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Post by sean on Feb 19, 2024 9:49:31 GMT -6
View AttachmentI picked up this API The Box with a Sterling Modular Desk and a nice patchbay with Mogami wire and a set of Barefoot MM27 at a crazy price yesterday because one speaker has (I think) a damaged amp and there are a couple issues with the console. I think the previous owner somehow got DC voltage back into the console and it fried some stuff. It’s definitely overkill for my home mixing space, which I pretty intentionally wanted to be solely in the box for remote stuff…but I figured it be worth fixing the problems since what I paid for everything is less than the desk cost and might as well take it as an opportunity to experiment… I love the OdB fader bypass button on the API, what a great idea. And balanced inserts are a bonus. I’m surprised how many transformers and 2520 are in the console. So, maybe it will have a “sound” If not, I’ll put it up for sale once I get it all working. The Barefoots, if I keep them, will be going to the studio. Definitely overkill for the house! You’re such a savage man. Love it! I was blessed/cursed with a dad who restored vintage motorcycles and cars and grew up going through Auto Trader and car shows with him picking up deals to restore and flip. I just have broken gear instead of broken Mopars 😆
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Post by sean on Feb 19, 2024 8:52:53 GMT -6
I picked up this API The Box with a Sterling Modular Desk and a nice patchbay with Mogami wire and a set of Barefoot MM27 at a crazy price yesterday because one speaker has (I think) a damaged amp and there are a couple issues with the console. I think the previous owner somehow got DC voltage back into the console and it fried some stuff. It’s definitely overkill for my home mixing space, which I pretty intentionally wanted to be solely in the box for remote stuff…but I figured it be worth fixing the problems since what I paid for everything is less than the desk cost and might as well take it as an opportunity to experiment… I love the OdB fader bypass button on the API, what a great idea. And balanced inserts are a bonus. I’m surprised how many transformers and 2520 are in the console. So, maybe it will have a “sound” If not, I’ll put it up for sale once I get it all working. The Barefoots, if I keep them, will be going to the studio. Definitely overkill for the house!
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Post by sean on Feb 15, 2024 20:40:03 GMT -6
I usually end up with the Ampex ATR-102 Ultralinear Ampex 456 30 IPS 1/4” setting on the mix buss mixing in the box. Just seems to make the song sound more “finished”
Sometimes with Cytomic The Glue before with a 10ms attack, fastest release. Barely moving. And maybe I’ll mess around with the Chandler Curve Bender or Maag EQ4 because sometimes just a click of low end, or a dip of 160Hz or a dip of 400 or 500hz or a click of 12 or 16K is nice. But if I do more than 0.5dB boost or cut than there’s an issue in the track that I need to address
I don’t have any harmonic stuff on individual tracks very often. I try to just keep it to EQ and a compressor when needed
But, I’ve had decent success with the Studer A800 plugin on drums that are just lifeless or sometimes if they have overly harsh or aggressive high frequency cymbal “shit” 😆 like those insane 15dB spikes that happen sometimes. It’s like cymbal sibilance!
It’s funny I’ve been mixing a record I didn’t track and it’s a struggle, I worked hard to get 4 songs sounding decent trying every trick I could and still hated it, and then mixed 5 songs in 6 hours doing minimal stuff and they sound better
There’s an old saying that if a song isn’t sounding like a mix in 20 minutes just pull all the fader down and start again. That’s not as easy in a DAW. But, I think it’s easy to get lost in the plot/options
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Post by sean on Feb 15, 2024 20:13:26 GMT -6
If I mix on a console I often don’t use anything on the mix buss. I think that’s a bit of a “modern” (last 20 or 30 years) thing to do as console and tape machines have gone the way of the doo doo bird
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Post by sean on Feb 15, 2024 10:20:07 GMT -6
UAD ATR-102 is a nice slap if you are in that universe. EchoBoy with all of its different emulations and saturation really covers a lot of ground. I’ve been using the PSP Lexicon 42 a bit as well.
But, honestly, EchoBoy for as old as it is can be hard to beat
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Post by sean on Feb 15, 2024 0:01:03 GMT -6
Where it is nice is that you can have a mix clip your DACs and mix bus, but the 32bit file preserves the headroom in the file itself, so even if your printed mix clips somewhere (even just inter-sample peaks), you can clip gain it down and there is no actual damage to the audio. And yes, if it was recorded low, you have a better chance of gaining it up without noise. Yes, this.
