Recording Equipment
- Digidesign Protools LE
Currently I'm using a Protools Digi001 setup for recording on a Pentium 4 (Hyper-threading) PC running Windows XP. I decided to use Protools because the software is so ubiquitous and I thought it would be a useful program to learn how to use. The learning curve is not too steep if you've used other recording software and the interface is very intuitive. I really feel like I can do almost anything I can think of with this software. It's only limitation is in the area of Midi and since I don't do any synthesizer work, that's not been an issue for me. I've got a bunch of Bomb Factory and Waves plug–ins that are indispensable for shaping the sound.
- Apogee Rosetta AD - 24–bit A/D Converter
I bought this unit because Apogee's analog to digital converters have such and excellent reputation and they are far superior to the ones that are built into the Digi001. I connect it to the protools rig via S/PDIF.
- Joe Meek VC6Q British Channel
Joe Meek makes really sweet compressors that use photo–optical components that have a warm tube type of response. The British Channel rack mount effect has switchable compression and EQ with which I can dial in compression that really makes the signal come alive. At high settings, you can get that breathing quality that you hear on so many older recordings from the sixties.
- Shure SM57
I use this microphone for recording electric and acoustic guitars for the most part. I often mic an amplifier with two mics - one close up on the grill and the other one back a couple of feet. When I'm done I slide the waveforms in Protools so that the wavefronts coincide in order to avoid phase cancellations. Pan them left and right and the sound is huge!
- Neumann TLM103
I use this microphone for recording vocals, acoustic guitar and percussion. If I could afford a U87, I'd probably have one of those instead. The TLM103 is an all around great mic with a smooth high end.