I always try to push myself and my "producer" hat as my selling point. They can emulate sick amps and get superior drummer results all day long, but having someone with the right experience that they trust calling the shots on which takes to keep, how to effectively translate their ideas into something that makes sense and how to kick their releases up a notch is some I can do that they can't... at least that's the idea lol
Hey, as long as they actually can trust you and the following stuff is true because of the skills you’ve acquired and you have a musical ear, you’re not lying. There’s no difference between you and them (other producers living in Nashville, LA or NY). Only reason I saying any of this is, in your comment I sensed maybe a 1-2% feeling of “imposter syndrome” coming from it. Could be wrong. Just don’t want you to feel like an imposter. I want you to believe WHOLE HEARTEDLY every word you’re saying. Watch Lamb of God’s making of Sacrament! They recorded that in a shithole makeshift studio with EXACTLY what you just said. …A producer with a good fuckin ear that they trusted and listened to and took his ideas and laid em down on track. It’s on RUclips by the way, a vevo special that dropped 5 mos ago. I’m obsessed with their sound. That mix is just incredible out of a fucking basement of sorts.
The first recording studio I recorded at (when they still existed) was a cheap, $40/hr hole in the wall. The rooms were nicely treated and small, with some decent (but basic) equipment. Their slogan was, "Our best piece of gear, is our ears." I always liked that saying.
I bought a Darkglass B7K preamp with distortion and a build in DI awhile ago. It cost me 400 euros and it is my first bass pedal. At first I thought it was a lot if money but I explored all of the possibilities that it has and it was definitely worth it.
@@RobbieAudet thanks man I definitely will. My next purchase would be a Hartke LX8500 Bstock head with a Peavey headliner 410 4x10 800w cab. Need to save a lot of money for that purchase though...
@@grimmontha8023 aaaaand now the new gear addiction begins 😉 ah dude that’s sick! I’m gonna personally stick to the Loki Bass plug-in for now because it gets the job done
Our Bassist has a fantastic Glockenklang Heartrock Amp and Cab… still, we recorded only through the B7K straight into the box. An awesome pedal, have fun with it!
8 can NOT be understated. Time is money. If your clients are paying per hour then it is time that could have been spent experimenting in the studio or doing the mix for a better product. Fast turn arounds also wow clients too. I try to buy only the gear that i know will have more than 1 use and I’ll use regularly. I don’t have much outboard gear, but just bought a Stam audio SA-4000 mk2 with an “API mod.” I know if it sucks i can always resell it. Looking forward to comparing to my SSL plugins haha.
The Bugera thing is interesting - there was one _very_ small batch which had a design flaw that was a fire _risk_ in specific situations. We're talking a few hundred amps, of which less than ten actually went "poof", and they immediately revised the design to remove the flaw. Compare that with the number of people on the Internet claiming with authority that "Bugera amps catch fire! I saw it!", and...yeah. Incidentally, according to a bunch of amp techs I know, there are a bunch of Marshall models out there which have had the exact same design flaw since they were released (eg TSL, DSL), but Marshall have never revised the designs. They just charge for a new board when you complain.
Ive had a bug for five or six years and i love it! My friend had a bugera before they fixed that flaw (his never caught fire or messed up, they just did a recall),, and the company had him ship his back and they fixed it for free and sent it back to him. They are a good company. That pre infinium stuff was like over twelve years ago
i own the first batch of bugera 6260s that were ever made - i didnt even swap out the tubes so far. it is a reliable amp, the shitstormophile masses really love to shit on cheap good things.
Yeah the bugera myth is complete BS i have serached and searched and i havent been able to find a single confirmed case of a Bugera catching fire anywhere. The problem was so small and insignificant that finding an actual case of this happening is almost impossible. Ive got a 6260 and a 333xl and both are amazing amps. And its just paethetic that people still believe this "catching fire" bs
After many decades I have a few pieces of what would be considered expensive gear, but it took me many many years of finding used gear, restoring and then trading up or selling to get to it. I'm quite proud to say I've never gone into debt for any piece of music gear. I'll never forget the look on an acquaintance's face as he had to hand back his dream guitar that he'd horribly overextended himself for, it completely shattered him, and ultimately contributed to him quitting music completely. On a second note, I absolutely can't justify my expensive gear (i don't NEED it, but i do like it) - at my level of keen hobbyist I can only say that I was fortunate to find great deals and trades to acquire them and it took TIME. Patience and delayed gratification aren't sexy or particularly rock and roll, but they do pay off longterm.
@@legacyShredder1 me too. I bought my PRS back in '93 ($2500 at the time if i recall, its a beauty) at Guitar Center Hollywood on layaway and man thats a long wait. Even now as a person of somewhat more means, i use my cc for build up my credit score, then immediately pay it off.
@@williamtell1477 I just request that all of my bill payments be reported to the credit bureau, and the majority do so. Although I have no real use for credit but it's there if I ever needed it.
@@williamtell1477 That's how I approach life in general. We were all taught the rules and norms, so to speak, as we were growing up while rarely questioning if that is the easiest and best route to take. Of course I'm speaking on multiple fronts. When I bought my first house I was asking the guy if he would accept a terms agreement and he said "I want to go about it the normal way. You know, go through a bank." Why is a bank the normal way to buy a house? Turns out it's not.
I have my home studio, but I just use it to record my demos and bring ideas to life, or sometimes to record covers just for fun, but when I think about to do a serious recording I go to a studio for all the reasons you just mentioned at the end of the video. The vibe of playing in a real tube amp and singing with no shame of bothering my neighbors is something at least for me that Will make me return to a studio when I want to do serious stuff.
My general rule of thumb is "buy good enough gear to limit the time you spend fighting with your gear." I'm not a pro. Gear that gives me decent results without fighting is worth it. Fighting with gear includes reliability issues not just settings and such. I want it to work out of the box, I want it to keep working, and I want there to be quality support if I get unlucky and either of those ends up not being the case.
What about a cheapest mix possible video? You find the cheapest decent quality gear (guitar amp, cab, interface, plugins and so on) and make it sound as good as possible
This isn’t really music related but I just discovered your channel and after having watched a lot of your older videos to current ones you can really see the progress in your weight loss journey. It’s a big inspiration and I applaud your success. Time to get my fat ass away from the dinner table.
I have to admit-- I bought my Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister amp partially because it has pretty blue lighting. I saw it being used by guys like Tyler at Music is Win and it sounded killer, but I didn't get to actually try one myself before throwing down the money on it. But those blue lights were like the Sirens' song and drew me in. Tubes AND shiny lights? Shut up and take my money. I didn't buy an amp, I bought a penis extension with an effects loop.
~3 years ago I bought the H&K GrandMeister Deluxe 40... and yes... the pretty blue lights are an eye-catcher but it also sounds awesome and I abso-fucking-lutely love it. Though I have it sit on a 2x12 V30 cab I mostly use it directly into the PC through Lancaster Audio Pulse and Glenn's IR pack (+ some post processing and ofc the c*ck blocker plugin) - but that's mostly to not have shitty neighbours complain about noise. To have a 40 W tube amp that is definitely loud enough for loud band rehearsal and any gig imaginable combined with the capability of dead silent recording is just plain awesome. \m/
I got the original blue porn amp - the Crate Blue Voodoo. It sounded great but was about as road worthy as an ice cube in a hot pan which is apt because one cold English night, the amp worked great in the practice room and when it got home, didn't work too well. The Tubemeisters are great but I dig the bomb proof nuclear lunchbox that is the little Mesa Mark V 25 a little more.
On the "twiddling with virtual knobs" subject. My computer can only handle so many plugins being used at the one time, so I have to do it the old school way, like I was taught in the late 80s. I run the signal through a rack, and any basic plugins I feel it needs, then feed it into another track, and record it on the new track. Then I can remove the rack, and the old track, and play the new track. Then I move on to the next track, and repeat the process. It's a bit annoying, but it does force you to make decisions, much like analogue tracking.
My dad always said: You can either buy a cheap thing 8 times, or the expensive thing 1 time. Assuming you get the bang for your buck, the higher end gear lasts longer, and will cost less in the long run, assuming you take care of it. The cheap stuff cuts corners. I'd like to see those guys that compare cheap guitars against expensive guitars show how each holds up over time.
I've found that overtime. I've had guitars that needed refretted after 5 years. And more expensive ones that the frets 20 years later barley needed any work done to them.
@@youpvanligten5788 I'm talking the real bottom of the barrel cheap guitars. I.e. Donner. Something very cheap and mega budget, with cheap materials and production
I remember when I took a Music Technology/Mixing and Mastering class during High school, one thing my Teacher always told us was to Take our Mixes to our cars and listen to them in there. He would advise that no matter what level your gear was that of it sounded good in your car, it would sound good on any speaker you played. I found this to be true on many occasions. Now all I need now is an SM57, a Drum machine I sampled from my own drum kit, a few hours of my time, and then the tried and true car speaker method, I am never disappointed.
