Recording Gear

So anybody who's spent more than 15 minutes with me knows that I spend a considerable amount of time & money working on my home recording studio. I've been interested in home recording for over 10 years now... ever since I took a music theory class in high school and was introduced to computer-based MIDI sequencing (on a Mac - yikes!). During college I was introduced to 4-track tape for recording, then after graduation I started recording on my PC using Digital Orchestrator Pro and later Cakewalk Pro Audio. Now, while I'm still using Cakewalk's Sonar 6 Producer to record on my PC, it's interesting to look back on how my recording setup has evolved over the past decade...

Here's my first recording computer, which technically didn't have much going for it aside from a SoundBlaster card and an external MIDI interface... not great, but about all I could do in an apartment...



Once I moved (~2000) I was able to upgrade the studio computer and put in a dedicated card for recording (Lexicon Core2), which gave me the ability to record up to 6 channels at once when combined with the SoundBlaster. Note the sudden proliferation of rack gear...



In late 2004 I built a new studio PC from scratch, using a pair of M-Audio Delta 1010LT cards to record up to 20 channels at once. Again, notice the completely new collection of rack gear...



Probably not worth mentioning (due to the utter disappointment), my next setup (January 2006) used a pair of Presonus FirePods to record up to 16 channels at once. While the promise of simplicity was great, the experience was horrible... almost every recording was plagued with snaps, crackles, and pops. Reformatting the PC and reinstalling all the software didn't help; neither did the constant finger-pointing between Presonus, Cakewalk, and Microsoft about whose fault it was that firewire wasn't performing as expected. After a few weeks of messing around with the FirePods, I sent them both back.

My current setup (as of April 2007) uses the same PC but with a pair of Frontier Audio Dakota/Montana cards. With the current preamps/converters from Presonus, I can now record up to 16 channels at once, but the Frontier cards support up to 32 channels at once with additional preamps/converters...



The whole room is set up as follows, which allows me to record a whole rock band (drums, bass, guitars, keys, scratch vocals) live...



And, of course, it wouldn't be complete without a powerpoint "mock-up" showing how it's typically wired up:



Anyway, while I've cycled through my fair share of computers, sound cards, & rack gear over the years, one thing that has remained fairly consistent is my use of recording software from Cakewalk. I started out with Cakewalk Pro Audio 8, moved to Pro Audio 9, to Sonar 2.2XL, to Sonar 4 Producer, and recently to Sonar 6 Producer. I remember when Cakewalk switched from being a pure MIDI sequencing tool to supporting recording/playback of digital audio, when video editing support was added, when digital effect processors (DSP) were bundled in (so I could greatly reduce the amount of rack gear), and when virtual synthesizers/drums were added. These days, a full Sonar install (with all the plug-ins) can easily handle the job of rooms full of analog gear (effects, synthesizers, mixers). Whether or not it sounds the same is subject to debate, but nobody can argue that it doesn't provide a lot of capability and convenience for the money.

Just as interesting to me as the software evolution has been the developing market for interesting hardware: For mixing, I use a Cakewalk/Peavey StudioMix (can be seen in several of the pics above), which is basically a virtual mixing console... it has 8 channels worth of knobs and sliders which move knobs and sliders on the screen--no audio actually flows through the device. The Studiomix sliders are automated, so they will move in sync with the sliders on the screen during playback. Very cool for giving the "feel" of a real mixing console, since moving knobs and sliders on screen with the mouse isn't the most authentic experience. Also worthy of note is the Frontier Design Tranzport, which is essentially a wireless remote for Sonar. It allows me to play, record, rewind, fast foward, solo/mute individual tracks, and check levels from anywhere in the room. Very helpful little tool since most of the time when I'm recording a band, I'm doing double-duty as recording engineer and guitar player, so I can't always be sitting in front of the computer. Even relatively simple devices like SMPro's NanoPatch play a big role... the NanoPatch is basically a big standalone volume knob for studio monitors, which is necessary since most D/A converters do not have volume knobs and the volume knobs on most studio monitors are on the backside, where they can be hard to reach and adjust precisely.
With all this gear, a lot of reading/research, some hands-on experience, and a critical set of ears, I have been able to put together some decent recordings over the years, many of which are available on the Sounds/MP3's page.

