ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 15,946 
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Post by ericn on May 21, 2022 13:43:24 GMT -6
I have to add one now that I’m home no longer on vacation, My RADAR V/24/ Nyquist. Doing some simple guitar tracking for friends and I started on their Quiet nice MOTU rig it just didn’t feel right, so I head to storage Grab the RADAR and everyone is now sitting hear going “ Really that thing is how old ? Damn it sounds great!”. Now the guy who helped me at the storeage unit move the 3 console frames is going” man maybe we should have grabbed that old Ampex (Ag440-8), then I showed him what tape costs. He feels the RADAR is close enough!
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Post by Bat Lanyard on May 21, 2022 19:33:48 GMT -6
Lately the OTO BIM and BAM. Magic. Both hardware inserts with the BIM going back in via a Chandler TG2 to Flock Audio Patch to Speck viaFaders on two channels. Blend to taste but really, really cool to move around in a song. Iron Age Audioworks Portia is great when you need some vibe. Overall, I would say the Strymon Big Sky has made the most impact for the past year or so on keys. We've been running a Strymon Dig -> Earthquaker Avalanche -> Big Sky -> RNDI-2 -> CAPI FD312 Heiders. Activate and blend to taste. Ensoniq Mirage has exploded in great ways through that chain for lead parts lately. Those are some cool effect units. I like how small they are too in size. Do they find any use on vocals? The BIM is dedicated to vocals. We'll have some finished mixes out soon. It has a really cool vibe. |
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mjau
Full Member
Posts: 25
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Post by mjau on May 22, 2022 15:33:18 GMT -6
Electrodyne 511 eq. I usually use no more than +/- 2dB with it as long as my mic placement and choice are ok, and it sweetens or cleans up whatever I need it to. Wish I had a pair (or more).
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2022 16:10:45 GMT -6
I've gone a bit nuts recently and gained a LOT of HW.. Out of the lot I don't think the Gainlabs Audio Empress gets anywhere near enough love, that tube boost function doesn't half kick up some mojo + volume and as a master or bus EQ it's just fantastic.
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Post by robschnapf on May 22, 2022 20:37:46 GMT -6
Burl Mothership
Electrodyne 1204
Coil Audio
Heiserman 48
And others….
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Post by yewtreemagic on May 23, 2022 9:37:20 GMT -6
Given that Dan sneaked in some plug-ins on the previous page, I feel justified in adding:
Black Box Analog Design HG-2
Tone Projects Kelvin
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Post by Martin John Butler on May 23, 2022 10:02:05 GMT -6
Since I don't have any hardware left except preamps, I'll have to say ditto on the Black Box, and since 2012, the UAD ATR-102. I could do a great mix with just that one plug on the 2 bus and sound good.
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mjau
Full Member
Posts: 25
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Post by mjau on May 23, 2022 13:09:10 GMT -6
Since I don't have any hardware left except preamps, I'll have to say ditto on the Black Box, and since 2012, the UAD ATR-102. I could do a great mix with just that one plug on the 2 bus and sound good. Any recommendations on how you’re setting up the ATR? I’m clumsy with it and find it’s always adding a little too much hair. |
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Post by Martin John Butler on May 23, 2022 22:16:49 GMT -6
Welcome to the forum mjau. There are quite a few presets and settings, so it can be daunting. A long time back, I went through every preset carefully and decided that only the 30 ips Master and the Smooth Vocal presets worked for me.
I then open up the hood and eliminate the tape hiss noise (I like it clean), then I play with the input and output to get a tone I like. There's no need to pin the input to get a good sound. The added gain gets you a long way toward a decent volume before using compression.
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Post by roundbadge on May 23, 2022 23:45:21 GMT -6
Pultecs,Vacuvox u23M's,Curvebender and Wheatstone P331.
they all make things sound nice
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Post by deaconblues on May 24, 2022 0:46:58 GMT -6
Since I don't have any hardware left except preamps, I'll have to say ditto on the Black Box, and since 2012, the UAD ATR-102. I could do a great mix with just that one plug on the 2 bus and sound good. Any recommendations on how you’re setting up the ATR? I’m clumsy with it and find it’s always adding a little too much hair. To add to what Martin said.... I downloaded these: www.uaudio.com/blog/stephen-smith-ultralinear-atr-102-presets/ and I spent a weekend trying them out to get a better feel for each. It really helped me get started. There's a little more info from Stephen on this thread: uadforum.com/community/index.php?threads/ampex-atr-102-ultralinear-preset-bank.10874/ He made a set of presets for the Studer, too, that are equally helpful. |
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mjau
Full Member
Posts: 25
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Post by mjau on May 24, 2022 7:03:43 GMT -6
Terrific - thanks to you both! I’ve found the Studer plug to be simpler to dial in than the Ampex, but I’ll give the ATR another shot. |
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Post by tasteliketape on May 24, 2022 7:19:09 GMT -6
I got this from Marc Daniel Nelson . The waves Api 560 eq plugin on the master buss set at default ( no cut or boost)
It does add something nice .
