UstadKhanAli

Originally posted by zeronyne All I know is that for the type of music that I do, a tube amp through a 4X12 miked with a ribbon will NOT get me the sound I need, nor will a Les Paul through a Twin. So what kind of music do you do? Why do you prefer the sound of the LIne6 over micing your guitar for your style of music? Do you prefer the Line6 XT over some of the other simulators out there? Are there kinds of music that you prefer micing over using a simulator, and if so, what kinds of music? I'm not being facetious or trying to goad you into something. I'm genuinely curious.

I'm glad I have a simulator. I can throw down quick sounds and, with the ToneLab, have them sound surprisingly good. But all the best tones I've gotten are through my amp with a mic stuck in front. Still, though, so convenient. You know what does sound really good to my ear is going direct with my bass through my Roland Bass Cube 30. That thing never fails to get compliments, and so far, every bass player that's brought his rig over has been blown away by it and has wanted to just go through the Roland instead. Kinda strange...I'm so used to sticking a mic in front of everything.

Originally posted by Ronan Murphy The Pod will do great for you if you want to have several different sounds that do not sound good. Really the Pod is awful, even the Vox Tone lab has made great improvements so its not awful, its just not any good. saying the Pod can emulate a real amp is like saying you have been to Italy because you went to the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. I use a Vox ToneLab SE for live use. It's great for that. I mean, really surprisingly good. I put it through a Carr Rambler, and I'm quite happy with it. Does it sound like choice boutique effects? Absolutely not. It enables me to be able to fit the recordings somewhat, going from really clean unaffected tones to wah-wah/delay/distortion on the dime, something I couldn't do with my other pedals. I rarely record with the Vox ToneLab because I can get a better tone with my amp and various pedals (if that's what I am using). However, I've recorded direct with the Vox ToneLab once or twice because I had to throw down a sound really fast and didn't have an amp available. Even though I've always favored sticking a mic in front of a great cab, I was surprised at how good it sounded, much better than a POD, in my opinion. And I've recorded the Vox ToneLab through my Carr Rambler once, and was quite impressed with that. I'll always try and go for the best sound I can, which in my opinion is to mic the amp, but if my amp or pedals aren't around, I feel confident that I can still lay down a good tone with the Vox.

Gotcha. I was just guessing as to what was causing the discrepancy of opinion, but "probably" was probably it!

Probably the word "probably"?

I have some vocalists that have very good microphone technique ("workin' the mic"), and they'll do a take in which they're gettin' right up on the mic and then back off on the loud/high notes, sometimes more than ten inches. Ten inches is definitely not too far for a mic. You can get awesome vocal sound from even farther away than ten inches. To blend it, I'll do a number of different things, including performing volume and reverb and delay automation in Pro Tools. Seems to work. I actually will often kick up the delay a little bit in the chorus. If you are having that much trouble with the gain staging, sure, go ahead and record the chorus and the verses separately. But what you might consider doing is still singing through the whole song through with each pass in the hopes that you get more of a sense of continuity, even if you eventually comp the whole thing together.

What I'm trying to get at is if the amp tone sounds good in the room but not in the recording, the problem may be with either your room, signal chain, technique, or some combination of the above. I mention this only because you don't seem to be dissatisfied with the tone of the guitar amp in the room (is this correct?).

Originally posted by gsHarmony I have probably spent several months trying to get sounds that I like out of a POD. I finally gave in and just bought some new amps, and got the sounds I wanted in about 5 minutes. I've got a sweet-sounding tube amp with reverb and tremolo. Basically, the thing sounds great the minute I fire it up no matter what the setting is.

I keep meaning to ask...what amp are you using, why don't you like it, and do you dislike it when you are simply listening to the amp, trying to record it, or both? Why do you suppose the amp is not bringin' the goods?

If you get the POD, try doing some of the emulations through your amp and see if you get closer to what you want, just as a fun experiment. And also, putting a little room in your recordings by micing your amp (even if you are using the POD) is never a bad thing. See what you think. Also, have you considered looking into the Vox ToneLab? I like the emulations, sounds, etc. better than the PODs I've heard so far.

Originally posted by Bossa The Velvet Underground, White Light/White Heat Lou Reed claims the engineer left the control room in disgust after the first couple of minutes of recording and just told the band to press the stop button on the tape machine when they were done. He couldn't stand to listen to the music or operate the faders. You have to wonder whether any amount of "production" could have made this album sound "polished." That wasn't the point of the album. The real question is whether you could ever make an album like that without smack? In light of that, I suppose it's a miracle that it was recorded! It sounds awful technically, but I still really love it.

Originally posted by offramp Off the top of my head, the first thing that comes to mind is Journey's "Captured" album. Good GOD, is that thing ear-bending. I noted that it was really guitar-heavy, the kind where no amount of EQ could get rid of the problem...then I later discovered that Neal Schon's guitar tech basically had oversight of the whole thing. I don't remember that being super guitar-heavy. Interesting. I recall it being really bombastic, as if the whole thing was recorded in a coliseum, but I also thought it was relatively well-balanced and had a lot of synths. Bear in mind that I haven't exactly listened to this recently...

