Hybrid is a good setup. What I find interesting is some newer analog hardware that can also be controlled and recalled with a plugin. I think over time we’ll see much more of that. My only worry with that is will there be planned obsolescence built into that hardware?
First of all, Merry X-Mas and a Happy New Year mate! Hope 2022 start to get in track again for everyone! Well... I may be a little late here, but anyway... I'm glad I saw the video! I'm planning to start going hybrid here, initially only for tracking. I'm working entirely ITB now, using INPUT FX on Reaper to record already commiting some stuff, but sometimes I feel my Steinberg need a bit more beef (specially with dynamics and ribbons), as it could get a bit noisey as soons as I need to run its pres almost maxed. For now, unique piece of hardware I have here, besides the audio interface, is my Z-Tone DI. Now, I'm planning to grab a preamp (probably a WA12 MkII or a WA73), not only for more input power, but also for the possibility of coloration and slight compression when tracking basses, guitars and vocals. But it's hard to decide going hybrid because of the cost of outboard gear, specially here in Brazil. Cheers!
Merry Ho-Ho and such to you as well Diogo!! I forgot that Reaper has the ability to record FX on the way in. I've never used Reaper but I think Glenn Fricker mentioned it in one of his videos. Logic needs that feature badly. Yes, thats one of the issues with interface preamps. Generally speaking you typically only get around 60ish db of gain on each channel. I can't speak to the WA12 but anyone I have spoken to about the WA73 loves it. On that note tho, both of those units are just preamps. So if by design they do add compression, it will be almost none as there isn't a compressor section in either of them. Should add some color tho. But going strictly on gain, the 73 has 80dB of gain and the WA12 has 71dB. Being in Brazil though, if gain is what you need, have you thought of a Cloudlifter? Might be easier to get your hands on and I think it adds about 25dB of gain. If your interface gives say 60, then you'd be at around 85dB, for a lot less money. I don't know if they make a cloudlifter for ribbon mic's though. Might just be for dynamic mic's, you'd have to look. For condenser mics I use a FETHEAD Phantom. I have a Sennheiser shotgun mic for my videos and the FETHEAD made a huge difference. I think its 20 or so dB of gain it adds to my shotgun mic before hitting my interface. And it was about $100ish bucks. Loads cheaper than buying a high gain preamp.
@@EverythingMusicRecording I normally use the INPUT FX to put a DI simulation for a slight coloration and an EQ for hipass filter, and eventually a preamp simulation and a comp too, depending what I'm looking for. Later, I do some more processing, if needed, before going to the mixing stage. Yeah! The D-Pres on the Steinberg has 60dB of gain. And, when I say about the preamp adding compression, I'm talking about that really slight compression we have when overdriven a signal, not a proper compression from a compressor. And yes, both of them have some more gain than the interface's preamps, which probably will be enough even for the most hungry mics. Here in Brazil we have some diffilcuties to find some tools. Our market isn't that hot, and a lot of people import hardware, or buy them when travelling. But now, during the pandemic, our currency is way devalued, so it's hard to find hardware with good price. Both WA12 kII and WA73 I managed to find with a good relation cost/beneficy comparing with the prices in USA. However, I never found a Cloudlifter being sold here, only found the TNT (sE Electronics) and the Fethead (Triton), but both not suitable for condensers (the phantom is only used to feed the preamp, not pass to the mics), and even those are around 1/3 of the price of the preamp, at least. So, I'd need one for dynamics and ribbons (without phantom) and one for condensers (with phantom). With the preamp, I can use not only it for mics, but for another flavor for instruments too. Well... I'm still on the fence about this subject, and I know I'm trying to justify for myself entering in the hybrid route, but I'm thiking in the future too. Today I have only two preamps in my interface. I don't plan to record drums here, but have a bit more pres would be good. I'm thinking to grab one external pre, then in the future changing my interface for one with USB 3.0 interface and line inputs for use with external pres. Than I can have 04 or 06 inputs, which would be more than enough for anything I can think of recording here.