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Post by lpedrum on Nov 16, 2022 13:41:33 GMT -6
Lately the OTO BIM and BAM. Magic. Both hardware inserts with the BIM going back in via a Chandler TG2 to Flock Audio Patch to Speck viaFaders on two channels. Blend to taste but really, really cool to move around in a song. Iron Age Audioworks Portia is great when you need some vibe. Overall, I would say the Strymon Big Sky has made the most impact for the past year or so on keys. We've been running a Strymon Dig -> Earthquaker Avalanche -> Big Sky -> RNDI-2 -> CAPI FD312 Heiders. Activate and blend to taste. Ensoniq Mirage has exploded in great ways through that chain for lead parts lately. I'm really intrigued by the OTO Bim and Bam boxes, but honestly a bit puzzled too. I get the concept of combining analog and digital to recreate the musical sounds of vintage digital rack units. But why this format? It's not a guitar foot pedal, nor is it a Eurorack module. But it's not studio ready either only having unbalanced 1/4" in's and outs. Is their target audience synth players? Also, reading up on it some users felt that the Bam didn't really didn't do anything that Valhalla Vintage verb doesn't do ITB. I'm curious about your thoughts on that. Do you feel there's a noticeable upgrade in dimension/mojo/musicality using the OTO boxes over good plugins, or is it simply more of a tactile "hands on knobs" benefit for you? |
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Post by kcatthedog on Nov 16, 2022 13:57:39 GMT -6
Honourable mention for @shadow’s Bettermaker limiter !  |
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Post by 79sg on Nov 16, 2022 14:02:35 GMT -6
Lately the OTO BIM and BAM. Magic. Both hardware inserts with the BIM going back in via a Chandler TG2 to Flock Audio Patch to Speck viaFaders on two channels. Blend to taste but really, really cool to move around in a song. Iron Age Audioworks Portia is great when you need some vibe. Overall, I would say the Strymon Big Sky has made the most impact for the past year or so on keys. We've been running a Strymon Dig -> Earthquaker Avalanche -> Big Sky -> RNDI-2 -> CAPI FD312 Heiders. Activate and blend to taste. Ensoniq Mirage has exploded in great ways through that chain for lead parts lately. I'm really intrigued by the OTO Bim and Bam boxes, but honestly a bit puzzled too. I get the concept of combining analog and digital to recreate the musical sounds of vintage digital rack units. But why this format? It's not a guitar foot pedal, nor is it a Eurorack module. But it's not studio ready either only having unbalanced 1/4" in's and outs. Is their target audience synth players? Also, reading up on it some users felt that the Bam didn't really didn't do anything that Valhalla Vintage verb doesn't do ITB. I'm curious about your thoughts on that. Do you feel there's a noticeable upgrade in dimension/mojo/musicality using the OTO boxes over good plugins, or is it simply more of a tactile "hands on knobs" benefit for you? I have the OTO BIM and BAM boxes. Yes I use them quite a bit with synths but vocals too. They are merely desktop boxes, I contacted Denis at OTO a while back asking if he’s ever considered putting the BOUM, BIM and BAM in a rack but it wasn’t something being considered at that time. The user interface takes some getting used to but once you get it it’s easy to get around. As far as the “sound” of the BAM it is based on a Lexicon 224. The filters, input gain and freeze is where it’s at for me. You can adjust the input gain from 0-15db. I have it connected via a Radial EXTC Stereo. I prefer it to the Valhalla plugins. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2022 14:38:25 GMT -6
Honourable mention for @shadow’s Bettermaker limiter ! I went a bit OTT with the example you kindly provided but it's very good when you get used to it. At the moment I'm using it as a mojo box as opposed to a mastering limiter per se, I knock off a couple of dB's but mainly keep it in M/S mode (which has the UA Curve Bender effect) with a slight bit of even harmonic distortion. So yeah, glad I bought it even though I don't really use the BM ML for its primary function. |
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Post by Bat Lanyard on Nov 16, 2022 18:26:00 GMT -6
