Moving from software to instruments

[legend4ry]

Well - i'm getting bored as fuck of synths and software ...

I'm taking my studio space from just a PC and some monitors and a keyboard and getting more gear / recording more instruments (getting session musicians and stuff)

I am moving away from the dubstep thing (getting boring for me now, 5 years to long...) so idealy I will be aiming to get stuff towards band-sorta stuff

List your favourite..

Preamps
Mics
Recording Headphones
hardware EQ


Also anyone know a shop in London what still does 1/4 inch tape in small amounts? All I can find is bulk buying from warehouses or buying from online(which I can't do) - While I just wanna see if this its a format I'd like to work with.

[nowaysj]

Get ready to enter the great hiss beyond.

Dubstep isn't the only electronic music u can make, btw

For male vocals I think the AT3035 large diaphragm condenser is a flaming hot deal. They're now discontinued so might even still be able to find them clearance style. I got mine for $135 while they were still active. Crazy deal.

I remember when digi was new and people were dumping their analog gear out of airplanes and shit. I guess its way back in vogue so you might have to pay serious premiums. Tape stuff is prolly going to require some maintenance and new rubber rollers and that type of shit. Can cost to fix that kind of stuff up.

I suggest trying to borrow some stuff to try and figure this out.

I think R posted a link to some tracks that he did with some dood, recorded on tape, very very VERY nice sound. Maybe give him a shout.

Best of luck, and post up some of your work when u start making it.

[legend4ry]

Get ready to enter the great hiss beyond.

Dubstep isn't the only electronic music u can make, btw

For male vocals I think the AT3035 large diaphragm condenser is a flaming hot deal. They're now discontinued so might even still be able to find them clearance style. I got mine for $135 while they were still active. Crazy deal.

I remember when digi was new and people were dumping their analog gear out of airplanes and shit. I guess its way back in vogue so you might have to pay serious premiums. Tape stuff is prolly going to require some maintenance and new rubber rollers and that type of shit. Can cost to fix that kind of stuff up.

I suggest trying to borrow some stuff to try and figure this out.

I think R posted a link to some tracks that he did with some dood, recorded on tape, very very VERY nice sound. Maybe give him a shout.

Best of luck, and post up some of your work when u start making it.

Thanks for the help - 'nd yeah I know Dubstep isn't the only electronic music I can make but I don't really like any other electronic music other than garage and old house haha...*prepares for flame* never been a huge fan of electronic music really!

[Sharmaji]

fave currently-available pre's: great river is an excellent place to start. If a studio has API 512's, i'm a happy drummer.

mic's: for vocals, the TelefunkenUSA AK47 (spendy), or the SE2200A (ubercheap). instruments, the royer 151, se3 (great SD mic), and the mercenary audio versions of the KS84 and SM57.

cans i actually prefer recording w/ either in-ears (shure) or my hd25s over almost anything a studio provides. Otherwise, Sony 7506's are always good, and these supercheap MoreMe cans are surprisingly nice.

HW EQ.... Manley, neve or neve clones if you've got the $. also the great river box is amazing. I'm intrigued by the API/Arsenal Audio box as well, but have yet to work with it in person.

For an all-in-one solution, the Toft Audio mixers sound way better than they have a right to at their price point. excellent eq's and very musical (and quiet) pre's.

[nowaysj]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bswx5zrF ... re=channel

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-II32AvVd8&NR=1

local studio.

[ketamine]

Well - i'm getting bored as fuck of synths and software ...

I'm taking my studio space from just a PC and some monitors and a keyboard and getting more gear / recording more instruments (getting session musicians and stuff)

I've been feeling the same way

[deadly_habit]

hand picking and callouses are fun
nothing like a callous from slapping a bass

[legend4ry]

Thanks for the advice people! I'm just waiting for a few payments to come through and i'll be shopping about - i'll update on my progress for anyone else looking to do the same for deals and such.

