Recording, recording & recording again.

[runelord]

Hello to all,

I am new to this forum but not so new to home-studio recording. My question to you all, and I expect here to see the pro's arguing, is :

What would a guitar and a bass player need as equipment/software/etc. to make home/garage recording sound really professional ?
I am interested in your opinion of gear and techniques to have the sound of a pro on your recordings.

I am not interested by the soundproofing and recording room adjustments which have to be done. Let's skip this phase as it can really be also an in depth discussion on this.

What do you say ? Want to try to make a set of must-haves and optional and all there is which you must have for this and make this like a reference for the future ?

Thank you for your time and patience.

 

[Massive Master]

A really great guitar rig and a really great bass rig, a great guitarist and great bassist. Nothing is going to sound "pro" without those no matter what.

After that, the cleanest possible input chain with gobs of usable headroom. Probably a SM57 on the guitar, maybe a D112 or M88 to go along with a direct signal from the bass. Decent preamps, of course (FMR's RNP is more than capable of reproducing a "pro" sound - as long as the sound is "pro" on the way in). A good interface to get it "in the box."

Software means almost nothing. It's 95% about the hardware and the talent driving it. Freeware apps or Reaper are going to sound pretty much as good as anything else. Processing might sound somewhat different - But again, it's all about the core signal.

 

[runelord]

I agree

I agree. This is what I am interested in. Assuming that the output quality of the guitar player and the bass player is at a "pro" standard what exactly do you need in terms of equipment to get a pro recording.

Thank you for your reply and interest in this topic.

 

[MCI2424]

Hello to all,

I am new to this forum but not so new to home-studio recording. My question to you all, and I expect here to see the pro's arguing, is :

What would a guitar and a bass player need as equipment/software/etc. to make home/garage recording sound really professional ?
I am interested in your opinion of gear and techniques to have the sound of a pro on your recordings.

I am not interested by the soundproofing and recording room adjustments which have to be done. Let's skip this phase as it can really be also an in depth discussion on this.

What do you say ? Want to try to make a set of must-haves and optional and all there is which you must have for this and make this like a reference for the future ?

Thank you for your time and patience.

You just need the best equipment to get a pro recording. Anything less than the best and your recordings will suffer. The actual recording and mixdowns just kind'a happen on their own once you have the best equipment there is.

 

[MCI2424]

A really great guitar rig and a really great bass rig, a great guitarist and great bassist. Nothing is going to sound "pro" without those no matter what. ....
QUOTE]

No. The best equipment will make anyone sound pro. That is a fact. The guitar, bass, playing talent can all be fixed at the mastering stage, if the mastering engineer has the best equipment...............if not, well you know.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

No. The best equipment will make anyone sound pro. That is a fact. The guitar, bass, playing talent can all be fixed at the mastering stage, if the mastering engineer has the best equipment...............if not, well you know.

No. The best equipment can make anyone sound like a hack that has been manufactured to sound commercial by using the best equipment. But only a performance that sounds pro on the real side of the wires can wind up truly sounding like a pro-quality recording on the fake side, regardless of the gear.

G.

 

[MCI2424]

No. The best equipment can make anyone sound like a hack that has been manufactured to sound commercial by using the best equipment. But only a performance that sounds pro on the real side of the wires can wind up truly sounding like a pro-quality recording on the fake side, regardless of the gear.

G.

Todays music would be nowhere without DAWs and hacks. We certainly don't want to repeat the horror the were the 50s, 60s and 70s again. Christ, do you know they actually played through a whole song at once? They were prctically slaves back then.

 

[RAMI]

You just need the best equipment to get a pro recording. Anything less than the best and your recordings will suffer. The actual recording and mixdowns just kind'a happen on their own once you have the best equipment there is.

Please tell me you're joking. I figure you are, because it's the stupidest thing I've read in a while....But I see no smiley.

