Aloha Friends,
Man, there are some nice recording rigs of all sorts listed. Thank you for sharing them.
Kev, having seen both your basement & 'Jeffersons' studio's now, I can say that you really know how to set up a high quality, great pro level, & very esthetically pleasing recording space in
any kind of space. Nice work!
Of course, I am thrilled, after last summer's close call (unreal: within feet of his house) with the Colorado fires, that you even have a recording studio, let alone a home. Ha! Talk about blessings.
In that domestic regard, my situation has dramatically changed as well. I had to leave my great, mountaintop, rainforest home of many years last summer. Personal reasons. Just had to.
That meant breaking down & putting into storage a whole house, a full-on guitar-making shop & most of my recording studio until my next home finds me. House-sitting at the beach for a friend on sabbatical now.
But here is my rig:
Computer: 2009 IMac - 3.06 Hz, 8 gigs of RAM, 21.5" screen
DAW: Logic Pro 9.1.8
Interfaces: Apogee Ensemble or Duet1
Vocal LDC Condenser Mic's: Microtech Gefell UM-900 multi-pattern, Vintage Neumann U87 multi, Mojave MA-200 cardioid's.
Guitar Condenser Mic's: Schoeps Matched CMC6 SDC's with MK41 (hyper), MK4 (cardioid), MK2 (omni) & MK8 (ribbon) capsules. Pair of vintage U87' LDC multi's (early 70's). AEA R84 ribbon, JW-modded AKG 460 SDC's, Peluso Matched P-28 tube's, ADK A6's. Mojave MA-200's for strumming tracks.The Schoeps 641's are my "go-to's" for fingerstyle.
Preamps: Pendulum Audio MDP-1a tube, A Designs Pacifica, Pendulum SPS-1, & the Apogee's (which have great mic onboard preamps
External Storage HD's: Glyphs
Plug-in's: Waves Bundle (mixing, mastering), Altiverb 6 (convolution reverb) & Logic Pro's plug-in's & FX are very good too
Monitors: Adam A7X (near-field), Custom Koa Daedalus 803's (mid-range), Alpine car stereo
Headphones: AKG Studio 240's
External Compressor: (for vox tracks only - rarely used) UA 1176
Cables: Mogami, Canare/Neutrik
Room Treatment:
Essential for using mic's & all recording. 22 self-made, portable, 4"x2'x4' broadband absorbers. I put them where I need them, creating a 'room-within-a-room' type of control of early & bass reflections.
I trap the four corners & wall-to-ceiling joints (in front), treat the room itself & also create a treated tracking space or vocal booth using the absorbers. The best part is I can put them away when not in use & it's not permanent or expensive.
Check out Fran Guidry's site for great tips on how to make your own treatment cost-effectively. It will increase your miking/recording options & definitely improve your acoustic recordings (off the soapbox again):
http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/2009/...-on-the-cheap/
Gear I'm Lookin' At? : Schoeps newest capsule: the MK22 open cardioid.
Truthfully,I really have too many quality tools for home recording at this point - much more than I need for what I do. Therefore, I'm going to start selling off a lot of it. It was truly fun putting together these choices. At least I know my limitations in recording are not caused by the gear. The room treatment, UM900, CMC6's & caps & probably the MDP-1a & basic's, I'll keep forever.
Evolution
I've been around recording & studio's off & on for a long time, & have been a regular gigger for many decades. So I have some knowledge about mic placement, mic's & the front end. I can make a decent track. I can mix & achieve an open, natural sound. But mastering....?
Many great guys at AGF have helped me learn about DAW's & computer-based recording in the last 10 years. There is lots to learn & the learning curve has been steep.
One thing I have learned is that home DAW recording is not for everyone or every personality. It uses a different side of the brain than does the playing & the creative music side of things.
For example, it is very easy for me to become distracted by my limitations on the gear/recording side - at the expense of the music side of the equation. Gear obsession can lead to flat performances when it's time to play. So I've been working on ways of of fixing that issue, slowly.
There is a reason why pro ME's are good at what they do - they've put the time in. Most of us acoustic players simply will never get to that level in home recording.
Therefore, my goal for my simple, live, decisively non-commercial projects has been to create great tracks that can be mixed by a pro ME. I know my limitations & also that I've run out of time to gain that knowledge & experience. I was always a gigger first. Rarely, did I even think about recording my own music - until recently. But it sure is fun. And what you learn in a studio is VERY useful for live situations as well.
Mahalo for your great posts, friends. Anymore home rigs to share?
alohachris
PS: Every instrument on my recordings I played or mic'ed in real-time. No VST's, samples, drum's I don't play, loopers, etc.. Like many players in my generation, I still feel that adding stuff you don't play is a bit dishonest & "plastic" on acoustic mixes. I take more of a classical music approach. In that regard, I don't take advantage of any of the million+ samples provided by Logic Pro, nor will I ever. Depends of course on your goals. -alohachris-