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Post by M57 on Jan 9, 2023 11:56:32 GMT -6
I've only found one that works for me consistently, and unfortunately for me, right now, it's got to go into the shop for a retube and recalibration. If you've got other options, let me know please. Its the only thing I've got that elegantly catches those leading edge transients that eat up headroom and cause instantaneously, and random glitch bits of distortion. Manley VariMu. The Manley has ALWAYS been near or even AT the top of my dream wish-list. I'm starting to get back into recording my baby grand with a combination of LDC and SDC mics with reasonable success (it's really helping to A/B it against quality modeled VI's like pianoteq) and I just know that printing the piano submix through the Manley would take it to the place I hear. I am using three oddly configured mics right now, with the SDC over the treble strings, one LDC on the bass side (spaced maybe 10 or so inches apart), and a third (LDC) way down at the far end faced directly at the sound board, so I'm not sure how or if I would want to track through the Manley. Unlinked for starters I guess. It does do that, right?
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Post by M57 on Jan 9, 2023 10:33:53 GMT -6
No, no.. not 100K! I'm not looking to make money. I'd simply be looking to share the music with a wider audience.
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Post by M57 on Jan 9, 2023 10:12:06 GMT -6
We only want what's best for you! We truly care! P.S. What compressors do you have for stereo piano capture now? (just wondering. so I can recommend which ones you need and how I can help you buy them) Honestly, I'm at this turning point in my musical life, and of course it's linked to and coinciding with decisions (some urgent) that I need to make about my studio. I need to replace my 2017 iMac, which is just dragging its heels. I mean like as in it takes two minutes just to boot up, forget loading a program. The good news is that I'm coming to the conclusion that the entry level Mac Studio with the basic M1 Max chip and 64GB of Unified Memory looks like it should be more than adequate for the task. Even after I purchase a nice big monitor I may have a few extra dollars for gear, which brings me to the point in my musical life part.. Long story short: I need to decide if I'm ever going to release my music on platforms other than SoundCloud or similar, and if so ..how and why. I'm a recently retired teacher turned DIY loan wolf singer/songwriter who writes songs that I would describe as anything but accessible. I wouldn't be insulted if folks were to describe me as as a full-time hobbyist. To date, I have set the bar VERY low when it comes to any expectations for expanding my listening audience (which is mostly made up of other songwriters). There's an argument to be made that the quality of my recordings have no real importance beyond that they're good enough for me. So I have a significant decision to make. With minimal desire to release/promote my work, I might want to purchase a few more pieces of analog gear to get the most out of my set-up and produce from top to bottom, including mastering, maybe throw it all up on bandcamp at $1.99/per and be done. It's a hobby, remember? So the most important thing is that I'm having fun, and I do enjoy doing it all. On the other hand, if I want to entertain the prospect of putting together an EP or similar and releasing it for sale, I might want to save up those extra dollars for mastering and promotion. I.e. whatever costs are associated with putting it out there ..artwork, maybe even a video?? Honestly, I'd really love to do this but I know it's by far the greater challenge, and I have little stomach for taking on the business side of things. As a teacher I was able to avoid it for most of my life, and as far as I'm concerned that is what has enabled me to take my music in a direction that has been personally satisfying. Also, if I want to go the latter route, I know I'll find myself spending a lot of time and energy going back through my catalog and re-mixing, re-recording a number of tracks, and hiring out for other musicians here and there. Bottom line is that I have to make this decision in order to best determine how to allocate whatever extra monetary resources I have. PS: I hope it's obvious that I started this thread much less to complain, and much more for levity's sake. I too am very appreciative of the quality of information and help to be found on this site.
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Post by M57 on Jan 7, 2023 9:25:38 GMT -6
Why is it that when someone asks for advice regarding a purchase and they give a specific price range, invariably folks here manage to recommend gear that is double ..or even triple the price? I hate you all! Well, maybe not ..but my wife does
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Post by M57 on Jan 5, 2023 13:27:06 GMT -6
The PCM60 was my first reverb. I probably bought it within the year from when it came out; used it with my Fostex 8-track until my first digital box somewhere in the 90's. Never used it again. Sold it 4 or 5 years ago for decent money and don't miss it one bit. I seem to recall it thick and hairy with a noise floor that drove me nuts. The only reason I'd consider buying the plugin would be to remind myself how much better off I am without it.