Yea thats rough. I don't know why things are as they are in Brazil. I'm about as far from an economics expert as one can get. Sad that even getting a cloudlifter over there not even an option, whereas they are about a dime a dozen over here. And you are correct, none of those are for use with condenser mics. My fethead phantom is the only one (as far as i'm aware) even made for use with a condenser mic. You are correct on the compression. Driving a preamp hard will compress slightly once you hit the point of clipping, but anything less there would be pretty much zero compression at all. As for entering the hybrid approach, there is nothing wrong with that. Even if you do everything ITB, you still need to get sounds from the real world into your DAW, so thinking about putting together a good analogue front end makes perfect sense. And if you don't need a load of inputs (like you're not recording a drum kit) then you really don't need a ton of kit. Even if you got real Neve preamps, if you only need 2-4, thats much easier to acquire than say, 24 of them lol. It is also good that you are thinking about the future though as well. I have been meaning to do a video on just that very subject. Basically a "where do you want your studio to be in 5 years" sort of thing. The cost of gear can be very expensive, but I think having a plan in place and putting some real thought into it can save all of us from wasting money on gear we don't really need. It sounds to me like you are already on the right path with that. Between the WA12 and the WA73, do you know which one you are leaning more towards yet?
@@EverythingMusicRecording as we say here, "living in Brazil isn't for the weak ones". kkkkkkk I found an used Cloudlifter here, costing about 2/3 of one of these preamps. Total non-sense. And, if I buy two Fetheads (one for the condenser, and the other for the dynamic/ribbon), I'll be near the price of one of the pres too. Yes! To reach the point of compression with a 'clean' preamp maybe not the best approach, but it could works with bass or electric guitar for a bit of spice. My idea is to upgrade the interface and grab some pres to have about 04 to 06 inputs (max). The place where I'm now makes it impossible to track drums, so I'll be working with programmed drums or recording drums in other studios. So, what I want to grab for my tracking rack is a power conditioner (today I only have a senoidal UPS), probably two pres, maybe a 1176 and/or a LA2A and an EQ, and I'm done! That's the hardest part... I like both circuits (API and Neve), and every review I saw about those two points for good things. If I look only for the price, the WA73 is worthing much more, 'cause they're costing about the same here, but out there, the WA73 costs almost 200 bucks more. I use both samplers from Acustica Audio (API - Pink and GOLD - Neve), and also the Kit BB N105 v2, which is modeled on a modded Neve consolo from Blackbird Studios. This is why I'm looking specifically towards both pres.
Thats crazy!! The cloudlifter here is $199 and the WA73 is about $900. I can understand why a cloudlifter or fetheads wouldn't make much sense in your situation. And my fethead was only like $100ish. A power conditioner is always good to have. I have 3 of them. The UPS is still also good to have. My iMac and external hard drives are all plugged into a UPS. If you like both of the preamps, then yes, that can be a tough call as to which one to get. This is what I would do if I was in your situation. I wouldn't buy either of them. You said you also wanted to get a compressor and an EQ. So I would save a bit more and get the WA73-EQ. In Canada it's only $200 more to get the WA73 with the EQ built in. So in the long run it would be much cheaper than buying separate preamp and EQ units. (I don't know if its the same in Brazil though) But that money you could save on not buying a separate EQ unit would let you get that LA2A much quicker. Just something to think about anyway.
This has always been my sentiment. I do actually use a fair few synths for things, but decided not to buy any hardware synths and instead invest in a nice MIDI keyboard and controller; best of both worlds
100% Chris!! Both hardware and software will always have a place in every studio. Its just figuring out when to use which, and that will be different for everyone.
I had to look this up and came up empty handed. Seems Les Paul demonstrated live looping back in 1953. Seems 10 years later Terry Riley used two Revox tape recorders and called it the “time lag accumulator. After that all I could find was info about digital loopers. I tried lol
Consider what the future may bring as well. I bought a Sherman Filterbank 2 about 16 years ago. Because I knew back then buying something like a Virus, a Q or any other VA would be replicated in software soon. Still no plugin sounds like my Sherman yet and I use it all the time. All my pals who owned a virus back then have sold theirs.
For sure. And like the Sherman and many others there may never be a plugin version. There will always be a need for some hardware, mics and preamps at minimum. I think it boils down to using plugins where it makes sense and using hardware where it makes sense. And that balance will be different for everyone.
@@EverythingMusicRecording Eventually my Sherman or something that can do what it does will be in the box along with everything else. Once plugin devs are basing their code around chipsets that make i9s look weak, we'll start seeing some real interesting things happening and more hardware with identical plugin versions. Seeing it happen with Minimoogs (Monark/Legend) is when I really think I saw the writing on the wall.
Yea I can’t disagree with you. Which makes it harder and harder to justify the cost of real gear vs the plugin version of many things. I think what it will boil down to is which one is more inspiring to use? Even if they make a plugin version of the Sherman, you might prefer using the real thing. Same on my end. Plugins more than do the job for most of what I need. But there are some things I just prefer to use real gear for. So I think it’s just finding that balance which will be different for everyone.
