Lefty 1999 R4
Posts by db9091
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Say, what was your drum work flow and programs on PC? (mine used to be audio loops in Sony Acid Pro, or FLStudio. The loops were often Drums on Demand)
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SD3 has the huge advantage of a MIDI search engine. You can input or choose a MIDI pattern and it searches like patterns from commercial or your own 3rd party library. Plus it has a Song Creator that can make up element patterns such as Intro, Verse, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Outro.
EZ Drummer has these as well, is cheaper, less options, and sound less good, but is quite a great program. Its definitely for ppl who want to work immediately with "processed" sounds. It's for a more lazy person wanting to get on with the song rather than tweak drums for hours. But you CAN be lazy with SD3, too, with presets.
I've had a bunch, Slate, Logic, etc but prefer SD3.
Btw, I still sometimes use audio loops, but match them BPM-wise to a MIDI track so I can alter the beat in the future if need be. But this tends to be only when I'm looking for an ambiance that MIDI drum machines don't have. Audio almost always sounds more authentic b/c it often is actual drummers.
Logic also has a quickie drummer program, but if you're on Reaper, a standalone drum machine makes more sense.
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Yeah, Mike's profiles sound good everywhere: headphones, computer monitors, FRFR, recorded, you name it.
About the only thing they don't sound good on is country music!
(joke ppl)
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Well, duh, buy a NEW guitar!! haha
But these helps: break from guitar playing to do something else (a sport, a hobby like Ancestry, etc), listen to new music outside your usual comfort zone, new gear (pedals), write new songs, change the strings, alternate tuning, go slide if you normally don't, go finger style if you normally pick, pick if you... etc.
Create a project song where you showcase every guitar you have somewhere in it. One for intro, one for outro, dual harmony on chorus, one for answering on early verses, others for later verses or for building up the song dynamics as it goes. I did that and it really helped me see what guitars I liked for recording and which ones I could put on the chopping block. It also gave me a new respect for some guitars committed sounds vs the ones I preferred to pick off the wall.
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Thanks. Btw, I just bought a pedal named after you..
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Cool! Thanks
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Sounds awesome!
Enjoy the 4 years of support!
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Thank you. Great post!
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Tubes are key. You have to experiment. Or not. Can be expensive, especially with NOS.
But in the end, while you can find some nice sweet spots, the type of speakers make the amp.
You take 1 amp and hook it up to 5 cabinets with 5 different types of speakers (ie greenback, T75, etc) and it sounds like 5 different amps.
So various cabinets is a worthwhile hobby, and not too much more expensive than some NOS tubes. Plus you can use ALL the cabinets, whereas you'll generally reject most of your experimental tubes for 1 or two favorites.
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I got an epiphone les paul and replaced the guts and pots, etc with Gibson Les Paul parts. Sounded like shit.
Got a Mahogany Parker PM20 Pro that was as thick as a Gibson LP and did the same. Sounded like shit.
I figured "I don't like the tone of LPs"
Then one day, a guy with a lefty Gib LP played my amp and I was like OMG. So I got one, it was OMG, got another in a totally different finish (ie sunburst vs cherry red translucent (both Standards) and they sounded exactly the same.
My experience is it's definitely MORE than just the electronics. It's more than just the type of wood. It's the type of wood, the wood shape, the neck pocket, etc, etc. There is a whole package that makes some guitars sound like they do.
On another experiment, I took the same guts and pups of a Duesenberg StarPlayer and put them into a Cedar guitar (locally made) Sounded great, but not the same. But great. So good pickups are key.
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That looks great. How are you liking the Integra, db9091 ? I want to get one at some point, seems like the most powerful rack unit out there at the moment.
Monkey_Man hit it on the head.
Yamaha Motif Rack XS:
* more high pass filtering, so it fits in the mix
* church organs are magnificent (if you're a tocatta & fugue kinda guy)
* has about 1400 instruments, sounds, fx.
Roland Integra-7
* more moderns sounding (better orchestral for clarinets, violins, sax, etc)
* instruments can be layered up to 16 parts
* is better controlled with expressions (more realistic control) for Breath, Wheel or Joystick Mod FX.
* history of Roland synths if you're into this. over 5,000 instruments, sounds, fx.
* plugin control & ipad controller for manipulating patches & synths (if you want to tweak the LFOs by hand and not menu, etc)
I think in the end, the point of hardware units like this are:
* equity over time (in that software eventually goes to zero)
* quick & no fuss production (presets load almost immediately, whereas software can take a minute to load a bank, so even if you replace later, you can get ideas down quickly)
*lasts longer
In the long run, they may even be cheaper because of update costs or rebuying new software to replace old outdated ones.
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I got a 2-tier keyboard stand to put the virtual instruments in front of the piano. Put the iMac on an adjustable arm, so I had to move some rackmount gear (the rack mounts were wearing unstable anyway)
The Kemper is on the other side of the room connected by S/PDIF RCA Send/Receive under the carpet (wish this was an Optical cable!) and to a 1x2 cabinet next to the keyboard.
