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1966- I think it was a GE mono 3 inch reel to reel, one of those little battery powered things that sounded worse than a pocket transister radio, but at the time I thought it was cool. By the summer of 1967 I'd moved up to the "big time" and was recording on a friends stereo Sony 7" reel to...

I used to think a Soundblaster was ok too, then I learned the truth... it's a gamer card, not a recording interface. Sure it will work but the quality is so lacking compared to a real audio interface will amaze you, it sure made a difference for me. When I first wanted to get into digital...

I've used both 4 track tape and computers for recording. From my experience I've managed to get fairly decent recordings on either, and by combining the two mediums. I still use 4 track cassette, mostly for a sketch pad now as it is easy to use and far more portable than moving a computer...

The only wireless system for guitar that I trust is what is known as acoustic guitars. If your friend doesn't want interferance or noise yet doesn't want a wire conecting his guitar to anything, the only way to go is acoustic, especialy if he is thinking on using it in the studio. Richard...

I'm surprized, or just showing my age, but am I the only one who remembers Tom Dowd? If it had not been for him we might all still be recording on two track basic stereo gear. Tom Dowd brought multitracking from it's idea stage into the recording world that we have come to take for granted...

The Shure 57 and 58 are both good mics and either will work for vocals or instruments. I preferr using the 57 for micing amps and the 58 for vocals. One thing I've learned when working with screamers is... keep them from "eating the mic," getting too cloce will garble what could have been a...

That's pretty much what I've been trying to tell these guys, thanks for confirming what I thought. Hopefully someone will read this before trying it, wireless mics have their use and place, but it's not in the studio.

"Good old Fender Twin," I love mine. It's my go to amp most of the time. I have to admitt it is damn heavy for it's size and gets louder than I need most of the time. Lately though I have been using a Fender Pro 180 for gigging, it's very similar, but solid state and about half the weight as...

Ask for "cargo latches" most salespeople don't have a clue as to what a case latch is.

Any good hardware store (even Lowe's or Home Depot) is likely to carry replacement "cargo latches." You probably wont find an exact match so if apperance is important you'll have to replace them all, locking latches may be hard to find but the latches are common and fairly easy to install...

You mentioned you are using Audacity. This is a little trick I found (I was having a very similar problem) for getting around it. You need to use powered monitors. If you use powered monitors you can lower the playback volume in Audacity, for some reason unknown to me this has a hugh affect...

I use Martin Silk and Steel strings on my acoustics. They seem to have a little more "give" and stretchability than regular acoustic strings. I play mostly electric and have simply come to terms with the fact that acoustic guitars are just a little harder to play than electric. More practice...

This isn't exactly a product but for removing dust from places like under the strings on the headstock and around the pups and bridge/tailpiece, a soft brush like the ones used to clean computer keyboards works great.

Recently I was doing an experimental project (with my son's band) and the singer (if I dare call him a singer) insisted on useing his wireless mic. Since this was an experiment I agreed to give it a try. Initally we put the mic on a stand and it seemed to work OK. Then the singer decided he...

A fast way to find out if it's the head or the speaker is to record a track or two DI. If the DI track still is garbled on the lows then it is likely the head. If the DI track is clear then its probably the speaker (possibly the cab). Are you sitting the amp (speaker) on the floor or raising...

Why can't we all admitt it, we've all heard shredders who impressed us and we've all heard feel players who have impressed us as well. On the flip side we've heard plenty of "wanna-bes" who couldn't impress their grandmothers. For me it depends a lot on the mood I'm in at the moment, if I'm...

It could be your mic or the mic placement. Also the amp volume, too loud will cause some mics to distort, especially on the lows. If you are cloce micing, try backing the mic away from the amp. Also the angle of the mic in relation to the amp will have an affect on what the mic "hears." You...

Knowing a little about your singing voice would help, is your voice sweet and mellow, rough and scratchy, bright and crisp, screaming vocals, or whatever? Some mics work better than others for certain applications and vocal styles.

Rubbing alcohol is Isopropyl alcohol, usualy a 70% solution. It may also contain Glycerin and mint (the green stuff usualy has wintergreen) so check the label to be sure its plain Isopropyl. Drying the heads is a good idea and surely wont hurt anything. Do clean the heads frequently, it's...

Rubbing alcohol and Q-tips always worked for me. Just dip the tip and rub the heads lightly until the gunk is gone. If the heads are really dirty you may need to repeat the process a couple of times. Be sure the heads are dry before using the deck again. You can buy head cleaning "tapes" but...