide guitar just doubling those chord shapes with it, the main body of the song I am feeling a shuffle beat, but that is somewhat tbd as my drummer and I have only run through it one night so far. In my minds eye I hear a stage piano or maybe even a Rhodes. I think a Hammond would be over doing it a bit but who knows.

 

Hopefully after the holidays I should have a full scratch demo of the main song, minus vocals.

i'll take a look at this in a bit.

[G650 14229]

32 minutes ago, sidis said:

i'll take a look at this in a bit.

All good, no rush at all. Sincerely appreciate any thoughts

[TexPx 2322]

Nice. I have to say he has the Ancient Aliens guys hair going on though.

Yeah not sure why he went with that pic. Usually has a vintage SRV look going on.

[Goredho 17394]

I am really digging the little LG-1.  This is a little delta blues snippet I’ve had forever.  This guitar renders it so well, and makes me want to flesh it out into a real song.

 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Goredho

[Axle Hongsnort 208]

I suck but my neighbor just released his first single. Pretty interesting. A touch of ragtime with a hint of bluegrass.

He owns Neighborhood Arts and Music School and recently opened a recording studio, Noise Umbrella.

https://texasselectradio.com/featured-artist

Aka Levi Bradford. He and Adam used to teach guitar lessons to my daughter, super nice guys.

[Goredho 17394]

I want to talk about recording acoustic guitars.  My Eastman has an LR Baggs system in it, and that’s what I’ve used to record with decent enough results for my purposes at the time.  But now I’ve got an acoustic without electronics and given it’s a 54 year old guitar, I don’t really want to do anything invasive to it.  So that probably means I’m looking at mics, something I’ve been pretty adverse to.

So what are my options for something that will make a good enough recording at a reasonable budget?  Also, anyone have any experience with these body mount mics?  I’m really limited in space and not having a mic stand to further clutter things is strongly appealing.

 

[G650 14229]

I've always recorded acoustics with LDCs like a C414. I'm sure you can probably do ok with a SDC, but I would avoid using a dynamic generally, though I'm sure it's possible to make it work.

[Chips O'Toole 1322]

If you like that sound, it might be worth a shot.  It will at least sound more natural than recording an acoustic direct.  I prefer a condenser a bit farther away, usually an LDC like G650 but SDC's sound great on a lot of recordings.  If you are doing a lot of fast or delicate picking, SDC around the 12th fret is a good choice.  It depends a lot on the guitar, the room and what you are playing.  I usually have to listen to 2-3 mic's before I decide what I want to hear, and then move them around a bit.   I have no idea about that attachable condenser, it might be good but it seems like it also might not be very versatile.  Those recordings have a lot of reverb which is irritating.

It was very challenging to mic an acoustic until I started to understand what to listen for when positioning the mic.  I'm only OK at it now.  

I forget where you are Goredho, but having a gear rental shop nearby is a great resource.  I've rented a ton of mic's from RnR in Austin, sometimes just to try them out and see how much better a $1000 mic would sound over a $2-300 one.  Like any gear, mic's can become a bit of an obsession since they all sound different and add different things in a mix.

C414 is a classic, I think the more recent revs (XLII, XLS etc) after 2000 are a bit hyped on the top end which sound overly bright to me.  The prior models (EB, B-ULS, TL) can be found for around 900-1k used, so they aren't super entry level but they also don't really lose value.  The guy who recorded my band's first album almost 20 years ago favored this mic on acoustic, and I am still trying to get a sound as good as he did back then.

I am a fan of a company called 3u Audio, I have 2 mic's from them and will be purchasing another one this year.  The factory is in China, but they ship/sell out of Australia.  The components are much better than you might expect from that type of outfit, and the owner/engineer is very helpful, he even listened to some clips of my voice to give an opinion on which mic would sound better.  Their Warbler MK1 mic sounds great with acoustic guitar and even sounds good in comparisons with a U87 I have heard.  

A site I found helpful is https://www.audiotestkitchen.com/ which has a shitload of mic's they have used on a few songs of different styles.  It lets you load up some mic's and swap between them and solo out guitar/voice/whatever.  I played with it for a couple of days and got a better feel for what kind of sound I liked.

I think you should have at least one condenser mic in your room.  You can mic your guitar cab with it and add some depth to your tracks as well.  If you are happy with your sound, I won't tell you to change it, it's working.  But I would recommend spending the money on a good LDC to have around rather than a mic that you can really only use for close mic'ing the acoustic.