Lately the OTO BIM and BAM. Magic. Both hardware inserts with the BIM going back in via a Chandler TG2 to Flock Audio Patch to Speck viaFaders on two channels. Blend to taste but really, really cool to move around in a song. Iron Age Audioworks Portia is great when you need some vibe. Overall, I would say the Strymon Big Sky has made the most impact for the past year or so on keys. We've been running a Strymon Dig -> Earthquaker Avalanche -> Big Sky -> RNDI-2 -> CAPI FD312 Heiders. Activate and blend to taste. Ensoniq Mirage has exploded in great ways through that chain for lead parts lately. I'm really intrigued by the OTO Bim and Bam boxes, but honestly a bit puzzled too. I get the concept of combining analog and digital to recreate the musical sounds of vintage digital rack units. But why this format? It's not a guitar foot pedal, nor is it a Eurorack module. But it's not studio ready either only having unbalanced 1/4" in's and outs. Is their target audience synth players? Also, reading up on it some users felt that the Bam didn't really didn't do anything that Valhalla Vintage verb doesn't do ITB. I'm curious about your thoughts on that. Do you feel there's a noticeable upgrade in dimension/mojo/musicality using the OTO boxes over good plugins, or is it simply more of a tactile "hands on knobs" benefit for you? I haven't messed with Valhalla stuff much as I've got that covered mostly with hardware with a few plugs ITB as aux sends. You're probably right on the synth-leaning idea with OTO though as most examples out there center around electronic music. For me, yes, I feel the hardware has the +1 over the plugs but I use both. Yes, I also find hardware more inspiring and I feel my results are better twisting knobs. With my particular OTO setups though I think the sound path has a lot to do with it. YMMV - it's one of those particular things. |
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Post by RealNoob on Nov 16, 2022 19:26:12 GMT -6
I feel like tracking basically everything through my Quad Eight pres adds cohesion and vibe. Master bus compression has been mentioned and is a great one, but I'm actually pretty happy with my ITB options there of late, as much as I love my analog chain too. (Line in to 1073 clones to a Stam VCA to A/D). I'm a fan of one type of pre on most things Me too. |
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Post by RealNoob on Nov 16, 2022 19:27:49 GMT -6
On the master, the Xpressor -> IAA LH95s really sounds great: more alive and bigger.
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 17, 2022 2:00:11 GMT -6
I'm a fan of one type of pre on most things Me too. You know - I don’t mean this in a snarky way - but I’m a fan of whatever pre you got handy. As long as it doesn’t fuck it up. |
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Post by notneeson on Nov 17, 2022 9:04:24 GMT -6
You know - I don’t mean this in a snarky way - but I’m a fan of whatever pre you got handy. As long as it doesn’t fuck it up. Totally. And yet I still occasionally lust after pres I don’t own, despite having 10 channels of outboard and using only 2 most days. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 17, 2022 13:19:52 GMT -6
I'm sitting here staring at a $3500 pre thinking...I could really downsize, pocket that money and no one in the world would notice.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2022 14:20:45 GMT -6
I could really downsize, pocket that money and no one in the world would notice. I've struggled with that concept for decades, when I did my EE and Audio engineering degree we had consoles, tape, dedicated rooms built by top acousticians etc. and the recordings were mediocre mistake filled messes in glorious megasound (tm). Sorta like early punk rock with its overly produced "rawness"..
Years on I flipped over to the sentiment equipment doesn't matter, then I went back on a reverse trajectory and I finally settled somewhere in between. After all of this my conclusion is there's just too much out there, it's a smorgasbord of quality and preference where price isn't the primary factor. The well known expensive stuff generally works because they've been in the hands of professionals a long time and appeared on countless records. We know they work, they're not a risk and the onus is put back on the engineer.
That's the issue IME with "downsizing" from tried and tested methodologies, you might hit the jackpot and find something better or you might not and begin to question your purchase. Then there's other factors like modern production (which is generally ITB), how much does recording fidelity actually matter? etc. What am I actually trying to achieve?
I've wracked my brain too many times on this subject and come to the conclusion I don't care. I just search around, find what I like, test it out and never second guess it. After buying and selling equipment at a loss many times it works out cheaper in the long run to buy once IMO. Also I could never really understand how equipment works properly in a chain if all I did was constantly swap it out.
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Post by Ward on Nov 17, 2022 16:57:21 GMT -6
I'm sitting here staring at a $3500 pre thinking...I could really downsize, pocket that money and no one in the world would notice. You would. You would notice. You would sell it, and Matt would buy it and he would be a thief again. But you would notice it missing. |
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