I was kinda expecting this to be a video to make people feel good about not having expensive gear. It wasn’t, but I did feel like you packed loads of useful info into 12 mins. Learned a lot. Thank you Glenn.
@@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn thanks, he did say in his video. Admittedly I haven’t seen it yet. I guess I was just expecting the trick where he lures viewers in with a certain video title and then goes about changing their mindset.
"Gear does not matter AS MUCH as the skills..." I feel like this exact part of this message will get lost on a lot of people, and they will only hear "Gear doesn't matter!" and nothing else... Which isn't true, since gear does matter, but only to a degree. I'd still recommend making some sort of guide to "No dollar wasted" gear that can satisfy all the needs without overspending on expensive QoL features. Just tell us what to look for, maybe put some price bracket that is expected and some examples of such gear. Pretty sure that would make for an excellent video on building studio that will be relevant for a long time.
I was just looking at a radial EXTC stereo reamper. For me, mucking around in my front room that thing is expensive, but the job it does could be valuable - use a stereo effect pedal (e.g. reverb) that you might already have and use it like a piece of outboard gear after tracking (or maybe live off a keyboard) with the help of send and return volume controls and a wet/dry mix control. It also lets you keep most of the signal on balanced cables. It might be a lot of money for a product that doesn't make any sound, but if it gives existing gear new uses, it's almost priceless.
This may be obvious but there's definitely a middle ground where you can spend a bit more but not an insane amount and get 90% of the quality for about 50% of the price. IMHO that's the way to go.
Something people might like to see is a 'if you can only buy one' series ie if you could only buy one mic, one guitar, one amp, one compressor.... what would it be and why (say, with different budgets). I've had this streamlined mentality in the past in my home studio, with limited space or money, as well as a way of eliminating decision paralysis in the creative process (although not so much these days) Last year I got a Townsend Lab L22 microphone and downsized my whole microphone collection (excluding an sm57) because it's really the only mic I need. This mentality is a great way to justify buying better gear and taking your first steps into a different level of quality.
Couldn´t agree more Glenn . Yes you are totally right , peeps takeing more care at expensive gear and use it more , means when it comes down to guitars they practise more . It just makes more fun and also plays easier .
Im 100 percent the person who feels obligated to use anything ive spent money on, because I know ive worked hard and/or saved up to purchase it myself. When youre married with 3 sons gear money doesnt come along frequently, thats why I always do thorough research before purchasing anything I may need for my guitar playing/recording endeavors.
Went Hybrid a few months back... It gets expensive so fast man! I started with a Lin76 and LinTec which is a pultec EQ without the tubes!.... I wasn't really expecting much because of the price but they got good transformers man! I was SHOCKED.!!!! Full low-mids plus the "all buttons in" trick is awesome on the lin76... Since then, I added the Lin2A and it sounds awesome as well for vocals and guitars as well as the 76's!!!... So I went and got the WA-MPX as a color box... YOU should hear it on drums and or bass LOL and the Warm audio Buss compressor that "what the hell SOUNDS REALLY GOOD" ON DRUMS AND EVEN A MASTER MIX with this pipeline plugin in studio one man... You can mix the color with the original signal! Soooo all that made a professional tone with what I already had at least that's what it feels like.... SOOOOO I went and got the Heritage Audio HA 81 EQ... Pre amp... I only run bass and vocals through that with an Audioscape 1176 clone!!!! LOL got their buss compressor on the way!!!! We won't talk about how expensive even the cheap stuff can get BUT it gets up there fast BUT I think I made some good choices they all fit my set up perfectly... The added harmonics from them transformers warm things up and make the highs sparkle smoothly we will say LOL Unfortunately, I need another interface or some ADAT pre's or something that's next on my list. I got my reverb guitar peddle for a stereo reverb that sounds different than all my plugins!!!! Thats 2 more line ins... LOL I need 12 already! Plus more to come because I am not stopping until I can do a live mix with me playing either of the bass or guitar parts and the vocals live with the mix playing live... LOL all that added outboard gear is lightening up the CPU load as well... Good Luck people if you fall down this rabbit hole!!!!
When I have funds available to upgrade in my home studio, I try to look for the weakest link in my signal chain. Getting an expensive piece of gear for the studio is an investment in the future. It has to enable me to do things better or more quickly. Also be realistic for what your situation is. I have a small home studio and I'm just recording my own projects. I don't need to drop thousands on an LA-2A or Pultec EQ. I need bass traps!
I’ve been collecting investment grade audio gear since the mid-90s so this particular episode really appeals to me I love your channel and your complete irreverence - and that you are fearless when it comes to calling out manufacturers on their crappy work!!!
The best money I ever spent was on my good microphone preamps (Seventh Circle Audio clones of Neve and John Hardy) and a quality A/D/A converter (Lynx Aurora(n)). But very especially the preamps! I recorded a live performance of a modern jazz sextet with my cheap mics and my Digi-002 Rack interface, and my Seventh Circle mic pres. I wasn't sure my cheap mics would be up to the task of this band, or that I'd even hear a difference with the new pres because my mics were inexpensive. I absolutely heard a difference. Those cheap mics really came alive! Having good pres makes a world of difference! (For reference, my previous pres were those in the Digi-002, a Digimax LT, and a DBX 386.)
Yeah, I’ve been seriously considering professional voiceover for the last few years and I have a mic budget of $1000 US. I have building plans for a booth. I’m not sure if I should try to find a more affordable mic or just jump right into the “studio standard” $1,000 mics. And let’s not forget the “I have the right gear so please notice me” aspect of the industry. My gut is telling me to just spend the grand and get a good mic that suits my voice that also has the notoriety behind it. If I do take VO somewhere, I won’t necessarily have to upgrade in the future and if it doesn’t work out I have something with good resale value. I know it might sound like I’m trying to justify spending $1,000 on a mic, and I probably am, but $1,000 is a lot for almost all of us and if I don’t “have” to spend that much, I don’t really want to when I could have several hundred leftover for booth construction/treatment. I already have 6 modular 2” OC703 panels and all of the other equipment needed so I’m really just down to a dedicated mic and a treated booth. Any insight would be appreciated. FUCK TOU GLENN!
I buy nice gear for 1 reason: I want the sound to be as close to finished as possible going in. I don't want to guess if it's going to sound good later. I typically don't like the source going into my DAW super raw while hoping I can get the sound I want later after I apply processing. This is not to say that I won't add more stuff in the mixing phase. Some extreme effects I'll do in post and mix bus processing I'll do in post which should be an obvious statement on the later. Before mixing even starts I want my tracks to sound like a record, not only that but a good record. All of my combined tracks and takes should sound coherent and enjoyable even if it's going to be changed more after. That's my 2 cents.
Doesn't matter if it's audio, video, photography, or what - the closer you get to the desired result at the source, the easier the rest of your life becomes.
One thing you didn’t mention was that most “expensive” (analog) gear will continue to interface with other analog gear pretty much until the end of time. I can’t tell you how much digital stuff I have that is sitting in a pile in the back of my garage because the interface has changed or the software’s not compatible or blah blah blah. I have 40-year-old pieces of analog gear (1176/Neve/API) that I can plug into almost any other piece of analog gear (U87) using nothing more than an XLR cable and the freaking stuff just works. Plug-ins and digital interfaces become obsolete faster than drummers change their socks.
Hi Glenn! You should check the new Line6 Catalyst! I hope you have the nerves to do one more review on their amps but IMHO I think that the signal chain should be - Roof->down to the ground->hammer->flame (grinding machine will be better for the environment) than the ash should go back to the roof and so on! I think that Line6 have no one at the R&D department that have any idea on “how people are using amps”.
Hey Glen, Me and my band do our recordings from our home studio. A lot of the basics for getting a decent recording as possible I've learned from yourself and few others. What could a ballpark price in today's standard market be to mix a 5-6 song EP/Demo if we did the recording in house and sent the stems straight to the mix engineer? I'll be honest we are looking to drop about $2k on this and really want a mix engineering that can get that dirty dialed in grunge, stoner, sludge, doom...ect; sound including some light tape delay ( I now its not authentic but the sound is as close as you can get for digital). A large portion of the vocals are heavy but not metal core cliche gutturals. We have no desire to make money from this we just really have a passion for what we do and want to make a solid piece of personal art music we all enjoy and can share with other like minded people. In hopes I get a reply, thanks a ton man. Love watching your vids weekly man! Keep killing it!
I think often expensive gear forces you to make due with less because you have limited monies, and therefore at least with outboard gear and mics, you can buy a large amount of mediocre gear and struggle or learn to make wise compromises. I just went hybrid at the and of 2021 and am slowly building out my racks, and I was able to remix an old track for my buddies and make it sound better. This is because instead of throwing a wall of plugins on everything like I used to, I did minimal ITB processing and then worked with 3 fx units, 4 channels of compression, and only the eq on the console. Bus comp ITB into a limiter and I was done. Also mixed it in 3 hours, first mix I did years ago took me a couple days.