Originally posted by Alanfc My bet is that he's worked his ass off, I'll give him that. I believe now NO to AutoTune. He has *definitely* worked his ass off with the vocal training, that's for sure. The exercises I remember him doing seemed rather difficult.

I saw a documentary on Duran Duran, and it showed him doing an hour of rather difficult-sounding vocal warm-ups before recording, for whatever that's worth - and he was doing them quite well. He apparently does this all the time. He sounded really good doing these difficult exercises (although I suppose it's possible that the film crew had AutoTune! ). I don't know whether he uses AutoTune or not, but if he's doing this much vocal exercises, chances are he's gotten a helluva lot better through the years.

I doubt they tried to ruin their career on purpose, but I can't help but think that you'd have to be a moron not to realize that speaking out against Bush would alienate a lot of your fans. They may not have realized the severity of the backlash, but they would have realized that the statement was inflammatory. But no, I doubt it was a big giant plan. And while these people who were raking them over the coals for expressing their dislike of Bush were certainly exercising their freedom of speech, CD burnings and canceling shows and this kind of thing is rather extreme for an artist simply exercising their freedom of speech.

Originally posted by Lee Flier Mine too! He and Leonardo di Caprio were just jaw dropping in that movie. Great movie!!!

Originally posted by Lee Flier I think it's silly and overblown and contrived personally, but whatever... if any of it made anybody actually think, then great. Let's hope so. But in either case, it is totally overblown and contrived. The first time around, they knew that it would create a backlash. How could you not think so. The second time around, too, where it's in the songs...you know you're going to get a lot of press, both positive and negative. Publicity always helps. None of this would ever be any sort of surprise to a P.R. company. And obviously, the group feels strongly enough about it to speak out against Bush and write about it in song. Great.

Originally posted by John Sayers I love the Dixie Chicks work - their productions are world class as their album sales verify. they have reached the peak of their chosen career and IMHO should be treated with the respect anyone who attains the highest level of their profession. I doubt any of the posters here have achieved as much. I think they are very talented. I've heard some of the last album, and a few other songs from previous stuff, and their harmonies and singing are impeccable. Their music doesn't do it to me, but that's not for a lack of talent, but simply because it's too pop for my tastes. If they want to take criticize Bush at the risk of alienating some people, I say fine. I respect that people are willing to have a spine and sing about stuff that they believe in. People should sing about what they want to sing about and be done with it.

Originally posted by blue2blue Aside from Tom Cruise, I barely know who any of them are. Nor, indeed, care. I have to say, though, that Tom Cruise is a singularly irritating man. Tom Cruise is the new Michael Jackson.

T-Bone Burnett is a genius. And Lee "Scratch" Perry and King Tubby are amazing.

Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe ...that you think, or that others have told you, that the sound of your work most closely approximates. You know, I don't think anyone's ever told me that I remind them of someone else sonically in terms of how I engineer. Hopefully how I do it is "transparent" (in other words, they sound like themselves). And if it's different, the one engineer / producer that you wish your work more closely approximates. There's so many great engineers and producers...hmmmmm..... Daniel Lanois: I not only like his atmospheres and sounds and ideas, but what I think he does is really pull great performances and emotion from the artists that he works with, and that's such a great gift to have. He also makes it easy for the artist to experiment, setting up lots of things ahead of time so if the artist says, "Hey, I wonder what this guitar would sound like through a different amp?", Daniel would say, "Well, I have 4 other amps set up already, so we could go see what it sounds like." And if different still, the one producer and / or engineer that you most highly admire. The reasons for your admiration could be whatever you want - sound, work ethic, financial success, personality... whatever. Daniel Lanois, Steve Albini, Brendan O'Brien, anybody who has anything to do with NIN's sound, Brian Eno, whoever worked on Bad Company's stuff, Andy Johns, Bruce Swedien, Mark Howard, whoever did Innocence Mission "Glow", and probably a whole lot more that I'm leaving out. PS In the off chance that anyone was considering it, thanks anyway, but I do NOT want to show up on anyone's lists - I'm not "famous". I haven't heard enough of your engineering, but what I have heard does sound really great. And I think you rule on a whole lotta different levels. Who cares about being famous. If you're doing great work and bringing artists' emotional statements and visions to life and making them happy, then you're doing a great job as an engineer or producer.

Yeah, and as a bonus, you get a little digital compression. Ah, so good...

Originally posted by Zooey Recording hot to "capture all the bits" is a myth. No, no....slam those levels...if you get an over, you're actually using 25 bits since it's +1.

Originally posted by where02190 I love what I do, that's why I do it, and I have a wonderful, love filled life. Proper input levels are part of the big picture. Where other forum are you going to get advice that not only gives you better recordings, but a more fulfilling life? Proper Input Levels = Love-Filled Life Learn it. Live it. Love it.

Originally posted by The Chinese Ahhh...