@@EverythingMusicRecording It makes me very excited for what the future holds! We'll reach a point of singularity where it'll be less about hard vs soft and we'll see more pronounced interfacing between the best of both worlds. Great vid. thanks for the chat!
Oh for sure!! I think Neve is really trying to better integrate the two worlds too. The next 5 or so years will be very interesting to see what happens with studio gear. No worries and I’m always up for a good chat 🙂
I'm planning on recording podcasts. I bought most of my gear analog but I plan on throwing a couple of plugins on top of that. For example digital EQs are just much better and more surgical. Oh and I almost forgot you cannot live without tubes!
Hey Yamiteru. Thanks for the comment. What is your podcast going to be about? 100% digital EQ's can offer far more flexibility. Honestly you can say that about any digital plugins really. And good luck automating real hardware lol. But with that said I think everyone needs to find their own gear/plugins balance that works for them. Seems like you may have already done that =) HAHAHA!!! RIght?!?!? All 4 of my guitar and bass amps are tube (except my Ampeg SVT 3Pro which is a hybrid, but still has 5 tubes in it) but I couldn't agree with you more. I love the sound of tubes. I wish I had more tube gear beyond my guitar amps and a couple of mics. But one day at a time i suppose.
@@EverythingMusicRecording Hey! I want to merge spirituality, design and tech (mainly programming). Yeah digital does give you more flexibility. Especially handy is being able to just clone EQs, compressors, etc. This is my analog gear: Warm audio WA-Classic + WA-47, Furman M-10x E, ART Pro MPA II, Warm Audio EQP-WA, ART Pro VLA II, SPL 9629 De-Esser, SPL Stereo Vitalizer Mk2-T, Black Lion Audio Bluey Limiter, Steinberg UR816C, ART Headamp 6 Pro. Currently I'm building my sound proofed studio so it sounds but also looks nice. I'm probably have a couple of softboxes and spot lights (I'm also a photographer so I care about the light a lot). Regarding plugins I'm still really not sure. Definitely EQ and maybe a gate/de-noise. What would you recommend me? Yeah the tube sound is addictive!
Oh, well that sounds like an interesting combination of topics. When you get it up and running send me a link (if you remember) and I'll be sure to check it out. I don't watch/listen too much spiritually content (maybe I should...) but I do really like HINDZ (check him out if you haven't. YT or podcast) Not a bad chunk of gear you've got there. And the WA-47 has been on my list for awhile now, so you'll have to let me know what you think of it. I've been a photographer for just over 10 years so I hear you on that. It took some work but luckily the transition from stills to video isn't that big of a leap. Which plugins would I recommend? Thats hard to answer beyond I can tell you what I really like, but what I like might not work for you. I bought the Lindell Audio 80 Series channel strip about 6 or so months ago and I absolutely love it. I could do about 80-90% of what I need to do just using that. And it also has a gate if needed. As for noise reduction, I never use it. Waves has some plugins that are supposed to be really good for noise reduction. When I started the channel I would pass audio through Adobe Audition to clean it up. But awhile ago I got a much better shotgun mic and a FetHead Phantom, and since then I haven't needed to clean up any audio in Audition. And for working on music tracks I just strip-silence tracks that need it. It is addictive lol. Tubes just sounds so good. And if you take care of them, they can last for eons. I have a 1965 Ampeg B15 (I'm the second owner since 1994) and it still has the original RCA black-plate tubes in it. Needs a little servicing but the amp still works just fine (pots are just getting crackly). Not bad for an almost 60 year old tube amp still running its original tubes lol.
@@EverythingMusicRecording Sure I'll send you a link once it's on air. I'm still debating whether to do it in english or not since english is not my first language. Oh yeah HINDZ is pretty cool. He has good vibes I like that. Yeah I absolutely dig the og 47 sound. The mic has been on my list for quite some time too. I'll definitely let you know. Probs in 2 months. Oh yeah I think I've already seen the channel strip somewhere before. Thanks for the recommendation. Looks really good. I usually don't do any noise reduction since I've swapped all my tubes to 7025 that are pretty low noise. Also I really don't mind a bit of noise. It's like grain in photography. Oh wow that's a really old gear you've got there! Amazing it's still working well.