Your videos are awesome, Glenn. I've always told people to invest in a really good expensive amp because a cheap guitar will sound pretty good through an excellent amp, but an expensive guitar into a cheap amp will sound cheap too. Lol!
As someone who doesn't do talking head content, been meaning to ask. Why do you track your voice over into two tracks in the background? Is it just a visual thing within Reaper?
In one of his recording tips videos a while ago he mentioned always getting a clean raw track of your signal. Gain low enough to keep headroom. As part of making the point he screamed at the mic and the main track clipped. Didn't hear any digital clipping though, he probably ran the clean through his regular outboard chain to boost the clean track up to the level of the main one and get the same tone just with harder compression/limiting to fix the clipping issue. Less work than having to retrack.
Sorry to chime in instead of Glenn, but one is a safety track recorded at a much lower level just as a safety net against clipping, would be my assumption.
yeah I figured one was a clean track and the other was run through some preamp, but I've never really understood why both. a clean input signal should be sufficient on its own, shouldn't it?
@@BrandonYates They both have to come in through a preamp somewhere in the chain. Mic output is too low to be read by an Analog to Digital converter. Everything comes in via a preamp (or several of them). But for his main track, he might be using an outboard channel strip with preamp, gate, compressor EQ etc. and because of all of that pre-processing, the preamp within the audio interface is set to a sensitivity to get a good level for the EXPECTED performance (say -9dB full scale) at presentation voice level at a particular distance from the mic. If you have set the compressor at 2:1 for voice, it's still possible for an undisciplined performer (or a disciplined performer making an educational point) to move into the mic, cough or yell loud enough to get that preprocessed signal to clip. By splitting the mike signal before all of that preprocessing and sending that unprocessed version separately into the interface you get your back-up. Set the sensitivity on the audio interface for that channel to be say -15db full scale and it's got another 6dB headroom on it. The cough might not make it clip and you can either run the recording back out through outboard gear via a re-amper or you can use plugins to get a sound you're happy with. Is -15dB a good value? Probably not - depends on your room, electricity supply etc. There's a balance between headroom and noise floor. Set the back-up sensitivity too high and you might not have enough headroom. Set it too low and your SNR becomes an issue - gating the track might chop the front off any word spoken after a pause. Glenn's whole channel is about getting better at recording and mixing. Step one - Get a back-up during tracking so you don't have to get people back into your studio (on time they won't pay for because you made the mistake of recording at too hot a level). If you're doing your own projects and love doing re-takes because you clip your signal, (or lose it because a piece of gear dies) then good luck to you sir.
dude i totally agree! i went from a warm audio pre 1176 to an abbey roads emi Chandler limited. the difference was jarring. i completely agree if you're a serious musician or studio engineer save up, its so worth it. i also had so many issues with the warm audio because it wasnt the real thing. also gave back the u84 from warm audio. i hated that mic with a passion. moved to a real ribbon mic and a audiotechnica mic which is on the cheaper side but its awesome. it was one of chris Cornells mics. i also love the slate microphone too. that too me gets pretty close too.
As someone who as a at home player I always bought stuff no more expensive than 400$ , I have to humbly admit , after buying a schecter that retails at 800 normally, I have to say quality matters , the playability is just so much better , I have a cheap practice mustang lt25 amp and zombie joyo and my 400$ schecter sounded cool , but when I plugged in my cr-6 It really is like night and day , to the point I'm selling my 400$ guitar now along with some other stuff just to get a 200$ pedal lol I thought I never do that buy a pedal as much as my low end guitars but I do see the difference you really do get what you pay for in the guitar world, not gonna make you a better player yes tone is in the hands but if you have been playing for years with begginer quality instruments you owe yourself to step it up and you will see your frustrations melt away lol at least for now
I went from a cheap mooer delay and the tc electronics HoF to the Dd500 and the Source Audio Ventris. It was expensive as hell for me being just a student but it was one of the best decisions of my life lol.
Suggestion - How much does a matched pair of mics matter? Through the years I haven't seen an objective reason for them. Capturing drum OH stereo sides are too different to say - I can hear matched pair mics. It is far different from matched transistors or other electronics that are required for a product to work. Although, I'm starting to doubt having matched tubes in the amp since I didn't hear any difference when I changed the dead power tube with a spare one. That might be suggestion for a rabbit hole series :D
Great hardware doesn't always have to be expensive tho-- no joke I just picked up the eventide micropitch delay pedal for $250 and this thing is an absolute beast-- you can run it in stereo into two amps if you want and even switch it to line level output to use as a hardware insert when mixing on your computer. To have access to eventide sounds without dropping money on the rackmount models they offer is great-- Literally insane and sounds fantastic. I've only had it for a couple of days though just for reference
Took me 30 years of bar gigs to save up for some "expensive" pieces, but they certainly do "just work" and no dsp chips to fuck around with is heaven. Hurts the bank account, but heals the soul.
I saw that Soyuz in the thumbnail. Got me the FET version. I totally didn't need it, but I don't regret it. it's improved my workflow a lot, it matched my voice very very well and I can basically normalize and send it over to my client (I do voice overs).
7:24 this. This right here. Its SOOOOO fucking easy for doordash/uber eats ect orders to rack up easily. Imagine for 5 days you've spent on average 20 dollars everyday and by the end of that you've already spent around 100 dollars on orders. Already enough to buy your bass player some new fucking strings.
Funny you should say that. The drummer in my band recently splurged on some absolutely beautiful cymbals, but the first recording that I asked him to do (he has his own recording set-up at home) was a side-project re-creation of an old 60's song that would've sounded perfect with the old shitty cymbals that he always had, instead they sounded like gold shimmering away in the air. I learned to live with the disappointment though. It was such a joy to mix and listen to, even if it was less "authentic".
It isn't ideal but using the online stores that offer payment plans has been the only way I have been able to get any gear at all. Getting a guitar is a bit dubious as I got a jem that screamed factory second. I sent it back and asked for a personal pull and check on the second one, it arrived looking and playing great. You can definitely get a studio together that way, just will take a little longer to come together.
I feel like Hoard Stern is able to adjust his audio to make his voice sound super deep. Id love to learn what I could do to make my Blue Yeti, or something similar to cause my voice to sound deeper. Interesting video. Thank you fro making it.
Must admit. A boosted Dual Rec into a 4x12 with T75s sounds so fucking good (drool worthy). I digress I spent a pretty penny on my Orange Rocker 15. Mainly for the multiple wattage settings. I don't regret buying it shortly after they released either, it's absolutely solid and was absolutely worth the nearly £800 I paid for it back then. I've rigorously gigged it and it's survived everything. On the other hand if you want something absolutely solid sounding and a fantastic amp for metal that doesn't cost a fortune you can't go wrong with an old Marshall Valvestate 8100 or 8080, those things are so tight.
Glenn, how about a video explaining how to economically get your DAW access to outboard gear. I have a rack full of older outboard gear that I use to use in my analog days but when I went digital I rolled the rack into a corner and just started using digital plug in's. I would love to try to use some of them in Reaper but have no idea how to make that happen. Ny thoughts? Thanks. Great videos as usual.
I love your videos, I watch almost all of them even if they don't pertain to me specifically. My only issue is that there's a lot of videos out there that go over mastering, EQing, etc etc but I haven't really seen any videos regarding the master track itself. Would it be possible to make a video showing the do's and don'ts for the master track? Also the plugins/effects you recommend should always go on the master track?
I have a Roland audio interface I bought for shits and giggles (it's a VT-3, a voice transformer). It's my primary audio interface. Durable and drivers are reliable. I have a Behringer audio interface, and it's not as stable. Both sound quality sounds similar, though the Roland VT-3 lets me record at a higher bitrate and frequency. Still, the extra bitrate and frequency gives the DAW more to use Sometimes expensive gear has a reputation (sometimes for both good and bad reasons). One thing I noticed about analog controls while streaming: I can use Izotope with OBS. However, it might mean I task-switch out of the application to adjust things, and it's nice to just be able to turn a knob to adjust things without task switching or multitasking on the same PC
Hey Glenn I'm new at home recording. I'm using cheap drum mics straight into my Scarlet 3rd generation interface. I'm going to order the Telefunken drum bundle from sweetwater. I hope these are much better than my pyle mics.
The flying Apple logo was hilarious! So true though! It's amazing how some people get new phones every year or two and then complain about not having any money. Hmm... There's nothing wrong with having a nice phone, but do you need a new one every year? Probably not.
