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Topic: Setting The Control Board While Recording |
Paul King
From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2004 9:32 am |
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| I am curious about how the control board should be set when recording. I recently played on some tunes and the man told me he had it set on neutral. Should the controls on the board be set straight up and down or should they be set to make the steel sound the best while recording? This is new territory to me and we are trying to obtain a fatter sound in the studio which we have not been able to do so far. Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated. |
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John Macy
From:
Rockport TX/Denver CO
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Posted 13 Apr 2004 9:34 am
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I tend to point the knobs in whatever direction makes me smile when I hear it back  . |
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Glenn Austin
From:
Montreal, Canada
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Posted 13 Apr 2004 12:52 pm
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| You might want to try a few mics or a different amp. and get the best possible sound before you do any eq'ing. Something is not right if you have to eq too much when you are tracking. As far as getting a fatter, punchier tone, you might want to try overdubbing your part with your amp really loud too, as Peavey steel amps sound much better when they are playing loud and pushing a good bit of air. |
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Ron Randall
From:
Dallas, Texas, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2004 6:39 pm
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Paul,
I don't know how your sound is getting to the board, or what the final product needs to sound like.
So, in general, going into the board should be neutral, with no effects. When the mixing is done with all the other parts, then the engineer will adjust the treble/bass etc, add compression, add effects like reverb/delay etc.
The engineer needs a nice strong signal from the instrument. If possible send your sound from your amp the way you like to hear it, with no reverb,etc. Mic in front of the speaker.
Hope this has helped.
Ron
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Joe E
From:
Houston Texas
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Posted 13 Apr 2004 6:47 pm
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All the above suggestions are correct. In todays recording studios, your signal may not hit the mixing console until after it hits the tape. Therefor what the console is set up for will not matter. In this case we leave the board with the EQ off or centered. This will give us the best representation of what is going to tape.
A modern signal chain would be Mic to Mic preamp (to maybe a EQ or compressor optional) to tape deck or hard disk. Then out of the hard disk or tape deck to the mixer for playback.
Joe |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 14 Apr 2004 1:35 am
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I agree..make that strongly agree..
The control room recording of what you just laid down is not the representation of what the final product will be..thank god for that..
IF the Eng. did the right thing, and it sounds like he ( or she ) did..they should have a very neutral track with centered EQ and no effects. You should have recorded with a Steel tone that you were for the most part pleased with coming from the amp..this is, was, the starting point.
Whoever is going to do the final mix of the tune/tracks now has an open canvas for tone.
Listening back in the control room after a track is recorded really only serves the purpose of.."Is it right? Did I play it right and did I play it the best I could and does it match the tune" ? " Is this what you were looking for " ?
If the answers are all yes..it's probably time to go home .
Now if the Engineer is going to do the final mix and has no clue about the Steel and asks for your assistance, you know the drill, up on the lows, down on the mids,caution on the hi's..just like your amp settings..
Isn't this fun ?
t[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 14 April 2004 at 02:36 AM.] |
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 14 Apr 2004 2:19 am
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Add to that, ever song calls for a slightly different EQ for each isntrument even if they were all recorded linearly in the same session.
Get your good sound, in the studio monitors, and then the headphones, and be pretty neutral on tape, especially if plugged direct.
Your sound is the starting point for the mixer, but not the likely ending point.
If on the other hand you don't hear your self right in the headphones, then ask for something that makes you feel good while playing. But that isn't neccesarily printed to tape. |
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