[Goredho 17394]

Thanks for the advice, @G650 & @Chips O'Toole.  I'll look deeper at the options and resources you've suggested.  Unfortunately, my space is a 12'x12' room that also has to be my office, so I have tried as much as possible to not have to dick with microphones.  Aside from space limitations, its not set up well acoustically, and I have no ability to isolate anything.  So it is not a professional recording setting by any means.  That's why I used an Ox Box when I was using real valve amps and now use an AxeFX3 exclusively for electric recording, and I'm very happy with it.

Previously, I've used my Eastman acoustic with an LR Baggs system in it for recording and having that go direct to interface.  Again, not nearly as good as what you could get in a studio with proper acoustics and mics, but good enough for me and my needs.  But now I'm starting to take a shine to vintage acoustics and I don't want to go altering them with things like an LR Baggs or Fishman pickup system inside.  So that's the context where I am coming from.

I guess I can have a decent condenser mic and just use headphones for monitoring to make the whole room a sound booth, basically.  Which I'd need to do for either that DPA 4099 or one of the suggestions you guys have made.  The DPA 4099 in that video is $650 MSRP, so its not exactly cheap, either.

[jimmyjazz 45877]

I usually used decent small diaphragm condenser pairs on acoustic (either Neumann KM184 or Microtech Gefell M300).  I have used large diaphragm condeners like a single Audio Technica AT4050 with some success recently.

One benefit of a decent large diaphragm condenser mic is that it could double for vocals.

[Chips O'Toole 1322]

9 minutes ago, Goredho said:

Thanks for the advice, @G650 & @Chips O'Toole.  I'll look deeper at the options and resources you've suggested.  Unfortunately, my space is a 12'x12' room that also has to be my office, so I have tried as much as possible to not have to dick with microphones.  Aside from space limitations, its not set up well acoustically, and I have no ability to isolate anything.  So it is not a professional recording setting by any means.  That's why I used an Ox Box when I was using real valve amps and now use an AxeFX3 exclusively for electric recording, and I'm very happy with it.

 

12' x 12' is tough for sure.  My office is like 10' x 17' or something and is full of guitars, piano and gear.  Dicking with microphones in here is the best part.   I do have some sound absorber panels I can move around to cut down on reflections.  Also I have space outside the office to work with that you wouldn't have if you are using the detached building.  For $650 you can get a single used KM184 which is a standard in pro studios, and is very easy to work with since it is so much smaller and lighter than an LDC.

[Goredho 17394]

On a tangential note, I have started playing with IMovie to refine video & audio recordings, just for little social media clips and the like.  I recorded a clip this morning using just quicktime and my laptop's camera and microphone, then processed it with IMovie.  I was really happy with the audio improvement that I got pretty much out of the box.  I was using the AxeFX3 modeler emulating a Suhr badger amp and that went into a stereo power amp two 1x12 cabs, with it all just being captured by the laptop mic not particularly pointed anywhere.  Chords were just from a looper going through all that at the same time.  Here's the processed clip (ignore the goofy video filter):
 

Now here is the raw clip as captured with quicktime, and you can hear how much of a difference the IMovie processing made.  The improvement was just from me clicking an "auto improve audio" button in IMovie.  I am sure you could also dive really deep into improving the quality of sound for video recordings, too.

 

[Goredho 17394]

So if I was to get something like a KM184 as suggested, what else do I need for recording an acoustic guitar?  A good pair of headphones for monitoring, XLR cable, a mic boom that can work well for a sitting position.  Anything else?  Just run from the mic into my audio interface?

[Chips O'Toole 1322]

5 minutes ago, Goredho said:

So if I was to get something like a KM184 as suggested, what else do I need for recording an acoustic guitar?  A good pair of headphones for monitoring, XLR cable, a mic boom that can work well for a sitting position.  Anything else?  Just run from the mic into my audio interface?

That's it, the interface will power the mic with the 48v/phantom power switch engaged.  I have a 25' headphone extender I got from monoprice so they will reach to the far end of the room.  Have a measuring tape or stick or something so you can remember how far you like the mic and help with getting the angle right.  Those mic's should come with a clip that screws on the end of the stand.  

