Must have gear in a rented room...

[orksnork]

Perhaps you guys can help me focus my thoughts a bit here...

Say you are out of town, or new in an area. You are looking to track a band and you go to see a room you've never heard of or been.

You walk in, the room sounds great, and is well put together. It's got a clean console to use, etc.

What gear would you think would be a requirement for you? What pieces would be an absolute must have that you'd be constantly reaching for in an unfamiliar scenario?

[A.David.MacKinnon]

If it's tracking we're talking about then I'm always happy to see a somewhat familiar mic locker. As long as there are enough "standard" mic to cover the bases then I can get up and running pretty quickly. Once I've got the bases covered I'm happy to start trying new things.

The mics in question are nothing fancy, the usual suspects are fine by me. SM57s & 58s, 421s, 441, d12 & d112s, u87s, etc, etc.

[orksnork]

thanks a lot, very helpful...

if it coerces anyone else into answering...i'm not purely asking a hypothetical here....

i have a room designed by a well known designer...it's been closed to the public and used by a single engineer/producer for a good while, so he's widdled down the gear list to what he finds necessary...

i'm trying to bring the gear list back to a comfortable place.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

2 other things -

#1) Well thought out and labelled patchbays are huge. It doesn't matter if you have the best gear in the world if I can't figure out how to patch it into the signal flow. Many single user studios like the one your talking are a nightmare for freelancers because the owner has wired it himself, knows how and where everything connects and as a result hasn't labelled anything.

#2) Well maintained and working gear is also huge. Many time's I've been in studios that have tons of great peices but half of them are broken. High end vintage gear means nothing if it doesn't work.

[djimbe]

O.K. then. I'll play. I will say that some idea of the current gear or console available might help generate more responses. And I'll leave out the more obvious stuff like several snare drums, some keyboard options, and a nice amp or two. Still, how about:

I want me a plate reverb. Tube or SS amps, I don't care. Jim Cunningham or EMT, either one.

I want an API 2500 since I mostly work on rock music. I'd also like an older stereo comp along the lines of a dbx 162.

I want me some nice old school EQ. Maybe 4 channels. Melcor, API, Telefunken, Siemens...something like that. Doesn't NEED to be inductor based, but discreet would sure be cool. I don't need super fancy expensive like Pultec or Lang or GML, but I sure wouldn't turn up my nose at those options.

I want me a Leslie of some sort. Could be 145 or 122, could be a 2 speed Vibratone type. If it's a big cab like a 145, I need the guitar preamp box.

I want me a couple of big, long reach boom stands. And maybe 1/2 dozen nice gobos

I want me a tape delay of some sort, preferably a multi-head box like a Roland RE201. I could work with a 3 head cassette machine if needed, but I like a real Space Echo.

I want me some sort of API preamps (maybe 2 channels only), and something that's not API. Maybe a Sytek? Or going for broke, how 'bout a Focusrite 215. Or a pair of UA 1108's or even a UA 2108.


So there's a start. I don't know if that's too ambitious a list or not. That's the stuff you'll find at my place and I'm comfortable working with...

[orksnork]

that's a nice list, but a few of the items mentioned seem a bit above "must have" things...the leslie for instance...

maintained gear is a definite must. nothing is worth having if it doesn't work.

[cgarges]

I'm in this scenario from time to time and it always depends entirely on what's already there. I pretty much always bring my own monitors, headphones, and a few reference CDs, because that levels the playing field in terms of what the room sounds like outside of the room. Beyond that, I always prefer to record to RADAR these days, so I'll often bring mine, but that depends on the project as well. I like to have a variety of mics around and I do have a few favorites or oddball mics that I'll bring along, again, depending on what's there and what type of session it is. Other than that, it's really just dependent on a lot of factors. Will I be mixing it? If so, where will I be mixing it? How long will we have to work? Is there anything specific that the band wants (snare drums, cymabls, guitar pedals, amps, specific effects, etc.)?

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[GooberNumber9]

I think Chris' post highlights what I was thinking of: some of the best things to have are things that can't be easily brought in. A producer or engineer can always bring or rent a few mics, processors, drumkit, etc. The stuff that is harder or more expensive to rent or find would be nice to have. A good console is one thing. Most of what I can think of is backline:

1) A piano! Biggest grand you can afford and fit comfortably. Useful in any kind of music.
2) I'll second the Leslie and raise you a B3.
3) Some classic amps: Marshall 100 watt plexi, Fender Twin, Ampeg SVT (Classic?).
4) Also +1 on large boom stands and gobos.
5) I'll say it, assuming this doesn't go without saying: Pro Tools.

Todd Wilcox

[calaverasgrandes]

Some starbird or whatever they are called boom stands that let you put a mic 20 feet up in the air.
well sorted and rolled up cables on hooks.
adapters/y cables for everything that could possibly plugged in. 1/4", bannana, XLR, bantam, spade lug etc. Nothing is more annoying than having to make a trip to radio shack because you cant plug something in.
Sandbags like they use in film and photography. These are lifesavers for all kinds of things.
a couple decent comps like 1176's old 160's or even 166's.
headphones that arent broken with headphone boxes. Also not broken.
Mic stands that work. duct tape just sucks.
meat and potatoes mics like 57's, 414's RE20's 421's etc.
a good variety of pres. I dont care about names, give me a few warm ones, a few fast ones and a few crunchy ones. More than you need is good though so you dont end up not being able to use your one good fast pre because its already on something.
A twin, a b15 and a 50 watt plexi. Some fancy indie rock band from SF once told me their producer convinced them to switch from 100 watters to 50's because they break up sooner. You know what? They do.
A good well tuned trap kit is nice. All the old school studios had house drumsets right?
One well tuned piana is great for songwriting, or even to tune to in a pinch. I'd rather have a beater piano than none at all.
a tuner is essential. Heck a pitch pipe too! and even an O-scope, but thats asking a lot.
It always pays to have a toolbox full of strings, picks, random tubes and amp/drum/guitar bits. the first time I saw someone pull out his first aid box full of stuff like this I was blown away. Thats pro!
Again, who wants to sit around and blow smoke rings while someone drives to GC for a set of bass strings.