Anyway, this provides a bit more insight into one of my big hobbies (er, obsessions). I'm always glad to talk shop with anybody else who's experimented with or looking to get into home recording.

red indicates recent acquisitions & divestitures
purple indicates items for sale

Studio rack: (2) ART MDM-8L compressor/limiters (2) Presonus DigiMax FS preamp/AD converter Microphones: Audio Technica AT2020 condenser mic Audio Technica Freeway ATW-T202 wireless mic Audio Technica MB1000L Midnight Blues mic Audix i5 dynamic mic Blue "The Ball" dynamic mic Cascade Fat Head ribbon mic Electro-Voice ND267AS mic Kel Audio HM-1 condenser mic Kel Audio HM-2d condenser mic Nady CBM-40 condenser boundary mic Sennheiser e609 dynamic mic Sennheiser MD421-II dynamic mic Shure 55SH-II vocal mic Shure PGDMK4 drum mic kit -- (4) Shure PG56 snare/tom mics, Shure PG52 bass drum mic (2) Shure SM57 cardioid dynamic mics (2) Shure SM58 vocal mics Studio Projects C1 large diaphragm condenser mic (2) Studio Projects C4 small diaphragm condenser mics Studio Projects T3 vacuum tube mic with power supply Direct boxes: Horizon passive direct box Monitoring: (6) AKG K44 headphones Auralex MoPad monitor isolators Carvin H40M studio headphones Carvin PM-5 passive monitors M-Audio BX8 active monitors M-Audio SBX subwoofer (2) Rolls HA43 headphone amps SM Pro Audio Nano Patch passive volume control Home stereo (also used for monitoring): Sony TH-AX285 amplifier Sony ST-JX285 tuner Sony TC-W285 tape deck Sony CDP-C205 CD player SDAT LEB-404 3-way tower speakers SDAT LEB-405 2-way bookshelf speakers Other studio gear: Behringer CT100 cable tester EbTech hum eliminator Korg MA-20 digital metronome Optimus SSM-50 DJ mixer Q-Mic QM-100 reflexion filter Sony MZ-R70PC minidisc recorder Keyboard/MIDI gear: Baldwin Acrosonic console piano Fatar Studiologic SL990-XP controller Korg Triton rackmount workstation/sampler w/ EXB-MOSS expansion board PA gear: Behringer UB1832FX-Pro mixer Carvin AG100D acoustic/bass/PA amp w/ 112AG extension cabinet Carvin HT150 power amp Carvin Studiomate SM-162 mixer Furman RackRider RR15+ power conditioner (2) Legion Sound EMI-12m monitors (12” woofer + horn) (2) Legion Sound EMI-15 cabinets (15” woofer + horn) (2) Legion Sound EMI-18s subwoofers (18” subwoofer) Legion Sound PA7203 power amp QSC RMX850 power amp Hardware: Custom-built system (May 2003) w/ Intel Pentium IV 3.0Ghz processor (hyper-threaded, 800Mhz FSB), ASUS P4P800 motherboard, 2Gb Kingston DDR400Mhz PC3200 DRAM, ATI Radeon 9500 Pro 128Mb DVI video card, WD 120Gb 7200RPM 8Mb cache SE hard drive (for recording), WD 60Gb 7200RPM 8Mb cache SE hard drive (for OS, software, other data files), Sony ATAPI 16x DVD-ROM drive, Sony ATAPI 52/24/52x CD-RW drive, Sony Firewire/USB2 8x DVD+/-RW drive (external), Sony 1.44Mb floppy drive, Antec Sonata mid-tower case w/ 380w power supply, Microsoft Optical Desktop Elite (bluetooth keyboard + mouse), (2) GEM 17" LCD displays Cakewalk/Peavey StudioMix console Frontier Design Dakota PCI audio card (16/16 ADAT IO + 2/2 MIDI IO) Frontier Design Montana expansion card (16/16 ADAT IO) Frontier Design TranzPort wireless control surface Software/plug-in's: Adobe Premiere Elements Akai PitchRight Big Fish Audio Dr. Feelgood drum patterns Cakewalk Pyro 5 Cakewalk Sonar 6 Producer Cakewalk Drumatic Loops Cakewalk Groovemaker 1.2 Cakewalk Musician’s Toolbox III Drums on Demand vol 1-5, 8, acoustic Exact Audio Copy/LAME MP3 encoder Line 6 GearBox Plug-in Gold Bundle Magix Audio Cleaning Lab M-Audio iZotope Studio Bundle -- iZotope Ozone 3 Integrated Mastering System, iZotope Spectron Spectral Domain Effects Processing, iZotope Trash Distortion processor Sonic Foundry Acid Music 2.0 Sonic Foundry Sound Forge 4.5 Good reference books: Acoustic Design for the Home Studio by Mitch Gallagher Basic Live Sound by Paul White Guerrilla Home Recording: How to Get Great Sound from any Studio by Karl Coryat Home Recording Power by Ben Milstead The Home Studio Guide to Microphones by Loren Alldrin Modern Recording Techniques by David Huber, Robert Runstein The Musician’s Guide to Home Recording by Peter McIan, Larry Wichman The Recording Guitarist by Jon Chappell Sound Reinforcement Handbook (Yamaha) by Gary Davis, Ralph Jones The S.M.A.R.T. books (Mixing and Mastering Audio Recordings, Becoming a Successful Producer/Engineer) by Bill Gibson And the series The Recording Engineer’s Handbook, The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook, and The Mastering Engineer’s Handbook by Bobby Owsinski Also, Recording magazine often has some articles worth checking out