[jimmyjazz 45877]

14 minutes ago, Goredho said:

So if I was to get something like a KM184 as suggested, what else do I need for recording an acoustic guitar?  A good pair of headphones for monitoring, XLR cable, a mic boom that can work well for a sitting position.  Anything else?  Just run from the mic into my audio interface?

The mic interface would need to supply phantom power (often labeled "48V").  Otherwise, you'd have to also buy an outboard phantom power supplly.

[jimmyjazz 45877]

Oh, and worth every penny you paid for this advice:  I prefer the Microtech Gefell M300 to the Neumann KM184.  Similar price.

[Goredho 17394]

2 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

The mic interface would need to supply phantom power (often labeled "48V").  Otherwise, you'd have to also buy an outboard phantom power supplly.

Yeah, its only a two channel interface, but its got the 48V option.  May look at upgrading, though, so I have two channels dedicated to the line in from the AxeFX and at least one more channel to be set up for the mic so I'm not having to swap things around all the time.  Right now the 48v will apply to both channels or neither channel.

[G650 14229]

Good advice from all the peeps here. Mic position is crucial, and you just have to experiment as each guitar and space will react differently.

 

My preference on 414s is the B ULS, but that is subjective. Austrian Audio is a company formed by the old guys from AKG and they make new mics in the 414 style that are very highly reviewed and not over the top expensive if you look to go that route.

[Chips O'Toole 1322]

The Neumann's are really good but typically priced higher than other brands that have similar quality.  They are out of my price range, I went with the Oktava MK 012 and got a pair with swappable capsules so I can have multiple patterns.  

[jimmyjazz 45877]

3 minutes ago, Goredho said:

Right now the 48v will apply to both channels or neither channel.

That's typically not an issue.  You can put phantom power on most mics that don't require it (certainly dynamics) and it won't harm them.

[jimmyjazz 45877]

Just now, Chips O'Toole said:

The Neumann's are really good but typically priced higher than other brands that have similar quality. 

. . . and many modern Neumanns aren't up to the quality of their classics.  For instance, most people think the KM84 is considerably better than the KM184.

@Paul Wesley might have some thoughts on these microphone questions.

[Chips O'Toole 1322]

5 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

. . . and many modern Neumanns aren't up to the quality of their classics.  For instance, most people think the KM84 is considerably better than the KM184.

@Paul Wesley might have some thoughts on these microphone questions.

Yeah exactly, the modern ones sound a lot different from the classics, or so I've read.  I'm not someone who ever gets to use multi-thousand dollar mic's to hear the difference.

[Goredho 17394]

Yeah, I'd like to keep my bill under $1000 for everything.  I'm not looking to recreate Abbey Road here.

[Paul Wesley 3278]

Lots of good advice.  Just a few things to add:

1.  That guitar-mounted DPA mic might sound great... I dunno.  But it's about the same price as a used KM184, and for sure if you were going to sell one of them in 5 years, you'll get pretty much your entire $700 back from a used Neumann, and less than half that for the used DPA.  I agree with jimmyjazz that the Gefell SDC mics (M300 or M295) are at least as good as the KM184, but they're a lot less plentiful on the used market.   

2.  You could make a case that if you're also planning to record vocals with the same mic, perhaps you'd be better off with a large diaphragm condenser.  If so, I agree with the 414 recommendation.  My personal favorite for a secret-weapon LDC is the Blue Dragonfly Deluxe (has to be the green "deluxe" model and not the regular dragonfly... they only made 275 of them).  I have owned several of them... they come up used for around $750, and they just murder everything else in that price range, IMO.  Poor man's cardioid-only U67.

3.  Stay away from the new LDC Neumanns (TLM series).  They're straight trash.  I'm shocked that such a venerable company puts a Neumann badge on them.  

4.  If you're not doing vocals, I like the idea of a used Neumann or Gefell, and put the rest in moveable acoustic treatment (wall panels or tubetraps) that will serve you well for both tracking and for mixing.  You will get life-long use out of these things.  

[sidis 9821]

6 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

I usually used decent small diaphragm condenser pairs on acoustic (either Neumann KM184 or Microtech Gefell M300).  I have used large diaphragm condeners like a single Audio Technica AT4050 with some success recently.

One benefit of a decent large diaphragm condenser mic is that it could double for vocals.

 

5 hours ago, Goredho said:

Yeah, I'd like to keep my bill under $1000 for everything.  I'm not looking to recreate Abbey Road here.

yet.  you'll get there.  trust me.

