My Epic Setup Thread

[texture]

Howdy partners,

Continuing from a recent thread about choice of computer, I figure I might as well create a thread about the overall setup as a thread for each piece of equipment could get verbose. I'm certainly a newbie to home rec but let me know if this thread should be somewhere else or be broken up.

For budget, I'd be pretty happy if I can meet all the needs below for $500. If there's a chance I'm going to throw some of the equipment away for better stuff then I don't mind increasing that to $2k. My goal with the home studio project is not to mess around but to be able to create some great sounding stuff that I want to listen to and share. Onto the gear 'n stuff...

Microphones
So anyway, I got the Protools First and UR22 setup with my MacBook and I want to record guitar tracks.

Electric: I have a Marshall DSL40C with a Big Muff in front that I'd like to mic. I'm more interested in distorted sounds and am wondering what some good mic options are. I see the SM57 mentioned but would also be open to something higher end if it serves the recording.

Acoustic guitar: I haven't done any research on this but can imagine mic'ing an acoustic may call for something different.

Vocals: Finally on the mic front I'm sure I'll want to sing on some tracks, so what is recommended for vocals? I know I need a pop filter.

General questions: Are those amp clip mic stands worth anything? Should I rent any of this from the local Guitar Center?

Room
This house has a lot of echo due to wood floors, dry wall and somewhat of an open plan. I'm open to anything short of construction to get good sound. Usually I play in a fairly open space and don't notice a lot of echo of the guitar. I've read about putting the amp on a chair or with the mic under some blankets. Maybe it's best if I post some initial trials? Another option is a 10x14 room. Finally there's a closet I can setup the amp in if I need to crank it. Should I buy any foam thingies at this point or just see what I get from each room?

Monitors/Headphones
This is the trickiest thing for me because aesthetics are important and monitors will definitely claim territory as the music production studio section of the home. I'm inclined to set them up where my amp is in a more open space. They'll be fed by the UR22. I'd like some headphones as well in case I want to mix late at night.

That's all I can think of right now. Looking forward to posting some stuff once I've gotten a chance to record.

-David

 

[mjbphotos]

Can't hardly go wrong with a Shure SM57 for miking a guitar cabinet. Useful for other things too - and you can even use them for miking an acoustic or vocals, just have a mid bump and lack of air with am SM57.
There's a zillion ways to mic an acoustic guitar - there's a whole thread here on techniques. 1 or two SDCs, a single LDC, an LDC and a figure -8 for mid-side.... I use an LDC for acoustic and vocals, comfortable with the sound I get for both.
Spend some of that money on some acoustic panels - either buy or build them, 4" (or thicker) rockwool or compressed fiberglass. You can make a 'V' out of 2'x4' panels in front of the amp to block reflections from getting back to the mic. Put them in front of you to block vocal reflections to getting out into the room and bouncing back. Hang them in corners or on side walls when mixing...

 

[texture]

Can't hardly go wrong with a Shure SM57 for miking a guitar cabinet. Useful for other things too - and you can even use them for miking an acoustic or vocals, just have a mid bump and lack of air with am SM57.
There's a zillion ways to mic an acoustic guitar - there's a whole thread here on techniques. 1 or two SDCs, a single LDC, an LDC and a figure -8 for mid-side.... I use an LDC for acoustic and vocals, comfortable with the sound I get for both.
Spend some of that money on some acoustic panels - either buy or build them, 4" (or thicker) rockwool or compressed fiberglass. You can make a 'V' out of 2'x4' panels in front of the amp to block reflections from getting back to the mic. Put them in front of you to block vocal reflections to getting out into the room and bouncing back. Hang them in corners or on side walls when mixing...

I dig the multiple uses of the panels you mention. No surprises with the SM57 I guess. Might pick one up tonight.

I'm not in love with the tone of this Ovation but will be interested to hear how it comes out recorded.

Edit: Got an SM57 and tried out several positions in front of the amp with a clean and distorted sound. It's interesting that these files sounded different to me in GarageBand vs Audacity (where I trimmed them) vs Soundcloud. Will have to listen from each place again, maybe it's just volume?
Sm57 Clean Strat by texture | Free Listening on SoundCloud
Sm57 Distorted Strat by texture | Free Listening on SoundCloud

 

[mjbphotos]

Not sure what you want as to listening to them. IF they sound different in 2 DAWS, it could be volume, or you've got something happening in one of them (EQ, etc).

 

[keith.rogers]

I dig the multiple uses of the panels you mention. No surprises with the SM57 I guess. Might pick one up tonight.

