Just Getting Into Home Recording

[Rampant Colt]

As the title suggests, I am just getting into home recording. It’s been quite the journey reading, watching, etc. over the past few months. I’ve recorded many times in pro studios so I know some of the things to be aware of.

All that I’ll be recording is solo acoustic guitar(s) fingerstyle, flatpicked, crosspicked, strummed, etc. I currently have four solo acoustic makers and four dealers that have asked me to record minute and a half clips of recognizable cover songs so they can post them on their website (per the same model). That’s the easy part….so far. I have to monetize this, that goes without saying.

Over the past ten days (and after much research) I have purchased the following:

1. Neve 88M as my USB interface
2. Neve 88C Compressor/Limiter
3. Telefunken TF17 (self noise 3dBA weighted)
4. Ear Trumpet Delphina (self noise <8dBA weighted)
5. HEDD D1 cans
6. All Mogami cabling

Six months ago my 1958 Conn strobe tuner died. I replaced it with a Peterson Auto Strobe 490. Tuning won’t be an issue.

Laptop is a 2026 MacBook Air. I’ll be running Pro Tools 10 simply because I own it. Of course I’ll experiment with mic placement, rooms to record in (I do have a large walk in closet that I’m thinking about). There will be trial and error without a doubt. It may be that some are recorded in mono, while others will be in stereo.

Looking for advice, suggestions, or whatever you may have to offer. I think the gear is MORE than sufficient, but if I’m going to go down this road I want a quality product to send to these luthiers. They hand built these guitars so I feel a clean, uncolored clip is warranted. The dealers deserve the same.

And, I personally believe a good performance is 90% of the battle, along with a good sounding room (treated).

If I’ve erred and placed this in the wrong sub-forum, please forgive me and by all means, move it where it belongs.

 

[Slouching Raymond]

As the title suggests, I am just getting into home recording. It’s been quite the journey reading, watching, etc. over the past few months. I’ve recorded many times in pro studios so I know some of the things to be aware of.

Looks like a good start there, Scott.
The Neve interface gives you inserts. Many interfaces don't.

 

[Rampant Colt]

Looks like a good start there, Scott.
The Neve interface gives you inserts. Many interfaces don't.

Thank you Raymond!

I should have mentioned that my 88M is the REV 2 of the original iteration. It got rid of the USB-C to USB-B connection, made vast improvements to the headphone section, added an on/off switch, but probably most importantly added the DAW onto the front panel of the unit.

There is talk, although I don’t know how firm it is, that AMS Neve will unveil the 88E (you guessed it) EQ in the same form factor as the M and C at NAMM 2027 in January. If this holds true I can all but say buh-bye to plugins. At least for my specific application everything can all be done from these interfaces.

I’m not a big fan of compression on acoustic guitars but bought the C anyway just to see if maybe it can change my mind if used in moderation.

 

[mark skinner]

As a mainly acoustic player , I'm looking forward to your first production. Best of luck .. ms

 

[rob aylestone]

Forgive me - but I'm the forum sceptic - and I am VERY confused with your path and purpose.
I'm familiar with guitar makers and their customers who have sleepless nights over the impact of the finish on the sound - but then you mention clean and uncoloured? The entire point, surely, of the gear you have bought is to colour the sound? The subtle distortion, and with your compressor, increase in apparent sustain and decay and reduction of dynamics? That's six grand of gear for you to consider recording in a closet?

Has there been a conversation with the people commissioning the recording about what they want the listener to hear? I would have thought (no doubt in error) that their aim was to really hear the instrument - without distortion, compression and artificial 'flavour'. The Telefunken is a mic with character - I've never heard the other. However, that is just a tonal choice. My preference would have been a clean, noise free preamp that adds one thing - gain. No character, no tonal changes, no compression and take the mic to a really nice sounding space, and set it close, perhaps using that other mic more at a distance to capture a blend of instrument and room? That's really something for the maker to ponder on. I think about the recordings I have done compared to far more able people's work with well known players on wonderful instruments. The people who can have whatever they want.