Hey, sorry for the delay. Your last reply slipped though the cracks and I missed it =/ Yes for sure send me the link once you're up and running, even if its not in english I'll still check it out. The Lindell 80 Series is awesome. I lucked out when I got it cuz it was on sale for $39. I think its normally $250 or so. Oh for sure. There is a time and a place for saturation and its nice when you have control over how much or how little. The issue I had before was I had to boost my mic pre to far to get a decent level. And the mic is normally about 2 feet away when I shoot a video. But with the new mic and the FetHead its a non issue now. I do like adding grain in my photos sometimes but digital grain just isn't quite the same. It works tho lol Yea the old Ampeg is great. My friends grandfather was the original owner. But it got too much for him to haul around so it lived in his attic for I think around 10 years if i recall correctly. Then it ended up in my hands where it's been since about 1994, maybe it was 95. I'd like to restore it at some point. There is a repair shop across the border that specializes in repairing vintage Ampegs. Most of what it needs are just minor cosmetic repairs. 2 of the chicken-head knobs are missing as an example. Pots need a cleaning as they get crackley. When my friends grandfather still had it the rectifier tube blew and at the time it was cheaper to mod the amp to no longer need a rectifier tube which I'd like to have reversed, and I blew the original speaker a couple years after I got it. So I'd like to find an original speaker to replace what I put in all those years ago. Other than that, its been a great amp and its very cool to have such a classic. Its for sure the coolest piece of gear that I own.
lol that's a rabbit hole of a question Pascal. I'd assume hardware would have far more of a footprint than software. I mean a single computer isn't going to use the power that racks of gear would. And software also doesn't have to be manufactured and then shipped all over the place... tho it has to sit on servers waiting for people to buy it.... (ponders) I'd still guess that in the long run hardware still has a bigger footprint.
Thanks Mark! Recording music doesn’t HAVE to be this overly complicated thing. Keeping things simple is very much an over arching theme on this channel if nothing else 🙂
Great vid thanks.. Totally agree with you about filling out the gap with plugins. I've had and tried every SSL bus comp plugin and I just can't find one that even resembles the cheap warm Audio bus comp. They all just sound flat and two dimensional and unexciting. Jack Joseph Puigh did a video here on RUclips explaining about depth using a Fairchild on drums.
Thanks Erand!! Yea I don’t think we have choice but to fill the gaps with plugins, unless we are super wealthy lol. But plugins just keep getting better so we can’t complain too much. How is the warm bus comp? I hear their Neve clones are pretty good but I guess their 1176 is kinda meh? Yea JJP loves the Fairchild. Eric Valentine’s Unfairchild is supposed be stupid good if you’ve got the $10,000. I really dig the waves rs124 on my drum bus (not trying to promote it) but it’s nice cuz I can go from “nice” to “crushed” in one click. Tis very cool 😎
@@EverythingMusicRecording the RS124 sounds really good really fattens things up. The warm Audio bus comp sounds really good for the money and the fact that you can engage transformers is a nice touch. It also really brings the sides to glue with the center something I can't really find in plugins. You hear it in plugins but.. Well hard to describe.. It just glues front to back and mid to side in such a pleasing way. When I win the lottery here in Europe I'll go 100 hybrid and not 30/70 as now. Haha.. Gonna sub. Great channel.. Thanks 👍
Oh sweet, thanks for subbing. Yea the rs124 is really good for sure. I’ll have to check the warm bus comp out one of these days. To be honest tho I’ve never been a big fan of SSL style bus compressors. I’ve had the PSP vintage warmer on my master bus for… shit like 12 years or so now and I’ve yet to find anything I like better. Everyone has their own tastes. Well I’ll cross my fingers for your big lotto win lol. I’m not sure if I’d go 100 OTB but I’d have a Neve Genesys Black console REAL fast. EQ and comp on every channel for sure. Then add other hardware from there if I feel like it. Thanks again for subbing. If you have any questions ever always feel free to ask away.
I think plugins (not all) are pretty close at this point. It would be nice to have 10's or hundreds of thousands to spend on gear... but until that day, can't complain too much about using plugins 🙂
there are things that happen with analog that for now no plugin can duplicate maybe same day they will get it i mean if you plug your guitar in to ikmultimedia amp and they sound nice i use them but its not the same as a real amp same with all plugins that say they are analog so its not complaining just stating facts on the plugins that say they are analog. I agree on expensive real gear is and plugins are cheaper but there are still people out there who cant afford some of them and may have to save up
No for sure. I use real stuff as much as I can, especially guitar/bass amps. Thing with plugins tho is to wait for sales. Makes it MUCH cheaper on a good sale. Same with gear, getting gear used or on sale can help as well. We have a very expensive hobby. Gotta do what we can when we can and find work arounds and substitutes the rest of the time.