 

[RAMI]

Todays music would be nowhere without DAWs and hacks. We certainly don't want to repeat the horror the were the 50s, 60s and 70s again. Christ, do you know they actually played through a whole song at once? They were prctically slaves back then.

Ok, you are joking.....phew......You need to incorporate smileys into your posts, for the humorically-challenged, like myself.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

And me. Or at least a wink

One green tooth smile at the end isn't always enough; remember that's what Keith used to put at the end of every knife stab he took at someone.

G.

 

[MCI2424]

And me. Or at least a wink

One green tooth smile at the end isn't always enough; remember that's what Keith used to put at the end of every knife stab he took at someone.

G.

I was kind'a making fun of the original post, a little searching is a good thing. Where does one start when one has nothing, wants it all and has no idea what to do with it if they had it?

 

[MCI2424]

Hello to all,

I am new to this forum but not so new to home-studio recording. My question to you all, and I expect here to see the pro's arguing, is :

What would a guitar and a bass player need as equipment/software/etc. to make home/garage recording sound really professional ?
I am interested in your opinion of gear and techniques to have the sound of a pro on your recordings.

I am not interested by the soundproofing and recording room adjustments which have to be done. Let's skip this phase as it can really be also an in depth discussion on this.

What do you say ? Want to try to make a set of must-haves and optional and all there is which you must have for this and make this like a reference for the future ?

Thank you for your time and patience.

Sorry, let me be more specific here:
".....I am not interested by the soundproofing and recording room adjustments which have to be done. Let's skip this phase as it can really be also an in depth discussion on this....."

This is what you will need to get a pro sounding recording most of all.Skipping this phase is a big mistake since these things are 70% of a great sounding recording. Equipment can only "hear" what you give it and the room sound is 100% of the what your mic will get.

 

[runelord]

Ok, agree again.

Hello again to all,

I agree again with that the recording room has to be in top shape for the sound to be perfect. I said that we should skip this part because this is on its way now. This is the only reason for which I said to skip this not because I disregard it.

Also, as some people said top gear would make it a lot easier to get the perfect pro sound. To be even more specific here I want to hear from you what would be in your opinion a perfect gear set for a guitar player to get the ultimate wanted sound on its recordings. Off course all in the range of affordable investments and by this I'm not meaning the lowest affordable but still somehow good gear and surely not the "bling-bling" top notch gear which is out of common people money range just because it has a pretty flower drawn on the back case of something. I want to see what common sense gear do you agree on that it should be in a home studio which tries to go for sound perfection. Also, it would be great if you would sustain the top gear affirmation with some suggestions of what do you think is the top gear : Producer, Gear Name, Model, etc. and also point out the advantages and disadvantages you can think of related to that specific item.

I know that probably I am asking too much and this is a too in-depth discussion but if some of you are willing to expand on this please do. I think that by really discussing this and pin-pointing all the ups and downs we'll be able at one point to make this like a guide for other people. All in the idea to also help others.

Thank you for your time and dedication to music hopefully which rises to the level of art.
BB.

 

[bogushippie]

Well, everyone has a different idea of a "pro recording". What kind of music do you play? Do you want a spatially seperated mix, or a hotter, fatter, live sounding mix? Recording live or isolated?
I feel it is all a personal opinion-what sounds great to you might sound mediocre to me. See where i'm going? It's so subjective when you throw in personal taste and the skill or patience level to record. The same piece of gear can sound very different from person to person. I usually read reviews and ask questions and then try to test the gear I will buy. Good luck.

 

[tojo]

keep practicing and play your best. Make do with what you've got until you've got the best you can get out of it. I'm happy with my tones coming through my amp, into an audio technica at 2020 and then my Sh** behringer mixer. no pre's, it's got pre's on it even if they aren't stellar.

 

[runelord]

True.

I have to agree with everybody. Thank you for answering. How you perform is always gonna be the decisive factor but in this thread I am focusing on the equipment of the performer.

Anyway, thanks for your input.