Edited February 6, 2023 by sidis

[Paul Wesley 3278]

Old but still brilliant and relevant:

 

[G650 14229]

luuuuullllzzzzz

[Paul Wesley 3278]

 

[Paul Wesley 3278]

I’m sure the home audiophile guys are equally ripe for satire, but I don’t swim in those waters.  
 

But these two videos land painfully close to home (Charlie Bolois actually did calibrate our Studer).  

[G650 14229]

8 minutes ago, Paul Wesley said:

I’m sure the home audiophile guys are equally ripe for satire, but I don’t swim in those waters.  
 

But these two videos land painfully close to home (Charlie Bolois actually did calibrate our Studer).  

 

Not recording related, but the first one reminded of one of my all time favorites.

 

 

[sidis 9821]

On 2/6/2023 at 10:09 AM, jimmyjazz said:

I usually used decent small diaphragm condenser pairs on acoustic (either Neumann KM184 or Microtech Gefell M300).  I have used large diaphragm condeners like a single Audio Technica AT4050 with some success recently.

One benefit of a decent large diaphragm condenser mic is that it could double for vocals.

 

On 2/6/2023 at 10:25 AM, Chips O'Toole said:

12' x 12' is tough for sure.  My office is like 10' x 17' or something and is full of guitars, piano and gear.  Dicking with microphones in here is the best part.   I do have some sound absorber panels I can move around to cut down on reflections.  Also I have space outside the office to work with that you wouldn't have if you are using the detached building.  For $650 you can get a single used KM184 which is a standard in pro studios, and is very easy to work with since it is so much smaller and lighter than an LDC.

 

On 2/6/2023 at 10:44 AM, Goredho said:

So if I was to get something like a KM184 as suggested, what else do I need for recording an acoustic guitar?  A good pair of headphones for monitoring, XLR cable, a mic boom that can work well for a sitting position.  Anything else?  Just run from the mic into my audio interface?

after spamming the shit out of @Paul Wesley over the last month through text, i grabbed the u87 and a set of km184s.  i also grabbed a preamp and a compressor to run the line prior to the audio interface just because i found a great deal on some hardly used art pros.  they aren't anywhere near professional studio quality but most pros agree that they punch above their weight for the cost and add enough to the quality that its worth it for home recorders.  i did replace the stock tubes on both with some mullard tubes.

after playing with both of them quite a bit this weekend (so much fun), i think a agree with jimmyjazz that you would probably be better off getting a high quality large diaphragm mic because it will be so much more versatile for you.  you play a ton of electric guitar and then u87 took the electric guitar so much better than the km184 (and vox too if you wanted).  i recorded a guitar driven track on the u87 that sounds incredible to me that will get posted in this thread soon.  HOWEVER, if you are asking for something that is wholly dedicated to just acoustic instruments, the km184 would give the same quality for a lot less cost.

below are two tracks of nothing but cello open strings.  no playing, didn't want to distract from the sound.  just open strings from C to A with some slight shifts in bowing dynamics.  u87 set to card.  the tracks are as dry as i can make them...no post-recording processing whatsoever...not even eq.  nada.  just straight into logic and bounced to wav...nothing on the bus after it leaves the compressor.  for acoustic only, the difference is not much.  photos below the tracks for mic position in both scenarios and the preamp/compressor settings.  the only difference between the settings is I did add a little bit more gain on the preamp for the km184 to try and get them as close to the same input as possible.  the remaining settings are as in the pic.  these were just at my house with no acoustic treatment.

 

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by sidis

[sidis 9821]

and on the topic of actually sharing music.  a little viola-piano-cello bagatelle i mocked up with vi's.  strings will get properly recorded in paul's studio soon.

 

[Rimbo 25908]

I love this song I made and I'm tired of pretending it's not fantastic

 

[sidis 9821]

something a little different.  not recorded on the u87 described above unfortunately (except for the bass in the intro part).  drums and bass lick in the second half jam out are programmed, as is the pad in the first half and the transition.  lots of delay/verb on the front half, tube driver/big muff/overdrive in the second half.  i still don't really know if the transition actually works or not between the intro and the second half.  @Goredho has promised me a screaming guitar solo over the top of the chugging chorus that's going to make it a huge hit but here it is naked.

