Rimskidog

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1322214440' post='1447924'] Ah yes but in the world of recording that is next to nothing, forgive Rimskidog, he is coming from a [b][i]seriously [/i][/b]pro studio mentallity... [snip] [/quote] hahah. Sorry guys. probably true. I have a warped sense of reality.

As 51mon says, gain structure will be important, especially so given the B***inger.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1322216511' post='1447972'] This is absolutely true. The API 1608 came up at £42,000. My first HOUSE was £41,500!!!! [/quote] Ha! Double that and add a bit! I'm pretty sure that £42k is for a 16 channel unloaded. I have a part loaded 32 channel here (part loaded with Vintage API 550a's and Harrison EQ32s, VOGs and a pair of Anamod AM660s) If the RNP is too cheap the best bang for buck budget preamp I've used is the Rane MS1B.

Did I say the 21st November...?

The nosie could be a number of things. You just need to work through methodically isolating everything until you find it. Alternatively, the downside of using a dynamic is they need a lot of clean gain. Neither of your preamps are renowned for that. Maybe thing about a preamp upgrade? The FMR RNP is a stunning little pre and shouldnt break the bank.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1322039965' post='1445613'] Spot on. Focusrite Platinum. I have other options I can use as a pre amp so will try that. There is a lot of stuff here that is useful and has given me a lot to think about and try. Thanks guys. [/quote] Haha! Not often I'm wrong but I'm right again! What other preamp options have you got? Try the sm57 and a different preamp (unless I have a fet 47 lying around or going for a stylised sound I'll almost always reach for a large diaphragm dynamic for DB such as a D12/D112, RE20 or SM7. Gobo the DB. Place the mic a bit of distance (maybe 18 inches to 2 feet) from the db at about the height of, and pointing at about, the bottom of the neck. Keep the mic in that position but experiment with where it points by moving where it is pointing in tiny increments.

Room is likely a big factor here. If you work on the basis a 100hz wave is 18 feet tall you quickly get to understand why. gobos will help make the sound more present but there are other things you can also think of: Is the Nt1a the only mic you have available? What preamp are you using? Cheaper ones such as the old platinum series from focusrite were notoriously bad for making things sound thin and distant. Also think about compression. The right compressor will bring the instrument 'forward'. Also, are you listening to the recording in the context of the mix or solo'd? If the latter, try it in the context of the mix. You might be surprised.

This is where your process goes wrong: [quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1320873274' post='1432705'] Set up all inputs at max levels into the DAW [/quote] You should be aiming so that your meters average at about -18dbfs maximum. I tend to be conservative even on that. -18 to -20 dbfs (ie what your daw shows) is a rough equivalent to 0dbvu (which is unity gain in an analogue system). If you exceed that it's a rough equivalent of burning your audio. (And we all know that once you've burnt toast no matter what you to do it, it still smells like burnt toast.) Other than that, it's really then down to the performance. There are a million ways to set up. Go with whatever gives you the best outcome. I tend to get everyone to play together for a 'ghost track' then overdub everything separately replacing each instrument as I go. Don't worry about too much separation when you are overdubbing drums: it's easy to forget that drums are 'one instrument'. They need to sound as such. Good luck!

No pictures I'm afraid but we had a meeting with the contractor today. Providing everything arrives on time the construction work on phase 2 will start on the 21st November! Yay!

nice one

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1320100230' post='1422463'] I really want to hear that room, I love the design elements that went into achieving it, and the no hold barred attention to acoustic detail, I just wish I could hear it is all.... It looks superb too by the way! [/quote] you know where to find me!

Fish Factory is well worth a look if you want to stay in London.

Thanks man!

In the meantime, here's another of the photos that didn't make it onto the new website (coming soon): [IMG]http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g28/Rimskidog/Studiowideangle.jpg[/IMG]

[quote name='Ian Savage' timestamp='1319121038' post='1410207'] A real mod, I would imagine, to be implemented only by eejits; [/quote] Eh? The 57/58 transformer mod is well known and well used. It opens the mic up and makes what for my taste is a pretty horrid mid rangy honky pos into something that's much more useable in many circumstances. Indeed, Mercenary even sells a modded sm57 (and a right angle modded 57 or they used to). As ever of course YMMV (if you've actually tried it...).

Tell me about it. It's like herding cats getting contractors to sort themselves out!

v nice tone and playing man.

What's your budget?

I'd add a Telefunken M80 to your list to try.

It's been a while but here's a quick update... A desk shot and live room combo this week: this one is my U47 through the booth window: And not exactly a 'wall of doom' but here's my 'small corner of some irritation': Keep watching, we'll be starting phase 2 shortly!

