The Steel Guitar Forum

I knew a keyboard player who told an engineer to set the controls straight up. Would that make a difference in recording? I sure am learning through all of this but I want it to sound good and have fun as well.

Hey Paul,

Depends on what the knob is doing. On most consoles with EQ knobs, the 12 (or straight up) is the neutral position. Or flat if you prefer that term. You are not adding or deleting any frequency changes on the channel that you are processing.

In some cases that straight up position could be something else that could lead to dire tone changes.

If you like, I have a small studio in my home and we could work on what settings you would need to get the tone that you like the best. That way the next time you go into the studio you will have an idea of what needs to be done.

I used to engineer in Nashville years ago and I spent many hours with Hal Rugg doing what I suggested in the last paragraph.

Regards,

A preamp like the Revelation tube preamp made by Brad Sarno will virtually end your problems with direct recording. I still prefer a good mic in front of a good amp, but it doesn't work for some engineers. They want "control" of everything. The preamp is a good compromise because it solves the problem of isolating a mic while allowing you to tune the tone you want.

I think I remember Randy Beavers saying he recorded his last project direct with a Revelation Preamp.

Maybe Randy can confirm or deny.

Thanks guys for the advice. I am sure the Revelation Preamp would be a good piece of equiptment. That brings me to Brad Sarno who is a genius and stands behind what he sells. He is an asset to the steel guitar community.

Bryan Daste wrote:...I've found that the best thing to do is just be flexible.

So true. It's very challenging to keep enough ego to kick ass at playing but remain flexible (ego-less) to not worry about what the engineer is doing to short circuit your tone. I went through this recently regarding the engineers mic choice and placement. I decided I was acting out.

Doing your best and then leaving it for the producer and engineer to do with it what they want is the pro thing to do. Difficult but liberating.

Great advice Brian. I have worked with a very nice gentleman on three separate occasions lately. I have lined out of the amp, went direct, and even played with a mic in front of the amp. The first project my steel sounds ok on some and not so good on other songs. It seems like it was struggling to get volume when recording. I have not tried the Revelation Preamp as of yet but maybe on the next project. I want to hear the final mix on these last two recordings.

The Sarno Black Box into a Radial JDI direct box is a great hi-fi combo for direct recording.

I have owned a recording studio for over 30 years and been playing steel for over 40. I have recorded both direct into a studio pre amp, direct through my own steel preamp and through an amp. By far the best sound has always been through an amp. The worst experience I have ever had was on a Patsy Cline remake record that another local studio had me play on. The session was easy because I knew all the material very well, I had played about 50 Always Patsy Cline shows and could play it all in my sleep... I left the studio happy with my playing even though they had me play direct dry with no effects printed. I did have studio reverb in my monitors so that made it feel better. Before I left the studio I equalized the steel track and added a little delay and reverb and asked them to PLEASE use something like those settings in the mix... When I got a copy of the CD it was mixed totally dry with the mids boosted about 6db... Now when I do sessions for other studios I do it at my studio and bounce the tracks with eq and effects the way I want it for the song... I know some engineers won't like that but thats the only way I will do it unless I really know the producer and engineer...

I received two CD's on Sunday that I played on. This is a not a great studio by any means. The one recorded where I went direct sounds horrible and sounds like a novice player. The second project has better sound but the steel is too bright. It has been stated a sound man can make you or break you and I sure believe it.

Paul King wrote:I received two CD's on Sunday that I played on. This is a not a great studio by any means. The one recorded where I went direct sounds horrible and sounds like a novice player. The second project has better sound but the steel is too bright. It has been stated a sound man can make you or break you and I sure believe it.

How about a clip of each ???

Hi Wally,

I really enjoyed your post about the steel being dry in the final mix.

When TSGA was here in March, I attended Paul's seminar and there was a lot of discussion about how the steel should be mixed and should the sound engineer get involved etc.

Sometimes I think it is more the fault of the producer than the engineer making these decisions about mixing. I mentioned to Paul the Timeless album by Martina McBride. Paul is all over that album and his playing is superb as always. However the entire thing album does not have on bit of reverb on it and the entire band sounds like they were glued on top of the track. No blend what so ever. Paul seemed to think that the producer was trying to make the timbre of the album sound like a classic early sixty or late fifties sound. He may have accomplished that, but our ears today are used to hearing something entirely different.

I guess the point that I am making is that we dependent on the engineer and the producers. Some really know what they are doing and some don't sad to say don't have a clue.

Ive been recording tirelessly (and erasing)...for the last 6 weeks...Ive grown accustomed to playing dry, preamp direct to the console...I share all of your views on this subject..Personally Ive been able to tweak my dry tone much more effectively than I can if processed prior to send. I am also seeing a marked improvement in my technique. So in my book, DRY DRY direct is having a positive effect on me...I would advise any, and all of you to try and play BOTH roles...The player, and the producer...Recording software programs are abundant, and all record digital signals with ease...Get your feet wet, then dry 'em off and,.....try on a new pair of shoes...