Oh. I wonder if i edited some of the video out after it was uploaded... I stopped doing that in RUclips studio because in many cases it would cause the audio to go out of sync. Not even necessarily right away either. Sometimes weeks or months after. Thanks tho, I'll have to check this one.
I'll mostly agree with that John. I'd replace the word "affordable" with "buy the best you can afford that fits your needs" or save a little longer if possible. But luckily we can get really good gear without breaking the bank now a days.
I think the fear of home-studio taking over music and resulting to the closure of music studios that are paying taxes and also leading to the reduction of employments are the reason these people are trying to save the hardware markets. That's all. Can a hardware EQ perform a dynamic purpose of a dynamic Eq? For instrument or sounds, they were already hardware made, and using plugin doesn't stop you from playing life instruments if you have knowledge of music instruments. For Compressor and EQ which are the main reasons of this hardware vs plugin: I wonder what hardware EQ and compressor can do right that Plugins can't if the Engineer knows what he/she is doing. The same way they fighting over DAWs, this is crap and this is not, meanwhile the person making the judgment doesn't know how to professionally use the others but just one or two, and so he concluded the rest are craps, yet hardware or plugins and regardless of the DAWs, hits after hits are coming out everyday, it all depends on who is in charge because these whole thing can't use themselves
Hey gang!! As always I hope this video was helpful. Let me know in which areas you prefer using real gear and where you prefer to use plugins 🙃
Hybrid is a good setup. What I find interesting is some newer analog hardware that can also be controlled and recalled with a plugin. I think over time we’ll see much more of that. My only worry with that is will there be planned obsolescence built into that hardware?
Wholly Crap! You are so right. I stumbled upon your channel tonight and you give the BEST explanation on outboard gear versus plugins. Nicely done 👍
Thanks Jeffy. I do what i can lol
First of all, Merry X-Mas and a Happy New Year mate! Hope 2022 start to get in track again for everyone!
Well... I may be a little late here, but anyway... I'm glad I saw the video! I'm planning to start going hybrid here, initially only for tracking. I'm working entirely ITB now, using INPUT FX on Reaper to record already commiting some stuff, but sometimes I feel my Steinberg need a bit more beef (specially with dynamics and ribbons), as it could get a bit noisey as soons as I need to run its pres almost maxed.
For now, unique piece of hardware I have here, besides the audio interface, is my Z-Tone DI. Now, I'm planning to grab a preamp (probably a WA12 MkII or a WA73), not only for more input power, but also for the possibility of coloration and slight compression when tracking basses, guitars and vocals. But it's hard to decide going hybrid because of the cost of outboard gear, specially here in Brazil.
Cheers!
Merry Ho-Ho and such to you as well Diogo!!
I forgot that Reaper has the ability to record FX on the way in. I've never used Reaper but I think Glenn Fricker mentioned it in one of his videos. Logic needs that feature badly.
Yes, thats one of the issues with interface preamps. Generally speaking you typically only get around 60ish db of gain on each channel. I can't speak to the WA12 but anyone I have spoken to about the WA73 loves it. On that note tho, both of those units are just preamps. So if by design they do add compression, it will be almost none as there isn't a compressor section in either of them. Should add some color tho. But going strictly on gain, the 73 has 80dB of gain and the WA12 has 71dB.
Being in Brazil though, if gain is what you need, have you thought of a Cloudlifter? Might be easier to get your hands on and I think it adds about 25dB of gain. If your interface gives say 60, then you'd be at around 85dB, for a lot less money. I don't know if they make a cloudlifter for ribbon mic's though. Might just be for dynamic mic's, you'd have to look.
For condenser mics I use a FETHEAD Phantom. I have a Sennheiser shotgun mic for my videos and the FETHEAD made a huge difference. I think its 20 or so dB of gain it adds to my shotgun mic before hitting my interface. And it was about $100ish bucks. Loads cheaper than buying a high gain preamp.
@@EverythingMusicRecording I normally use the INPUT FX to put a DI simulation for a slight coloration and an EQ for hipass filter, and eventually a preamp simulation and a comp too, depending what I'm looking for. Later, I do some more processing, if needed, before going to the mixing stage.