[quote name='Skol303' post='1361697' date='Sep 4 2011, 12:38 PM']A (hopefully!) quick question for those in the know... I'm looking to export/render the individual channels of a track as 'stems' for someone else to remix. Should I... A. Export each channel exactly as it stands within the mix? Or... B. Standardise the volume of each channel by boosting the db of quieter instruments before creating the stems? - eg. export each channel at as close to zero db as possible (as if they'd been normalised). PS: this isn't a commercial job or anything... Just an old track that a friend of mine wants to tinker with. Any advice gratefully received! [/quote] If he wants to tinker give him the wavs for all tracks. In order to provide stems you would have to edit and mix the parts into stems which would be a lot of your time for his gain.

[quote name='lordfrog' post='1351738' date='Aug 25 2011, 08:42 PM']I can understand how an interface would benefit me - I'm not looking to spend a huge amount of money - but again, I've got to plug the interface into my Mac in some way? - I use the onboard sound card plugged through monitor speakers It sounds OK to me - I'm not looking for high end studio quality sound, (I've looked at your rather impressive and no doubt hugely expensive studio build) - most people never listen to music on high end hifi equipment, so that doesn't concern me too much So back to my original question - how would I connect an interface? - is firewire best? - or is a firewire mixer the way to go? I'm no sound engineer/ producer wannabe, but I would like a clean(ish) sound! A lot of my recording is midi guitar/ bass - so no noise issues at all - but I do like a "live" guitar/ bass sound too! thanks for your replies btw[/quote] A firewire interface would be just fine for you. There are lots on the market which are pretty inexpensive nowadays. You need to decide how many inputs and outputs you need and choose from there. If you only need one or two inputs and have a mac the Apogee duet and solo are great quality little devices. If you need more i/o the focusrite range is very popular. You will hear a large step up from your onboard soundcard. Guaranteed. I wouldnt go for a firewire mixer. You would largely be paying for features you didnt need and inevitably a longer signal path at this level will degrade the sound. Good luck!

[quote name='51m0n' post='1347823' date='Aug 22 2011, 10:25 AM']I think a lot of this way of working eq comes from using real desks to mix back in the day, and on a real desk two things become apparent very soon:- 1) You never ever look at the frequncies when you turn a knob on a parametric eq, cos your hands are in the way 2) the frequencies printed on most desks are laughably innaccurate anyway, so they are only good to document a mix on that particular desk, they are useless for any other instance of that device even. So I would put money that Rimskidog and I , having learnt to mix before the advent of computer DAW mixing are totally at home with the idea of listening to a mix as we mix rather than lloking at the screen - I still always turn the display off very regularly when mixing, I even keep the lights down low as I want as little visual info coming into my bonce as possible.[/quote] Now I just feel old As ever though, great explanations from 51mon. More articulate than I could ever be.

[quote name='lordfrog' post='1347697' date='Aug 22 2011, 01:28 AM']I've looked at the DI's you've suggested but how does that make a difference to the sound? As I said I currently connect to my Mac with a phono to USB, I don't have/ use a mixing desk at all - should I be? I'd still have to go from the DI box to the Mac with a phono USB surely?[/quote] Your choice of signal chain will change the tone and depth of the sound entirely. A cheap DI can often sound thin and lifeless. DI's can differ in tone just as much as amps and speakers. Like choosing a microphone, an instrument or a tone setting it's a matter of choosing the one that's right for the job at hand. That said, I'm not suggesting for a minute you spend a grand on a DI. At the moment it sounds like your weakest link is your interface (sounds like you are using the onboard soundcard?). Don't bother with a mixing desk (most of the cheap ones sound pretty poor) but invest in a better interface and you'll probably find a world of difference right off the bat. All of this stuff of course comes down to budget. How much do you have to spend? Also be aware that this whole game needs a licence to print money. People spend hundreds of thousands chasing that extra few percent. Maybe ask yourself the question first whether it's worth it. Are you recording to release on an unsuspecting public or is it just for yourself? What is an improved recording worth to you in cash terms? I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying be clear on why you are doing it, what you want to achieve, and how much you are willing to spend to do it. Hope this rambling helps somehow. ;-)

on most records you'll hear on the radio the bass was DI'd. Occasionally it was DI'd and mic'd (especially if the arrangement is a sparse one) but usually just DI'd. It will then often have been multed and processed. To get top sounds you'll need a top class DI (I have a Creation Audio MW1 for clean and an A Designs Reddi for tubey) but as long as your DI is a decent enough one (the BSS AR 133 is a great bang for buck) few people will be able to tell the difference in the mix. And yep, I'm a bass player too not just a cloth eared sound engineer.