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Post by sean on Sept 19, 2022 20:59:56 GMT -6
The beauty of lo-fi/home recording in the 90’s in particular is that if the songs are good and appeal to you your brain fills in the gaps of what’s lacking fidelity wise. Like, when I put on “Exit Flagger” or “Quality of Armor” or “Echos Myron” by Guided by Voices I don’t really notice/care how it sounds, it’s so obviously “bad” that the sonics aren’t what you focus on, and instead all I hear is the melody and intention behind the song. Then, when you see a band like that live it all comes together…like “oh shit this is how it sounds in my dreams but it’s real!”
Now, it’s so easy to make things sound “good” I don’t even know how to make a recording sound that “bad good” 😆
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Post by sean on Sept 15, 2022 18:40:45 GMT -6
I was super impressed with my recently acquired Beyerdynamic M380 on a session this week in that spot. The sE X1D also works well for me there. I'll also on occasion put my AEA R44CE in that spot. I think anything with a proximity effect you can use to your advantage works well.
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Post by sean on Sept 14, 2022 3:26:31 GMT -6
Not a fan of the Beyer condensers. Love their dynamics and ribbons though. The MC834, MC740 and MC840 I’ve gotten decent results with in the past…I don’t own any but I think for the price they often sell for used they are a good value…but I’m with you the dynamics and ribbons are the stand outs. We did however buy 6 pairs of DT770’s for the studio a couple years ago and 4 of them died within 6 months. I was also gifted a set of DT880’s from an artist and those were done within a year with maybe 50 hours of use. I’d never buy another pair of their headphones again. I have Audio-Technica’s that are 20 years old and have thousands of hours on them and all still work (they just look like shit now haha)
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Post by sean on Sept 13, 2022 21:14:41 GMT -6
Got my Beyerdynamic M380 and really impressed with it! Really great low end but still a decent amount of “attack”. You can really use the proximity of the figure 8 pattern to your advantage. I imagine it’s equally great on a bass amp. I feel fortunate I was able to get one at a great price…I wouldn’t spend $1000 for on one like they sometimes go for but I think it’s a better sounding dynamic than say a D12
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Post by sean on Sept 7, 2022 15:31:42 GMT -6
After this year I don’t think I want to “fight it” anymore. Why not implement a hybrid system like I'm doing that's designed for total recall of settings "just in case". Best of both worlds. A bit convoluted at the beginning, but yielding real world rewards that plugs can't touch. If you're running HDX it's pretty easy. The biggest downside for me is more I/o and the heat it creates. I might get there at some point, but I moved all my outboard to the tracking studio where it gets a lot more use. So I’m splitting my time between there and home. If I’m mixing at the tracking studio I keep it pretty hybrid with hardware inserts, but projects that are “send me a mix and I’ll get back to eventually email you notes” situations just keeping it in the box is a lot easier/faster. I might eventually sneak a few things back to house. But I’m excited to get into working with S1/SoundFlow/BounceFactory at home for a bit and expanded from there
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Post by sean on Sept 6, 2022 6:47:35 GMT -6
I really like the API 5500 we have the studio. Whenever I need to EQ anything to tape I end up using that...being able to switch between .5dB, 1dB, and 2dB boost or cuts is incredibly useful. But they are definitely pricey. Also works great on a mix buss.
We also have an AD2044 which is beautiful but mix buss and vocals is where that one seems to live. It does the "air" thing I think better than the Maag. Maybe better is the wrong word...it's just different. Sort of like the 28K on the Avedis E27...when that works it's pretty unbeatable.
Someday I'll have an Iron Age V2...seems perfectly designed.
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Post by sean on Sept 3, 2022 22:24:35 GMT -6
Bought an Avid S1 and a Samsung tablet…making some changes to my workflow and hopefully they will make it faster/more creative.
Thinking about ditching my Lynx Aurora 32 (n) and PMC IB2 and getting a Matrix studio and a (somewhat) simple Atmos set up for home. I’m starting to feel the burn of leaving money on the table and if I’m going to have to change the way I work and deliver projects I might have to go fully/mostly in the box when it comes time to mix.