Yeah! The D-Pres on the Steinberg has 60dB of gain. And, when I say about the preamp adding compression, I'm talking about that really slight compression we have when overdriven a signal, not a proper compression from a compressor. And yes, both of them have some more gain than the interface's preamps, which probably will be enough even for the most hungry mics.
Here in Brazil we have some diffilcuties to find some tools. Our market isn't that hot, and a lot of people import hardware, or buy them when travelling. But now, during the pandemic, our currency is way devalued, so it's hard to find hardware with good price. Both WA12 kII and WA73 I managed to find with a good relation cost/beneficy comparing with the prices in USA. However, I never found a Cloudlifter being sold here, only found the TNT (sE Electronics) and the Fethead (Triton), but both not suitable for condensers (the phantom is only used to feed the preamp, not pass to the mics), and even those are around 1/3 of the price of the preamp, at least. So, I'd need one for dynamics and ribbons (without phantom) and one for condensers (with phantom). With the preamp, I can use not only it for mics, but for another flavor for instruments too.
Well... I'm still on the fence about this subject, and I know I'm trying to justify for myself entering in the hybrid route, but I'm thiking in the future too. Today I have only two preamps in my interface. I don't plan to record drums here, but have a bit more pres would be good. I'm thinking to grab one external pre, then in the future changing my interface for one with USB 3.0 interface and line inputs for use with external pres. Than I can have 04 or 06 inputs, which would be more than enough for anything I can think of recording here.
Yea thats rough. I don't know why things are as they are in Brazil. I'm about as far from an economics expert as one can get. Sad that even getting a cloudlifter over there not even an option, whereas they are about a dime a dozen over here. And you are correct, none of those are for use with condenser mics. My fethead phantom is the only one (as far as i'm aware) even made for use with a condenser mic.
You are correct on the compression. Driving a preamp hard will compress slightly once you hit the point of clipping, but anything less there would be pretty much zero compression at all.
As for entering the hybrid approach, there is nothing wrong with that. Even if you do everything ITB, you still need to get sounds from the real world into your DAW, so thinking about putting together a good analogue front end makes perfect sense. And if you don't need a load of inputs (like you're not recording a drum kit) then you really don't need a ton of kit. Even if you got real Neve preamps, if you only need 2-4, thats much easier to acquire than say, 24 of them lol.
It is also good that you are thinking about the future though as well. I have been meaning to do a video on just that very subject. Basically a "where do you want your studio to be in 5 years" sort of thing. The cost of gear can be very expensive, but I think having a plan in place and putting some real thought into it can save all of us from wasting money on gear we don't really need. It sounds to me like you are already on the right path with that.
Between the WA12 and the WA73, do you know which one you are leaning more towards yet?
@@EverythingMusicRecording as we say here, "living in Brazil isn't for the weak ones". kkkkkkk I found an used Cloudlifter here, costing about 2/3 of one of these preamps. Total non-sense. And, if I buy two Fetheads (one for the condenser, and the other for the dynamic/ribbon), I'll be near the price of one of the pres too.
Yes! To reach the point of compression with a 'clean' preamp maybe not the best approach, but it could works with bass or electric guitar for a bit of spice.
My idea is to upgrade the interface and grab some pres to have about 04 to 06 inputs (max). The place where I'm now makes it impossible to track drums, so I'll be working with programmed drums or recording drums in other studios. So, what I want to grab for my tracking rack is a power conditioner (today I only have a senoidal UPS), probably two pres, maybe a 1176 and/or a LA2A and an EQ, and I'm done!
That's the hardest part... I like both circuits (API and Neve), and every review I saw about those two points for good things. If I look only for the price, the WA73 is worthing much more, 'cause they're costing about the same here, but out there, the WA73 costs almost 200 bucks more. I use both samplers from Acustica Audio (API - Pink and GOLD - Neve), and also the Kit BB N105 v2, which is modeled on a modded Neve consolo from Blackbird Studios. This is why I'm looking specifically towards both pres.
Thats crazy!! The cloudlifter here is $199 and the WA73 is about $900. I can understand why a cloudlifter or fetheads wouldn't make much sense in your situation. And my fethead was only like $100ish.
A power conditioner is always good to have. I have 3 of them. The UPS is still also good to have. My iMac and external hard drives are all plugged into a UPS.
If you like both of the preamps, then yes, that can be a tough call as to which one to get. This is what I would do if I was in your situation. I wouldn't buy either of them. You said you also wanted to get a compressor and an EQ. So I would save a bit more and get the WA73-EQ. In Canada it's only $200 more to get the WA73 with the EQ built in. So in the long run it would be much cheaper than buying separate preamp and EQ units. (I don't know if its the same in Brazil though) But that money you could save on not buying a separate EQ unit would let you get that LA2A much quicker. Just something to think about anyway.
