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There's a huge variety of small amplifiers made in the 60s that are inexpensive, unique and just the right size for recording as well. Supro/Valco/Gretsch etc. is highly regarded and priced, but Selmer and Gregory are not. Dutiful research and trusting your ears can result in some incredibly...

This sounds like the band my skills have been waiting for...do ya think it could have a theramin in it as well?

You may have the machine calibrated incorrectly for the type of tape you are using. Try using different types of tape first to see if this is the problem, or get ahold of a calibration tape if possible and check with an oscilloscope. There is much information about this process here, available...

I have had some success by using a boom stand and placing the mic high enough so that the singer must look upward to sing into it. This has a few benefits: The singer will not be able to crowd the mic, so you don't have to use a pop screen By looking upward, the singer opens their throat, thus...

Charging for your time and equipment motivates lackluster performers very nicely. "How much are you paying to croon listlessly?" Also helps to play back their work and ask them how they would improve it.

Common problem with tape echoes. Sometimes the tracking is inaccurate, the tape loop moving slightly too far up or down on the head for the entire recording to be erased. I have found that cleaning the tape path thoroughly, using 91% alcohol on metal parts and fantastik on the rubber, helps...

The first problem you are having sounds like mic control. You want to learn to keep the mic further away for louder passages, and closer for quieter ones. A compressor set to about 2.5/1 ratio, with a quick attack and medium decay will help, but practice is the only real method of dealing with...

Is that Heather Moon? Sound like her...and you are in TX.

Generally you will want to use 12AX7/ECC83/7025 tubes in your pre-amp section, rather that 12AT7 or other lower gain tubes. You are very limited in power tubes unless you go for NOS, as most today are made by the same manufacturer and just branded differently. Without testing gear, you are at...

If you have the ability to reamp, it's a great way to find a sweet spot at your leisure. Loop a riff, feed it into the amp, and put your headphones on, then fiddle about with mic position and settings to your heart's content. You will be surprised at how much difference even 1/4" makes, far more...

This is excellent advice. Gatorade has potassium salts in it, which will extend your muscle's fatigue limit and prevent cramps. A bannana about an hour before your gig will also provide much needed nutrients. It is wise to be extremely careful about repetitive stress problems. They don't go...

Analog does not have to be terribly expensive. Just as in digital recording, the higher quality stuff is pricey, but a fine 1/4 track reel machine can be found for under a c-note if you are willing to take a chance on ebay or craigslist. Tape is easily gotten via RMGI, and cost can be controlled...

I just wish there was some way to get the reliability and clarity of one with the unique features of the other...without expensive swedish mods.

I've done quite a bit of tracking on non-backcoated stock, and can tell you that it works very well indeed. Don't be scared of print through, this is more likely if you are recording at very high levels, which is not how to use this tape. My understanding is that it does not suffer from sticky...

Fascinating museum of pre-tube mechanical amplification... http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/trumechamp/trumechamp.htm

Kensington, I believe the quote is, "For I contain multitudes.." Which also goes for my ex-wife. On subject, it would depend upon what is being recorded for me. Morning is good for low end, evenings are good for vocal arpeggios, and no time is good for operatic solos, at least with my voice or...

If you wind the strings incorrectly at the tuner, this too can be a culprit.

Country has always been where the insanely good guitar players come from. Rhubarb Red was an early Les Paul pseudonym, Chet Atkins, Roy Clark, Jerry Reed, and about a million studio cats in Nashville could burn with the best of all time. Unfortunately, the mediocrity endemic in all forms of...

Well, they did do it once, and it worked. Never trust a corporation...

I never use attenuators, they seem dangerous to me, somehow. For very loud amps, the best bet is to enclose them. Should you have problems with the enclosure leaking sound, try visquine (sheet plastic, sold in hardware stores) to make it airtight, then put moving blankets over the visquine, then...