 

 

[Chips O'Toole 1322]

@sidis, I agree with you for the most part on the mic's.  For versatility, outside of an SM57, a good LDC is going to be the most useful mic in a studio, and I grab it over an SDC for acoustic guitar in most situations.  I have recorded through that ART gear before, and it can sound pretty good.  Any time I think about buying a PRO VLA II, I convince myself to wait until I can get a really nice LA-2A style opto compressor.

Since Goredho has some mic hesitancy, I'll just say that SDC's are a lot easier to move around in tight quarters and I think they are more forgiving when finding the best angle or sweet spot for acoustic guitar.  Positioning an LDC for yourself playing acoustic guitar with no help is really hard.  I think for his mindset right now, the small diaphragm might just fit his needs better.  On the other hand, what he wants is a U87, he just doesn't know it yet, hehe.

Ok, my one quick opinion on the U87 so that he doesn't get sticker shock:  there are a plenty of microphones in his desired price range that sound great, even some 87ish clones that come very close to that sound.  The U87 is a wonderful microphone, but I would only spend the $$$ to buy one if A) I HAVE to have THAT sound, it's my favorite sound and nothing else will do, or B) I am recording bands and want to have it around because it's the most commonly requested mic in sessions.  To my ears, it does not sound 4x better than some of the FET microphones that are available in the $1k range.  A badass engineer with a C414 will get a much better sound than me with a U87.  

Looking forward to hearing the new stuff when I get a chance, Sidis.  

 

[G650 14229]

Pssh. Everyone knows he should get a U67.

 

[sidis 9821]

45 minutes ago, Chips O'Toole said:

@sidis, I agree with you for the most part on the mic's.  For versatility, outside of an SM57, a good LDC is going to be the most useful mic in a studio, and I grab it over an SDC for acoustic guitar in most situations.  I have recorded through that ART gear before, and it can sound pretty good.  Any time I think about buying a PRO VLA II, I convince myself to wait until I can get a really nice LA-2A style opto compressor.

Since Goredho has some mic hesitancy, I'll just say that SDC's are a lot easier to move around in tight quarters and I think they are more forgiving when finding the best angle or sweet spot for acoustic guitar.  Positioning an LDC for yourself playing acoustic guitar with no help is really hard.  I think for his mindset right now, the small diaphragm might just fit his needs better.  On the other hand, what he wants is a U87, he just doesn't know it yet, hehe.

Ok, my one quick opinion on the U87 so that he doesn't get sticker shock:  there are a plenty of microphones in his desired price range that sound great, even some 87ish clones that come very close to that sound.  The U87 is a wonderful microphone, but I would only spend the $$$ to buy one if A) I HAVE to have THAT sound, it's my favorite sound and nothing else will do, or B) I am recording bands and want to have it around because it's the most commonly requested mic in sessions.  To my ears, it does not sound 4x better than some of the FET microphones that are available in the $1k range.  A badass engineer with a C414 will get a much better sound than me with a U87.  

Looking forward to hearing the new stuff when I get a chance, Sidis.  

 

good post.  as i said, if he is buying the mic for the sole purpose of recording acoustic instruments, then imo the 184 (or something like it) is the exact thing he needs.  it did a beautiful job of capturing the sound of the acoustic cello i posted above and other than maybe jimmyjazz and paul, i doubt very many people would be able to draw any quality distinction between the recordings i posted above.  it can be used location wise in far more physically versatile and nuanced ways and the price is fractional in comparison.  so i am exactly in line with your thinking.

but we know that goredho is an excellent electric guitarist and when he plugs into that amp...

i need to post the same comparison i did with the cello above with electric guitar turned up.

and you are 100% correct that the u87 or u67 is a completely irrational purchase for hobbyists like us.  aside from professional studios, only complete dumbasses like me are stupid enough to waste the money (though comforted by the belief that i should be able to sell it for close to the same as purchase if the time comes).  complete waste of money and would have been much better spent paying for time in studio with a pro engineer and keep it more reasonable at home.  but i am an idiot...and i found an awesome deal for a used one that was in perfect condition and was curious to play with them.

all that said, in the golden crashes track above, the only thing that was recorded with the u87 was the bass line starting at 0:16 through 0:51.  i had done everything else before i had it.  and my god, to my ears, it is by far the best sounding thing in the track by a long shot. (to be clear, the only other thing recorded was the guitar and a little bit of the bass line in the second half.  the fast bass licks in the second half, drums, and pads were all programmed with vi's).  when you get a chance to listen, i'll be curious if you agree with the intro bass standing out sonically.  if i was a better guitarist and could play the intro and the jam out in a take or two as opposed to stitching together about 30 different clips, i would have definitely re-recorded with new mic but i'm not and apparently lazy.

