Guitar Cabinet, Control Room Solutions

  • Thread starter Thread starter baker_
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OK...I guess subtle, roundabout humor doesn't click well here... :D

I'm not being a smartass...I was indirectly making the point that telling me about the proper way to do it in a pro studio while at the same time admitting that you do it exactly the same way I do it...
...doesn't really solve or say anything to the matter at hand.
My approach is to focus on working the problem within the environment I have.

Personally…I don’t find the track/playback process as tedious and time consuming as you describe it. Honestly, tracking for me is the most enjoyable part of the entire recording process…and the small pauses between takes are the best part. It’s time to reflect on what the hell I’m doing! :)
While everyone has their studio SOPs and processes…I honestly don’t make a very big production out of setting up for any one type of tracking.
I guess you could say I’ve always used more of the classic “British” approach to recording which is much less analytical and instead focuses more on the “big picture” from the git-go.
IOW…I’m more of an “as-it-falls” engineering guy. If the guitar had a touch more bass in the tone or if the snare drum was a bit bright…I don’t always re-track, I just go with it and know that it will still work in the end.
Bottom line...if it sounds good overall...I don't sweat the small stuff too much.
 
As a guitarist myself, I'd just like to say that I like being in the control room
while recording. I like to hear how it's dealing with the mix. It can sound huge
in the live room and tiny in the mix or vica versa.

Also, I hate wearing headphones while recording and don't like being left alone
in big scary rooms :(

:D

Seriously though, might sound like the opposite you'd expect, but I feel more on
the spot when I'm in the live room, being on my own having to deal with
talkback mics etc. When I'm in the control room with the engineer and some
band mates I'm alot more comfortable.

So, while there's been a lot of interesting points made. I think the OP should
go ahead with it, but leave the option to the guitarist of where they'd like
to be. More options for comfort is what it's all about really.

My 2 cents :)
 
Yeah...I've gotten into a good number of forum confrontations in the past because of the lousy way text expresses feelings.
Unless you write a friggin' novel of a response...often the shorter answers don't convey the subtle stuff.
Without facial expressions and body language...a lot is lost in translation on forums...which is why I think we sometimes end up going back-n-forth for several posts until we hash it out! :D
 
philbagg said:
As a guitarist myself, I'd just like to say that I like being in the control room
while recording. I like to hear how it's dealing with the mix. It can sound huge
in the live room and tiny in the mix or vica versa.
Click to expand...

Yeah...that's true, but sometimes it can also backfire on the engineer, because during the tracking process, the cue mix that everyone is hearing may still have some rough edges and/or lots of parts that have yet to be decided upon...
...so, for the studio newcomer, they might hear a cue mix and think it sounds like shit, when in fact, the engineer is listening to it a totally different way and he knows the tracking is heading in the right direction.
Heck...during the first few tracks, there's not much stuff there yet…it can sound very raw/empty to the untrained ears!
Even when I'm doing my own stuff...I have to sometime remind myself that things are still in the early stage of tracking, and even though it sounds rather “empty/bare/rough”…just "play through it"...it will be fine later on. :)

I think when a band/artist comes in for the first time to record with you…you may need to work a little harder to gain their trust. But once you break that ice…I don’t see that they all need to be huddled in the control room next to the engineer for every take in order to trust what he is doing! ;)
 
miroslav said:
I’m more of an “as-it-falls” engineering guy. If the guitar had a touch more bass in the tone or if the snare drum was a bit bright…I don’t always re-track, I just go with it and know that it will still work in the end.
Click to expand...

BTW, while mixing a demo I'm working on last night, I thought I should toss this out there - I ALWAYS roll low end off on my lead tones. This is partly due to mic choice - I love the way a Nady RSM-4 sounds on my Mesa Roadster in channel 3, but it is awfulyl bass heavy, and while it sounds gorgeous in isolation, clearing up the low end helps it cut through the mix a little bit. Just in case I made it a little unclear, I think some EQing is unavoidable; I just try to get everything "more or less" right while tracking, and just adjust from there.
 
If you end up using long, long speaker cables:

Years ago I tried to buy speaker wires from an old timer who had retired from decades of Vegas work doing sound for top acts like Sinatra and the like and started a music store here.

