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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 25, 2021 21:22:54 GMT -6
So far, no matter how much I think about it, my record keeping of mixes falls short. I have run many mp3's and WAV files of a mix to send to others for tracking, then when I update the mix, send new mp3's to the artist and other musicians to track to. By the time I'm done I've run or sent 100 variations of a track. I need to simply catalogue and use dates and long names to differentiate which version of a mix it is. But for some reason, I just haven't figured out a method that I use without forgetting to do it properly.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 25, 2021 6:21:23 GMT -6
Nicely done. The vocal sounds kinda flat, but I suspect it's the vocalist or the processing, and not the mic.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 23, 2021 20:15:34 GMT -6
Sounds really good, great character on the vocal.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 20, 2021 10:14:16 GMT -6
Buried somewhere in my army of plug-ins I have Neve console IR's, and I think API. They all just add distortion, and I never use them.
So far, the best distortion plug-in I've used is the Analog Design HG-2. I'd say it gives me 20%-30% of what a console does, but it does that perfectly.
It can't be long before UAD does what they did with the API with Neve for Luna.
So far, I haven't tried Luna. It's confusing enough just using Logic, especially after automation to then use another DAW.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 17, 2021 14:39:34 GMT -6
I do know what you mean lpedrum!
I heard UAD's Ampeg plug-in last week and it seemed as good as IK's, except with UAD you get one, with IK's I got all the Ampeg bass amps. Sometimes the newest one gets me the EQ I need without resorting to EQ plug-ins.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 17, 2021 6:47:20 GMT -6
I've found no plug-in really sounds just like the hardware with one exception. I actually had one of the amps IK Multimedia modeled and compared them. They were indistinguishable, except the plug-in gratefully had no noisy hum.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 16, 2021 22:58:26 GMT -6
I hate to say it but I keep getting better sounds with the IK Multimedia Ampeg series of bass amp plug-ins than the sounds good bass players send me from their fancy high end rigs.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 16, 2021 15:23:26 GMT -6
Omicron9, facebooks Marketplace ads are free. I'm selling lots of household items lately, I'm downsizing post-divorce. Two of the bigger ticket items sold through Marketplace. No issues, nice people, cash or Venmo in hand. They were hard to sell items as well.
Nothing''s failsafe, but local facebook sales have really been a great help to me. I've also sold a few pro audio things and mailed them, but the buyer's sent me money first.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 16, 2021 8:23:05 GMT -6
Every kind of sale has risks, not just facebook's Marketplace. As I said before, you can check out someone much more thoroughly than any other selling site, so your odds of having issues are greatly diminished.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 15, 2021 20:52:12 GMT -6
I've had ads on Craigslist, Real Gear, Reverb, but by far the best results have been on facebook. Their Marketplace works. I think people feel safer buying because they can search your profile and get a pretty good idea of who you are.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 13, 2021 21:00:35 GMT -6
Breedlove's can be very good.
Mike, I'm mainly referring to Sigma's from the 90's. I have played most of their earlier models I think, and was unimpressed. I wanted to be impressed, but was just left flat. Many had neck issues too.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 13, 2021 14:21:44 GMT -6
On expensive vs inexpensive Martin guitars to record,..I Don't know first hand if this is true, but have always heard the old Sigma's made decades ago through Martin in Japan but assembled by Martin in the U.S were good sounding guitars for recording that cost 3 digits instead of Martin's usual 4. I've always kept an eye out for one on CR but have yet to find/hear one in person. I had a couple Sigma's and recommended them to many students, but they sounded like cardboard compared to the real Martin's, sorry to say.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 13, 2021 8:51:46 GMT -6
It's always hit or miss with acoustic guitar recording. The best sounding guitar I've ever heard was my Martin D-41 Turbo. It was one of two ever made to those exact specifications.
I compared it to dozens of super high end acoustics by all the best know boutiques and manufacturers, and nothing compared. Even $10,000 guitars and rare 100+ year old Martin's.
When recording it was just too big, so you had to sit back further than usual. I had to sell it to pay bills. I now have a 22 year old Martin 000-16 Special Edition. It's small and records perfectly. I also have a Taylor Doyle Dykes that records well too. It was designed to be bright and stand out in club gigs. The Martin is warmer and more complex, with longer sustain and more overtones, but the Taylor is perky. That can sometimes be just what a track needs. I also have a cheap Yamaha I stringed for Nashville tuning, and in that capacity, it records beautifully.
I guess what I'm saying is it comes down to the individual guitar, generalizations aren't the last word.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 12, 2021 15:26:26 GMT -6
The Bock 251 was my second choice of 20 high end mics. It's a keeper if you can afford one.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 10, 2021 14:16:32 GMT -6
It bummed me out because I liked the general sound of the mic. My favorite mic, the U67 has a wide cardioid pickup pattern too, but it falls within the boundaries we need to feel comfortable when singing. In fact I'd say it's the "biggest" sounding mic that sounds right.