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Post by M57 on Jan 3, 2023 20:51:40 GMT -6
So this is bad? I only run one pair at a time. Auralex monitor pads between them. My nearfields only sound right when their tweeters fire directly at my ears, not above or below. The sweet spot is tiny. I would figure out a way to angle yours - probably both, but most likely the bottom pair. Whatever solution you find might even decouple them a bit more and improve things.
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Post by M57 on Jan 3, 2023 16:00:33 GMT -6
The only difference between the two available chips on the Studio with M1 Ultra is the GPU (with 48-core and 64 core respectively). Otherwise, they're the same; they both come with a 20-core CPU and a 32-core Neural Engine. And I think GPU is more about graphics processing. Best to save a $1000 there, right?
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Post by M57 on Jan 3, 2023 9:38:44 GMT -6
Welcome to the world of diminishing returns of CPU power, many developers, not just plugins get lazy and as performance increases get even lazier. It’s not just our world, the funny thing is I was talking to a former Fortune 500 CIO and he said the worst always seam to be the developers who work for hardware manufacturers. You would think there would be this general corporate policy of lean and mean to show off our latest and greatest hardware, wait that would make sense. Yeah, the guy on my right shoulder is telling me that I really should get the Ultra.. The guy on the left (with my wallet) would probably shoot him if my head wasn't in the way.
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Post by M57 on Jan 3, 2023 8:34:53 GMT -6
Here's an example of what I might consider to be large-ish for my personal projects.
Analog:
Drums: 6ish tracks, possibly multiple takes
Lead Vocals at least 1 track
Bass: 2 or three tracks
Piano: 3 or 4 mics per take, at least two sets of recordings for a total of at least 6 tracks
Background Vocals: 10+ voices, (typically three - five part homophonic writing, doubled) more if there are countermelodies
Acoustic and or electric guitar: 1 - 2 tracks.
Digital/MIDI:
Spitfire strings or equivalent ensemble VIs - 4-8 tracks
maybe one other hungry VI - 1-2 tracks
less hungry synths - ambient tracks, etc. 1-3
Processing for all: I try to be sparing with hogs like soothe2. Luckily the update let's you choose different setting for playback vs rendering. I don't really like to print MIDI tracks all the time because I'm always tweaking them right to the finish line, but I do have to freeze tracks like crazy with my current iMac.
So for me say 50 tracks, 3/4 of which are analog is not uncommon.
I know I probably shouldn't be too worried about now, but I'm always concerned that the next generation of plugins (in the next 3 or 4 years) will require significantly more firepower, and bring whatever computer I purchase now to its knees unless I have go for overkill with Ram and CPU speed, etc..
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Post by M57 on Jan 3, 2023 8:02:46 GMT -6
Q2: Can you connect multiple displays out of the single HDMI port, i.e. intelligent video monitor routing. Everything I've read indicates you can't have two independent screens fed from one HDMI port, although I did get the impression from one of the sites I checked that you can somehow 'extend' a single screen onto two monitors with the right hardware. I have similar questions regarding USB-C ports. How expandable are they? I have a number of things that need to be connected.. interface, monitors, keyboards, controllers, ilok, external drives, emergency mouse, etc. ..not to mention potentially one or two hybrid/analog processors with plugin accessibility. Wouldn't some of these (e.g. my interface, or a drive from which I'm running files from a project) prefer to have dedicated ports? Where are the bottlenecks that I should be concerned about?
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Post by M57 on Jan 2, 2023 7:31:04 GMT -6
This is the only way to guarantee the same instrumental and vocal volumes! But is this necessarily the goal?
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Post by M57 on Jan 1, 2023 11:22:30 GMT -6
Mix weak and/or out-of-tune vocals lower ..and with extra reverb sauce.
But seriously, this is subjective territory and dependent on too many things to name.. comparison with exemplars in its genre, personal preference, density of the mix, desired dynamic range, phase of the moon, etc. I've struggled with it many times. Sometime you just know it's right. Other times I find myself revisiting my insecurities. Every recording is different, at least for me, and I consider that to be a good thing.
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Post by M57 on Dec 31, 2022 8:24:18 GMT -6
I run Logic and am in need of a new computer. It probably needs to happen sooner than later. There's a huge price differential between the two Studio M1 chips. Which version are you rocking and how hard are you hitting it? Any plugin and/or compatibility issues? Which plugins need Rosetta, and are you having any problems with that?
