Can one record a professional quality recording with the vs1680?

[ajl]

Hello all.
Does the 1680 (with the technique of a great engineer) have the capability of producing a professional sounding recording. If so, does anyone know of an album that has been commercially released that was recorded on the 1680. My recordings on the 1680 sound ok, but when I compare them to other professional recordings, I find that the levels sound low in comparison, even though the peak meters are at their max before distortion.
I even burned the sample song "URB" that came with the 1680, but still, the levels were lower and sounded somewhere between amateur and semi-professional.

[Blue Bear Sound]

Define "professional"...........

Pros can make good recordings on 4-tracks!

Bruce

[MartyMcFly]

Dude...I agree with ya...I really dont think one can get truly professional results on a VS-1680. I should know...I owned one for 2 1/2 years. Now lets forget the fact that I am a great producer...hehehe...but I have had a digi-001 for a month now and I have actually been able to get almost professional results. Maybe its because of the change of scenery that my results are suddenly better...But maybe not...

[wascal]

the demo song on your 1680 is not mastered and thats where some heat can be added.

there are a lot of tricks to making hot recordings on this equipment.

limit and then compress everything before it goes in and you can record MUCH hotter.

theres no logical reason why a 1680 couldnt make a perfectly good recording ready for mastering and eventual distribution as a commercial release.

YOU are the weakest link. goodbye.

[ajl]

Originally posted by wascal
the demo song on your 1680 is not mastered and thats where some heat can be added.

there are a lot of tricks to making hot recordings on this equipment.

limit and then compress everything before it goes in and you can record MUCH hotter.

theres no logical reason why a 1680 couldnt make a perfectly good recording ready for mastering and eventual distribution as a commercial release.

YOU are the weakest link. goodbye.

What kind of compressor/limiter would you recommend?

[Blackburn]

I think I remember reading that the newest Victor Wooten, Yin Yang, was recorded on a vs1680...or maybe it was two of them linked together...Not that I'm a Victor Wooten fan, but, obviously this recording would be considered a pro-quality recording.

[MrZekeMan]

The album of which you speak was nominated for a Grammy. Look at the second question that was asked of Laura Tyson, and her response.

http://www.marsmusic.com/community/c...s_tyson1.jhtml

[wascal]

any ol' limiter and compressor will do!

you dont expect to get all my secrets from me do you?

light limiting allows the compressor to do its job better.

light compression on everything should be inaudible.

hotter signals!

ha ha haaaa

roland employees always like roland stuff the best dont they?

[Phildo]

If someone can't record properly on a 1680, then they're not going to be able to record properly on an SSL G series with 48 tracks of Radar and a rack of Focusrites & Eventides.

...but then I'm biased. I love my 1680. Also listened to the demo song once, deleted it and recorded something better.

[wascal]

laura tyson believes the mic modeling is better than having the real thing!

she cant tell the diff betw a u87 and her cheapie dynamic thru the cosm modeler!

maybe the rest of the audio world is wrong...

[electradise]

Believe me it is not the machine.
I allready recorded demo versions with my 1680 that sounded better than our album versions (neve,ssl).
But maybe that's because somebody else was doing the recordings.
Give me some good mic's-good preamps-compressors & last but not least some good INPUT and your 1680 will sound fuckin' proffesional.
r.t.f.m. is also a +
Amen

[wascal]

fuckin' amen?????????????????

[Blackburn]

Yeah, it's all about the skizillz, yo.

[octoruss]

yo, second that one. It ain't the gear, it's the know how. My favorite example is that Tom Scholz of Boston fame recorded the into to More Than a Feeling with a cheapo $80 mic and a $100 korean 12 string.

[MrZekeMan]

Originally posted by octoruss
yo, second that one. It ain't the gear, it's the know how. My favorite example is that Tom Scholz of Boston fame recorded the into to More Than a Feeling with a cheapo $80 mic and a $100 korean 12 string.

Octoruss,

I'm very interested in where you heard this, and if you have a resource that discusses this.

I haven't ever heard this before. I knew that the entire album was recorded by Tom in his basement studio. Not bad for the best selling debut album in history.

Boston is my favorite group of all time, so any direction you can give me to more information on this will be greatly appreciated.

Taylor

[Dan Merrill]

Jim Koch could probably make a great tasting beer using a beer kit. Barry Bonds could probably hit a home run with a 2x4. Eric Johnson could get good tone out of a no name acoustic... but they don't. My 1680 is great and I can certainly make fine recordings on it, but the big boys will always use the big toys...

