[Ramshackles]

What are the add-ons? Have you ever compared it to a real amp - are there differences?

[Ramshackles]

Not so much posting of setups? I'm hoping to uncover some gems/get a nice discussion going. That line 6 looks cool! I'll post our home setup to get the ball rolling more. We dont really use any midi/vst so I've spent some time trying to get the acoustics right :S
Here we go:

Mics:
Neumann KM 184
Shure sm81 x 2
Røde NT1-A
Golden Age Project R1 Mk3
Røde M3
Shure sm57 x 2

Preamps:
Neve 1073LB
Focusrite ISA One
SPL Goldmike
API 212

Other hardware stuff:
Lexicon MPX-200
Manley Massive Passive (but only on demo for 2 weeks )
Echo Layla 24
Adam A3X monitors

Software:
Cubase 5
Various Waves plugins & couple of PSP plugins

Instruments:
Yamaha FGX Acoustic
Martin D18 Acoustic
Epiphone Les Paul (& marshall dfx50 amp)
Takamine Acoustic Bass
Hofner 'violin' bass
Yamaha Arius piano
Old hammond organ
Old mandolin (make?)
Old nylon guitar
Various percussion stuff

I've built a couple of bass traps for the acoustics (out of rockwool and wood), but out of fear of them not really working too well (and being a bit unwieldy) I've ordered 2 corner traps. A couple of home made absorbers and I would like to get some diffusors....Of course on the wishlist is a nice big, dedicated room of my own!

[DailyDean]

I am definitely determined to get the Line 6 Pod, just sounds like what I need for recording AND live (if I ever get that far). But my dream would be to get the Fractal Axe-Fx, since I've heard in practise in recording and genuinely sounds like the guitars are mic'd.

[Ramshackles]

I am definitely determined to get the Line 6 Pod, just sounds like what I need for recording AND live (if I ever get that far). But my dream would be to get the Fractal Axe-Fx, since I've heard in practise in recording and genuinely sounds like the guitars are mic'd.

Looks awesome - and awesomely expensive! I guess I'll be sticking with my amp for now

[Schavuitje]

Erm... lol You know I have friends who could tell you the specs of virtually anything and everything to

do with guitars and wether they sound exaclty like the real amp or effect does. Unfortunately I don't know

Never had enough money to play through anything like what anyone would call a great amp. Never had the money to

buy all the different effects. All I know is that I can get the sound I want out of it because every amp and effect can

be played with, to get the sound you want. There are quite some well known artists who use them. And because I want to

record by plugging straight into the pc without haveing to have big amps or recording gear in my small recording room, it is perfect.

Here's a list http://line6.com/artists/list/

Here's a youtube vid

&feature=relmfu

[tina m]

why do you need all those mics & preamps ramshackles & what do the preamps do exactly that a mixer doesnt do?

by the way i dont know how to take this remark  .....  cant you see non technical people dont understand manuals?

Lol, how about the manual?

[Ramshackles]

why do you need all those mics & preamps ramshackles & what do the preamps do exactly that a mixer doesnt do?

by the way i dont know how to take this remark  .....  cant you see non technical people dont understand manuals?

Lol, how about the manual?

lol!

Well, a mic preamp solely amplifies a microphone signal. Many (most) mixers have preamps built into them, which is where the confusion lies. Mixers are used for live situations (where you have to set levels, panning (and eq) on the fly) or in the studio usually for mixing purposes (after recording) or as a source of a number of preamps. They have extra stuff which is necessary for actually mixing music, such as a number of inputs which are summed to a single stereo output (lots of mixers also have direct outs on each channel), panning knobs, eq sections, different routing options (groups, aux's, sends, inserts) etc etc.

Preamps are solely for amplifying the signal. There are different ways to go about that and different preamps affect the signal in different ways - giving it a different sound. When you buy a stand alone preamp they are often for 1 or 2 inputs.

All in all, at home I have 4 preamps, 1 is stereo giving me 5 channels. Sometimes we might record a little acoustic session altogether. That might be 1 guitar and 2 or 3 voices. If I put 2 mics on the guitar - I will have used all 5 inputs (3 vocal mics, 2 guitar mics).

And for the mics - well the sm57's I got recently in anticipation of doing gigs (eventually). The rest - it's like preamps, different mics, different flavours. Some mics are particularly suited for a specific purpose - small diaphragm mics (Sm81's, KM184) work well on my acoustic. The ribbon mic works well for our lead singers (both girls) etc etc.

[tina m]

thankyou for explaining all that
but it does all seem a bit of a luxury particulerly those preamps  compared to all the other gear you need for home recording
do preamps & diff. mics realy make the diffrence between amateur & pro?
& im sorry i still cant work out whether your the archetypal blunt northerner or just condescending so ill have to give you the benefit of the doubt until you make it clear

[Kafla]

The song is everything , gear is secondary - discuss 

[Ramshackles]

Well, preamps are necessary. When you plug your mic into your behringer input, it's going through a preamp.
I reckon preamps & diff. mics do not at all make the difference between amateur and pro - if you have 500 different mics and consistently pick the worst one for any given situation, it's not so pro I guess
As for all the other gear you need for home recording, My list of things that are absolutely necessary: Instruments (!), something to record on (whether it's computer, harddisk recorder, tape, whatever), and microphones, which need preamps.

