What should I get for my birthday???? eeeee!

[cardell]

One time I went to a very nice studio to overdub some horns on a song of mine and both the producer and engineer commented on how excellent the girl's vocals sounded...recorded on my AT 3035 thru the rather sketchy pres of the old Tascam board I have since sold, with the Drawmer on insert.

IMHO her voice sounded so great cause she was really bringin it when we were cutting the vocal...

Yes, I know you're right about this. I've had a similar experience.

I'm lucky. My spouse says, "You work your butt off seven days a week. Get whatever you want." And she's really cute.

Awesome!

...did you ever hear anything back re: the surf forward? I haven't.

I haven't either.

Stuart

[Kolstad]

BTW if you don't have an ampsim programme like Amplitube or Guitar Rig, that could also give you a LOT of mileage. These programmes are very creative, a hell of a conveniant timesaver, and sound amazing! Some never go back after trying these..

A bonus is that you can use the effects racks for other tracks. Just adding to your pile of choices

[ckbarlow]

BTW if you don't have an ampsim programme like Amplitube or Guitar Rig, that could also give you a LOT of mileage. These programmes are very creative, a hell of a conveniant timesaver, and sound amazing! Some never go back after trying these..

A bonus is that you can use the effects racks for other tracks. Just adding to your pile of choices

Edited to say: OH - allow me to mention again that I have a POD (an old 2.0 hardware unit) and am going to experiment with using Logic's I/O plug-in, which lets you use hardware inserts; and I'm building an Environment layer dedicated to controlling the POD via MIDI.

For this purchase I'm a lot more concerned about clear, beautiful acoustic.

[bmete]

Happy Birthday CK!

I say buy it all.......

Hope you have a great day!

Bob

[crs7string]

...I've used it to mike an amp for some spy guitar and surf guitar with great results. ...

Chuck

Chuck, did you ever hear anything back re: the surf forward? I haven't. The guitars on mine, by the way, were thru the TubeMP and purely using effects built into Logic.

It's possible that Mean Old Matto has shamed me into putting my checkbook back in my... trousers. So to speak.

CK,

The surf guitar tracks were for a library, as were the spy guitar tracks.

I agree that sometimes we already have what we need to get the results we need. However, it is a lot of fun to get some new toys.

I might re-suggest revisiting Stylus Expanded. With the various styles you do, you'll wonder why you didn't get it sooner.


Chuck

[mojobone]

If the choice is between the Great River and Twinfinity, I'd say get the UA article if you gravitate toward vintage sounds and big iron. (puts a nice tube 'halo' around a ribbon-miked jazz vocal, too) The GR is a fast pre that really sparkles on stuff with huge transients, like drums, slapped bass and piano. (ac guitar, too, if you slap it like Michael Hedges) I think the Twinfinity's the more versatile, as you can get either 'clean' or 'character' with it, and in both tube and FET flavors. I too, have worked within budgets my whole life; bang per buck is my mantra, so I look for the gear that rests at the price point of diminishing returns-where you start to pay a lot more for a little improvement.

[ckbarlow]

OK, gang! I thought I'd check back in, as I'm sure you're all waiting with baited breath to hear what I got... [crickets...]. I don't care, I'm telling you anyway!

So -- I mentioned that I did some test recordings as a little homework before buying anything, and I mentioned that they sounded darned good. But then two days later, I went to track some acoustic for an actual song, and it sounded hideous. What's the difference? Where I sat. Sure, I know, room acoustics. I'm not actually an idiot, but I was focused on testing the sound and clarity of the mics thru the TubeMP and basically discovered that I had room improvements that had to come first, or I'd be pissing in the wind to spend on a preamp.

During the tests, I sat right at my desk for convenience's sake. For the song takes, I pulled the packing-blanket curtain and moved into the other side of the room, where I always record, with a comforter, blankets, etc. surrounding me. Still, bad flutter.

So here's what I've done at this point:

• got EZMix and the DFH expansion for EZDrummer to satisfy the gear lust constructively (you can hear my first track with those on my taxi page -- Iron Ghost, for the paranormal cable show pitch; Paranormal Army is also for that pitch, but I didn't use the new stuff on it)
• got three Mogami XLR cables, for C1 to preamp, SM57 to MOTU, and guitar direct to MOTU -- all three sources that I'll grab to find a good combined sound (Interestingly, further tests had me liking the Studio Projects C1 at 12th fret thru the TubeMP, plus the direct signal -- not the 57 on the bridge -- not what I expected)
• borrowed some Auralex Wedgie panels from Univ of New Mexico (I manage the computer music lab, and these have been sitting unused for 2 years) to do some testing on different recording spots in the room
• took delivery of a freaking couch that we ordered in February (don't get me started), which means that will hit my card in the next week.

Next paycheck, I'll be getting Stylus RMX Expanded. And one day, I'll look at the Twinfinity and the GR again.

So, that's where it stands! I really truly appreciate everyone's input, and I have to say I'm glad I did the tests and discovered the more important issue.

[mazz]

Good one!!

A great recording of a crappy room isn't going to be much of an improvement is it?!! Good choice going for the acoustic treatments first!

[ckbarlow]

Good one!!
... Good choice going for the acoustic treatments first!

Yeah, it's funny -- because of taking that Berklee class last fall, I did a heckuva lot to improve things at my listening/mixing position -- first-reflection absorption all around/above, diffusion behind, traps in the back corners (I really like the DIY kits from Ready Acoustics, BTW...) but hadn't recorded much acoustic in a while and so hadn't heard that part of my room with my "new ears." Funny what a little training will do.

[matto]

I like this thing for acoustic recording:

http://www.realtraps.com/p_pvb.htm

Very effective, pretty much takes the room out of the equation...
There are other similar products but they tend to be too small for anything other than really close miked vocals or voice over work.

This one is quite big, so it's much more effective control...