I'm not in love with the tone of this Ovation but will be interested to hear how it comes out recorded.

Edit: Got an SM57 and tried out several positions in front of the amp with a clean and distorted sound. It's interesting that these files sounded different to me in GarageBand vs Audacity (where I trimmed them) vs Soundcloud. Will have to listen from each place again, maybe it's just volume?....

Not quite sure what you are doing but GB does have a way of inserting stuff into the chain that is not visible if you choose any kind of specific type for an input.

And any difference in volume makes comparisons hard to do because of the way we hear things.

SoundCloud streaming is pretty low quality so it can sound different as well, depending on what quality file you upload. Last I read they do not change or limit the level (loudness), for better or worse, so that can compound things if you are trying to compare there, too. If you want feedback here and use SoundCloud, you might enable downloads for the tracks, and upload a non-compressed file - at least for the "sticklers for detail" that are interested in that sort of thing.

P.S. Unless you are recording a song of solo electric guitar, trying to gauge the sound of a mic'd amp outside of a mix is kind of pointless (IMO). And the sound an SM57 captures an inch or two from the speaker is very little like what you hear in the room. Put in some (good) earplugs and stick your ear where the mic is and listen, if that's how you want to decide where to put the mic!

 

[Steenamaroo]

Acoustic guitar: I haven't done any research on this but can imagine mic'ing an acoustic may call for something different.

Vocals: Finally on the mic front I'm sure I'll want to sing on some tracks, so what is recommended for vocals? I know I need a pop filter.

General questions: Are those amp clip mic stands worth anything? Should I rent any of this from the local Guitar Center?

Hi David,
There's no hard-fast rules but, generally, for acoustic guitar you'll see people using condenser/capacitor microphones.
A pair for stereo recording is nice, but not essential.
Microphone distance is a balance here.
Too close and you might not get a realistic representation of the whole instrument;
Too far and you might pick up too much of the room sound.

For vocals I tend to let the room decide. If it's an untreated echoey room I'd go for a dynamic mic all day long, and sing fairly close to it.
Dynamics don't magically pick up less ambience but they do, generally, let you work very close to them with less threat of plosives/air blast sounds.
Sm57/58 can be totally fine.
Some prefer some of the bigger dynamics...md421/re20/sm7b.
If you're grabbing an sm57 anyway, get a pop filter too and try it out for vocal.

Room
This house has a lot of echo due to wood floors, dry wall and somewhat of an open plan. I'm open to anything short of construction to get good sound. Usually I play in a fairly open space and don't notice a lot of echo of the guitar. I've read about putting the amp on a chair or with the mic under some blankets. Maybe it's best if I post some initial trials? Another option is a 10x14 room. Finally there's a closet I can setup the amp in if I need to crank it. Should I buy any foam thingies at this point or just see what I get from each room?

You'll see a lot of people around here making, or buying, rockwool filled panels.
4'x2'x4" is fairly common. I usually set a pair up behind my singer, so the microphone is pointing at the singer, and the singer is the spine in an open book shape. Does that make sense?

If the room has anything dense like that that you can use to your advantage, that can help; A double door closet full of heavy clothing, or maybe a large filled bookshelf?

If you're using a dynamic for vocal up close then that's going to help a lot but choosing position within the room or using additional absorption can still help a lot.

Howdy partners,
Monitors/Headphones
This is the trickiest thing for me because aesthetics are important and monitors will definitely claim territory as the music production studio section of the home. I'm inclined to set them up where my amp is in a more open space. They'll be fed by the UR22. I'd like some headphones as well in case I want to mix late at night.

That's all I can think of right now. Looking forward to posting some stuff once I've gotten a chance to record.

-David

If it's possible to have your monitors and guitar amp in different rooms that can be really helpful.
As was pointed out, the microphone so close to the amp is ideal for recording but it's not a representation of what you would hear standing in the room
so, for that reason, it's great if you can have the amp off somewhere else, then monitor the recorded sound at your recording setup.
Again, not essential but it can make getting the right tone a lot easier!

Hope some of that is useful.

 

[texture]

Not quite sure what you are doing but GB does have a way of inserting stuff into the chain that is not visible if you choose any kind of specific type for an input.

Just basic stuff to start like playing with compression/eq and trying to structure the first song I'll record.

I noticed copying a track from on GB project to a new one gave it like a tremolo/chorus effect. While exporting and importing to a new project didn't. Guess it's not an issue with a little more organization.