Mac or Masterlink?

  • Thread starter Thread starter kmaaj
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kmaaj

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1st, the application:

I am a self taught luthier and a long time classical guitarist who is way overdue on putting out a cd. Since I want this to be a tool to help illustrate the sound quality of my guitars, I want the set up and signal path to be very simple yet high quality. Classical guitars sound very good in my living room. It has a cathedral ceiling and can be quiet and isolated by hanging moving blankets over the openings to other rooms.

My thought was to record into a pair of large diaphram condensers (will have to sort through OEM Chinese imports, cannot afford Neumanns) into a tube stereo preamp into a Masterlink, connecting it all with Mogami XLR. Hit the record button, let the cd spin, and just play. Then take the cd to my PC and do (hopefully minimal ) editing with CoolEdit. One friend agrees with this approach, having all XLR connections and no fluff.

Another friend thinks it would be cheaper and better to plug the mics into an M-Audio firewire interface going into a Mac. The advantages being I can do recording and editing on the Mac, and since used G3's are fairly inexpensive, some money could be freed up for better mics (still not neumanns).

I tried this before in a friend of a friend's studio, and posted the results on my website. http://www.kenwhisler.com/music.html The big reason I want to do this at home is I keep weird hours, and in times past when I went into a studio I felt like the clock was my enemy.

Whichever way I go, if reverb is added, it will not be much and it will be added in the mastering process via Altiverb plugin. A customer of mine is going to do that, he has a full blown ProTools setup.



Any thoughts from the more exprienced are appreciated, Ken
 
Well, I would almost suggest that you try some large diaphragm and small diaphragm condensers. For LDC's you are on your own from my advice, but look into companies like MXL and Apex(decent quality on the cheap). For SDC's I would STRONGLY suggest that you buy some MSH mics. Excellent mics for acoustic guitar, and they are dirt cheap. Hand made and matched in pairs from Mshilarious(long time member on hr.com). I am not affiliated with him, just a huge fan of his product. naiant.com for the MSH mics. As for a preamp, the DMP-3 I believe gotten good press around here. I don't have any hi quality pre's so I can't speak from experience.

Hope it helped!


Simon
 
:D Yo KMAAJ and WXYZ and the Lone Ranger too:]

Just a thought. You might call Full Compass and Sweetwater and ask how much it would run to RENT a good mic for a month? I know there are other sources to rent gear. There must be many Neuman mics sitting around collecting dust at the big vendors and you might strike a good deal.

IMO you will need some reverb even though the guitar is a brilliant axe. Not much, but some for ambience.

I did hear Segoveov [sp] play at Orchestra Hall in Chicago long time ago. I was sitting WAY BACK from the stage. He did not use any volts or mics and I could hear his skin slide on the strings. Of course Orchestra Hall is a marvel of acoustics.

Happy New Year
Green Hornet
 
I'd be willing to bet the masterlink will smoke the m-audio.
 
Although it is very easy to get fairly decent results nowadays...without too much $$ either.. Remember, you still get what you pay for. AND... AND, recording is a skill just as much as your guitar playing(and making) is too. What I am saying is don't discount those points too lightly, but on the flip, DO try and record yourself without hesitation and jump in with both feet.

Potentially, since your requirements seem minimal (as opposed to much more detailed productions) your really might consider saving your pennies and getting some of the best items you can. After all, remember first impressions, and would you go cheap on your guitars??

I liked the idea of trying to rent some upper end items, but with one catch. If you are new to it all, I tend to think dicerning the differences will be that much harder. Kinda like if you went out to buy a top end electric guitar at this point(with just only having your classical experience). Would you really know what you are looking for...and what REALLY is good quality...?

one last point.. and I know this has been said a million times. If it was easy to do ... and do cheaply, there would be no need for experience, a fat wallet, and hey... to some, even talant.

Let the journey begin!!!


oh..one last idea. You might rent a day at a top end/quality studio, and see how that goes. Might give you a base to compare everything else to.
 
Thanks for all of the quick and thoughtful responses.

2lim, from my reading on the subject of which condenser, I gather that SDC's are better if a guitar is part of a bigger mix, but in a solo application LDC's are better. If that is an old wives tale, I'm all ears.

Yo, Green Hornet, that would be "Segovia", there is a picture on my website of Parkening letting me play Segovia's Ramirez. Dont want to take anything away from what the Great Egg did for our instrument, but what really impressed me about Segovia is the fact that at 76, he married a 23 year old babe and fathered a son with her. Musta been the fingers..... As to higher end mics, it's either cash for Chinese OEM's or use the credit card and get whatever I want, I will call the vendors you mentioned and see....

Falken and mixmkr, my gut is telling me to keep it simple but high end, hence recording directly to a mastering deck. The pieces of music in the link were all straight takes. I went into that studio and we let the tape roll for 20-30 minutes at a time, recorded the ADAT master to cd, than another friend picked out the good takes with a Masterlink. The pieces I want to play for this project are more ambitious, and I now know my way around CoolEdit well enough to do cutting and pasting. I do not want to imply I am cheap, but there are a couple of instances local to me where wallets were emptied, debt was racked up, and the results were mediocre at best. One reason to go ahead and get high end mics: if things don't work out, a lot of my loss can be recouped chucking them on eBay, they seem to hold their value well.
 
Yo KMAAG:

WOW! 76 and still able to optimize his productions! :D Segovia [thanks for the sp] was really a treat to see. If I had taken up guitar instead of the stomach Steinway, then Cordovox, I'd still be strumming, I think! :p

Spring is on the way.

Green Hornet :D
 
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