This has always been my sentiment.
I do actually use a fair few synths for things, but decided not to buy any hardware synths and instead invest in a nice MIDI keyboard and controller; best of both worlds
100% Chris!! Both hardware and software will always have a place in every studio. Its just figuring out when to use which, and that will be different for everyone.
0:19 😂 Masterpiece
lol I forgot about that part. I don’t know why I don’t do more things like that
Loving the Content! just found out about your channel from my fellow Reaper head.
Sweet!! glad you're enjoying what I'm doing. Who is this fellow Reaper head?
First analog looper was...called????
I had to look this up and came up empty handed. Seems Les Paul demonstrated live looping back in 1953. Seems 10 years later Terry Riley used two Revox tape recorders and called it the “time lag accumulator.
After that all I could find was info about digital loopers. I tried lol
Consider what the future may bring as well. I bought a Sherman Filterbank 2 about 16 years ago. Because I knew back then buying something like a Virus, a Q or any other VA would be replicated in software soon. Still no plugin sounds like my Sherman yet and I use it all the time. All my pals who owned a virus back then have sold theirs.
For sure. And like the Sherman and many others there may never be a plugin version. There will always be a need for some hardware, mics and preamps at minimum. I think it boils down to using plugins where it makes sense and using hardware where it makes sense. And that balance will be different for everyone.
@@EverythingMusicRecording Eventually my Sherman or something that can do what it does will be in the box along with everything else. Once plugin devs are basing their code around chipsets that make i9s look weak, we'll start seeing some real interesting things happening and more hardware with identical plugin versions. Seeing it happen with Minimoogs (Monark/Legend) is when I really think I saw the writing on the wall.
Yea I can’t disagree with you. Which makes it harder and harder to justify the cost of real gear vs the plugin version of many things.
I think what it will boil down to is which one is more inspiring to use? Even if they make a plugin version of the Sherman, you might prefer using the real thing.
Same on my end. Plugins more than do the job for most of what I need. But there are some things I just prefer to use real gear for.
So I think it’s just finding that balance which will be different for everyone.
@@EverythingMusicRecording It makes me very excited for what the future holds! We'll reach a point of singularity where it'll be less about hard vs soft and we'll see more pronounced interfacing between the best of both worlds. Great vid. thanks for the chat!
Oh for sure!! I think Neve is really trying to better integrate the two worlds too. The next 5 or so years will be very interesting to see what happens with studio gear.
No worries and I’m always up for a good chat 🙂
I'm planning on recording podcasts. I bought most of my gear analog but I plan on throwing a couple of plugins on top of that. For example digital EQs are just much better and more surgical. Oh and I almost forgot you cannot live without tubes!
Hey Yamiteru. Thanks for the comment.
What is your podcast going to be about? 100% digital EQ's can offer far more flexibility. Honestly you can say that about any digital plugins really. And good luck automating real hardware lol. But with that said I think everyone needs to find their own gear/plugins balance that works for them. Seems like you may have already done that =)
HAHAHA!!! RIght?!?!? All 4 of my guitar and bass amps are tube (except my Ampeg SVT 3Pro which is a hybrid, but still has 5 tubes in it) but I couldn't agree with you more. I love the sound of tubes. I wish I had more tube gear beyond my guitar amps and a couple of mics. But one day at a time i suppose.
@@EverythingMusicRecording Hey! I want to merge spirituality, design and tech (mainly programming).
Yeah digital does give you more flexibility. Especially handy is being able to just clone EQs, compressors, etc.
This is my analog gear: Warm audio WA-Classic + WA-47, Furman M-10x E, ART Pro MPA II, Warm Audio EQP-WA, ART Pro VLA II, SPL 9629 De-Esser, SPL Stereo Vitalizer Mk2-T, Black Lion Audio Bluey Limiter, Steinberg UR816C, ART Headamp 6 Pro.
Currently I'm building my sound proofed studio so it sounds but also looks nice. I'm probably have a couple of softboxes and spot lights (I'm also a photographer so I care about the light a lot).
Regarding plugins I'm still really not sure. Definitely EQ and maybe a gate/de-noise.
What would you recommend me?
Yeah the tube sound is addictive!
