Instruments in the studio

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 10:35 am

I have seen that many studios have a variety of gear to choose from. As far as my home studio goes... I have a really good bass rig (ampeg, rocktron etc) but nothing else. I need some advice, if i I should save for something like Tama Rockstar with zildjian cymbals, and may be some guitar equipment. I don't want to buy 4x12 cab, cause it is really for stage and will take up a lot of space in storage, what should I get, should I get anything?

EDIT -> Maybe something like Fender Frontman 212R
EDIT --> Cause later I can wire it so that I can use a different head with it.

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 2:21 pm

One piece of advice - avoid good cymbals.

If the drummers you want to record can bring their own, good. Otherwise, the sh*tty drummers that like to bang the crap out of them will kill your $200 Zildjian A's! (Been there, done this).

For my studio, I use Sabian B8s. They're a little less elegant than trash can lids. If the drummer brings their own cymbals, the reward is that they don't have to hear or use the B8s. If they DON'T, this means they're probably a crappy drummer any way and the B8s are perfect for them!

Just tell your drummers in advance to bring their own cymbals or beware the wrath of the B8.

Also - don't worry about keeping too many sticks on site. Keep a few pairs of 5Ns or similar and maybe a pair of Vader brushes. If the drummers are needy for their own crap - they can bring it!

As for the amp - Mesa Nomad!

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 2:35 pm

As for amps, you definitely don't want a Frontman 212. I am not dissing solid state amps. The problem is that at 100 watts it is way to loud for a studio, also dual speakers makes it harder to mike without inteference from the second speaker.

You only need 5 to 15 watts for a recording amp. Recommendations are fender Blues Jr at 18, or a Roland Cube at 15 or 20. Guitarists can bring their own pedals.

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 2:52 pm

Ha, that makes it easier! WIll roland handle Heavy Metal recordings?

EDIT - > One Concern Though I remember recording Marshal mg15cd and it sounded very bad...

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 3:26 pm

I don't use that channel, but it may. The Cubes are modelling amps. They model Fender, Vox, Marsahll and Mesa, in addition to a Roland Chorus.

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 3:32 pm

taxman wrote:

...You only need 5 to 15 watts for a recording amp. Recommendations are fender Blues Jr at 18, or...

Another vote for this. The Blues Jr. is the one mass market amp that I have tried and like in this category. of course, there are still a lot of little 30 year old tube amp floating around out there, Fender champs, Princetons, Harvards, etc. (Of course, it will help to have a good tech available to revive one of these.) If you have the money there are a ton of boutique options that are really nothing more than copies of the old Fender circuits. (Which were right out of the RCA tube manual.) I lucked out and landed a Matchless Hurricane (15 watts) that someone wanted to get rid of quickly. Think small

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:37 pm

I am not talking about 2nd channel
ofcourse some guitar players will have their pedals. Just the fact of an 8'' speaker...

EDIT - > What do you think about Palomino V8?

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 7:34 pm

As far as drums go... drums such as the Pearl Export, or Tama Superstars are good. Its all in the tuning, mic placement, mixing and mastering.

I would suggest having a Sennheiser e609 in your arsenal, IMO it kicks the SM57s ass recording guitar.

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 7:43 pm

I will probably add that to my closet after Fathead and Bluebird.

EDIT -> I am trying to decide between V8 and Cube 15, V8 sounded very good, cube 15 nice on clean, but I did not find any videos of distortion from pedals on cube 15. On board distortion in cube 15 was bad, but it is half the price of V8.

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 9:47 pm

I'm gonna third and fourth the Blues Jr. suggestion. It is tube from front to back, will accept a large number of boutique speaker options and is voiced somewhere between a Deluxe and an AC15 Vox. On a clean setting it makes the Strats sparkle as they should and for distorted, you can get a great grind going. I have many amps as options, those I own and those I can use, and never has the Blues Jr. not been more than adequate for any style of track.

If you want different sounds an after market speaker may be in order. Check Webber, BlueVooDoo, Celestion, stuff like that.

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 9:53 pm

I am a guitar player my self so I wouldnt recomend the fr-212 because Im not a huge fan of the way it sounds. But you are right about the fact that you dont need a 4x12 amp. BUT i do recommend getting an amp that can be run through tubes and can be in solid state also so you can get to various sounds. It also can save storage too! Many companies have that type of feature. I believe that Line 6 just cam out with one not to long ago.

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 12:12 am

We've played on that in GC it sounds pretty bad for the price. Sounds same as little line6 amp. The budget is also another problem... I would like to fit in 200.

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 5:33 am

hmmmm.....have u tried the microcube by roland. Those are around 149 and they are very small and porable. Only 2 watts of power but they are pretty loud too. But also the blues jr like everone is sugesting a great like tube amp. Simple to use to! u dont even need to warm up the tubes which is time consuming. Those run alittle over over you budget but worth the cash.

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 7:25 am

Davedog, et. al.-
Anyone with specific speaker recomendation for the Blues Jr for someone doing stuff like jazz, country, blues ranging from clean to mildly distorted?

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 7:49 am

Blues Jr is more than twice as much 450 vs 200...

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