Ask me what I'm upgrading next. 
whattaguy said:
Or getting it set up or changing the strings once in a while. You could plug a really good bass in to just about anything and it would probably sound great. Same with guitar amps; some amps just record well and are easy to track. Ditto for drum kits. Expensive cymbals are expensive for a reason; because they're smooth, and make your $100 Oktava sound like a Schoeps. There are very similar reasons why Taylor accoustic guitars are priced the way they are. 
chessrock said:I don't think there's any reason why someone can't get a good quality sound from that setup. They may not have the wow factor or the boutique status, but both the Soundcraft boards and AT mics are more than capable of delivering the goods if used well, and the Layla is a decent enough audio interface.
At this stage, if you want to make noticeable improvements I think it's time to start turning your attention to the basics; improving the accoustics of your space, looking at better monitors, perhaps ... maybe look at some good compressors and/or EQ, but the biggest determinant of recording quality will be the instrument itself. Upgrading your instruments, amps, drums, etc. will all deliver far greater improvements in sonics, by leaps and bounds. Example: I always get a kick out of guys who ask "What DI box will get me a better bass sound?" Well, you could try ditching that shitty bass.
At this stage, I just don't see where your current gear would be anything that would hold someone back. You can make decent, even very good-sounding records with your current signal chain.
whattaguy said:Thanks. You just saved me $500+ dollars!
And know that you stand accused of that offense. Again, you should use a quality bass and have it set up twice a year ... once if you're an infrequent player, and use quality, newish strings when recording. Always and without exception. And don't be afraid to dial in some mids and cut a little of the woof if you're going direct. Unfortunately, I didn't save you any money with that statement ... nor with my statement about your guitar amp or monitors. Oh well.chessrock said:Actually, I didn't save you any money at all. I just recommend you channel it elsewhere.
Anyway, I had a listen to your recording, and there are several issues going on, none of which are related to recording gear (mics, pres, etc.). First off, the guitar sound isn't up to snuff. You need to get a better sound out of it, or move on to a better amp. Learn how to work the knobs; use the tone controls, gain, volume, etc. and experiment with mic positioning so that you can get a sound that isn't so mushy and annoying. A good "recording" distortion sound is very different from a good "rehearsal" distortion (or "in the room" distortion). Learn the difference between the two, and how to translate one to the other. It's the hardest thing to learn, but the easiest thing to do once you learn it. And it takes time -- several years for some people, in fact. Welcome to the world of recording.
The drums aren't half bad. I like them, but you could stand to learn a few things about compressing them in order to get greater impact in the same manner as you've done with your vocals, which are easily your strongest track from an engineering standpoint by the way (although you could probably do without the overused lo-fi effect).
I'm also suspecting you could benefit greatly from combining close mics on the snare, kick, etc ... in phase, of course. And if you have already been doing this, then it's probably time to address your monitoring situation, because your music, overall, sounds like it was mixed in an environment where you weren't hearing everything properly. I'm guessing either small, cheapish monitors in an untreated room or maybe even headphones or computer speakers (gasp!).
Also, go back and read my statement I made earlier about bass guitars.
Once you start developing your ears and get yourself in a good monitoring setup, you probably won't need any of the advice I just gave you, because you'll be able to hear all of this stuff for yourself and will be able to make these kinds of judgement calls on the spot.
whattaguy said:
Another option would be to get one of those power soak things like the THD Hotplate. So there are options.