If you're gonna record for CD on the VS go the extra mile and have it professionally mastered.

[MrZekeMan]

Originally posted by Dan Merrill
If you're gonna record for CD on the VS go the extra mile and have it professionally mastered.

Professional mastering will always benefit any recording.

[rocky outcrop]

ALL YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER IS SHIT IN SHIT OUT. A GOOD SONG WILL SOUND FINE IF ITS RECORDED ON A TANDY DICTAPHONE OR A BIG FLASH RECORDING TYPE THINGY(HOPE I'M NOT BEING TO TECHNICAL FOR YOU).BUT IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY DONT BUY NEW GEAR GET A BIG PROMOTION CAMPAIN GOING WEAR SOMTHING SEXY IN THE PHOTO SHOOT AND BOBS YOUR UNCLE YOU GOT YOURSELF A HIT SINGLE. iF YOUR STILL WORRIED TAKE A LISTEN TO ANY LIMP BIZCUIT SONG AND ALL YOUR FEARS SHOULD BE GONE

[volltreffer]

High!

IMO, you CAN do decent stuff on the 1680... It'll just take a lot more time (and maybe takes) than you'd need in a better environment. And of course, you have more flexibility... I only own an 880, so the restrictions of the 1680 hit me even harder...

For example channel dynamics are missing on the 1680. If you want to test the overall result of dynamics settings, you will have to do a lot of printing tracks. If something was not the way you wanted it, then you have to redo everything. That takes LOADS of time. In a pro studio, nobody would wanna pay for that.
I'm quite new here, so I don't know too many people, but over at the vsplanet, I heard really nice songs done on 1680s or even 880s.

But it takes a LOT of time (ooh, why am I so lazy ) Some guys over there spent some 100h to do the mix of one song. Afterwards it was really nice. I also did one mix in approx 40h and the result was what I wanted it to sound like. But having only 8 scenes it is annoying, you can't even store all printing settings a.s.o. in a scene to easily redo everything, but you have to write it down ...

OK it's MUCH easier if you have some nice outboard gear, but with that you should even easier be able to get the 'pro' sound everyone is looking for. (A nice mic pre and comp/limiter should be the first thing IMO)


Ciao

Axel

[MartyMcFly]

Nope...

[DarthFaders]

You can hear two tunes that I did with a VS machine...I think they sound professional.

http://www.kevinsharp.com/halfmp3.mp3
http://www.kevinsharp.com/sallybe.mp3

Darth

[MrZekeMan]

Originally posted by MartyMcFly
Nope...

Thanks for the input, we'll just go ahead and take your word for it.

[jeap]

yeah man

just cause you made sucky recordings with it doesnt mean its no good!

hell i made very nice recordings with the original vs880.

what i learned tho is that i need to work on my musicianship skills!

it doesnt matter if the sound quality is great if your timing sucks and you play like a chimp.

[MrZekeMan]

Originally posted by jeap
just cause you made sucky recordings with it doesnt mean its no good!...

...it doesnt matter if the sound quality is great if your timing sucks and you play like a chimp.

Yep, what he said.

[MrZekeMan]

Along with several very valid and insightful comments, the German newbie wrote:

Originally posted by volltreffer
In a pro studio, nobody would wanna pay for that...

This is probably a valid point but it doesn't address the subject of the thread. It wasn't, "Is the 1680 useful as a recording device for a pro studio?" It was, "Can one record a professional quality recording with the vs1680?" The answer is yes.

...But it takes a LOT of time (ooh, why am I so lazy ) Some guys over there spent some 100h to do the mix of one song. Afterwards it was really nice. I also did one mix in approx 40h and the result was what I wanted it to sound like. But having only 8 scenes it is annoying, you can't even store all printing settings a.s.o. in a scene to easily redo everything, but you have to write it down ...

This is probably more attributed to lack of experience than the limitations of the machine. An experienced engineer gets what he wants going to tape, and he gets the mix he's looking for a lot easier than us wankers.

OK it's MUCH easier if you have some nice outboard gear, but with that you should even easier be able to get the 'pro' sound everyone is looking for. (A nice mic pre and comp/limiter should be the first thing IMO)

I agree with this, I can't imagine that the Grammy nominated album wasn't recorded without some good pre's and comps, not to mention some nice mics. That being said, the talent of the one using the machine definitely entered into the picture.