You'd be unearthing the entrance to a brand new rabbit hole.
you might even find a can o'worms at the bottom
Is outboard gear worth it in a home studio?
- Thread starter swervinbob
- Start date
you might even find a can o'worms at the bottom
It's important to have hardware if you want to use it while tracking. I have a compressor I run on bass, guitar, and sometimes vocals while tracking. I use it lightly on vocal and guitar but pretty heavily on bass. I have Leslie emulator I run stuff thru sometimes. I have a Lexicon reverb unit because to me ITB reverbs still don't sound as good as hardware for really lush verbs. I have a console that I record everything thru but which is critical when I record drums.
That said, I'm think the next album will be more OTB, so I'm also thinking about getting a couple/few 1176 clones.
That said, I'm think the next album will be more OTB, so I'm also thinking about getting a couple/few 1176 clones.
boxocrap
Tele-Afflicted
or..a pot 'o gold?You'd be unearthing the entrance to a brand new rabbit hole.
you might even find a can o'worms at the bottom
Peegoo
Doctor of Teleocity
I used a patch bay.
The mic pre I use is contained in the POD HD. It has an XLR input jack and many mic patches for vocals and instruments, as well as bass patches. It's the ideal piece of gear for me.
I do love my POD as well.
That said, IMO preamps are by far the most overrated piece of gear that people obsess over. The amount of money folks will spend on a piece of gear that has an absolutely tiny affect on the sound is staggering.
Peegoo
Doctor of Teleocity
The only drawback of the POD HD is there's no provision for phantom power for mics that require it. So I stick an in-line phantom power module between the mic that needs it and the POD. It works great.
Space Pickle
Tele-Meister
yes
i recommend stockpiling as much gear as possible
i recommend stockpiling as much gear as possible
loudboy
Tele-Holic
If you search around, there are amazing freeware VSTs, that rival almost anything commercial.
I have some nice pres, a Purple MC77 (for tracking vocals and bass) and good A/D and D/A converters. They do make a difference, especially as your track count adds up.
But, not as much as mics. That's where the rubber meets the road, and where the $ should go.
You think preamps are overrated... so wow.... your amp doesn't have one? a mic pre with good analog compression is a necessity IMO, all those crappy pres in the usb interfaces and I never realized that until I got a good analog mic pre.
I think so. But i have a lot of outboard gear left over from pre-DAW days that still sounds great and I don't wanna douche it.
ahiddentableau
Tele-Holic
As far as sound quality is concerned I think the answer is no. You can do everything with digital now and it sounds good. However, if having and using the gear gets you more excited about recording and that means you do it more and enjoy it more? Then it's worth it. For you. Which is all that matters here.
One other thought: using outboard makes me think more about the end result when tracking. It somehow makes me more thoughtful about the process of recording. I have to think about the end result ahead of time and so I'm less likely to shoot from the hip and then react. That has value, too. Provided you can use it well, because heaven help you if you screw a track up on the way in!
One other thought: using outboard makes me think more about the end result when tracking. It somehow makes me more thoughtful about the process of recording. I have to think about the end result ahead of time and so I'm less likely to shoot from the hip and then react. That has value, too. Provided you can use it well, because heaven help you if you screw a track up on the way in!
Another alternative is to record everything dry when tracking and add effects (either outboard or plugin) when mixing down. That way if something doesn't come out right during mixdown, you still have your dry uneffected tracks and can redo things. If you're using outboard instead of plugins during mixdown though, you'll probly need a physical mixing board. Either way is cool. It's quite doable with a patchbay.
Outboard gear doesn't take CPU cycles, but if you record with outboard gear then that sound stays, it's recorded.
My DAW records the guitar prior to digital effects applied, so I can scroll through presets and find a tone I like if I don't like the first sound.
just another 2 bits
My DAW records the guitar prior to digital effects applied, so I can scroll through presets and find a tone I like if I don't like the first sound.
just another 2 bits
bottlenecker
Poster Extraordinaire
Whether I use outboard reverb or a plugin, I like to make a wet track for each track I use reverb on, that's 80-90% wet, then I use the volume of that track to set reverb level. If it's not an ambient effect, then I just make an effected track and keep the original muted. Any effects applied are saved, and also removable and adjustable if remixing. I'm afraid to admit this because it seems crude to me, and probably missing some shortcut, but I like how my tracks and effects are organized this way.
Skully
Doctor of Teleocity
Another great thing about recording guitar with a software amp sim is the ability to edit the unprocessed sound wave. It's much easier than cutting a wet track, especially if delay is involved. I rarely re-amp, but I'm always editing soundwaves.
As far as outboard gear for home recordists goes... Frankly, I think it's a waste of time. Instead of obsessing about the recording, you end up obsessing about the gear.
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Koo. I learned "old school" where effects were not removable from tracks, and recorded dry and added effects later. Nowadays with so many available tracks, it would be easy to record both a wet and dry track side by side and have options for later. I guess we all get comfortable with working a certain way that is quickest and smoothest based on past experience.
Cornelius TX
Tele-Meister
Many folks will say that doing some basic room treatment is one of the first/most important things you can do for a home studio.
I did that (very basic), sold all of my outboard gear, and have an SM7 as my nicest mic, and haven't looked back.
I did that (very basic), sold all of my outboard gear, and have an SM7 as my nicest mic, and haven't looked back.
beyer160
Poster Extraordinaire
I just wrote a novel and erased all of it- the simple truth is, it all depends on your workflow and needs. I grew up working Old Skool and tend to print tracks with some level of EQ and compression. I've done it enough that I can do it without worrying about screwing it up, if that's an issue then I understand printing dry and doing that work later.
Some stuff I like to compress and EQ on the way in, other stuff I don't. If you like to do this too, I can't imaging NOT getting use out of a solid analog signal chain. I don't use hardware during the mix stage, but there are advantages of having an analog signal chain up front- not the least of which is the fact that it's just plain cool stuff.
As to mic preamps, I've shot some out before and have absolutely heard a difference- sometimes a big one. But, if you gave me a choice between making a record with a rack of 1073s and a box of SM57s or a Focusrite Scarlett and some high dollar mics, I'd put the money in mics. If you record electric guitar and don't have a nice ribbon mic, I'd start there.
And plugin emulators are fun, but they don't do what the real things do.
Some stuff I like to compress and EQ on the way in, other stuff I don't. If you like to do this too, I can't imaging NOT getting use out of a solid analog signal chain. I don't use hardware during the mix stage, but there are advantages of having an analog signal chain up front- not the least of which is the fact that it's just plain cool stuff.
As to mic preamps, I've shot some out before and have absolutely heard a difference- sometimes a big one. But, if you gave me a choice between making a record with a rack of 1073s and a box of SM57s or a Focusrite Scarlett and some high dollar mics, I'd put the money in mics. If you record electric guitar and don't have a nice ribbon mic, I'd start there.
And plugin emulators are fun, but they don't do what the real things do.
knockeduptele
Tele-Holic
bottlenecker
Poster Extraordinaire
That's how I learned. Effects were applied real time during mixdown, which was it's own captured moment in time. Which is kind of cool, but I'm just not willing to do that when I have unlimited tracks.