eta: on topic of compressors, gave a half second thought to getting an LA2A instead of the much more commodity stuff but then i remembered that there is a limit to my silliness.  i can do so much processing through eq, imagers, compressors, verb with the trillions of dollars i've spent on fabfilter, valhalla, liquidsonics, and izotope products on the back end now...and i'm a dude in a room in my house, not a studio.  i am just starting to play with the art stuff and see what it's capable of.  like i said, it's not on the same planet as the pro stuff but it appears it can serve a purpose of enhancing my dry tracks going in.

Edited February 28, 2023 by sidis

[Goredho 17394]

On vacation.  I can’t fully digest or meaningfully respond other than to say all this microphone cork sniffing makes me want to sell my acoustics 😜

[Goredho 17394]

On 2/27/2023 at 8:33 PM, sidis said:

something a little different.  not recorded on the u87 described above unfortunately (except for the bass in the intro part).  drums and bass lick in the second half jam out are programmed, as is the pad in the first half and the transition.  lots of delay/verb on the front half, tube driver/big muff/overdrive in the second half.  i still don't really know if the transition actually works or not between the intro and the second half.  @Goredho has promised me a screaming guitar solo over the top of the chugging chorus that's going to make it a huge hit but here it is naked.

 

 

I like it a lot!  This will be fun to do some lead over.

As for the mic stuff, I am going to be looking at some used budget options vs diving into the deep end of the pool immediately.  I have a lot lower bar of what is acceptable in terms of sound quality than most here.

[sidis 9821]

On 2/28/2023 at 10:02 AM, Chips O'Toole said:

Any time I think about buying a PRO VLA II, I convince myself to wait until I can get a really nice LA-2A style opto compressor.

i meant to post this in my original response but i busted this out last night working on some stuff and it reminded me to point you to it in case you were not familiar.  universal audio did a digital emulator of the the various la2a's that have always been a bit of a hassle because not only are they the ultimate cpu hogs, but they required ua hardware to actually run.  just a year or two ago, they finally released a version that worked with most daws independently.  anyway, it is pretty sweet and (relatively) cheap if you want to check it out.  they have a 14 day trial as well.

https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/compressors-limiters/teletronix-la-2a-collection.html

they also did their 1176 limiters (though i still prefer the izotope products for this).

https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/compressors-limiters/1176-collection.html

[sidis 9821]

more sewn together guitar phrases posing as a lead.  slow going but getting better.  i like the sonic texture of this one.  guitar plucks, guitar lead, and bass line recorded.  lots of reversals made in logic to give a lot of the pad sound and the intro to the lead.  some violins and orchestral brass way down in the mix at the beginning and end to add some fun.  bass pad and drums programmed.

 

 

@dcbc, tube screamer on lead.  recorded all these phrases before i got the centura.

@Chips O'Toole, i took the below screenshot just for you so you could see the la2a in action.

[dcbc 14465]

2 hours ago, sidis said:

tube screamer on lead

That one, I can hear for sure!

[G650 14229]

So you guys might get a kick out of this. It's a  song I wrote as a paean to an outboard. 

 

 

I think I may have related last year how I was scavenging some old ADAT tapes to get the material on a hard drive before they disintegrated. This was one of the songs that was on the tapes, though I had a mixed version on an old computer. I posted a clip of that original mix when we were talking Big Muffs in the guitar thread.

I'm not going to lie, I may be prouder of this than any of the professional work I've done recording anyone. It was such a different world back then, none of the off the shelf stuff you can use at home we take for granted now existed. We did this with an ADAT plugged into a half functioning Mackie 1604 VLZ I wheeled into my drummers living room with some 57s, some stupid cheap Samson mics, and *gasp* AKG C1000s. Then I overdubbed a clean guitar, the solo, and the vocalist in this horrid untreated room in my house. I imported it to an old PC of some sort with a Lexicon Core 2 PCI interface, and mixed it on legit regular old computer speakers lol.

 

The only thing I wish I could change is the vocals. I sort of purposely smeared them here because well. Probably a pro mixer, because that definitely ain't me as you can tell, and a Melodyne pro could make the vocals sound worth a shit, but que Sera and shit. Or a better singer but I don't want to get carried away.