My Soyuz 0-19 and Stam SA-67 both have that perfect width. They both have capsules similar to the Neumann U67.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 10, 2021 8:50:35 GMT -6
“When we divorce I’m taking all your stuff.” I know a guy who lost his entire studio in a divorce settlement. Think U47’s, a rack of eight 1073 & 1084 Neve modules, 24 track 2”, console, the whole shebang. So he didn’t need to die! I think he should have hidden or "lent out" the great mics and preamps. This way she'd have gotten stuff, but not the irreplaceable gear.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 10, 2021 8:45:32 GMT -6
I had the Bock 195 for a while. The basic cardioid pickup pattern was just too wide for comfort. It almost felt like it was in omni mode, so I sold it. It was sweet on acoustic guitar though.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 7, 2021 20:45:09 GMT -6
People can be weird sometimes, that's for sure John. It's an ego and insecurity thing. This forum can be as great as you want it to be if you're smart about how to approach it.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 6, 2021 17:07:32 GMT -6
Without RGO, there would be no personal connection to anything gear related in my life, other than old friends.
I think Stormy Mondays is simply trying to talk himself into getting back to work and focusing on music. When you're actually really busy, there's little time for a forum anyway. You'll find stopping by RGO is a relief when you get really busy.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 5, 2021 21:32:45 GMT -6
If memory serves, the old Monster Power Centers only affected the noise from high frequencies. They weren't the greatest sound wise. There were other much more effective power centers, but you had to pay more to get more. I was excited when I saw BLA's first email with this, but once I noticed the Monster style faceplate I was a little bummed. If it's just a slightly improved Monster design I'm not that excited.
Maybe Seth from BLA can give us a better idea of what's going on with this. BLA are serious about their products and know their stuff. I've come to trust what they say over the years.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 5, 2021 7:59:23 GMT -6
The compromises inherent in different projects affects the mix. I began some of the tracks on my album "What the Heart Only Knows" in 2012. I had left the music business and had never used a DAW myself until then. Those mixes were harsh because of poor gain staging and too many ITB plug-ins. After a while I got some Warm Audio gear, the LA2A, 1176, and Pultec clones. My mixes got much better, the Pultec actually making the bigger improvement.
I had to cover some medical bills and sold all the outboard, except the Apollo. With more digital experience, I can now get a good sound ITB, but I'm convinced only a hybrid setup will get me close enough to where I want to be, so I'll eventually have to get back to at least a few good outboard compressors and EQ's. If I could afford it, I'd love the Dangerous Music 2 Bus + as well.
That said, I think we all realign our approach as we gain more technical and musical understanding. I have to say I think the main issue is one person doing most everything. I used to have my own personal analogue studio back when I was a working writer/producer for radio and TV spots. I didn't know anything about engineering, having only been in studios as an artist previously. I kept it simple, Neumann Mics, reel to reel tape recorders, a soundboard, Lexicon reverb and delay, DBX compressors, a few other outboard pieces, NS-10's, Adcom power, Kurzweil keys, Proteus instrument samples, and got to work. Those tracks still sound OK, except for the E-Mu Drumulator, ha! But the tracks I did then in a proper studio, with good engineers sound much better.
We're just not gonna sound as good as a high end studio, which is often where our benchmark recordings were made.
If I had to call out one issue causing old mixes to bug me, it's the microphones. It took a long time trying all sorts of good but not great mics to settle on the ones I have now. i'd still love to just buy a Chandler REDD and a KM-84 and not have to worry so much.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 4, 2021 9:47:32 GMT -6
I like Lewitt because they sound professional, not cheap.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 2, 2021 8:00:34 GMT -6
Dang John, Angry All the Time really got to me. That didn't feel predictable and was heartfelt and real. That's a real song in my book.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 1, 2021 7:42:07 GMT -6
They're not too worried about bleed here I think ;-)
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 1, 2021 7:28:29 GMT -6
I once corresponded with producer/engineer Nathaniel Kunkel regarding the recording of Lyle' Lovette's "Road to Ensenada". He told me they used a black U67 for vocals and a Tele C24 on guitar. There was bleed of course. He clearly chose them to work as a pair, and I believe that won the album of the year Grammy. Here's Ryan Adams tracking with a U-47 and I think a 414. The mics seem close to me, but it obviously works beautifully if you know his recordings well. I think it's just a matter of getting the sound you like first and then forget about bleed, get a good sound in the cans and focus on performance. Thinking of Adams, have a listen here, I think it's a dynamic on vocal and a 414 on guitar, live. I'd take that performance even if it could be technically recorded better. I find it difficult to get the playing and vocal I want simultaneously, so I usually end up recording acoustic separately. I hope to do more solo acoustic tracks soon and will try some mic combos just to see.
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