Your chosen gear is really nice. For a beginner in home recording where are you starting from? You've been in studios, you've watched others, but were you in a position to find out the 'why' part of what they were doing. Was a certain preamp used because it was exactly right, or was it just there from a previous session and the setup was inherited? Pro studios are really good at not wasting time. Do we get the XXX mic out and try, or go with the ABC, because it's already on a stand. In many ways, amateurs often make better choices. Look at the studio legends - Alan Parsons being my favourite. When he had a deal with audio technica, he was extolling the use of a certain model for drum overheads. When the deal completed, oddly, he returned to his old favourite. He was promoting a make - it was business. I'm sure he figured they sounded fine, so was happy to endorse them, but he actually liked something else better.

You chose your kit based on other people's experience I presume. I guess you will put it all up and be really happy - that is to be expected with kit of that calibre. My experience is that often when you get the kit you always wanted because everyone raves about it, often I am disappointed. The promised magic is absent. You are going to have a steep learning curve to find the ideal location to record in, find the ideal placement and find settings on your gear that produce the sound you need. I do know that for me, compression is something to do after recording, if and only if there is a real need for it. Boutique preamps do not feature for me, and certainly cables do not even enter my mind. They're consumables and branding for me is irrelevant. The BBC used to source most cables in the UK from Canford - using very old designs that just carry on working. I have HST cables in my trunks that are still perfect after 20 years of hard use. That's my take on cables.

With that gear, you can really forget it and just work on placement.

 

[TalismanRich]

Would your choices be based somewhat on your experience in studios? If so, you should be familiar with the characteristics of the gear, although the interfaces I've heard seem to give good results when recording cleanly. Unless you're trying to use the preamp as an effect (drive that thing into massive distortion!!!), I don't hear the massive differences people carry on about.

I don't doubt you'll be able to get good recordings with the gear, but as you said, performance is 90%, and your recording space is probably 5+%. Mics are most of the rest in my opinion. My experience is that mics and speakers/headphones have the highest amount of variation. I haven't played with either of your choices, but the Ear Trumpet mics seem to be popular with folk/bluegrass acoustic performers and they seem pretty natural. It should do well for capturing good acoustic guitars. I tend to rely on speakers to judge recording balance rather than headphones. Phones are great for hearing small details but for overall balance, I find them lacking.

Your biggest challenge will be finding the right space. Your closet might be okay, or it might just be far too dry if you have lots of clothes in there. But that's something you can play with.

Good luck

 

[Papanate]

As the title suggests, I am just getting into home recording. It’s been quite the journey reading, watching, etc. over the past few months. I’ve recorded many times in pro studios so I know some of the things to be aware of.

All that I’ll be recording is solo acoustic guitar(s) fingerstyle, flatpicked, crosspicked, strummed, etc. I currently have four solo acoustic makers and four dealers that have asked me to record minute and a half clips of recognizable cover songs so they can post them on their website (per the same model). That’s the easy part….so far. I have to monetize this, that goes without saying.

Over the past ten days (and after much research) I have purchased the following:

1. Neve 88M as my USB interface
2. Neve 88C Compressor/Limiter
3. Telefunken TF17 (self noise 3dBA weighted)
4. Ear Trumpet Delphina (self noise <8dBA weighted)
5. HEDD D1 cans
6. All Mogami cabling

You got excellent gear - as @rob aylestone noted the gear will color your sound for better or worse - the big question I have is where are you going to record? The Telefunken will pick room noise like no tomorrow.

Six months ago my 1958 Conn strobe tuner died. I replaced it with a Peterson Auto Strobe 490. Tuning won’t be an issue.

I assume this is important?

Laptop is a 2026 MacBook Air. I’ll be running Pro Tools 10 simply because I own it. Of course I’ll experiment with mic placement, rooms to record in (I do have a large walk in closet that I’m thinking about). There will be trial and error without a doubt. It may be that some are recorded in mono, while others will be in stereo.

M5? With how much Ram and how big of on board storage?

