Quote:
Originally Posted by woodman
for $150, you can get into the POD Studio UX-1, something like this will take you a long way in your hobby. ... that's actually a cheap entry fee compared to hobbies like golf, woodworking etc.
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Amen to that brother !
Purpose is everything, the biggest issue with " live mic" recording at home, whether it be in the bedroom, bathroom, small dedicated room off the Kitchen etc., is consistency and "quiet" , you need to plan the event. I do not have a POD unit but do have various electronic things with batteries or wallwarts which I use thru a tube preamp direct. "MIC" recording really requires all the elements to be the same , yesterday, today and tomorrow. Direct recording , although many connoisseurs stress at the thought, is quite practical for the minions of home recording where the purpose is fun , sharing or maybe a demo. Direct is consistent, each and every time. I would argue with many, not all, many, that a very pristine quality tone can be achieved with direct recording, it does take time to dial it in, but once it is there, it is the same all the time and takes miliseconds to set it up.
I don't have the patience to set up cables and mic placement and amps blah blah blah, and I don't have cats that care when I record, they wanna go out when they wanna go out , I have phones that ring and I have a great wife who comes up and asks," Oh are you recording" while I'm recording ! My neighbors Camaro is so loud I have to turn the TV up when he drives by ! Live mic's love all this stuff but unfortunately hearing a toilet flush on the other side of the house while is using the large D condenser mic usually doesn't fit the track !
Fresh strings , a good tone box such as the suggested USB POD , a small tube preamp etc , may not win you an award for the best guitar recordings but it will offer something much better, simplicity, consistency and the ability to record a track without the baby crying in the background !
For me, my direct path is: One of the guitars ( 52RI is primary > Sparkle drive> DanElectro tremelo > Art Preamp > Soundcard input. For Steel Guitar tracks, it is Steel> Art Preamp> Soundcard. I should mention that the ART preamp has a knob with a bunch of EQ settings so you can dial in some added warmth , brightness , whatever.
Ok, now vocals..
put the cats out, put all the phones on hold, tell your neighbors not to drive by, lock your kids in the garage with a sock in there mouth, etc.
Oh and I do have Golf clubs too as Woodman suggests, they are somewhere up in the loft, I saw them once last year.
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