[deadly_habit]

once i get new mics i'll upload combo results of me on instruments singing and dubstep drums

[gravity]

whats your budget like? if you wanna be splashing out on mics and such you can spend fucking loads of cash, could get a whole suite of mics for the price of one really nice condensor, so it helps to know what you have to spend.

i'll give you some budget options that aint too bad:

se2200As are not too bad for vocals/acoustic instruments (bar drums) and are quite cheap.
you'll probably want a few 57's and 58's for stuff like guitar amps, close micing drums, etc.
if you can find it there is an akg drum set which comes with 2 c1000's, 4 clip on condensors and a d112 (classic kick mic) for about £500 which aint too bad.

for headphones the standard is sennheiser hd25 i believe, but they aint particularly cheap (not mega pricey though).

preamps can get fucking pricey too, you can get some half decent focusrite ones for quite cheap.

cant really comment on standalone H/W EQ's, i wouldnt have thought it would be worth it unless you wanna spend bucks on a manley or something.

i'd recommend having a trawl through sound on sounds website, should be loads of stuff with reviews in there which could be helpful.

as for 1/4 inch tape, there are a few websites that specialise in it i believe, generally costs about 20-30 quid a reel i think. finding a decent 1/4 inch machine is gonna be a pain. although i will say, tape sounds fucking lovely, but i wouldnt even dream of editing on it (one slip and you could completely ruin hours of work).

[karmacazee]

Great mic to consider:



EV RE20. Built like a tank, won't break the bank, built in pop shield, sounds great on vocals, guitars, and a load of other applications.

I use it on a shitload of things. That and a few good ol' SM57's and 58's. Standard.

You'll probably need a nice mixer, unless you already have one. Soundcraft make pretty good budget stuff. Plus if you get a nice desk with some quality pre's and nice eq's, you'll have everything in one nifty package, with the benefit of being able to mix it hands on.

[nowaysj]

U remember what automation was, fuggetaboutit.

[freqone]

lol....i went from instruments to digital....... and that was 6-7yrs ago ,,,,composition is SOOOO far from the digital way of things.....serious.... good luck though

[Sinus Sawtooth]

maybe kinda OT but I rolled into dubstep because i'm a huge dubhead (King Earthquake, Iration Steppas list goes on) maybe an idea for you? start making dubs the old skool way using analogue recorders (tapes), analogue verbs/delays routed tp big mixing deck... *dreams* if I only had the monies,...

[nowaysj]

I'm about to put a vcr in my signal path, see how that works out.

[nitz]

Well - i'm getting bored as fuck of synths and software ...

I'm taking my studio space from just a PC and some monitors and a keyboard and getting more gear / recording more instruments (getting session musicians and stuff)

I am moving away from the dubstep thing (getting boring for me now, 5 years to long...) so idealy I will be aiming to get stuff towards band-sorta stuff

List your favourite..

Preamps
Mics
Recording Headphones
hardware EQ


Also anyone know a shop in London what still does 1/4 inch tape in small amounts? All I can find is bulk buying from warehouses or buying from online(which I can't do) - While I just wanna see if this its a format I'd like to work with.

How about acoustic dubstep then

[boomstix]

this is pushing the topic a little wider but,

have you read the book "Dub" by Michael Veal? He has interviews with loads of Jamaican studio guys and goes into a lot of depth about their recording techniques and the exact gear they used. when i realised the limitations of the gear that they had it really made me respect the results they were able to acheive a lot more.

which is a way of saying, if you get the right pieces and use them well, you don't have to spend a lot of money. a lot of the stuff they used is going up in price now because they are classics but you should still be able to pick up some choice second hand bits if you know what you'r looking for.

ps, they have it in libraries, its a pretty common book i think.

[Maree-Jaine]

maybe kinda OT but I rolled into dubstep because i'm a huge dubhead (King Earthquake, Iration Steppas list goes on) maybe an idea for you? start making dubs the old skool way using analogue recorders (tapes), analogue verbs/delays routed tp big mixing deck... *dreams* if I only had the monies,...

This!!!! Ledge dude, make the dubs!! I wanna be in on it tho