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Topic: Making my own steel recordings |
Jeff Lampert
From:
queens, new york city
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Posted 1 Feb 2003 12:42 pm |
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| I posted this in Computers and Electronics. I want to be able to make steel guitar recording .mp3's in my house. I need to know what kind of computer program I need to get the best sound and flexibility (high quality reverb, effects, equalization, etc. I've read about the Cool Edit products, but have no idea if that's the way to do. Their Pro line for $249 seems to do a lot, perhaps more than I need. But I want full effects, mixing, editting of multiple tracks, etc. ). I also nedd to know what microphone and cabling to use (do I need a special kind of recording microphone? What do you recommend? What is the advantage/disadvantage over direct recording into the computer?). I plan to mostly do stand-alone steel guitar instrumentals, occasionally adding an acoustic rhythm, or band-in-the-box bass/drum/piano track. The sound of the steel is paramount. My current equipment is a Zum steel guitar and Nashville 400 amp. My computer is a new Dell with Windows XP, 3.0 ghz pentium 4, 1 gig RAM, 100 gig hard drive, CD-RW drive, and a 128 meg audio/video card (if you need the brand and model number, I'll find out). Also, any other issues that I'm not aware of I wish you would tell me about. I haven't much of an idea of where to go with this, so your time and suggestions are most appreciated. Thank you. .. Jeff |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 1 Feb 2003 1:17 pm
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Jeff..If I were to record on the PC I would use Cakewalk PRO, which I did use a few years back when I had a full midi/8 track tape studio running off of Cakewalk.
Currently I believe many folks like us are using a standalone Digital multitrack workstation and transferering to PC or going direct to disk.
My current set-up is a Boss BR8 workstation. I send the final mixdown to the PC as a wave file and convert to MP3 or go to CD from there.
I convert to MP3 with Muscimatch software. I also do use Cooledit 2000 for cleanup now and again.
You mentioned that you are planning on making multi-track recordings with several instruments. Cakewalk PRO would be a great asset. I also think the CoolEdit programs avery nice as well.
Here's a recent MP3 done all direct on the BR8. I have personally gone to the small workstation format as it serves my purpose well.
Good Luck
post some finished stuff...
Rose Colored Glasses
tp
[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 01 February 2003 at 02:40 PM.] |
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Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
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Posted 1 Feb 2003 5:19 pm
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Jeff,
The new version of Cakewalk is called Sonar and it's just getting better and better. A good solid machine with 512Mb of RAM and a GHz pentium or better will easily suffice for horsepower. I've done up to 30 trax with my Athlon 800. This is an example of a tune done with the precursor of Sonar, Cakewalk Pro Audio (V8, as I recall). Hope this gives you an idea of what it can do. It's compressed as an mp3 -- the wav file is slightly better quality.
And, FWIW, the guitar was a S-12 ZumSteel.
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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 01 February 2003 at 06:10 PM.] |
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Jeff Lampert
From:
queens, new york city
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Posted 1 Feb 2003 8:32 pm
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| A couple of questions. Will Cakewalk allow you to splice together parts of music files onto the same track? And what about the right microphone? What do I need? Or should I go direct into Line In? Which is preferred and why? (In the studio I use, I prefer my dry amp sound to the direct-into-the-board. The reverb is applied after.) My sound card is a Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. Thanks again guys. .. Jeff [This message was edited by Jeff Lampert on 01 February 2003 at 08:37 PM.] |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 1 Feb 2003 11:58 pm
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Jeff,
I prefer to use a mike myself but they cost money. My favorite of the almost affordable ones is the AKG 414. If you are going to use a decent mike then you will want some sort of pre amp also. It can add up fast.
I would suggest checking out a POD or something like it for recording direct. There is a bunch of great sounding gear for recording direct out there. To get a mike and pre that will sound better than a recording quality POD (or any number of boxes made for direct recording) will run you at least $1000. Plus recording direct can be allot less hassle.
The Cakewalk software will do everything you can think of and quite a bit more.
I use Digital Performer myself and have used it for overdubs on pro level projects with no complaints.
Bob
www.cakewalk.com/
www.motu.com/ [This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 02 February 2003 at 06:52 PM.] |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 2 Feb 2003 3:19 am
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Jeff..yes..Cakewalk, and probably many others will allow cut and paste of pieces of tracks for editing beyond your wildest imagination.