Looking for advice, suggestions, or whatever you may have to offer. I think the gear is MORE than sufficient, but if I’m going to go down this road I want a quality product to send to these luthiers. They hand built these guitars so I feel a clean, uncolored clip is warranted. The dealers deserve the same.

And, I personally believe a good performance is 90% of the battle, along with a good sounding room (treated).

I think Performance gets you most of the way there - and if you run your preamps and compressor as clean as possible you will get a sound that I think you will like.

 

[Rampant Colt]

Thanks for all of the replies.

See you around.

 

[rob aylestone]

How odd? We raised all sorts of stuff and we get 'see you around'.

 

[ecc83]

How odd? We raised all sorts of stuff and we get 'see you around'.

Yes Ro b, bloody incredible! To go from a "coloured" expensive recording setup to about as simple as it gets?...,
My son plays classical guitar, pretty well I think! He naturally wants to record his efforts and uses a pair of Lewitt 040 match SDC mics. These were said in review to be pretty "flat" and not add any character to the source "do for me!".
The mics feed a MOTU M4, no fancy pants pre amps in that, just very clean gain. He is very happy with the basic recordings he gets, since his main aim is to critique his playing, eliminate squeaks and intonation errors as much as he can but the recordings still stand as nice sounding guitar.
When he is fairly happy with a take he sometimes add some mild reverb to it since he is recording in a small, pretty dead acoustically flat. He does of course keep the original dry take v intacta.

The above decisions were taken under considerable financial constraints, both his and mine! He is in a much better position now and is considering some "better" microphones....any ideas Rob?

Dave.

 

[Papanate]

The above decisions were taken under considerable financial constraints, both his and mine! He is in a much better position now and is considering some "better" microphones....any ideas Rob?

I’m not @rob aylestone - but I think two Gefell UMT70S's in a Mid/Side Configuration is the best Classical Guitar sound I have ever heard - of course the player must be top end and the room acoustically superior - but you can’t beat it - except for the price - they are about $2000 USD new about $1350 USD used.

The other ones I like quite a bit are a pair of Austrian Audio OC818 s also in a Mid/Side configuration - a bit less Julian Bream sound - perhaps a brighter reponse - and they are easier on the wallet at $1348 USD new and if you can find them $950 USD used.

 

[ecc83]

I’m not @rob aylestone - but I think two Gefell UMT70S's in a Mid/Side Configuration is the best Classical Guitar sound I have ever heard - of course the player must be top end and the room acoustically superior - but you can’t beat it - except for the price - they are about $2000 USD new about $1350 USD used.

The other ones I like quite a bit are a pair of Austrian Audio OC818 s also in a Mid/Side configuration - a bit less Julian Bream sound - perhaps a brighter reponse - and they are easier on the wallet at $1348 USD new and if you can find them $950 USD used.

Thank you friend but I doubt he will want to get into the complications of MS. I think he will spend up to £1000 for the right mic(s).

Dave.

 

[TalismanRich]

It looks like he's already spent about $1400 on his two mics. I think the Delphina should be a good match for what he's recording. This is John Oates (of Hall and Oates) using Delphina mics.

 

[rob aylestone]

Isnt it odd that he too uses a Shure mic clip on the expensive mic? That’s the best sounding workshop I have ever heard. No need for any of this studio stuff.

 

[Rampant Colt]

How odd? We raised all sorts of stuff and we get 'see you around'.

Just because I stated “see you around” didn’t mean I wouldn’t be back. Life is busy. I teach music (not songs) to 32 students weekly, from beginner, to intermediate, to advanced.

I’ll answer a few of the questions and await the backlash of it. I knew exactly ONE person who had an 88M. Nobody influenced me. His was a First Gen and lacked the upgrades of my MK2. I will not spend time explaining the differences as Google can detail the changes for you (all for the better).

Yes, I looked at cheaper alternatives when making my decision concerning interfaces. I don’t fully understand why I have to explain my choice(s). It feels like I’m being persecuted for MY choices.

Everything we plug into any interface is going to color the sound to one degree or another.. You OBVIOUSLY disregarded the last sentence in post 3 and created your own narrative. Good for you.