After this year I don’t think I want to “fight it” anymore.
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Post by sean on Aug 27, 2022 7:47:19 GMT -6
I got to hear them at a Neumann event I attended last month and they sounded great, I wasn't that impressed with the closed back version but the 30's definitely got a lot of praise.
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Post by sean on Aug 26, 2022 22:20:01 GMT -6
Stretch is a good one. I need to use mine more…I feel like if I had a pair I’d have them up on a permanent send. But they can really save a dull track that traditional EQ can’t
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Post by sean on Aug 26, 2022 19:50:05 GMT -6
Analog Allstars EQP1S5...I regret selling mine. I'm sure Colin's AML 500 series Pultecs are great as well. XQP 2531 is definitely the best 500 series de-esser I've used. The Purple Audio stuff is a bargain especially second hand...the Odd and program EQ are both great. Phoenix Audio Gyrator EQ.
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Post by sean on Aug 22, 2022 6:43:07 GMT -6
Oh I also bought a Tech 21 Comptortion pedal. It's pretty amazing as a bass fuzz, even on upright (not a sound I use a lot but...) and can even be a fun one to use on drums for the exploding trash vibe.
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Post by sean on Aug 22, 2022 6:39:15 GMT -6
Try trimming all your tracks, sometimes a ton, sticking it to hard clipping, and shoving it on every track driven slightly. Use the bus on every bus. The bus is awesome. It sounds good. Soft clipping gives more of a gross buildup with it ime. Hard clipping can shave more transients off if you stick it on 8-16x and you can alleviate the brightness later. See this confuses me. Why would soft clipping build up or hard clipping if I’m not driving it. Or are you suggesting I trim up to drive the meters in the plug and push the simulation of the analog distortion. This is an old post but I was demoing the Lindell 80 and I believe what Dan is suggesting is that by trimming the audio down before hitting the plugin you can drive the preamp section harder to get more of the saturation/character stuff, and most likely the "hard clip" is a sharper knee/brickwall clipper, and not "more clipping", while "soft clip" is a more rounded off knee so you are actually hitting that part of the process more, which probably would interfere with the sound of the saturation part. Having it set to hard clip, if you hear the clipper but still want more saturation, you can trim down the audio more and drive the preamp section harder. If I were to use any plugin like Dan suggest, I would think of it like I'm re-recording...and if you are trying to get a "blown up, overdriven preamp, turn down the fader so it doesn't clip the converter" vibe, his gain staging makes sense.
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Post by sean on Aug 21, 2022 8:10:43 GMT -6
Not exactly "fun" purchased but got Auto-Align and VocAlign Ultra. I'm all about things that make my life easier and make the mundane task go faster so I can spend more time on the creative/inspiring stuff
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Post by sean on Aug 19, 2022 21:52:33 GMT -6
LyxPro is probably the best quality/build cables I’ve found for the price. And the Roadhog stuff as well.
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Post by sean on Aug 19, 2022 18:48:08 GMT -6
Benchmark MPS 400 four channel preamp
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Post by sean on Aug 16, 2022 17:13:09 GMT -6
Bought a PDP drum set with a ton of cymbals and stands and bags to flip but kept a few things: Paiste 2002 18" Thin Crash, Paiste Signature 10" Splash, several nice bags, and 3 nice Tama cymbal stands the get very compact, unlike the Ludwig stands I have in the studio now...so those are going to be on the chopping block next
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Post by sean on Aug 16, 2022 7:11:43 GMT -6
For sale I have a Studer A80 MKIV 24 2” machine. Runs at 15 IPS and 30 IPS. I bought this from a studio that was being sold and really have no room, use or time for it.
Overall it’s in great cosmetic condition, it’s a one owner machine and it was very well maintained and documented but hasn’t seen regular use in several years. Channel 3 has very low/intermittent level and Channel 5 is not working but the other 22 have been tested and working on record and repro. The machine has 8889 total hours and the heads were relapped at 5740 hours.
Also included is the remote, auto located, Vari-Speed box to speed up or slow down the motor, and owners manual.