Gear sold or traded: Alesis 3630 compressor (3) Alesis M-EQ230 30-band graphic equalizers Alesis SR-16 drum machine Alto RSA27 real time spectrum analyzer ART Phantom II power supply (2) ART TPS tube preamps (2) ART Tube Channel preamp/compressor/EQs (2) ART Tube MP preamp BBE 362NR Sonic Maximizer (3) Behringer ECM8000 measurement condenser mics Behringer Eurorack MX602A mixer Behringer Eurorack MX802A mixer Behringer Multicom MDX4600 compressor Behringer UltraGain ADA8000 preamp/AD converter (2) Behringer Ultra-G GI100 active DI’s Behringer V-Tone ADI21 acoustic preamp/DI Behringer V-Tone BDI21 bass preamp/DI Behringer V-Tone GDI21 guitar preamp/DI (2) CAD GXL1200 small diaphragm condenser mics Creative ProdiKeys keyboard dbx DDP compressor dbx ProVocal preamp/compressor Ensoniq FIZMO synthesizer FMR RNC 1773 compressor Focusrite OctoPre LE w/ ADAT card Fostex XR-7 4-track recorder Korg Pandora PXR-4 digital recorder Korg Triton 61-key workstation/sampler Legion Sound RC-8 rack case Lexicon Core2 digital interface -- MP100 FX daughterboard (2) M-Audio Delta 1010LT sound cards M-Audio JamLab USB interface Nady DMK7 drum mic kit Nady SCM900 large diaphragm condenser mic Peavey Tube Sweetener Presonus BlueMax compressor Presonus BlueTube DP preamp Presonus DigiMax LT preamp/AD converter (2) Presonus FirePod firewire recording interfaces Roland GR-09 guitar synthesizer Rolls RM203 line mixer ShinyBox 46 ribbon mic Studio Projects VTB1 tube preamp Yamaha QX-5 MIDI sequencer Yamaha SY-35 synthesizer