The cloudlifter is definitely a good choice. I personally prefer the Triton Audio FetHead, but they both get the job done equally well. I just find the design of the FetHead more convenient. http://www.zenproaudio.com/tritonaudiofethead.aspx
Both. Just depends on the situation. But I tend to not be a surgeon with things unless it won't work any other way. I always try the simplest path first, then go deeper if it still doesn't sound good.
For some reason my microphone has started recording really quietly all the time. I've checked all the control panel sounds and everything, but I just can't get it to work
I know this doesn't strictly belong in here, but I have been lusting after a analog synth for awhile now. For a long time I wanted the minibrute, a cool new mono osc but it was never in stock when I had funds but now that I have some money again a challenger appears in the form of the new ms-20 mini which should be shipping out next month. They are both great sounding Instruments from what I can tell from reviews with the ms-20 costing a bit more but having more options for sound synthesis. Now i find myself with quite the quandary; do I wait for the ms-20, which could be pushed back a few more months or do I buy my first love and have immediate gratification?
Those kind of gear questions are tough to answer. So I usually just go with what I'm most excited about and do what I can with it. At some point I'd like to get my own analogue synth, but Alex owns a nice one, so for now I just use that. Synths are an expensive hobby.
Yeah, I would love to get a modular at some point but thats gonna be down the road a bit. I want a analogue with a knob per function because I am just terrible with menu diving.
The thing you have to keep in mind with both the minibrute and the ms-20 are that they are very...specific synths, so your sound options will be limited. They both are AWESOME at what they do, but if you're getting just one analog synth you may want to save up for something more versatile. OR.... take out a 2nd mortgage and get one of these: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Voyager10LTD
Hey Ben - when you have a minute - just curious how you got the vocals to sound so huge in that Tobacco Pat song?
Those were recorded really quiet through an LDC, doubled and then compressed pretty heavily. Hence the kinda high noise levels. And in the third verse, they were reamped through a bass amp with a delay pedal.
Oh and the geek in me is curious to know what mic, preamp, and compressor you used? Still have the KSM44?
That would be the KSM44, yep. The pre was the Avedis ma5. Been my vocal go-to since I picked it up around 2 years ago. And the compressor was just the one that comes with Reaper (ReaComp I think it's called). Really, on records, the most common things I use by a long shot are the KSM44, the SM81s, or the SM7B. I didn't initially set out to use a bunch of Shure stuff, but over the years they've really held up. None of them are flashy in any way. They just work. They aren't fussy. Which I really lean to when recording myself, because I don't want to get too caught up nitpicky engineering. The more I can focus on what/how I am playing, the better. So I tend to only branch out into other options when I am pretty sure of the song and have all the basics down solid.
Thanks Ben, that's great advise and I agree completely about Shure mics - I've had an sm57 and beta sm58 for a long time and I love them although I haven't tried using the 58 much for recording my vocals. I've been on this search for a few years to find a good LDC that suits my voice (tried a Peluso 2247 LE first and now have a Beesneez Arabella - I typically purchase used so I can flip for what I paid - yep, I'm a bit of a gear nut, lol) and have found that high end ones can be exactly that - fussy, lol (at least on my voice). They may have this little extra something special, but sometimes I find it frustrating getting vocals to sit in the mix right when using them. I recently got an sm7b and I've been really impressed with it through a Neve style pre. It got me thinking about the KSM44 again since I've never tried one. Hmmm...
I have a question for Ben or anyone who knows about these things, I did a recording last night and it's too loud - rattles speakers, I added a compressor to the overall mix (I use reaper) and when I rendered the track it didn't go red (as to show me too loud) but if you listen it rattles. I was recording through early hours so wasn't micing an amp - lined in the guitar and ran it through bluesky reverberator but must have had line in too loud. I'm a real newbie with all of this stuff but people seem to say its easier to turn things up than turn things down! If anyone can tell me the best way to go about this would be really grateful, the song is here: www.soundcloud.com/iamnotlost first song called Projections