The machine is going to require some work and general clean up before it goes into regular use but probably not more than you’d expect from a machine this age. I might turn it on tomorrow and a cap might fail or something…but above is it’s working condition as of today!
$5000 pick up in Nashville, TN. Sold as is. Load out is easy; no stairs. Shipping is not an option, sorry.
Would trade for a Neumann KM86s or KM88s, Neumann U67 Reissue, Sony C800G, Telefunken ELA M 251E or U48, POM Fairchild 670, a bunch of API/APSI/Aengus/Avedis 500 series EQs (550A, 554, 560, APSI 559, E12G, E27), Genelec 8351B pair, but would prefer to sell. I might be interested in some other combination of microphones or outboard, just ask. Worst I can say is no
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Post by sean on Aug 15, 2022 6:58:05 GMT -6
This is the best gate I've ever used. I finally am warming up to it. It's the best Sonnox plug. Indispensable now. Was there a setting/tweak that made it all come together for you? Have you compared the Leveler section to say Sound Radix Drum Leveler?
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Post by sean on Aug 14, 2022 12:14:20 GMT -6
Beyerdynamic M380 Shure 520DX Green Bullet EHX Stereo Pulsar SKB SG case that hopefully actually fits my guitar (Road Runner I grabbed is too wide) A bunch of percussion stuff I don’t have but occasionally wish I did (wood block, finger cymbal, cymbal stack thing, a bigger triangle, a big cowbell)
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Post by sean on Aug 12, 2022 12:16:42 GMT -6
As long as you have a schematic and Handcraft Labs is willing to sell/provide parts (if it’s not an off the shelf product) any electronics repair person (even guitar amp repair) should be able to do it for you
I’d also reach out to any area professional recording studios or audio companies and ask them if there’s a local person they use
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Post by sean on Aug 11, 2022 6:24:08 GMT -6
I haven't used the CU-44 but use the CU-41, and I don't know how many VIP-60's are out in the wild. But, I love the Sanken microphones on piano, cello/bowed bass and overheads, they really capture high end detail really well without being harsh. I can't say I've had much success with the Sanken on vocals.
I've used the CUX-100K on a session with Jamie Lidell and it's a bit sterile/bright to me but where he uses it with great success if when he wants to pitch a source down. For example, on a snare drum, it doesn't sound as "good" as the KM56 he recorded at the same time, but pitched down several times it sounded amazing because it captured 100Khz so even pitched 4 octaves it still had top end detail, where all the was lost when the KM56 was pitched down. If I did more "creative" mixing or foley work I'd own a CUX-100K without question.
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Post by sean on Aug 7, 2022 8:50:17 GMT -6
Soundelux U95 multi-pattern tube microphone. This was one of David Bock’s earlier microphones and was their top of the line microphone at the time. It’s designed around a 6072A tube and have 9 available polar patterns (Omni, Cardioid, Figure 8, plus 6 intermediate). Comes with wooden protective boxes for the microphone and power supply, tube and power cable, and ST-1 Shock Therapy shock mount. $1300
Rode NT1000. Comes with bag and clip. $175
Avid HD Native PCIe card with original box, 12’ DigiLink Mini cable, and 1’ DigiLink to DigiLink Mini cable. $550 for everything
Universal Audio UAD-2 Quad Core PCIe card, also in original box. Comes with the stock plug in bundle. $400
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Post by sean on Aug 1, 2022 7:37:24 GMT -6
Thomann won’t ship Neumann microphones to the US
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Post by sean on Jul 31, 2022 6:29:45 GMT -6
The reality..... Does any of the speculation even matter if they can only produce 3 a month, and you have to submit credentials to be considered to buy one?I was told by Neumann representatives they are having what might be considered an "application" process to prevent resellers from buying and reselling on Reverb at a mark up...which I appreciated.
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Post by sean on Jul 30, 2022 20:05:47 GMT -6
After spending a little time with it this week, I would have ordered one if I wasn't strongly considering going down the Atmos rabbit hole. The studio is at the point where there aren't really any other microphones I feel the need to buy beside possibly this one and a Telefunken ELA M 251 (because originals aren't going to happen!)...and my old studio partner sold his original M49B for a healthy profit earlier this year
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