He said he couldn't "do it to me" and said just go to Ace Hardware and buy lamp cable and make my own.

I've been doing that for several decades - I make all my own cables and speaker cables from the hardware store are dirt cheap and if you look at the wire it's copper and that's all you need.

I'm of the mind that there has been gigantic con jobs in the last few decades as far as cables, Monster cables, bright colored cables... I can usually make a cable for around 1/4 of what the con artists will sell you one for.
 
dintymoore said:
If you end up using long, long speaker cables:

Years ago I tried to buy speaker wires from an old timer who had retired from decades of Vegas work doing sound for top acts like Sinatra and the like and started a music store here.

He said he couldn't "do it to me" and said just go to Ace Hardware and buy lamp cable and make my own.

I've been doing that for several decades - I make all my own cables and speaker cables from the hardware store are dirt cheap and if you look at the wire it's copper and that's all you need.

I'm of the mind that there has been gigantic con jobs in the last few decades as far as cables, Monster cables, bright colored cables... I can usually make a cable for around 1/4 of what the con artists will sell you one for.
Click to expand...

I'm going to do my research on this. If anyone else has anything to add to this information, it would be great to hear! I am a little apprehensive to try this because I am fearful of blowing a transformer in the amp head.
 
baker_ said:
I'm going to do my research on this. If anyone else has anything to add to this information, it would be great to hear! I am a little apprehensive to try this because I am fearful of blowing a transformer in the amp head.
Click to expand...
Make your own cables as described above. Buy good solid connectors and hook up the length you need. Don't waste money on Monstor or other snake oil brands. Apart from what Drew has already said about their aggressive marketing style and over promises, the physics doesn't stack up either. Make your own I promise you wont hear any difference and you'll have a whole stack of money left for beer.;)
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
Just in case I made it a little unclear, I think some EQing is unavoidable; I just try to get everything "more or less" right while tracking, and just adjust from there.
Click to expand...

Oh...I didn't mean to imply that I never EQ or try to adjust things when I'm setting up for tracking...I just meant that if I have it "in the ballpark"...I'm not going to spend another hour or 10 more takes trying to fine tune it at that point...
...because there's still the editing to come...the mixing...the mastering.

Bottom line...if it sound pretty good in the room, I know I'll be "in the ballpark".



baker_ said:
I'm going to do my research on this. If anyone else has anything to add to this information, it would be great to hear! I am a little apprehensive to try this because I am fearful of blowing a transformer in the amp head.
Click to expand...

No need to research...speaker wire and lamp wire are pretty much the same thing.
The main difference may be in the jacket quality and also in the gauges available.

That's why I said earlier just go to Home Depot and buy it by the roll, or even by the foot...and then make your own. I just prefer 10 gauge for longer runs, but for short pieces, I've used decent grade lamp cord.
One thing with lamp cord...they sometimes can make one lead out of pure copper wire braid (Hot) and the other out of aluminum wire (Neutral), because that's how your typical home wiring is done...so I'm not sure if the difference between copper and aluminum has any negligible effect on the audio signal...?

Sometimes they are both copper, but one has aluminum coating to help the electrician differentiate the Hot and Neutral.

Good speaker wire will use pure copper braid for both leads...
 
I would definetely avoid those wires where one wire is aluminum.

There's nothing to fear about making your own speaker wires.

Usually one of the wires in lamp cable has a stripe, is ribbed or had a long ridge on it and the other one is smooth. The smooth one is usually used for the negative and the ribbed one of the wires for the positive at both the amp and speaker. On a 1/4 plug the + is the tip. Sometimes it's sold cheaper in 50' lengths for outdoor light wiring.

I had a set of JBL's (4828B's) that were wired opposite, but that's the exception not the rule.

You can test with a 9V battery to check the polarity of speakers to be sure. Attach the 9V to the speaker with alligator clips and if the speaker goes out, then the side the + of the 9V is attached to is the positive.

Hook that side to the + of the amp and use the ribbed wire to denote it, at least that's what I've seen.

I made Speakon cables for an El Cheapo Behringer pa dirt cheap, like $10 ea instead of $40, and I needed 3.
 
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