[Ramshackles]

The song is everything , gear is secondary - discuss 

Song is always everything. Depending on who you are. Here, everyone is a songwriter, so yes the song is everything.
Of course, while I might appreciate some demos with a recording quality less than that of commercial songs, I dont think I've ever actually paid for something that's been recorded poorly. That doesn't mean all demos/home recordings are recorded poorly. Fleet foxes made their first album as a mix of home recording and paying for studio sessions and then used that album to get a record deal. Pomplamoose do everything at home. Bon Iver recorded his debut in a log cabin in the woods with just a couple of mics.
All the junk I have is explained by 3 things:
1. Inherited/gift/'borrowed'
2. We try to record our stuff the best we can. Occasionally we've been into studios - although after a while I thought that unless we were willing to pay uber money for a great engineer then I can do a better job at home (provided I get the room acoustics sorted out :S). There are so many local studios that are basically a guy with a setup not too dissimilar to what any of us on this forum have, who have decided they are a studio and got themselves a nice website. It doesnt mean they are actually any good at recording or mixing. I've found that out the hard way. In the long run, it's cheaper to get the gear yourself than to pay out for good studios.
3. The most important :- I'm a huge geek for crap like this I will never have enough toys. If you go on to a recording geek forum or watch a recording show with some famous dude, they are always sat in some uber studio packed full of gear, yet they are talking about the latest gadget they just have to buy . One dream of mine is to have a pro, working studio, so I collect I've got all the stuff so far without ever financing anything or ending in debt so thats already a step ahead of many commercial 'studio' owners...

Anyways, back to the original q - will preamps and mics make all that difference? As this is the recording forum, I'm gonna pretend that we have all written perfect songs and take that out of the equation. The biggest thing that will affect whether you actually record it well (apart from the performance ) will be the actually positioning of the microphones and the room you play the song in. Your choice of mics and preamps is next....but it is a big big second to the room.

[Kafla]

I admire you complete dedication RS

For me though there is a point at which the song becomes a good representation of itself, going beyond that is both time consuming and I honestly don't think the majority of people notice.

Now the best piece of advice I ever got (and it was from you) was to invest in a decent mic and audio interface. I use a rode nt1a and a focusrite saffire - this is basically my set up - I am delighted with the quality I can produce with that. Although I run logic on a mac I believe this part of the set up could actually be any PC/DAW.

I have a really good yamaha keyboard but choose to play a cheap Alesis 25 keyboard as its portable and I really like the action. I have 3 guitars but I stress for me it all about the mic and interface.

As an aside I too love the fleet foxes but I am confused - I thought you didn't like radio 2 music  ha ha - they are on radio 2 non stop! Infact it's where I got I to them.

[Ramshackles]

I admire you complete dedication RS

For me though there is a point at which the song becomes a good representation of itself, going beyond that is both time consuming and I honestly don't think the majority of people notice.

Now the best piece of advice I ever got (and it was from you) was to invest in a decent mic and audio interface. I use a rode nt1a and a focusrite saffire - this is basically my set up - I am delighted with the quality I can produce with that. Although I run logic on a mac I believe this part of the set up could actually be any PC/DAW.

I have a really good yamaha keyboard but choose to play a cheap Alesis 25 keyboard as its portable and I really like the action. I have 3 guitars but I stress for me it all about the mic and interface.

As an aside I too love the fleet foxes but I am confused - I thought you didn't like radio 2 music  ha ha - they are on radio 2 non stop! Infact it's where I got I to them.

Ah well, I dont know what I'm talking about with radio 2! I always associate it with...katie melua or something :S Fleet foxes are awesome! (I've seen them twice this year )

Nt-1a into the saffire is a pretty darn good setup anyway. The preamps on the saffire are nice and focusrite is a very reliable name (My focusrite pre is very nice). It starts to get to pretty subtle differences when you get beyond that. And differences that really only make a difference if all the other elements are place (The room will always have a biggest effect on the sound - it so easy to hear! When you sing in the shower, your bedroom, the garage or a closet, the differences are easily heard).
Like what you said, I think DAW choice is more about what you are comfortable with rather than if one is better than the other. Same with pc/mac I guess...

Of course, my 3rd point was the big point - I'm a huge geek about all this . I got the basic setup down and now it's a case of, am I willing to pay 100% more for tiny improvements? Of course I am! I spend most of the time at the moment trying to improve my room at home, which sounds like a box.

[Kafla]

I know you would!

I really admire you dedication - I mean that, and you can hear it in your songs .

Funny thing is despite all this technology I would argue that the majority of music is listened to on fm radio 

[tina m]

so a rode nt1a with a focusrite saffire is a good setup ...do you still need a mixer & does anything else go thru the focusrite like bass guitar?or is this just a thing for vocals
i saw that mic witha focusrite saffire pro14 for £296 today would that be a good price
its a lot of money but with christmas & my birthday soon after i might be able to swing it im sure my husband will think ive gone bonkers tho after ive been banging on about wanting scuba diving lessons all year
of course the big question i want to ask is will i be able to get it working i dont want it to end up on the cant understand how it works shelf were not all geeks!