The question of whether tuning is important is mind numbing, as is the question about a spanking new MacBook Air in standard configuration. I won’t even take the time to answer either. Google it, it’s plenty, believe me, especially for what I’m doing.

I had a Neumann TLM-102 and TLM-103 here. They were darker sounding (but in a good way). I also had my 26 year old AKG C414-B-ULS here which is more mid-rangy. I preferred the 414. So I decided to go with the TF17 which is also on the darker side but sounds great on acoustic guitars. The Ear Trumpet Labs Delphina is almost neutral. And if you’ll do your homework, you’ll see that nearly every Ear Trumpet Labs microphone comes with a Shure clip. I opted to also add their hand built shock mount for the Delphina.

I’m waiting on a single HEDD Type-05 A core single monitor. I don’t particularly like mixing with headphones so a monitor is definitely needed, and space is at a premium. I’m certain I’ll get slammed again for that choice. I like the HEDD brand (my D1 cans are fantastic), and ALL of their gear is designed and built in Berlin, Germany.

I counted yesterday, and I have 14 acoustic panels. If I need more I’ll buy them. I still believe in me. I know what I know and I’m certain I can achieve my goal.

Now I’ll sit back and await the loads of negativity headed my way.

 

[Slouching Raymond]

Positive vibes, Scott.

 

[rob aylestone]

I think we meant no negativity in our comments until we read the 'see you around' - A lot of folk contributed and we sort of felt it like a slap in the face. I can only speak for myself, but you said you were knew to home recording, and we thought it a bit odd you made such specific purchase decisions for somebody with no experience. Clearly I was in error for assuming your experience was limited and you were knowledgeable in areas I had not picked up on from the first post.

Put me out of my misery - the Shure mic clip? Your pics and John Oates are both using it?

 

[Rampant Colt]

Put me out of my misery - the Shure mic clip? Your pics and John Oates are both using it?

1st post, picture 4 clearly shows a Shure clip. Virtually every microphone Ear Trumpet Labs builds is shipped with a Shure clip. I just happened to buy the hand built shock mount to go with it (it’s in the same picture as well).

A $650.00 microphone is NOT expensive. Cost is what you pay. Value is what you get. There are a LOT of artists using them. Their only microphone I’m not in love with is the Wanda.

Perhaps we have differences as to what qualifies as “expensive”. The Delphina is not expensive in my view considering it is a totally hand built microphone with a lifetime warranty.

 

[Rampant Colt]

I can only speak for myself, but you said you were knew( to home recording, and we thought it a bit odd you made such specific purchase decisions for somebody with no experience. Clearly I was in error for assuming your experience was limited and you were knowledgeable in areas I had not picked up on from the first post.

From 2001-2004 I attended Berklee College Of Music in Boston, MA where I obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Theory, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Sound Engineering.

I wasn’t much interested in Sound Engineering to be honest, but I learned a lot, enough to get my BA. Of course, at that time there were no USB interfaces. I doubt the computers back then could even run a BUS powered interface.

Only now will I see if I remember what I was taught, coupled with countless pro studio sessions myself. So yes, I’m new to this game. Am I going to make mistakes? Yes.

Three weeks ago to this day I sold my AKG-C414B-ULS as well as my Neve 1073 strip, both 26 years old, that had been used live (only). I felt it time to move on and see if I could broaden my horizons by taking on these projects. The ensuing outlay of money was offset considerably by the selling of the two 26 year old vintage pieces.

 

[TalismanRich]

RC

You need to understand that the forum gets a lot of people who join, buy some gear based on popular lore of the various forums, often ask a bunch of fairly basic questions, and then vanish, never to be seen again. Likewise, we get a lot of new students who are taking "audio production" courses at a recording school (LA Film School is very common), and never check in again.

It looks like you've got a really solid background in audio and I suspect you're far more advanced that most people would have guessed.

Once you get everything setup and sorted out, we'd appreciate your comments, some audio samples, and opinions. Some of your equipment is less common than the typical home recording enthusiast. It might just fit the bill for someone else, something that they would have never considered!