I bought a Pixel 6 Pro as soon as they came out, because I wasn't all that wowed by my Pixel 5. The P6 Pro arrived and was very nice, except it was huge. Then I saw the amount on my credit card statement and thought, "You know, my Pixel 5 works just fine. I'd rather have the thousand dollars."
I'm in the process of building my studio and would like to know what my starting outboard gear should be! I mostly do guitar and vocals and have 8U of open rack space in my desk, but dont know where to start my purchases. A point in the right direction would be awesome! I'm running a cheap interface so I know I have to upgrade that before long!
Gear is 50% in the looks. I have been using a Marshall Head Plugged into a Blackstar combo but recently bought a 1976 Marshall 412. Did I need? Absolutely not, but it looks amazing and I just had to have Marshall on the Cab. Half Stack Achieved!
One thing that wasn't mentioned is, buying expensive gear can rule out issues. The amount of times I've upgraded a new piece of equipment, had the same results and I get to say to myself "well its obviously not the microphone because that's industry standard...... and I KNOW its not me (as I'm awesome) so what else can it be?" I'm sort of half joking, half telling the truth. The great thing once you buy the £200 acoustic treatment which was actually the problem in the first place (which you avoided buying because you couldn't plug it in and it doesn't have flashing lights, valves, transistor or even knobs) that £20k stuff it going to sound amazing haha
Great video Sir. No doubt expensive gear is easier to use and to your point, some gear is worth way more used today than it cost new a couple or a few years ago.
I must agree with the fact that if you pay a lot for something, you're more likely to use it! In Spanish we have a phrase," Si no pagan, hacen fiesta!". It just sucks that musicians think that your rack full of expensive gear serves as a great drink holder!
Yeah...I upgraded from a dbx Compressor and Mackie Mixer to WA G Comp , SoundCraft LX7II and a ART Transy For Vocals, Drums, or any bus definately Quality on mastering jumped up about 70%
GLLLEEEEENNNNNNNN Is there any real difference in running a mic through a preamp or compressor on the way in vs essentially reamping through them? I have a friend with really nice warm audio pres and a distressor, and I'm wondering if its worth it to have him add that stuff after the fact.
You mean run your signal through them as inserts? The pre... Maybe. The Distressor? Absolutely! The transformers in the preamp do add a subtle character to your signal... But that can be VERY subtle, such that you might not even notice. If it's a Neve-style or API-style pre, those transformers do add a bit of color, so play around with it and see if it imparts a sound that you like... Or one at all.
You left out two of the key reasons for going with the ‘expensive’ name brand gear over the cheaper options. Consistency and Long Term Reliability ! With the ‘expensive ‘ gear you can copy settings from one unit/channel to another, and you know it will be the same or really damn close. With a Stam or Warm Audio ‘76 clone you know you can throw your favourite settings up and it will be the same, in your studio, or on someone else’s unit in another studio.. Any 2 randomly selected Radial J48’s will sound the same, my old Soundcraft MH3, despite being more than 30 years old when I sold it, still had identical responses from any channel, I could duplicate the settings from any channel to any other channel, and get the same gain and frequency response. Which brings up the second aspect, reliability, expensive gear is a higher cost, but you expect a longer reliable life from that cost. Getting 20, 30, or more years out of a well looked after piece of equipment is normal, when it is well made. Look at how many original Urei compressors and Pultec EQ’s are still out there and still functioning reliably. Cheaper gear will often spit the dummy in far shorter time frames, often irregardless of how well you look after it.
Yes! Nailed it on wasting money on latest Apple tech and doordash. People would be amazed what they can afford when they don't piss money away on frivolous shit.
sometimes it doesn't even retain it's value, but rather increases in value as the hardware is no longer being produced but is still being used because of it's sonic qualities (but yeah, expensive donkey amps that only break up when you play hard enough are still overrated af).
Pretty much how Mike Mathews was able to get back into business making pedals. Used market prices were so high for used big muffs etc., he had a ready market just waiting for the reincarnation of Electro-Harmonix so they could buy at realistic retail prices. I want a MIG-50 so bad.
Hi Glen, can you shed some light about Mick Mars tone on why is it actually the reason for Motley Crue's sound success? LOVE FROM INDIA..me and my friends get to learn a lot from you..thank you
Over the last 11 years I’ve put about $30k into my studio… Between all the gear, microphones, computers, cables, and software, it all adds up. But of course like I said that’s been over a decade’s worth of work, but I keep investing time and resources in my studio.
GLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENN!!!!!!!!! How do I improve the mix for listening on the cellphones? I know that music should be listened in stereo but every time people are lazier and only use the speaker of their phone. Personally I try to mix in mono and then switch to stereo, since most cellphones are mono so I try to get the best result in both systems. But is there a better method for this? Because sometimes I listen to famous songs that sound good in both systems and then I listen to my mixes and I miss instruments or others stand out a lot. Greetings from Chile.
I'd add "it pressures you to make good on your investment", both ways. Cheap can be expensive, so know what you're getting into, and learn to setup and repair (so invest in tools).
I have an honest question that I hope that you can answer. I want to record my one man black metal project's next album in a professional studio. What is the producer's job in the process? Can he use my EZ Drummer drum tracks? Thanks.
Glen! You sweet silly goober ( youtube auto deleted my naughty words) I've got my 1st gig in a few months and I've never worked with a sound engineer. What knowledge should I have going in? Could you point me in the right direction of a guide or make a video on What to expect, how to get what I need , and not be difficult to work with? Thanks
In 2014 I Worked in a studio that had all that outboard gear. They were always chasing a buzz from a bad wire a bad cable bad Electric. I chose the route of going with 100% in the box Cubase and Waves plugins. Turning out more music and Better Sound of Music than those guys in there A room. Now I have my own commercial studio and people tell me that my mixes sound like West Coast. I take that as a compliment because there is a lot of studios here in New Orleans and we all are barely surviving.
I've never been able to afford nice gear so never bothered to lust after it. The classic gear was, and still is, so far out of my budget that is pointless to even dream of it. Tbh I don't think I would get the gear if I could afford it. Seems like overkill to drop thousands of euros on nice gear just for the average quality industrial metal I make! My first guitar recording rig was a 50w gorilla band amp, zoom pedal, a karaoke mic taped to a plastic jug taped to a bongo. The mic went into the back of my sound blaster live card using a big to small adapter. People still ask how we got that tone on our first album and never belive how we got it. When we had no money and only cheap gear we were way more creative than when we had plugins for everything and "correct" gear and technique. I miss that creativity. We wanted to sound like a Daniel Bergstrand production and though we didn't come close, we got something cool and unique. I tried remixing one of the songs 20 years later and with just basic balance, eq, and compression it actually sounded really cool.
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I always try to push myself and my "producer" hat as my selling point. They can emulate sick amps and get superior drummer results all day long, but having someone with the right experience that they trust calling the shots on which takes to keep, how to effectively translate their ideas into something that makes sense and how to kick their releases up a notch is some I can do that they can't... at least that's the idea lol
Hey, as long as they actually can trust you and the following stuff is true because of the skills you’ve acquired and you have a musical ear, you’re not lying. There’s no difference between you and them (other producers living in Nashville, LA or NY). Only reason I saying any of this is, in your comment I sensed maybe a 1-2% feeling of “imposter syndrome” coming from it. Could be wrong. Just don’t want you to feel like an imposter. I want you to believe WHOLE HEARTEDLY every word you’re saying. Watch Lamb of God’s making of Sacrament! They recorded that in a shithole makeshift studio with EXACTLY what you just said. …A producer with a good fuckin ear that they trusted and listened to and took his ideas and laid em down on track. It’s on RUclips by the way, a vevo special that dropped 5 mos ago. I’m obsessed with their sound. That mix is just incredible out of a fucking basement of sorts.
The first recording studio I recorded at (when they still existed) was a cheap, $40/hr hole in the wall. The rooms were nicely treated and small, with some decent (but basic) equipment. Their slogan was, "Our best piece of gear, is our ears." I always liked that saying.
I bought a Darkglass B7K preamp with distortion and a build in DI awhile ago. It cost me 400 euros and it is my first bass pedal. At first I thought it was a lot if money but I explored all of the possibilities that it has and it was definitely worth it.
So fucking jealous man! Even as a guitarist, that made me pumped up to read. Enjoy your new toy man
@@RobbieAudet thanks man I definitely will. My next purchase would be a Hartke LX8500 Bstock head with a Peavey headliner 410 4x10 800w cab. Need to save a lot of money for that purchase though...
@@grimmontha8023 aaaaand now the new gear addiction begins 😉 ah dude that’s sick! I’m gonna personally stick to the Loki Bass plug-in for now because it gets the job done
@@RobbieAudet check out the NeuralDSP plugin version if you haven't already. They are the sister company Darkglass
Our Bassist has a fantastic Glockenklang Heartrock Amp and Cab… still, we recorded only through the B7K straight into the box. An awesome pedal, have fun with it!
