What is your current recording rig?

[WG Plum]

Macbook Pro
Logic X
Clarett 4

Various mics, pedalboard, Broughton SSDI.

This is a big change from my previous setup. Soundwise it's a big improvement, part of which is upgrading my monitors to ADAM 7s.

Overall I think Logic will prove to be superior to Sonar, but there is a definite learning curve that I've only just begun.

Though it's a lot of work, the sound I got out of this rig (2xSM81 on sax plus direct line from sax amp, direct from synth, miced bass amp) was SO much better than my Tascam P8 plus room mics when I recorded my improv trio's last work out. It will only get better as I figure out the two rooms we use.

 

[dbflats]

For bass guitar-bass, pedal board into Neve RNDI into Apollo Twin interface into Mac/Luna software.

For guitar, pedalboard into amp/mic'd cab into lowz channel on Apollo, into Luna.

I'm just getting my feet wet but there's some nice stuff here.

 

[PineappleOwl]

How are you finding this chain? I'm trying to decide between this, and getting a 1073 clone and doing the compression via plugin.

Still my main chain (I generally compress into the Sushi Box now but I don't think that would make a huge difference). I've tried some other options, but this is still my favorite!

I don't have a comparison to a 1073 clone, but it would be a slightly different beast. 1073 gives you some nice transformer saturation, and the sushi box gives you a little bit of tube saturation, which is a different flavor.

Do you have a specific 1073 clone in mind?

 

[midfieldgeneral]

Thanks. I really appreciate the response. Yeah the saturations are different types. I can't decide which I prefer! Some days I love the tube sound, and then some days that 1073 thing just hits. Maybe instead of investing in one chain, I'll split the money into doing two.

Of the 1073s I was looking at the bae 1073 rack or the heritage ha73eq.

I only ever play at home into an interface or small amps.

Thanks again the for the reply.

 

[PineappleOwl]

Thanks. I really appreciate the response. Yeah the saturations are different types. I can't decide which I prefer! Some days I love the tube sound, and then some days that 1073 thing just hits. Maybe instead of investing in one chain, I'll split the money into doing two.

Of the 1073s I was looking at the bae 1073 rack or the heritage ha73eq.

I only ever play at home into an interface or small amps.

Thanks again the for the reply.

Yeah no problem. Those are some nice 1073's from what I've read.

You'll just have to figure out what exactly you're after. There's quite a big price difference between the RNDI+Sushi Box vs the BAE or Heritage. 1073 is great as it opens up options to record a microphone. The Sushi Box might be nice if you play it into a solid state amp (I can't really comment as I don't ever do this).

The only mic pre-amp I've tried recording my bass with is a Chandler Germanium pre-amp. It sounds nice (and is a different flavor than a 1073), but I vastly prefer the sound of the DI. To my ears (on monitors), the preamp sounds a lot closer to plugging directly into an interface, with a slightly thicker tone coming out. The Sushi Box into RNDI 'sings' more and sounds more 'hi-fi'.

 

[bullshark]

- computer: Custom built tower around a 5950x and a 3060TI
- DAW: Reaper
- interface: Motu M4 (I hate it, do not recommend)
- recording chain up to interface: bass-sansamp-motu
- monitors / cans: Recently acquired Adam T7V(hate them, not recommended), AKG K240S (love 'em), Sony 7506 (love 'em)
- room treatment: None so far.

I have a JHS Colorbox on the way; idea is to use it on vocals but I'll certainly try it on bass and guitar also. Can't wait to get it.

 

[PineappleOwl]

- computer: Custom built tower around a 5950x and a 3060TI
- DAW: Reaper
- interface: Motu M4 (I hate it, do not recommend)
- recording chain up to interface: bass-sansamp-motu
- monitors / cans: Recently acquired Adam T7V(hate them, not recommended), AKG K240S (love 'em), Sony 7506 (love 'em)
- room treatment: None so far.

I have a JHS Colorbox on the way; idea is to use it on vocals but I'll certainly try it on bass and guitar also. Can't wait to get it.

Let us know how well the color box works on vocals please!

It's a path I considered awhile ago, but I like using an RE-20 which requires a lot of gain, and I wasn't sure about the self-noise on the colorbox as it's not really designed to be a full-force mic-preamp.

What mic are you planning on pairing with it?

 

[bullshark]

Let us know how well the color box works on vocals please!

It's a path I considered awhile ago, but I like using an RE-20 which requires a lot of gain, and I wasn't sure about the self-noise on the colorbox as it's not really designed to be a full-force mic-preamp.

What mic are you planning on pairing with it?

My mic collection is very limited, comprise an SM58, SM57, NT-1 and AT4040. My idea is to try it with an SM57 to get a Dire Straits type of vibe, but I will try it with all my mics, which shouldn't take too long anyhow

Oh, as to the noise floor, there is no way it can be worst than my current solution, the pre's in my Motu M4.

 

[tothemax]

Made a few updates to my system and an interesting note from Microsoft.
1) Removed the Insert connections from the mixer to the interface line inputs and added an 8 channel mic splitter (Behringer MS-8000). Really works nice and separates the mixer Pre's from the Tascam UI Pre's.
2) Purchased the UA holiday plugin bundle, which is totally cool. I'm probably set for the next year with plugin's

Microsoft Note: I received a WIN10 EOL notification yesterday. Looks like Oct. 14, 2025 support for Windows 10 ends. My current studio PC is not WIN 11 compatible, and from my experience with WIN11 so far I'm not feeling the love (yet...). I have an Acer laptop that I purchased new last year with Windows 11 Pro, it lasted a few months past the warranty before it started with the BSOD. I'm still trying to get my data off of it before trying a full restore. In my T-shooting research, I'm not the only one that has experienced this behavior. Hopefully by next year WIN11 will have stabilized, it's not like we haven't seen mediocre releases from MS.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Curious to hear what folks are recording with these days. Tell me about your...
- computer
- DAW
- interface
- recording chain up to interface
- monitors / cans
- room treatment

What are your use cases?
What works well for you?
What is the next problem to solve?
What are your desert island bits?

What is the one lesson you'd share about your journey?

Very simple: PB-Steinberg UR-12-Cubasis monitored with headphones or earbuds using the headphone out of the UR-12. No room modifications are needed since there are no open mikes. Any effects that are needed are added by the engineer. Down the road if a guitar part is needed, I have a small Orange 12 and a MIA Strat and for that I’ll need to buy a mic (Shure 57 anything that I’m going to add isn’t going to require hi-fidelity lol!!) and a stand. The natural ring in that room will work fine.

Most songs I use a 90’s MIA Fender PBj 4 string with VVT controls wide open and fresh DR Lo Rider strings. The songs we are covering are deep cuts and written with a 4 string in mind. However, I have a AM Pro Fender JB V strung with the flats that came with it for certain songs that require a certain amount of natural string decay as well as having the extended range. Make no mistake it records really well, but for live performances give me my PBj with rounds any day of the week.

Location is in our downstairs family room, files are emailed from here in Illinois to our mixing mastering board location in Erie PA. Our sound engineer pretty much runs the show on my computer remotely. Pretty cool stuff. I’ve recorded around 30 songs this way since we moved to Illinois almost 4 years ago.

Be prepared, have a good idea of what the finished product is supposed to sound like before starting a project. If you are working with other musicians and doing individual instrumental part tracks, avoid painting anybody into a corner. Learning how to cut and paste and other manipulation techniques will save you countless hours. No, it isn’t cheating. It’s how it’s done today.

Best wishes and have fun. I wish we would have had this technology years ago.