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Post by sean on Feb 13, 2024 18:47:56 GMT -6
I use RX on almost every song. Usually I'm manually editing on clicks/mouth sounds/other weird unexplained noises. It takes 5 seconds to do. Music Rebalance has been a real life saver at time, Spectral De-Noise is wonderful for amps and noisy keyboards, De-Plosive sounds more natural than a high pass filter on plosives. I don't use Ozone for anything. I like the sound of the Exponential Audio plugins but they are a bit "dense" for me. If you like being tweaky they are great, or they have hundreds of presets to explore. I actually got into Izotope for RX but I could never really get the stuff to work as well as I remember seeing it work for a producer buddy who blew my mind with it. Maybe the lite version is too light. I'm still on RX 8 and even the modules it comes with (like de-click) never seem to do what they say they will do... e.g., remove clicks. Also possibly I suck at using them. Besides De-Plosive, which if I use I don't render the whole vocal but just the word that's the issue, I have much better luck using the "Connect" feature in audiosuite and sending it to the full blown RX and just manually removing it. After awhile you can get to know what certain sounds look like on the spectragraph and you just "drawn" them out. It's probably the most essential digital tool I have, I just love it.
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Post by sean on Feb 13, 2024 18:14:18 GMT -6
I use RX on almost every song. Usually I'm manually editing on clicks/mouth sounds/other weird unexplained noises. It takes 5 seconds to do. Music Rebalance has been a real life saver at time, Spectral De-Noise is wonderful for amps and noisy keyboards, De-Plosive sounds more natural than a high pass filter on plosives. I don't use Ozone for anything. I like the sound of the Exponential Audio plugins but they are a bit "dense" for me. If you like being tweaky they are great, or they have hundreds of presets to explore.
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Post by sean on Feb 13, 2024 8:45:41 GMT -6
The casual console impulse buy haha ! Congrats ! I can’t pass up a good deal. It’s a pretty silly purchase, really. I have a Trident Series 70 but it’s 7’ long and too big for the house…I had it loaned to a friend but just got it back and it doesn’t fit anywhere except the laundry room! I also have an Auditronics Grandson I’ve been slowly restoring for the past couple years but ergonomically it’s a very uncomfortable console and is even more limited than the Box. I guess I just like consoles 😆
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Post by sean on Feb 13, 2024 8:05:39 GMT -6
I bought a Charter Oak SCL-1 at a good price on Reverb, and the seller did a terrible job packing it, and while it works it doesn't work 100%. He agreed to a refund and than said "if you give me $200 you can keep it" so I'm going to hang on to it and see if JMP Electronics still services them or I can find someone who does.
Also, I made a very impulsive purchase, but someone in town was selling an API The Box with a custom Sterling Modular desk and Skinny Fish Audio patch bay for an insane price and I took them up on it. I think it's going to be a nice solution for me mixing at home. I love the idea of 0dB fader bypass button for summing, and each channel having an insert really makes it an ideal. I don't really need mic preamps but just having 4 mic lines and DI's at home will be handy if "inspiration" strikes. I really wasn't looking but I'm hoping it'll be a nice improvement.
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Post by sean on Feb 11, 2024 23:26:36 GMT -6
A nice collection of gear I have for sale. No trades, sorry.
Samar VL37 Matched Pair: Beautiful ribbon microphones with an extended top end compared to many overheads. Sounds great on string instruments or drums or percussion. New a pair is $1999, selling the pair for $1350
Korby KAT Blue: This was Tracy Korby’s take on a U67. Originally they were cardioid only but I had Preston Tate White modify it to be multipattern since it was a dual diaphragm capsule. Great sounding mic but I have so many. This is a great vocal microphone. Knew they were around $3000. Selling for $1400. Comes with original custom flight case as well
Anthony DeMaria Labs ADL-1500: Dual channel LA-2A inspired optical compressor. Can be stereo or dual mono. I had this rebuilt by Jim Williams at Audio Upgrades and uses Jensen transformers which really opens the up and gets rid of the high frequency roll off that plagued the stock units. $2200 which is around what a stock one goes for used and the upgrades cost me over $700. It also has fairly fresh matched tubes. A stellar unit.
BAE 6 Space 500 Series Rack with Power Supply: Not much to say, it powers 500 series modules! BAE makes great stuff. Comes with original box. $375
BSS DPR-402: A really flexible dual channel compressor/limiter/de-esser/expander. The jumpers on the back make this unit capable of doing a lot! Great condition. $300
Guitar Pedals: Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, EHX Op Amp Big Muff, and SolidGoldFX Formula 76 Superfuzz. $60 each.
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Post by sean on Feb 10, 2024 22:33:12 GMT -6
Damn…I don’t think I’ve ever got a mix to have an RMS above -12…
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Post by sean on Feb 10, 2024 21:47:06 GMT -6
AML do a great 2 channel Redd 47. That would be in budget. They do? I’ve never seen an AML tube preamp kit or retail
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Post by sean on Feb 8, 2024 22:19:25 GMT -6
I enjoyed using the MOTU M4...really impressed with it for the money. I also have a Grace M900 which I use when traveling and only have headphones for mixing and editing that's wonderful but it's just a USB headphone amp
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Post by sean on Feb 8, 2024 11:56:27 GMT -6
Those headband covers work well. But, definitely buy the real Audio Technica pads and not the cheap knock offs...those don't fit great and are pretty "stiff"...had a few complaints about them especially since pretty much every studio in Nashville has M50's and musicians know what they are normally like.