8 can NOT be understated. Time is money. If your clients are paying per hour then it is time that could have been spent experimenting in the studio or doing the mix for a better product. Fast turn arounds also wow clients too. I try to buy only the gear that i know will have more than 1 use and I’ll use regularly. I don’t have much outboard gear, but just bought a Stam audio SA-4000 mk2 with an “API mod.” I know if it sucks i can always resell it. Looking forward to comparing to my SSL plugins haha.
The Bugera thing is interesting - there was one _very_ small batch which had a design flaw that was a fire _risk_ in specific situations. We're talking a few hundred amps, of which less than ten actually went "poof", and they immediately revised the design to remove the flaw. Compare that with the number of people on the Internet claiming with authority that "Bugera amps catch fire! I saw it!", and...yeah.
Incidentally, according to a bunch of amp techs I know, there are a bunch of Marshall models out there which have had the exact same design flaw since they were released (eg TSL, DSL), but Marshall have never revised the designs. They just charge for a new board when you complain.
Ive had a bug for five or six years and i love it!
My friend had a bugera before they fixed that flaw (his never caught fire or messed up, they just did a recall),, and the company had him ship his back and they fixed it for free and sent it back to him. They are a good company. That pre infinium stuff was like over twelve years ago
i own the first batch of bugera 6260s that were ever made - i didnt even swap out the tubes so far. it is a reliable amp, the shitstormophile masses really love to shit on cheap good things.
My bandmate has a Bugera v55, and if it hasnt caught fire by now, it might not ever. Sounds pretty good too.
Yeah the bugera myth is complete BS i have serached and searched and i havent been able to find a single confirmed case of a Bugera catching fire anywhere. The problem was so small and insignificant that finding an actual case of this happening is almost impossible. Ive got a 6260 and a 333xl and both are amazing amps. And its just paethetic that people still believe this "catching fire" bs
Um... "less than 10." out of "a few hundred" is a ridiculously and unacceptably high failure rate.
After many decades I have a few pieces of what would be considered expensive gear, but it took me many many years of finding used gear, restoring and then trading up or selling to get to it. I'm quite proud to say I've never gone into debt for any piece of music gear. I'll never forget the look on an acquaintance's face as he had to hand back his dream guitar that he'd horribly overextended himself for, it completely shattered him, and ultimately contributed to him quitting music completely. On a second note, I absolutely can't justify my expensive gear (i don't NEED it, but i do like it) - at my level of keen hobbyist I can only say that I was fortunate to find great deals and trades to acquire them and it took TIME. Patience and delayed gratification aren't sexy or particularly rock and roll, but they do pay off longterm.
I'm in the same boat as far as not going into debt, and I don't own a personal credit card.
@@legacyShredder1 me too. I bought my PRS back in '93 ($2500 at the time if i recall, its a beauty) at Guitar Center Hollywood on layaway and man thats a long wait. Even now as a person of somewhat more means, i use my cc for build up my credit score, then immediately pay it off.
@@williamtell1477 I just request that all of my bill payments be reported to the credit bureau, and the majority do so. Although I have no real use for credit but it's there if I ever needed it.
@@legacyShredder1 Nice hack my friend :)
@@williamtell1477 That's how I approach life in general. We were all taught the rules and norms, so to speak, as we were growing up while rarely questioning if that is the easiest and best route to take. Of course I'm speaking on multiple fronts. When I bought my first house I was asking the guy if he would accept a terms agreement and he said "I want to go about it the normal way. You know, go through a bank." Why is a bank the normal way to buy a house? Turns out it's not.
I have my home studio, but I just use it to record my demos and bring ideas to life, or sometimes to record covers just for fun, but when I think about to do a serious recording I go to a studio for all the reasons you just mentioned at the end of the video. The vibe of playing in a real tube amp and singing with no shame of bothering my neighbors is something at least for me that Will make me return to a studio when I want to do serious stuff.
My general rule of thumb is "buy good enough gear to limit the time you spend fighting with your gear." I'm not a pro. Gear that gives me decent results without fighting is worth it. Fighting with gear includes reliability issues not just settings and such. I want it to work out of the box, I want it to keep working, and I want there to be quality support if I get unlucky and either of those ends up not being the case.
Also know the different between fighting the gear and polishing a turd. You gear will never save a bad song no matter how much an engineer tries.
What about a cheapest mix possible video? You find the cheapest decent quality gear (guitar amp, cab, interface, plugins and so on) and make it sound as good as possible
He kinda already did that..
Isn't that what pretty much everyone starting out does?
This isn’t really music related but I just discovered your channel and after having watched a lot of your older videos to current ones you can really see the progress in your weight loss journey. It’s a big inspiration and I applaud your success. Time to get my fat ass away from the dinner table.
I have to admit-- I bought my Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister amp partially because it has pretty blue lighting. I saw it being used by guys like Tyler at Music is Win and it sounded killer, but I didn't get to actually try one myself before throwing down the money on it. But those blue lights were like the Sirens' song and drew me in. Tubes AND shiny lights? Shut up and take my money.
I didn't buy an amp, I bought a penis extension with an effects loop.
~3 years ago I bought the H&K GrandMeister Deluxe 40... and yes... the pretty blue lights are an eye-catcher but it also sounds awesome and I abso-fucking-lutely love it. Though I have it sit on a 2x12 V30 cab I mostly use it directly into the PC through Lancaster Audio Pulse and Glenn's IR pack (+ some post processing and ofc the c*ck blocker plugin) - but that's mostly to not have shitty neighbours complain about noise. To have a 40 W tube amp that is definitely loud enough for loud band rehearsal and any gig imaginable combined with the capability of dead silent recording is just plain awesome. \m/
That's why I would love a Hughes and Kettner, they sound great for sure but so does a lot of other brands, but none have that flashy and modern look!
Thanks for sharing that. I was going to buy one but my gf says it’s too big as is.
Probably.
@@Timbo6669 imagine having your girlfriend decide how big your beuis should be...
I got the original blue porn amp - the Crate Blue Voodoo. It sounded great but was about as road worthy as an ice cube in a hot pan which is apt because one cold English night, the amp worked great in the practice room and when it got home, didn't work too well.
The Tubemeisters are great but I dig the bomb proof nuclear lunchbox that is the little Mesa Mark V 25 a little more.
On the "twiddling with virtual knobs" subject. My computer can only handle so many plugins being used at the one time, so I have to do it the old school way, like I was taught in the late 80s. I run the signal through a rack, and any basic plugins I feel it needs, then feed it into another track, and record it on the new track. Then I can remove the rack, and the old track, and play the new track. Then I move on to the next track, and repeat the process. It's a bit annoying, but it does force you to make decisions, much like analogue tracking.
My dad always said: You can either buy a cheap thing 8 times, or the expensive thing 1 time. Assuming you get the bang for your buck, the higher end gear lasts longer, and will cost less in the long run, assuming you take care of it. The cheap stuff cuts corners. I'd like to see those guys that compare cheap guitars against expensive guitars show how each holds up over time.
I've found that overtime. I've had guitars that needed refretted after 5 years. And more expensive ones that the frets 20 years later barley needed any work done to them.
I don’t see how a cheaper guitar wouldn’t hold op. I don’t think Gibson is trying to outperform squire on durability.
@@youpvanligten5788 I'm talking the real bottom of the barrel cheap guitars. I.e. Donner.
Something very cheap and mega budget, with cheap materials and production
I remember when I took a Music Technology/Mixing and Mastering class during High school, one thing my Teacher always told us was to Take our Mixes to our cars and listen to them in there. He would advise that no matter what level your gear was that of it sounded good in your car, it would sound good on any speaker you played. I found this to be true on many occasions. Now all I need now is an SM57, a Drum machine I sampled from my own drum kit, a few hours of my time, and then the tried and true car speaker method, I am never disappointed.
I was kinda expecting this to be a video to make people feel good about not having expensive gear. It wasn’t, but I did feel like you packed loads of useful info into 12 mins. Learned a lot. Thank you Glenn.
A recent previous video was the opposite, 9 reasons why expensive gear won't make you a better mixer.
ruclips.net/video/UVbwK_9nHBo/видео.html
@@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn thanks, he did say in his video. Admittedly I haven’t seen it yet. I guess I was just expecting the trick where he lures viewers in with a certain video title and then goes about changing their mindset.
Glenn! You should do a top 10 things you need to invest in for tracking live drums!
I love how glen is still ripping on the Mesa cab clone. 🤣 good shit!
"Gear does not matter AS MUCH as the skills..." I feel like this exact part of this message will get lost on a lot of people, and they will only hear "Gear doesn't matter!" and nothing else... Which isn't true, since gear does matter, but only to a degree.
