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Hey everyone! I'm kinda new on this site... I did the ADL 600 contest and all that but besides that, not much. It's been great reading about the advice that people have to give.on all imaginable issues. The time's come for me to post, however. I'm starting a studio to make albums to benefit the hungry, and do whatever else I can on top of that. So far, I have a Bluetube DP, a RODE NT1-A, an old 48 kHz Fast Track a friend gave me, and a Zoom H4n. Not a terrible setup, but not great either.

My main issues are getting natural sounding warmth in my recorded bits and getting a more polished sound in my mixes. My thoughts were either getting the UAD Laptop Card or upgrading to an NTK with a different tube. I have a very limited income right now; I live in ground zero of this economy and can't find a job. I teach $60 of violin lessons a week, and that's it. The music/talent level isn't the issue in my recordings, it's mostly the processing and the gear. What should I do? Thanks and God bless :)

http://soundcloud.c…"]The Ayerrish Song by MichaelHodecker on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free[/]="http://soundcloud.c…"]The Ayerrish Song by MichaelHodecker on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free[/]

~Michael Hodecker

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Michael Hodecker Tue, 03/08/2011 - 16:33

Jeemy, none taken. If my ego were based on my bank account, my money would go to medications rather than audio gear.

My placing is pretty dependent on the room I'm in. The entryway of my house actually has excellent natural reverb for recording acoustic instruments so that's a plus for that. The other way is recording in my room with blankets in one corner, with the mic facing toward the corner since it's a cardoid. I seem to spend about as much time messing with the placement as I do recording.

I'm running the NT1-A through the Bluetube (usually with the tube drive very low or off) and then running that through the quarter-inch input of the Fast Track. Another thought was having the NT1-A modded by Michael Joly. It seems like a decent mod, but I don't know if it's worth the $375 he's asking. Stuff is so overpriced... I remember the story of Isaac Stern purchasing his first Stradivarius in the 40's for 6,500 and now it has about three more zeroes attached. Anyway, what do you mean by treatment? I've heard that the sound foam is a huge scam and that very cheap alternatives work just as well.

Jeemy Tue, 03/08/2011 - 16:49

For $375 you can get a bundle of fibreglass/rockwool/medium density fibreboard/not sure what its called in the US these days. Google Ethan Winer, read his treatise, and come back to us. If you can get it together to measure and quantify your recording spaces then Rod over in Studio Construction *will* help.

$375 on a mod of a $200 mic seems stupid (not going to bother saying no offence anymore ^^).

Have a quick browse on why fibreglass is better than blankets, take some measurements and come back to us. You will be seriously surprised how your mic>monitor sound changes when you apply a little theory to the areas you are recording in.

All the best,

J