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Post by sean on Feb 8, 2024 8:02:05 GMT -6
Pair of CAPI BT50’s incoming. Glad I didn’t sell my other Purple Sweet 10
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Post by sean on Feb 5, 2024 12:19:32 GMT -6
I’d love to find a Hammond A100/B3/C3 at a decent price locally. Local (hard enough nowadays even in LA, NY, and Nash) is always the hard part for these large items. The studio I work out of has a great-condition and soundingA100 that needs to be purged; as it doesn’t get used with there being two B3s and 5 Leslie’s. The owner still hasn’t tried to sell it, but been talking for a few years that he’d love to sell it for a good price to someone that really would truly appreciate it. Here in Nashville it’s tough…thought I had a line on a C3 but it ended up being a C2. A100’s pop up at good prices sometimes but usually a 3 or so hour away drive and when you price borrowing/renting a truck to move it they become less appealing fast!
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Post by sean on Feb 5, 2024 8:10:39 GMT -6
I make 3 or 4 “big” purchases a year and I think those will probably be a Chandler Zener Limiter, another Neumann U67 reissue, another Upton 251 (I like pairs!), and I’d love to find a Hammond A100/B3/C3 at a decent price locally.
Smaller stuff trickles in whenever a good deal comes along…I’ve been on a bit of a guitar buying streak lately and always on the lookout for a deal
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Post by sean on Feb 5, 2024 8:02:13 GMT -6
Picked up a pair of Rupert Neve 542…been interested in these for awhile. Also a very cheap AKG C480B with CK61 capsule. It’s pretty much going to live on hi-hat…having a pad and high pass filter instead of one or the other with the AKG C460B’s I have is a bonus. And a cheap AT4033 that I want to try as a ceiling/back wall mic in the live or drum room. Might want to go omni, and if that’s the case I’ll probably sell it or give it to a friend because I don’t need 3! And a lowball offer got accepted on a Charter Oak SCL-1...which hopefully works. Not sure if Michael Deming is still around. What a great engineer though, made some of my favorite records, shame Charter Oak had an iffy history.
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Post by sean on Feb 3, 2024 19:44:03 GMT -6
Thanks for the heads up, picked this up and their Doubler/Widener. I’ve got some old mixes that had Sonnox stuff on them and it’ll be nice for recall purposes if nothing else UA…well let’s see if I were to complain about something is that the EQ section of the Vision channel strip is a really pain to adjust…you’d think clicking on a knob and “turning” it wouldn’t be so difficult. I actually like the EQ and filters a lot but it definitely can be frustrating and I can’t imagine after 5? years since its release I’d be that hard to fix I'm with you on this. The WAVES API stuff has a very good UI. You can click on a frequency or boost or cut amount, since they are 'switched' it just jumps to whatever you click. I do wish UA would do that. Same, I love that about the Waves, it’s super quick. Also, while UA is at it they should make a stand alone 550B from the Vision strip.
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Post by sean on Feb 3, 2024 9:12:06 GMT -6
Thanks for the heads up, picked this up and their Doubler/Widener. I’ve got some old mixes that had Sonnox stuff on them and it’ll be nice for recall purposes if nothing else UA…well let’s see if I were to complain about something is that the EQ section of the Vision channel strip is a really pain to adjust…you’d think clicking on a knob and “turning” it wouldn’t be so difficult. I actually like the EQ and filters a lot but it definitely can be frustrating and I can’t imagine after 5? years since its release I’d be that hard to fix
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Post by sean on Feb 3, 2024 9:07:00 GMT -6
I really like the Bettermaker EQ plugin…I use it whenever I get something really dull and it needs a big, wide boost…but it doesn’t seem to get harsh or phasey like a lot of things.
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Post by sean on Jan 30, 2024 16:30:25 GMT -6
Picking up a '67 Fender Mustang guitar tomorrow. It doesn't have the original pick ups and it looks like someone put in Stratocaster pick ups so I order a set from Curtis Novak which were conveniently on sale! It'll be a nice companion for my '63 Jaguar
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Post by sean on Jan 27, 2024 17:31:29 GMT -6
Probably the most interesting and original analog things I’ve own over the years are the Overstayer Stereo Voltage Control…which can really change the sound of a source in musical ways without much fuss, and the Standard Audio Stretch for similar but different way. Overstayer really is probably one of the most original companies to come along. Otherwise, for better or worse, affordable CAT5 headphone systems really have changed recording. And probably Trinnov and similar monitoring software. And it’ll be interesting to see if more companies adapt the WesAudio and Bettermaker digital recall. It’s definitely appealing the more in the box I’ve become over the years
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Post by sean on Jan 26, 2024 13:56:31 GMT -6
I picked up a Pete's Place BAC500 at nice price locally, and got my J45 back. Bone nut and saddle, replaced the Grovers with some lightly relics Kluson 3 in a rows, took out the under bridge pickup and all the junk that go with it...nice sounding box!
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