I'd still recommend making some sort of guide to "No dollar wasted" gear that can satisfy all the needs without overspending on expensive QoL features. Just tell us what to look for, maybe put some price bracket that is expected and some examples of such gear. Pretty sure that would make for an excellent video on building studio that will be relevant for a long time.
I was just looking at a radial EXTC stereo reamper. For me, mucking around in my front room that thing is expensive, but the job it does could be valuable - use a stereo effect pedal (e.g. reverb) that you might already have and use it like a piece of outboard gear after tracking (or maybe live off a keyboard) with the help of send and return volume controls and a wet/dry mix control. It also lets you keep most of the signal on balanced cables. It might be a lot of money for a product that doesn't make any sound, but if it gives existing gear new uses, it's almost priceless.
@peny---💌 No one died thinking they should have watched one more porn video, but he who dies with the most audio gear wins
I got one of those recently. It’s also a great mixing tool if you want to use your guitar pedals instead of plugins 👍
New camera? Looks very nice! Have you done comparisons between analog gear and the plugins of Analog Obsession?
I just got a UA Ox to record my Mesa Badlander. Thank you so much for your honest, entertaining and educational channel.
This may be obvious but there's definitely a middle ground where you can spend a bit more but not an insane amount and get 90% of the quality for about 50% of the price. IMHO that's the way to go.
Something people might like to see is a 'if you can only buy one' series ie if you could only buy one mic, one guitar, one amp, one compressor.... what would it be and why (say, with different budgets). I've had this streamlined mentality in the past in my home studio, with limited space or money, as well as a way of eliminating decision paralysis in the creative process (although not so much these days) Last year I got a Townsend Lab L22 microphone and downsized my whole microphone collection (excluding an sm57) because it's really the only mic I need. This mentality is a great way to justify buying better gear and taking your first steps into a different level of quality.
Couldn´t agree more Glenn . Yes you are totally right , peeps takeing more care at expensive gear and use it more , means when it comes down to guitars they practise more . It just makes more fun and also plays easier .
Im 100 percent the person who feels obligated to use anything ive spent money on, because I know ive worked hard and/or saved up to purchase it myself. When youre married with 3 sons gear money doesnt come along frequently, thats why I always do thorough research before purchasing anything I may need for my guitar playing/recording endeavors.
Went Hybrid a few months back... It gets expensive so fast man! I started with a Lin76 and LinTec which is a pultec EQ without the tubes!.... I wasn't really expecting much because of the price but they got good transformers man! I was SHOCKED.!!!! Full low-mids plus the "all buttons in" trick is awesome on the lin76... Since then, I added the Lin2A and it sounds awesome as well for vocals and guitars as well as the 76's!!!... So I went and got the WA-MPX as a color box... YOU should hear it on drums and or bass LOL and the Warm audio Buss compressor that "what the hell SOUNDS REALLY GOOD" ON DRUMS AND EVEN A MASTER MIX with this pipeline plugin in studio one man... You can mix the color with the original signal!
Soooo all that made a professional tone with what I already had at least that's what it feels like.... SOOOOO I went and got the Heritage Audio HA 81 EQ... Pre amp... I only run bass and vocals through that with an Audioscape 1176 clone!!!! LOL got their buss compressor on the way!!!! We won't talk about how expensive even the cheap stuff can get BUT it gets up there fast BUT I think I made some good choices they all fit my set up perfectly...
The added harmonics from them transformers warm things up and make the highs sparkle smoothly we will say LOL Unfortunately, I need another interface or some ADAT pre's or something that's next on my list. I got my reverb guitar peddle for a stereo reverb that sounds different than all my plugins!!!! Thats 2 more line ins... LOL I need 12 already! Plus more to come because I am not stopping until I can do a live mix with me playing either of the bass or guitar parts and the vocals live with the mix playing live... LOL all that added outboard gear is lightening up the CPU load as well... Good Luck people if you fall down this rabbit hole!!!!
When I have funds available to upgrade in my home studio, I try to look for the weakest link in my signal chain. Getting an expensive piece of gear for the studio is an investment in the future. It has to enable me to do things better or more quickly. Also be realistic for what your situation is. I have a small home studio and I'm just recording my own projects. I don't need to drop thousands on an LA-2A or Pultec EQ. I need bass traps!
I’ve been collecting investment grade audio gear since the mid-90s so this particular episode really appeals to me
I love your channel and your complete irreverence - and that you are fearless when it comes to calling out manufacturers on their crappy work!!!
"I'm talking about you throwing your money away on doordash."
Glenn watches me, confirmed. I feel attacked. Lmao.
The best money I ever spent was on my good microphone preamps (Seventh Circle Audio clones of Neve and John Hardy) and a quality A/D/A converter (Lynx Aurora(n)). But very especially the preamps! I recorded a live performance of a modern jazz sextet with my cheap mics and my Digi-002 Rack interface, and my Seventh Circle mic pres. I wasn't sure my cheap mics would be up to the task of this band, or that I'd even hear a difference with the new pres because my mics were inexpensive. I absolutely heard a difference. Those cheap mics really came alive! Having good pres makes a world of difference! (For reference, my previous pres were those in the Digi-002, a Digimax LT, and a DBX 386.)
Yeah, I’ve been seriously considering professional voiceover for the last few years and I have a mic budget of $1000 US. I have building plans for a booth. I’m not sure if I should try to find a more affordable mic or just jump right into the “studio standard” $1,000 mics. And let’s not forget the “I have the right gear so please notice me” aspect of the industry. My gut is telling me to just spend the grand and get a good mic that suits my voice that also has the notoriety behind it. If I do take VO somewhere, I won’t necessarily have to upgrade in the future and if it doesn’t work out I have something with good resale value. I know it might sound like I’m trying to justify spending $1,000 on a mic, and I probably am, but $1,000 is a lot for almost all of us and if I don’t “have” to spend that much, I don’t really want to when I could have several hundred leftover for booth construction/treatment. I already have 6 modular 2” OC703 panels and all of the other equipment needed so I’m really just down to a dedicated mic and a treated booth. Any insight would be appreciated.
FUCK TOU GLENN!
I always enjoy your videos. Keep it up man!
I love this channel, you give me hope. I'm 45 and want to get back into playing.
I buy nice gear for 1 reason: I want the sound to be as close to finished as possible going in. I don't want to guess if it's going to sound good later. I typically don't like the source going into my DAW super raw while hoping I can get the sound I want later after I apply processing. This is not to say that I won't add more stuff in the mixing phase. Some extreme effects I'll do in post and mix bus processing I'll do in post which should be an obvious statement on the later. Before mixing even starts I want my tracks to sound like a record, not only that but a good record. All of my combined tracks and takes should sound coherent and enjoyable even if it's going to be changed more after. That's my 2 cents.
Doesn't matter if it's audio, video, photography, or what - the closer you get to the desired result at the source, the easier the rest of your life becomes.
One thing you didn’t mention was that most “expensive” (analog) gear will continue to interface with other analog gear pretty much until the end of time. I can’t tell you how much digital stuff I have that is sitting in a pile in the back of my garage because the interface has changed or the software’s not compatible or blah blah blah. I have 40-year-old pieces of analog gear (1176/Neve/API) that I can plug into almost any other piece of analog gear (U87) using nothing more than an XLR cable and the freaking stuff just works. Plug-ins and digital interfaces become obsolete faster than drummers change their socks.
Finally an episode to make me feel better about my expensive gear purchases 😅
Hi Glenn!
You should check the new Line6 Catalyst!
I hope you have the nerves to do one more review on their amps but IMHO I think that the signal chain should be - Roof->down to the ground->hammer->flame (grinding machine will be better for the environment) than the ash should go back to the roof and so on!
I think that Line6 have no one at the R&D department that have any idea on “how people are using amps”.
The burp outtakes are why I subscribe. Thank you for sharing.
Hey Glen,
Me and my band do our recordings from our home studio. A lot of the basics for getting a decent recording as possible I've learned from yourself and few others.
What could a ballpark price in today's standard market be to mix a 5-6 song EP/Demo if we did the recording in house and sent the stems straight to the mix engineer? I'll be honest we are looking to drop about $2k on this and really want a mix engineering that can get that dirty dialed in grunge, stoner, sludge, doom...ect; sound including some light tape delay ( I now its not authentic but the sound is as close as you can get for digital). A large portion of the vocals are heavy but not metal core cliche gutturals. We have no desire to make money from this we just really have a passion for what we do and want to make a solid piece of personal art music we all enjoy and can share with other like minded people.
In hopes I get a reply, thanks a ton man. Love watching your vids weekly man! Keep killing it!
I think often expensive gear forces you to make due with less because you have limited monies, and therefore at least with outboard gear and mics, you can buy a large amount of mediocre gear and struggle or learn to make wise compromises. I just went hybrid at the and of 2021 and am slowly building out my racks, and I was able to remix an old track for my buddies and make it sound better. This is because instead of throwing a wall of plugins on everything like I used to, I did minimal ITB processing and then worked with 3 fx units, 4 channels of compression, and only the eq on the console. Bus comp ITB into a limiter and I was done. Also mixed it in 3 hours, first mix I did years ago took me a couple days.