What's new in 2019 is the keyboard, the top VI (Integra-7) with the white cable on top, the S/PDIF switcher on top, the PreSonus Monitor Station V2 below the Apollo 8, a hidden iConnectivity 4x MIDI switcher behind the iMac. There is supposed to be a WA-EQP but the postoffice "delivered" it somewhere else. Haven't found out where that is yet.
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Already regretting the sale of the XS Rack, Nicky
When I upgrade to the XS from the ES I missed some of the cool FX they had.
And while you can find "better" sounds with software these day, there is something about the XS that fits in the mix right away.
It also holds up in a mix with many of it's instruments. It's a keeper. I wonder if they'll ever create an FS rack?
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The thing about interfaces that needs study before buying are the "mix software" that interfaces between the hardware and your computer.
Some are intuitive ( Audient) some were not easy but have gotten better with newer products (Clarett) The Apollo is "ok". Not a fan of the RME mix software (had a crybaby) Unless they updated it to be more user friendly.
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It's hard to take the OP seriously when they don't list what they don't like or would like to see that would make the RM better for them.
Just saying something "sucks" is bitching without being constructive. So, before wasting a thread, try and do a little homework and list the things that the RM should have vs. what other software has that is liked.
And maybe, instead of just an "it sucks" thread, post those upgrades in the FEATURE REQUEST like a mature adult.
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Apollo 8 Quad
Had Apollo Twin before.
If I didn't have Apollo, I'd probably have a Clarett or Audient. I thought the Audient sounded noticeably better than the Clarett. Great A/D converters in that box!
I have the Apollo 8 more for the I/O, but they lack Midi, so I use iConnectivity for MIDI. Had a 1x Mio, went to 2x, now on 4x. This goes USB to the computer and has been flawless in it's plug-n-play for all things MIDI IN/OUT. Even if you have a MIDI port on your interface, it's a great switcher since you can control it in the DAW Inputs.
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I have the DT770 Pro, it's very nice. Good closed headphone. The best part of this is it's padding. The most comfortable I've ever worn.
You can wear it for hours with zero discomfort! Probably tops in the $150-200 range.
I really like the cheap AKG K240 which I think is the best bang for the buck if you want a travel or throw-around headphone.
It's open, so not the best for tracking. But quite durable and good sounding. Best in the $50-100 range.
I have a Sennheisser HD600 which sounds great (again not best for tracking) but they have a wire going down each ear pad which is annoying AF.
Debatable about how "Best" these are as it gets harder to hear and more subjective as you go up in price. I don't regret buying it, as it is a fantastic headphone.
All good headphones to me b/c they were the keepers. All others I gave away or resold.
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1. When discussing acoustic guitar for recording, the first topic should be room treatment. Where are you recording? If the walls aren't treated, any mic, KM84, U87, will sound like crap (due to the reverberations sound canceling.) So WHERE you record is of the most importance. You want dead space. Say, a walk-in closet if nothing else. Using a U87's Figure-8 in an untreated room is a disaster.
2. When discussing mics for acoustic, it's more important to know what the preamp is. Typically clean ones are best for most people who want a modern sound if not already doing solo acoustic. (i.e. Flamenco) If you got a so-so mic going to a so-so preamp or a colored preamp (i.e. tube preamp or Neve clone) then you got more than mic problems. The pairing (much like Guitar/Amp pairings) is where the sound is at.
3. Placement is key. Experiment. You can move 6 inches in a room and where you put the mic will sound drastically different if the room lacks pro treatment. I have a Taylor 510 and recording too close is my problem as its a very LOUD guitar. This is typically why ppl prefer parlor guitars for recording. You can get in close, get less room, and not overload the sound making it muddy at the mic.
4. You could spend a day just playing with the knobs on your preamp/eq and get different tones.
5. Are your strings new? Some people swear by that. Others swear that older strings are best (i.e. blues/jazz) But the age can affect your playing style as the strings get tighter. So if you were fighting old strings, put on new ones, you might be over-playing them and they don't sound as snappy.
6. DI. So... if you don't have a treated room, a good mic-preamp pairing, then I'd say try DI with the Kemper, but close mic your acoustic to get the fret noise and mix that in for more realism. Trial a few Kemper presets to see what you like, don't like. What sounds bad in person may sound great in a mix. Remember: Thin is best, not a full bodied sound. That makes a mix sound muddy.
7. After that, then just use EQ. High pass filter that to make the ACG sound tinnier than you'd like to hear alone and it will sit in the mix better. But just don't make it an ice pick.
8. Get something like the Maserati Waves ACG plugin. That will help assuage the poorness of the DI recording to some extent in a "dummies" way.
That's all I got, haha. Experiment like hell and don't blow thousands you don't got until you know why you don't like what you are currently hearing!
Best of fun!
