Home Recording Setups?

[jschall84]

Interesting thread. Ill share my gear list and my experience for getting great results. For mics, I have a AT3035, AT2020, Peavey PVM480, AKG CK91, and a CK92. I have a Steinberg MI4 interface for on the go, and a Lexicon Omega for home (soon to be replaced by an Akai EIE pro). I use Cubase 4. I also use Waves plugins, which are amazing.

Now, my experience for the bast tone. USE THE ROOM. Every room has different sounds in different areas. Play your instrument while slowly walking around. You will find that a certain spot, turned a certain way will sound awesome. My home studio has deep stucco walls, which makes for a nice lively sound without creating too many echos or phase problems. I also have movable panels and thick blankets when needed. The room is also funky shaped. It has a weird corner and a weird angled door, all of which help the liveliness of the room. I found that I can get a super warm tone by using the room, even with a cheap mic, like the AT2020. It's all about experimenting!

[Jim Nollman]

Step away from the desk and drop the Mic.

The choice need not be so severe, although I do agree it's certainly not akin to walking and chewing gum at the same time.

I think we all agree that the initial learning curve is significant. However, there are signs to heed, to tell you that, finally, you do play well enough to make it totally worthwhile to record yourself as well as you play. One clear sign on this path, is recognizing the futility of trying to stay abreast of all the latest gear. A lightbulb goes off to assure you that some snazzy piece of highly touted gear on the horizon is not what you need to improve your recording capability. It's the same itch as continually looking for another and then another mandolin to help "improve" your playing.

It's helpful to find someone who's already mastered home recording, and who can suggest a few other unexpected pieces you ought to consider buying, to turn out good recordings. If you are a budding player/recordist, it helps a lot if your advisor is also a player/recordist

As an aside, one thing I like about the Cafe, is that you get to explore the whole Gestalt: the building of instruments, the history of the instrument, all the different genres, different styles of performing, interviews with top players, the many goals of musicianship, and the capability to record yourself well enough to be happy with the result. In fact, this site is full of successful player/recordists, who have made admirable recordings, some of which are among the most interesting stuff happening on mandolin right now. You won't find this stuff very easily outside the Cafe.