GLEN IS THAT A NEW INTRO!! greetings from Saskatchewan!
Your videos are awesome, Glenn. I've always told people to invest in a really good expensive amp because a cheap guitar will sound pretty good through an excellent amp, but an expensive guitar into a cheap amp will sound cheap too. Lol!
As a bass player still lugging around an all tube SVT with two 8x10s, take one or leave it, I laughed at your transformer joke.
Haha, love that still of the rack of amps with the WARM EQ sitting on top. It belongs there and not in a rack, for sure!
Thanks for validating my purchase of the white Kalis. :D
As someone who doesn't do talking head content, been meaning to ask. Why do you track your voice over into two tracks in the background? Is it just a visual thing within Reaper?
In one of his recording tips videos a while ago he mentioned always getting a clean raw track of your signal. Gain low enough to keep headroom. As part of making the point he screamed at the mic and the main track clipped. Didn't hear any digital clipping though, he probably ran the clean through his regular outboard chain to boost the clean track up to the level of the main one and get the same tone just with harder compression/limiting to fix the clipping issue. Less work than having to retrack.
Sorry to chime in instead of Glenn, but one is a safety track recorded at a much lower level just as a safety net against clipping, would be my assumption.
@@devon-graves-studio-D this is correct.
yeah I figured one was a clean track and the other was run through some preamp, but I've never really understood why both. a clean input signal should be sufficient on its own, shouldn't it?
@@BrandonYates They both have to come in through a preamp somewhere in the chain. Mic output is too low to be read by an Analog to Digital converter. Everything comes in via a preamp (or several of them). But for his main track, he might be using an outboard channel strip with preamp, gate, compressor EQ etc. and because of all of that pre-processing, the preamp within the audio interface is set to a sensitivity to get a good level for the EXPECTED performance (say -9dB full scale) at presentation voice level at a particular distance from the mic. If you have set the compressor at 2:1 for voice, it's still possible for an undisciplined performer (or a disciplined performer making an educational point) to move into the mic, cough or yell loud enough to get that preprocessed signal to clip. By splitting the mike signal before all of that preprocessing and sending that unprocessed version separately into the interface you get your back-up. Set the sensitivity on the audio interface for that channel to be say -15db full scale and it's got another 6dB headroom on it. The cough might not make it clip and you can either run the recording back out through outboard gear via a re-amper or you can use plugins to get a sound you're happy with. Is -15dB a good value? Probably not - depends on your room, electricity supply etc. There's a balance between headroom and noise floor. Set the back-up sensitivity too high and you might not have enough headroom. Set it too low and your SNR becomes an issue - gating the track might chop the front off any word spoken after a pause.
Glenn's whole channel is about getting better at recording and mixing. Step one - Get a back-up during tracking so you don't have to get people back into your studio (on time they won't pay for because you made the mistake of recording at too hot a level). If you're doing your own projects and love doing re-takes because you clip your signal, (or lose it because a piece of gear dies) then good luck to you sir.
dude i totally agree! i went from a warm audio pre 1176 to an abbey roads emi Chandler limited. the difference was jarring. i completely agree if you're a serious musician or studio engineer save up, its so worth it. i also had so many issues with the warm audio because it wasnt the real thing. also gave back the u84 from warm audio. i hated that mic with a passion. moved to a real ribbon mic and a audiotechnica mic which is on the cheaper side but its awesome. it was one of chris Cornells mics. i also love the slate microphone too. that too me gets pretty close too.
Having a good multi-pattern mic can be super helpful. I've found the multi-pattern versions of mics are always more expensive. Eg. AKG 214 vs AKG 414
As someone who as a at home player I always bought stuff no more expensive than 400$ , I have to humbly admit , after buying a schecter that retails at 800 normally, I have to say quality matters , the playability is just so much better , I have a cheap practice mustang lt25 amp and zombie joyo and my 400$ schecter sounded cool , but when I plugged in my cr-6 It really is like night and day , to the point I'm selling my 400$ guitar now along with some other stuff just to get a 200$ pedal lol I thought I never do that buy a pedal as much as my low end guitars but I do see the difference you really do get what you pay for in the guitar world, not gonna make you a better player yes tone is in the hands but if you have been playing for years with begginer quality instruments you owe yourself to step it up and you will see your frustrations melt away lol at least for now
I went from a cheap mooer delay and the tc electronics HoF to the Dd500 and the Source Audio Ventris. It was expensive as hell for me being just a student but it was one of the best decisions of my life lol.
Suggestion - How much does a matched pair of mics matter?
Through the years I haven't seen an objective reason for them. Capturing drum OH stereo sides are too different to say - I can hear matched pair mics.
It is far different from matched transistors or other electronics that are required for a product to work. Although, I'm starting to doubt having matched tubes in the amp since I didn't hear any difference when I changed the dead power tube with a spare one. That might be suggestion for a rabbit hole series :D
Great hardware doesn't always have to be expensive tho-- no joke I just picked up the eventide micropitch delay pedal for $250 and this thing is an absolute beast-- you can run it in stereo into two amps if you want and even switch it to line level output to use as a hardware insert when mixing on your computer. To have access to eventide sounds without dropping money on the rackmount models they offer is great-- Literally insane and sounds fantastic. I've only had it for a couple of days though just for reference
Happy to see my little Peavey been called "good sh*t" from Glenn voice. Great video Glenn. 🙌
Took me 30 years of bar gigs to save up for some "expensive" pieces, but they certainly do "just work" and no dsp chips to fuck around with is heaven. Hurts the bank account, but heals the soul.
I saw that Soyuz in the thumbnail. Got me the FET version. I totally didn't need it, but I don't regret it. it's improved my workflow a lot, it matched my voice very very well and I can basically normalize and send it over to my client (I do voice overs).
7:24 this. This right here. Its SOOOOO fucking easy for doordash/uber eats ect orders to rack up easily.
Imagine for 5 days you've spent on average 20 dollars everyday and by the end of that you've already spent around 100 dollars on orders. Already enough to buy your bass player some new fucking strings.
$100!?!? What kind of strings does your bass player use?
@@Lawrence330 the ones that are permanent...
I'll always splurge extra $$$ on cymbals... Can't really EQ a shitty clangy cymbal.
Funny you should say that. The drummer in my band recently splurged on some absolutely beautiful cymbals, but the first recording that I asked him to do (he has his own recording set-up at home) was a side-project re-creation of an old 60's song that would've sounded perfect with the old shitty cymbals that he always had, instead they sounded like gold shimmering away in the air. I learned to live with the disappointment though. It was such a joy to mix and listen to, even if it was less "authentic".
1:05 nice choice for 'new guitar'
That's actually my next guitar purchase lol
I grew up knowing Dallas the guy who started Vintech. How that company started is almost unbelievable.
It isn't ideal but using the online stores that offer payment plans has been the only way I have been able to get any gear at all. Getting a guitar is a bit dubious as I got a jem that screamed factory second. I sent it back and asked for a personal pull and check on the second one, it arrived looking and playing great. You can definitely get a studio together that way, just will take a little longer to come together.
I feel like Hoard Stern is able to adjust his audio to make his voice sound super deep. Id love to learn what I could do to make my Blue Yeti, or something similar to cause my voice to sound deeper. Interesting video. Thank you fro making it.
Must admit. A boosted Dual Rec into a 4x12 with T75s sounds so fucking good (drool worthy). I digress I spent a pretty penny on my Orange Rocker 15. Mainly for the multiple wattage settings.
I don't regret buying it shortly after they released either, it's absolutely solid and was absolutely worth the nearly £800 I paid for it back then. I've rigorously gigged it and it's survived everything.
On the other hand if you want something absolutely solid sounding and a fantastic amp for metal that doesn't cost a fortune you can't go wrong with an old Marshall Valvestate 8100 or 8080, those things are so tight.
Glenn, how about a video explaining how to economically get your DAW access to outboard gear. I have a rack full of older outboard gear that I use to use in my analog days but when I went digital I rolled the rack into a corner and just started using digital plug in's. I would love to try to use some of them in Reaper but have no idea how to make that happen. Ny thoughts? Thanks. Great videos as usual.
I love your videos, I watch almost all of them even if they don't pertain to me specifically. My only issue is that there's a lot of videos out there that go over mastering, EQing, etc etc but I haven't really seen any videos regarding the master track itself. Would it be possible to make a video showing the do's and don'ts for the master track? Also the plugins/effects you recommend should always go on the master track?
Glenn, the world needs to see you review the Line 6 Catalyst.