Dont forget. you'll never get your picture in the magazines if you dont have at least one lava lamp!

[cgarges]

Are we talking about things a commercial studio should have or things you (the engineer) would want at a specific recording space? Those are two entirely different subjects to me.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Sean Sullivan]

I have to agree with Junkshop, I would just get the stereotypical pieces of gear that a lot of engineers will be familiar with. Nothing I would really add to his list, except maybe a pair of Neumann KM184s. I would think 2-3 guitar amps, a really nice bass amp, a tuned piano, an organ (a Korg CX-3 would even do) and a good keyboard (Nord or something). Can't really think of anything else. The room is most important thing.

[calaverasgrandes]

One thing I have noticed in a lot of project studios is that they dont have all that neat stuff that old school recording studios had.
Not so much gear as just stuff. Mundane infrastructure shit. Like extra chairs.
Music stands for crying out loud! A coffee machine (I mean really if you are pulling an all nighter and you arent drinking coffee than what are you using?)

Oh yeah, and keep a binder with all the local food delivery places listed.

[themagicmanmdt]

i'm in the line of thinking that if it's a tracking studio (which is actually what I'm shifting gears and going to do), it should have good tracking preamps.

with doing things digitally, a ton of really nice compressors (or more than just a couple of stereo or transparent mono compressors) isn't necessary. personally, unless you want to use a compressor more than once, or if you're going 'old school', everything should be recorded and printed 'flat'.

i think gear is more important than excess instuments. if you're going along the instrument route, just get things that you KNOW people aren't going to have. piano. organ. a double bass? sitar? mellotron? those are the big 5 on my list, but they're also the last things the studio will get.

musicians bring their instruments, and are usually very partial to their amps/guitars/horns/etc. a backup is nice, but it's even nicer to have sets of tubes of all kinds in the studio.

i tracked in this one studio once that was a drive from any music store, and i had some preamp tubes get knocked out of an amp. unfortunately, i only carried one spare, and it wasn't to my liking. it wasn't fun wasting 30 minutes on the studio clock buying tubes. an in-house inventory of common musician 'things' (drumsticks, strings, tubes, even drum heads) is very, very, very nice to supply, and can make the difference.

[Knights Who Say Neve]

Some starbird or whatever they are called boom stands that let you put a mic 20 feet up in the air.
well sorted and rolled up cables on hooks.
adapters/y cables for everything that could possibly plugged in. 1/4", bannana, XLR, bantam, spade lug etc. Nothing is more annoying than having to make a trip to radio shack because you cant plug something in.
Sandbags like they use in film and photography. These are lifesavers for all kinds of things.
a couple decent comps like 1176's old 160's or even 166's.
headphones that arent broken with headphone boxes. Also not broken.
Mic stands that work. duct tape just sucks.
meat and potatoes mics like 57's, 414's RE20's 421's etc.
a good variety of pres. I dont care about names, give me a few warm ones, a few fast ones and a few crunchy ones. More than you need is good though so you dont end up not being able to use your one good fast pre because its already on something.
A twin, a b15 and a 50 watt plexi. Some fancy indie rock band from SF once told me their producer convinced them to switch from 100 watters to 50's because they break up sooner. You know what? They do.
A good well tuned trap kit is nice. All the old school studios had house drumsets right?
One well tuned piana is great for songwriting, or even to tune to in a pinch. I'd rather have a beater piano than none at all.
a tuner is essential. Heck a pitch pipe too! and even an O-scope, but thats asking a lot.
It always pays to have a toolbox full of strings, picks, random tubes and amp/drum/guitar bits. the first time I saw someone pull out his first aid box full of stuff like this I was blown away. Thats pro!
Again, who wants to sit around and blow smoke rings while someone drives to GC for a set of bass strings.

Dont forget. you'll never get your picture in the magazines if you dont have at least one lava lamp!

+1

[audiogeek1]

As a freelance guy I like to see the basics in the room. I have spent enough money on little things I like but if I am going into an outside studio infrastructure is what I want.

Things like:
1. Good Mic Stands
2. Music Stands
3. Multiple headphone mixes w/ boxes and amps
4. Working headphones
5. Labled patchbay
6. Standard Mics. (57s,414s,421s,87s,km84s,etc...)
7. Solid console with decent pres like (trident, amek, neve, api etc..) or
8. Good rack of outboard pres
9. for tracking a Few classic comps like (1176, 160vu or similar, LA3 or LA2A, Distressor, etc..)
10. A quality reverb for tracking Lexicon, TC, Eventide
11. Working Cables with good round ends not stepped on

Now this is assuming the room is in good shape with livable acoustics. This list is not in order of importance but what I thought of as writing. But close.

Mike