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I am in the process of rebuilding my studio. I am a singer/songwriter doing a lot of vocal and acoustic guitar stuff. Which of your toys is the most valuable to you? I mean, the ones in your studio.

Unfortunately this is a bit of a loaded question...
It can be difficult to narrow it down to a single piece of gear since in reality it is more about the quality of your entire signal chain combination.
Your signal chain might look something like this.

Performer/Instrument ~~> Microphone ~~> Preamp ~~> Interface/AD Converter ~~> Mixing

Think about it like this.
If you have a low quality instrument, played by a low quality performer, through a lower priced microphone, preamp, interface/AD converter and mixed poorly you are guaranteed to have a sub par signal.
Everything in your signal chain should assist the quality of the next in line. Your mixing will be easier and better with a better microphone and preamp. Your microphone should capture the nuances of the performers voice and the right preamp can give the right voice the "breathiness" that brings it to life (If that is the sound you require).

If I had to pick a single piece of gear I would say spend your money on a high quality interface since they usually come with preamps that aren't too bad in quality (RME or the Apollo are great examples).
That way you get two for one as far as quality. Next in line would be a good microphone... I've heard bad mics through good preamps and its listenable but good mics through bad preamps affect the quality more IMO.

Hope that helps!
Mark

definitely electricity.

Kidding / not kidding.

andygabrys wrote: ↑

Fri May 24, 2019 2:12 pm

definitely electricity.

Kidding / not kidding.

I posted a similar thread once, but it was more like, if you had a fire in your studio, and could only grab one thing, what would it be?

Answers were all over the place, to -- you just made my heart stop!

Laurassound wrote: ↑

Mon May 13, 2019 6:47 pm

I am in the process of rebuilding my studio. I am a singer/songwriter doing a lot of vocal and acoustic guitar stuff. Which of your toys is the most valuable to you? I mean, the ones in your studio.

My guitars and all my vintage microphones......anything else can be duplicated or have exact replacements.

If the room you record in doesn't sound decent nothing else matters.

Scrollwheel Mouse

Hi Laura,
Really keen to know this too. Going from writing songs to recording with the right gear are two different things. I know there's alot of tutorials online but it would be good if we can be directed on the right path with the gear we've got so far to take us further would be awesome
So appreciate the forum. A bit foreign in language for me (newbie) until I get used to it.

I would have to agree with Markismusic. To me it's mostly about the mic and preamp. In fact I prefer using external preamps as opposed to one in the audio interface. Those internal preamps are generally (but not always) inferior. I use a MOTU interface which does not have built in preamp, just line ins.

If you can afford a nice condenser mic and a Grace Designs preamp (M101), you will have excellent results!

That being said, I believe it's the writing and performance MUCH more than the gear you use!