Man I needed this video just bought some pricey sht was kinda having doubts now I’m all in
Lol I wonder what glen's opinion on Nolly Getgood is
I have a Roland audio interface I bought for shits and giggles (it's a VT-3, a voice transformer). It's my primary audio interface. Durable and drivers are reliable. I have a Behringer audio interface, and it's not as stable. Both sound quality sounds similar, though the Roland VT-3 lets me record at a higher bitrate and frequency. Still, the extra bitrate and frequency gives the DAW more to use
Sometimes expensive gear has a reputation (sometimes for both good and bad reasons).
One thing I noticed about analog controls while streaming: I can use Izotope with OBS. However, it might mean I task-switch out of the application to adjust things, and it's nice to just be able to turn a knob to adjust things without task switching or multitasking on the same PC
Hey Glenn I'm new at home recording. I'm using cheap drum mics straight into my Scarlet 3rd generation interface. I'm going to order the Telefunken drum bundle from sweetwater. I hope these are much better than my pyle mics.
Robotech sighted!!
I love you uncle Glenn. Another greet video!
The flying Apple logo was hilarious! So true though! It's amazing how some people get new phones every year or two and then complain about not having any money. Hmm...
There's nothing wrong with having a nice phone, but do you need a new one every year? Probably not.
I bought a Pixel 6 Pro as soon as they came out, because I wasn't all that wowed by my Pixel 5. The P6 Pro arrived and was very nice, except it was huge. Then I saw the amount on my credit card statement and thought, "You know, my Pixel 5 works just fine. I'd rather have the thousand dollars."
I'm in the process of building my studio and would like to know what my starting outboard gear should be! I mostly do guitar and vocals and have 8U of open rack space in my desk, but dont know where to start my purchases. A point in the right direction would be awesome! I'm running a cheap interface so I know I have to upgrade that before long!
Maybe you've addressed this in the past, but would you consider doing a "HOW TO NOT PISS OFF YOUR SOUND GUY" video for live bands?
Gear is 50% in the looks. I have been using a Marshall Head Plugged into a Blackstar combo but recently bought a 1976 Marshall 412. Did I need? Absolutely not, but it looks amazing and I just had to have Marshall on the Cab. Half Stack Achieved!
My number one reason for grabbing the best gear I can get for any application - much lower chance I'll ever need to replace it as long as I live.
One thing that wasn't mentioned is, buying expensive gear can rule out issues. The amount of times I've upgraded a new piece of equipment, had the same results and I get to say to myself "well its obviously not the microphone because that's industry standard...... and I KNOW its not me (as I'm awesome) so what else can it be?"
I'm sort of half joking, half telling the truth. The great thing once you buy the £200 acoustic treatment which was actually the problem in the first place (which you avoided buying because you couldn't plug it in and it doesn't have flashing lights, valves, transistor or even knobs) that £20k stuff it going to sound amazing haha
Great video Sir. No doubt expensive gear is easier to use and to your point, some gear is worth way more used today than it cost new a couple
or a few years ago.
I must agree with the fact that if you pay a lot for something, you're more likely to use it! In Spanish we have a phrase," Si no pagan, hacen fiesta!". It just sucks that musicians think that your rack full of expensive gear serves as a great drink holder!
I don’t like metal, but I love this show. Invariably entertaining and funny. Cheers all.
Yeah...I upgraded from a dbx Compressor and Mackie Mixer to WA G Comp , SoundCraft LX7II and a ART Transy For Vocals, Drums, or any bus definately Quality on mastering jumped up about 70%
GLLLEEEEENNNNNNNN
Is there any real difference in running a mic through a preamp or compressor on the way in vs essentially reamping through them? I have a friend with really nice warm audio pres and a distressor, and I'm wondering if its worth it to have him add that stuff after the fact.
You mean run your signal through them as inserts? The pre... Maybe. The Distressor? Absolutely! The transformers in the preamp do add a subtle character to your signal... But that can be VERY subtle, such that you might not even notice. If it's a Neve-style or API-style pre, those transformers do add a bit of color, so play around with it and see if it imparts a sound that you like... Or one at all.
You left out two of the key reasons for going with the ‘expensive’ name brand gear over the cheaper options.
Consistency and Long Term Reliability !
With the ‘expensive ‘ gear you can copy settings from one unit/channel to another, and you know it will be the same or really damn close.
With a Stam or Warm Audio ‘76 clone you know you can throw your favourite settings up and it will be the same, in your studio, or on someone else’s unit in another studio..
Any 2 randomly selected Radial J48’s will sound the same, my old Soundcraft MH3, despite being more than 30 years old when I sold it, still had identical responses from any channel, I could duplicate the settings from any channel to any other channel, and get the same gain and frequency response.
Which brings up the second aspect, reliability, expensive gear is a higher cost, but you expect a longer reliable life from that cost.
Getting 20, 30, or more years out of a well looked after piece of equipment is normal, when it is well made.
Look at how many original Urei compressors and Pultec EQ’s are still out there and still functioning reliably.
Cheaper gear will often spit the dummy in far shorter time frames, often irregardless of how well you look after it.
Yes! Nailed it on wasting money on latest Apple tech and doordash. People would be amazed what they can afford when they don't piss money away on frivolous shit.
I prefer my Moog One to Behringer Poly D for sure :D
sometimes it doesn't even retain it's value, but rather increases in value as the hardware is no longer being produced but is still being used because of it's sonic qualities (but yeah, expensive donkey amps that only break up when you play hard enough are still overrated af).
Pretty much how Mike Mathews was able to get back into business making pedals. Used market prices were so high for used big muffs etc., he had a ready market just waiting for the reincarnation of Electro-Harmonix so they could buy at realistic retail prices. I want a MIG-50 so bad.
Hi Glen, can you shed some light about Mick Mars tone on why is it actually the reason for Motley Crue's sound success? LOVE FROM INDIA..me and my friends get to learn a lot from you..thank you
Over the last 11 years I’ve put about $30k into my studio… Between all the gear, microphones, computers, cables, and software, it all adds up. But of course like I said that’s been over a decade’s worth of work, but I keep investing time and resources in my studio.
Waiting for the best of bloopers 😂
What's your opinion on the MV7 mic. The sm7b little brother.
GLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENN!!!!!!!!!
How do I improve the mix for listening on the cellphones? I know that music should be listened in stereo but every time people are lazier and only use the speaker of their phone.
Personally I try to mix in mono and then switch to stereo, since most cellphones are mono so I try to get the best result in both systems.
But is there a better method for this?
Because sometimes I listen to famous songs that sound good in both systems and then I listen to my mixes and I miss instruments or others stand out a lot.
Greetings from Chile.
Hey Glen, Any thoughts on VUs vs LED meters? I'm looking at a Trident 78 and wondering if it's worth the extra $ for all VUs.
I'd add "it pressures you to make good on your investment", both ways.
Cheap can be expensive, so know what you're getting into, and learn to setup and repair (so invest in tools).
This is Why I’m going with you Preach it man This is why Mortician, Death, Death SS sounds Awesome 🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻🎸🎸🎸
I have an honest question that I hope that you can answer. I want to record my one man black metal project's next album in a professional studio. What is the producer's job in the process? Can he use my EZ Drummer drum tracks? Thanks.
Glen! You sweet silly goober
( youtube auto deleted my naughty words)
I've got my 1st gig in a few months and I've never worked with a sound engineer.
What knowledge should I have going in? Could you point me in the right direction of a guide or make a video on
What to expect, how to get what I need , and not be difficult to work with?
Thanks
Seeing that title I was honestly afraid to see Glenn in a suit again. Almost didn't click.
In 2014 I Worked in a studio that had all that outboard gear. They were always chasing a buzz from a bad wire a bad cable bad Electric. I chose the route of going with 100% in the box Cubase and Waves plugins. Turning out more music and Better Sound of Music than those guys in there A room. Now I have my own commercial studio and people tell me that my mixes sound like West Coast. I take that as a compliment because there is a lot of studios here in New Orleans and we all are barely surviving.
Glen you're great.
I've never been able to afford nice gear so never bothered to lust after it. The classic gear was, and still is, so far out of my budget that is pointless to even dream of it. Tbh I don't think I would get the gear if I could afford it. Seems like overkill to drop thousands of euros on nice gear just for the average quality industrial metal I make!
My first guitar recording rig was a 50w gorilla band amp, zoom pedal, a karaoke mic taped to a plastic jug taped to a bongo. The mic went into the back of my sound blaster live card using a big to small adapter. People still ask how we got that tone on our first album and never belive how we got it.
When we had no money and only cheap gear we were way more creative than when we had plugins for everything and "correct" gear and technique. I miss that creativity. We wanted to sound like a Daniel Bergstrand production and though we didn't come close, we got something cool and unique. I tried remixing one of the songs 20 years later and with just basic balance, eq, and compression it actually sounded really cool.