more noob questions... comps and pres

lyle76 · Post by **lyle76** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:28 am

It must be annoying to wade through questions like these... but here goes.

I'm looking for an affordable compressor and pre-amp for my home studio. I'm on a budget (read: broke) so i'm looking for the best bang for my buck (who isn't?). I've kind of got my sights set on a RNC for compression, and an ART Mp for pre's. My signal ultimately goes to my macbook so... maybe i should be lookign at software? Your input/reccomendation is greatly appreciated!

l

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:51 am

What are your goals?

bradfromtampa · Post by **bradfromtampa** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:52 am

check this thread:http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopic.php?t=30676

it was very helpful to me..

lyle76 · Post by **lyle76** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:30 pm

my goals? pretty basic. mostly solo-home recording. right now i'm limited to two inputs at one time thanks to my m-audio 410 interface, but really, that's fine. I'm just recording myself at home.

so my goal would be great home studio sound for my own solo recordings. I should note i do like a vintage vibe/ aesthetic for my stuff. noise is not a problem for me if the source is warm and sweet (though i don't want noisey gear if it's avoidable).

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:17 pm

lyle76 wrote:
so my goal would be great home studio sound for my own solo recordings. I should note i do like a vintage vibe/ aesthetic for my stuff. noise is not a problem for me if the source is warm and sweet (though i don't want noisey gear if it's avoidable).

Well a "great home studio" can mean various things..like what is great for one person wouldn't mean it would be great for another..a good way to catagorize things if your building a home studio is by one..sound quality..two..build quality and durability..three..features & actual real life usefullness..build quality usually can be determined by price..but sound quality is governed by you and what sounds you like to hear..

when you say vintage vibe what exactly do you mean?

Like early Smog or Sebadoh

or

like an Enoch Light or and old Verve or Sun, etc. recording

or

like a 1920's field recording from Africa

or

like 80's hair rock?

lyle76 · Post by **lyle76** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:30 pm

i see your point. "vintage" could mean anything. I guess i'm just chasing that ubiquitous and vague "warmth". i would definitely side with the sebadoh smog thing, though nick drake and pete bjorn and john are also artists who's recording aesthetic i like. i also really envy the variety of sound califone tend to capture - especially there combination of open - room stuff and close mics.

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:09 pm

I would guess the early Sebadoh stuff is more like Tascam cassette 4 track and a mic or two and the Nick Drake records more like an expensive old mic and a nice preamp and a nicer tape machine..the later Sebadoh and Smog stuff is much more "hi-fi" sounding and closer to the ND records..

now what do you feel your sound is lacking when you compare your recordings to the ones you listen to?

'

supersockmonkey · Post by **supersockmonkey** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:28 pm

I like the Art Pro VLA as a budget comp and you can get them pretty cheap on ebay or maybe even on the TOMB. As for pre's you might check out the EH 12AY7, i personally dont have one yet but they get great reviews on this site. You'll only get one channel with the EH though. Or you could step it up and get a Hamptone.

lyle76 · Post by **lyle76** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 5:15 pm

i guess so far my sound is missing a good consistent vocal recording level and the smoothness that a little light compression can add. I'm still seeking the right mic for my voice, but i think i've found a good multi-patter ld tube condenser with some character that will work for now. i'm looking to try to capture a "warm full room sound" for my vocals - but when i'm micing the room the dynamics can change quite bit - some compression might help with that i think. plus sometimes i wish i had a little more mic level which is where the preamp figures...

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:19 pm

A while ago I picked up an Altec 1566a which is really good sounding..very interesting..it's old and not refurbished or juiced up in any way so it has old components and such..it has a really rich recognizable sound and works with ribbons ok..and works great with my inexpensive tube LDC..it can be noisey and weird sounding but in a good way..it distorts really nicely but quickly as you turn the gain up..a preamp like that with your LDC in omni in a good room followed by decent compression might be something I'd try for what I'm picturing you are describing..

lyle76 · Post by **lyle76** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 6:04 pm

thanks for the tip... that sounds like a great idea. Now if i could find a cheap altec... they appear to be going for around 400 bucks.. a little out of my range for now. but i'll keep my eyes out for a deal. any new tube mic pre's that have a nice similar character? i'm thinking about a digital m-audio DMP3, but that's mor efor function than for tone coloring...

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 6:23 pm

the closest I've heard is the UA 2-610 I guess..

you got to make sure you get one with 1 mic transformer and one line transformer..they plug into the back of the thing..

the EH micpre might have a similar vibe..but that doesn't mean much since I never tried one..

Message Board

more noob questions... comps and pres

more noob questions... comps and pres

Who is online