questions about the 840GX

[ehhbuddy]

hey does anyone know answers to these questions...

is it better to mic a guitar cab or use the Hi-Z input for guitars? Ive found that I kindof liked the micd sound better, but dont want to waste the Hi-Z input if it can be utilized better.

Whats the best way to do drums with this machine. Ive got 4 drum mics, and basically 4 inputs, so....where do they go. Snare, bass, and then what??

What about horns....Weve got a trumpet and trombone. What are the best effects to make them sound sweet. Also, do I pan each left and right, or do I put them together in the middle. Im not sure if anyone knows the answer to this one unless youve done horns before. Bands like Catch22 have them both in the middle, but others have them panned. We tried panning them on our last studio project and they sounded real weak. If anyone listens to ska or punk please respond. Also, can we double up the parts, or will that sound too fake. IF anyone has heard the latest Link80 album, their horns sound amazing, and if there is anyway to get close to this on the 840 thatd be sweet.

Please bare with me here, Im an idiot when it comes to this recording stuff.

[Boray]

First, I have to recommend VSPlanet (www.vsplanet.com). A great forum for all VS owners!

In what way do you waste the hi-z input when micking a guitar? That input is connected to input 1... You will probably get a more real guitar sound if you record a real amp, but you will get more control over the sound if you record the guitar dry and then try different internal guitar effects on it.

The drums, I have one dynamic mic in the bassdrum, one one the snare and two condenser mics for overhead...

See you on VSPlanet!?

/Anders

[SteveMcB]

A few people have posted good stuff done with the internal amp sims over at the planet, but I for one have not found a useful sound out of them for guitars (work great for dirtying up drum machine tracks tho). I have used the direct in for bass (didn't particularly like the sound - now go via my mackie mixer plus mix in a little of my Rode NT1 a few feet back from me while playing, but just got a j-station so that may change). I also used it thru the rotary speaker effect as an insert for a really swirly atmospheric high arpegio part once - that was sweet! So it does have some uses, but if it sounds better, it is better, and mic your amp!

I haven't done much drum micing, but the kick, snare and pair of overheads (dynamics on kick and snare, condensors as overheads) is supposed to be a great 4 mic setup if you spend the time on setting up and checking the sound/moving mics around...

I've never done any horn recording, so I can't comment, but if you're doubling trumpet and trombone you will probably want to bounce the horns down to a stereo track anyway, so you can experiment with different bounces in the final mix.

Steve