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Post by M57 on Dec 30, 2022 20:43:19 GMT -6
One other thing that nobody ever asks about recallable gear is how accurate is the recall? What’s the bit depth of your protocol and how does that translate into reality? This in the past as moved many beyond recall and back to the IPhone camera. I would think that the inaccuracy of the recall (settings) are insignificant in comparison to the amount of deviation that normally occurs with every pass on any piece of analog equipment that hasn't be touched.
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Post by M57 on Dec 30, 2022 8:56:32 GMT -6
My non-recallable gear will work that way forever, whereas my automated stuff will be recallable for as long as I run compatible software, after that it will work just like the non-recallable stuff. I'd avoid the no controls on the face plate type units. I'm pretty sure the Bettermaker units like the passive EQ have full control on the faceplate, though the boost and cut settings have no numbers.
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Post by M57 on Dec 29, 2022 10:34:42 GMT -6
because while you may some point have to run it with a legacy computer and OS without supporting a legacy DAW. now how much quieter would it be if it wasn’t there? I think the point is you don't have to run it with anything if you don't want to, or if the remote option becomes obsolete.. As for how much quieter without, do you really think it has any impact?
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Post by M57 on Dec 29, 2022 8:19:41 GMT -6
I've noticed that a number of folks have been reticent about purchasing hardware that offers connectivity to DAWs, at least in part because they are concerned that when the format becomes obsolete, so will the hardware. However, I've also noticed that more and more are expressing interest/desire in some of the Bettermaker products. Are we softening our stance and willing to let down our guard? Or are the products that good regardless of whether or not you're taking advantage of their recall capabilities?
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Post by M57 on Dec 26, 2022 16:47:33 GMT -6
The maag audio eq2 500 series looks like simplified and very affordable solution. Two independently switchable on/off bands and supposedly the same quality as their 19" unit and a wide range of frequencies, including switchable Q's on the bottom end. I also like that it includes 15k on the air side. It's boost only, but that's all I'm going to do with it on both sides, right?
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Post by M57 on Dec 26, 2022 16:27:49 GMT -6
Get a 2 ru panel with xlr punches. Wire it up with some cables and a few panel mount xlr’s. Make up a few 16” xlr patch cables, label it with a ptouch out over in and you’re all set to go and can pop a few more in there if / when you expand your outboard. You mean something like this? XLR PatchbayI'm still trying to wrap my head around how it would work with no normalized connections.
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Post by M57 on Dec 26, 2022 13:56:41 GMT -6
I don’t think a patch bay is worth the hassle for one/two pieces of gear. Go with Digital patching through your interface. We had a big thread about it earlier this year. So if I buy a set of EQP's and I want to use one of them for tracking, then switch to using both of them on the mix buss AND I already have a stereo compressor on my mix buss, there's a way to hook it up so using digital patching using Logic? Could someone point me towards that thread? Mind you I want them to work in series with the compressor on the mix buss. Even if I can do that with digital patching, it's going to involve multiple da/ad trips, and I'll still have to manually change one of them out for tracking, right?
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Post by M57 on Dec 26, 2022 7:02:02 GMT -6
Has anyone ever compared it with the 500 series version?
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Post by M57 on Dec 25, 2022 11:07:25 GMT -6
If I could buy only one: Which is preferred for tracking vocals?
If I could buy only two: Which one is preferred for the mix buss? (stereo so they have to be the same)
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Post by M57 on Dec 25, 2022 9:21:08 GMT -6
Have a happy whatever it is you celebrate ..and a Merry New Year to all.
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Post by M57 on Dec 25, 2022 8:35:25 GMT -6
I'm starting to realize that even with just a single gear purchase, I'm probably going to want a standard bay. One thing I didn't think of is that I already have a Buss Compressor that sits on the 2 buss. I'll want to avoid multiple DA/AD trips from my interface, which I'm pretty sure means I'll also want to have the buss compressor hooked up to the bay. The Samson S does the trick very affordably. Of course, I'd be spending more on cables than the bay.
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Post by M57 on Dec 25, 2022 6:57:39 GMT -6
Doing a little more research on the 500 series option..
Also the Fredenstein Bento 8 Pro. It doesn't have a patchbay per se but..
TepeOP review: Of course all bets are off if I decide to go with 19" gear. Then my original question still applies.
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