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| senor pooneh |
 Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:31 pm Post subject: Budget recording gems |
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Joined: 05 Oct 2005
Posts: 17
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Just something I thought would be great to share with you home recording guitarists/musicians out there.
If you're strapped for cash, some of these following gear and instruments will give you superb results.
1. Garrison AG200 acoustic guitar
- This offers unbelievable value for money. For RM850 odd, you get a great sounding (of course, this is relative) solid top dreadnought acoustic guitar. The intonation off the rack is very impressive, too. Like "synthdude" has been propogating, get a Yoga EM-9600 condenser mike (for around RM200), point it at the 14th fret in cardioid mode from six inches away and be blown by the results. This setup will put expensive acoustic guitars with fancy preamps to shame. Excellent results!
For details on the Garrison, call Bentley Music 03-2144 3333. For info on the Yoga mike, ask "synthdude".
2. SX range of instruments ... guitars and basses
Well, this is pretty well documented and I'm sure most of your guys have already explored this avenue, but credit where it's due, though. The Teles and Strat are amazing. Yes, to get them to play and sound optimally, you will need to send them for a pro set up, but factor your cost of the guitar and the setup, and you'll be looking at a super sounding and playing instrument for under RM900 ... if not less ... depending on what you want done to your instrument. The P and J basses are also brilliant.
Call Woh Fatt Music House 03-2070 5968
3. Behringer Firebird GX108 amp
I don't know how many people are aware of this little 15-watt beauty of an amp, but NOTHING touches this one at the sub RM1,000 price point. It does Fenderish/Voxish clean tones with amazing authenticity and can turn into a classic rock monster and everything in between just by fiddling with its gain dial. It's range of expression is unheard of for an amp that costs this little ... and that's under RM400. And it can go real loud, too.
Just place a Shure SM57 (under RM400) in front of the speaker grille cloth (dead centre for a sharper sound with more peaks and throughs and off axis for a more rounded, fatter tone - look at the first technique for acquiring more of a lead tone and the second for a ballsy rhythm sound) and you're going to blow all those amp emulating tools outta the water.
If you are looking for a really heavy metal sound, just plug the appropriate stomp box into the amp.
Call AV Electronics 03-9200 3233 for the Behringer amp and Bentley Music for the mike. |
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| omarjamaludin |
| Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:46 pm Post subject: |
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Site Admin
Joined: 18 Feb 2004
Posts: 2615
Location: Tmn Melawati
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| senor pooneh |
| Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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Joined: 05 Oct 2005
Posts: 17
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Glad you liked it Omar. Do make any suggestions or contributions to this thread, man. Let's get this thing going.
I've noticed that it's been a common query and problem for many home recording musicians, but with just these simple tools and gear, it becomes very clear that it doesn't involve rocket science at all.
Just follow some traditional and simple rules, and great guitar tone is there for you to be had. If you want something more radical, bear these traditional ideas in mind and just do what ever you want.
A cool way to beef up your guitar tone is by either placing a large diaphragm condenser mike (like the Behringer B1 or Studio Projects B1 ... both for around RM500, I think) about 2 to 3 feet away from the amp in a central position, or place it 6 inches or less behind the amp (assuming it's an open back design like the Behringer Firebird).
Of course, the placement of this mike is together with the Shure SM57 which you already have up close to the speaker grille cloth.
So, you have two signals captured ... the one up close and the distant one.
Distant miking has been a favourite of Jimmy Page (Led Zep) ... and many, many, many more musicians, surely, and can contribute to kick ass tones.
Blend the two signals you have captured and make a stereo mix of both of them, then place one stereo mix each on the left and right hand sides of your overall mix.
They are really simple tricks, but yield fabulous results.
All the best in your recordings man. |
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| omarjamaludin |
| Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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Site Admin
Joined: 18 Feb 2004
Posts: 2615
Location: Tmn Melawati
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yep..have to wait for budget to get them mics..was thinking of getting b1 or b2 pro mic..right now have to resort to my direct out amp modeling v-amp2 direct reocrding technology saja la i guess he he..
_________________
my photoblog - http://sigemok.blogspot.com |
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| awakenband |
| Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 8:39 am Post subject: |
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Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Posts: 43
Location: Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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| senor pooneh wrote: |
A cool way to beef up your guitar tone is by either placing a large diaphragm condenser mike (like the Behringer B1 or Studio Projects B1 ... both for around RM500, I think) about 2 to 3 feet away from the amp in a central position, or place it 6 inches or less behind the amp (assuming it's an open back design like the Behringer Firebird).
Of course, the placement of this mike is together with the Shure SM57 which you already have up close to the speaker grille cloth.
So, you have two signals captured ... the one up close and the distant one.
Distant miking has been a favourite of Jimmy Page (Led Zep) ... and many, many, many more musicians, surely, and can contribute to kick ass tones.
Blend the two signals you have captured and make a stereo mix of both of them, then place one stereo mix each on the left and right hand sides of your overall mix.
They are really simple tricks, but yield fabulous results.
All the best in your recordings man.
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The big problem with the second distant condensor mic signal is that, it will most probably be out of phase. Most home recordists aren't able to figure out the proper distances between the two mics, or even hear the difference in the first place.
For anyone who wants to try this method, be sure to flip the phase for one of the recorded guitar signals, preferrably the second mic.
"So how do I flip the phase?" It's easy, but it depends on the software you are using. For Sonar users, just click the "phase" button in Track view. It's the button above the "Mute" button in Track view. It looks something like an Ø icon.
Or if you have SoundForge, select all your file, go to Process -> Invert. That should do it.
REMEMBER you don't ALWAYS have to do this! Use your ears! If your mic is placed properly (using the 3:1 rule), you won't have any phase problems.
"What is the 3:1 rule?"
When you are using more than one mic to capture a single source (stereo miking), you have what people call the 3:1 rule which you can use to avoid phase problems. Basically, the 3:1 rule says, that the second mic should ideally be 3 times apart from the first mic, than the first mic is from the source. That means, if the first mic is 10 cm away from your amp, the second mic should be 30 cm away from the first mic.
"What the hell are phase problems anyway!?"
Sometimes, when using two mics to capture one source, you notice that suddenly your guitar sounds weird. Bass disappears, and it just sounds thin. It's gives you a funny feeling to your ears. That's a phase problem. |
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| senor pooneh |
| Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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Joined: 05 Oct 2005
Posts: 17
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Yeah, Nash. It's great that you spoke about those pesky phasing problems and the 3:1 principle. You're dead right, many people do have a problem hearing it, let alone address the issue.
If a mike preamp is being used, than you guys should definitely have your work cut out because your preamp should have a phase invert switch. |
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| denhock |
| Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 10:35 pm Post subject: TEst b4 buy |
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Joined: 30 Mar 2005
Posts: 551
Location: Low Yat Plaza, Kuala Lumpur
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