The right microphone, well that may be subjective. I have been recording direct so my knowledge of which mics are premium these days is nill.
I have seen and played with the Cakewalk Sonar program and it is really quite nice as is evident on Larry's exceptional track above.
good luck
tp[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 02 February 2003 at 06:03 AM.] |
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Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
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Posted 2 Feb 2003 5:48 am
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My little ditty was recorded using a tube preamp, then directly into Cakewalk (obviously, the Dobro and one acoustic guitar track were miked, but steel and electric guitars were not). Everything else is midi. I find the POD to be too sterile in my home studio. I've used it in a 'real' studio and it was ok, but the Digitech 2112 is my favorite recording preamp -- great fx too.
Jeff, you can cut and paste in every way imaginable -- and then a few you might not have thought of. 
The only track limit is the capacity of your machine. Yours is probably good for 128 or more.
Oh, and for ancillary programs, I mix down to SoundForge for editing and finalizing and use AudioCatalyst to compress to mp3.
Good luck.
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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 02 February 2003 at 05:54 AM.] |
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Tommy Detamore
From:
Floresville, Texas
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Posted 2 Feb 2003 6:04 am
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| As far as recording the steel goes, I have tried many things. This would include all sorts of pre-amps, eq's, amplifier direct outs, modeling devices, and numerous high-dollar mikes in front of every amp I could get my hands on. So far the best thing I have found is the Roland GP-100. Bruce Bouton turned me on to it. Is it as good as a great mike, mike preamp, and amplifier? Well, compared to any chain I have been able to put together so far, I would have to say yes. It is very quiet also, and you can't say that about a lot of amps. The ability to store your presets is invaluable. And here is the best thing about it. You can record your steel tracks direct (without the GP-100 processing) and then add it later and tweak to your heart's content. This technique, commonly known as "re-amping", gives you maximum flexibility in dialing in the right tone. And depending on your recording setup you should be able to figure a way to monitor thru the GP while you are cutting the direct tracks, so you don't have to listen to that flat, uninspiring direct tone we all know and love. And Jeff, I play a Zum and I can tell you it works. |
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Sam Minnitti
From:
New Rochelle, NY
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Posted 2 Feb 2003 8:11 am
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Hi Jeff,
The mini-studio setup I went with is DigiDeisgn’s Mbox ($449.00) which also includes Pro Tools LE software. The Mbox unit itself is a small external hardware interface where you connect up your digital (S/PDIF) or analog (XLR/mic or TRS/1/4 inch) inputs and it converts it to digital, which then goes into Protools. The Mbox connects to your computer via USB.
The only disadvantage is that you can only have 2 simultaneous inputs, but that sounds like it might not be a problem for you. Once in ProTools you can have up to 24 simultaneous tracks, so you could record overdubs or import BIAB tracks.
You could plug directly into the Mbox to record, however I prefer mic’ing the amp. I would recommend the Shure SM57, which is the industry standard for mic’ing guitar amps, and a good mic cable. I would also recommend a 1 foot high mic stand for mic’ing your Nashville properly.
You can read more about the Mbox here: http://www.digidesign.com/products/mbox/
Let me know if you have any questions
[This message was edited by Sam Minnitti on 02 February 2003 at 08:18 AM.] |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 2 Feb 2003 9:35 am
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Heres what I have and do ...
SAWPlus 32 ... 32 track digital recorder
Sound Forge ... Digital Editor w/Noise Reduction Plug In and Spectrum Analyzer Plug In (now thats great fun !!!)
Little Mackie 12 mixer ..
Oktava ... large diaphram condensor mic
BIAB ... rhythm tracks broken down into individual instruments ... rendered to .wav files and then mixed in with SAWPlus ...
I run the mic into one channel and run a line out of the amp (135 watt Twin) into the other channel of the Mackie ... keep them SEPERATE .... set the levels equal ... best of both worlds.
Ensonic PCI soundcard ... CDR ...
200 MHz Pentium 1 ... 64 Mb Ram ... 3 GB Hard drive .... Windows 95 ... (never had a problem with this obsolete computer)
Sure is fun for someone like me ....
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My Steel Shoes Site
[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 02 February 2003 at 09:50 AM.] |
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