Oh, well that sounds like an interesting combination of topics. When you get it up and running send me a link (if you remember) and I'll be sure to check it out. I don't watch/listen too much spiritually content (maybe I should...) but I do really like HINDZ (check him out if you haven't. YT or podcast)
Not a bad chunk of gear you've got there. And the WA-47 has been on my list for awhile now, so you'll have to let me know what you think of it.
I've been a photographer for just over 10 years so I hear you on that. It took some work but luckily the transition from stills to video isn't that big of a leap.
Which plugins would I recommend? Thats hard to answer beyond I can tell you what I really like, but what I like might not work for you. I bought the Lindell Audio 80 Series channel strip about 6 or so months ago and I absolutely love it. I could do about 80-90% of what I need to do just using that. And it also has a gate if needed.
As for noise reduction, I never use it. Waves has some plugins that are supposed to be really good for noise reduction. When I started the channel I would pass audio through Adobe Audition to clean it up. But awhile ago I got a much better shotgun mic and a FetHead Phantom, and since then I haven't needed to clean up any audio in Audition. And for working on music tracks I just strip-silence tracks that need it.
It is addictive lol. Tubes just sounds so good. And if you take care of them, they can last for eons. I have a 1965 Ampeg B15 (I'm the second owner since 1994) and it still has the original RCA black-plate tubes in it. Needs a little servicing but the amp still works just fine (pots are just getting crackly). Not bad for an almost 60 year old tube amp still running its original tubes lol.
@@EverythingMusicRecording Sure I'll send you a link once it's on air. I'm still debating whether to do it in english or not since english is not my first language.
Oh yeah HINDZ is pretty cool. He has good vibes I like that.
Yeah I absolutely dig the og 47 sound. The mic has been on my list for quite some time too. I'll definitely let you know. Probs in 2 months.
Oh yeah I think I've already seen the channel strip somewhere before. Thanks for the recommendation. Looks really good.
I usually don't do any noise reduction since I've swapped all my tubes to 7025 that are pretty low noise. Also I really don't mind a bit of noise. It's like grain in photography.
Oh wow that's a really old gear you've got there! Amazing it's still working well.
Hey, sorry for the delay. Your last reply slipped though the cracks and I missed it =/
Yes for sure send me the link once you're up and running, even if its not in english I'll still check it out.
The Lindell 80 Series is awesome. I lucked out when I got it cuz it was on sale for $39. I think its normally $250 or so.
Oh for sure. There is a time and a place for saturation and its nice when you have control over how much or how little. The issue I had before was I had to boost my mic pre to far to get a decent level. And the mic is normally about 2 feet away when I shoot a video. But with the new mic and the FetHead its a non issue now. I do like adding grain in my photos sometimes but digital grain just isn't quite the same. It works tho lol
Yea the old Ampeg is great. My friends grandfather was the original owner. But it got too much for him to haul around so it lived in his attic for I think around 10 years if i recall correctly. Then it ended up in my hands where it's been since about 1994, maybe it was 95. I'd like to restore it at some point. There is a repair shop across the border that specializes in repairing vintage Ampegs. Most of what it needs are just minor cosmetic repairs. 2 of the chicken-head knobs are missing as an example. Pots need a cleaning as they get crackley. When my friends grandfather still had it the rectifier tube blew and at the time it was cheaper to mod the amp to no longer need a rectifier tube which I'd like to have reversed, and I blew the original speaker a couple years after I got it. So I'd like to find an original speaker to replace what I put in all those years ago. Other than that, its been a great amp and its very cool to have such a classic. Its for sure the coolest piece of gear that I own.
Also wondering what the CO2 footprint of creating+using hardware vs software plugins is. I honestly can't say.
lol that's a rabbit hole of a question Pascal. I'd assume hardware would have far more of a footprint than software. I mean a single computer isn't going to use the power that racks of gear would. And software also doesn't have to be manufactured and then shipped all over the place... tho it has to sit on servers waiting for people to buy it.... (ponders) I'd still guess that in the long run hardware still has a bigger footprint.
A great advice.
Thanks, glad you found the advice helpful =)
Well said bro, thank you! :D
this is why I love this channel. super common sense no brainer info
Thanks Mark! Recording music doesn’t HAVE to be this overly complicated thing. Keeping things simple is very much an over arching theme on this channel if nothing else 🙂
Great vid thanks..
Totally agree with you about filling out the gap with plugins.
I've had and tried every SSL bus comp plugin and I just can't find one that even resembles the cheap warm Audio bus comp. They all just sound flat and two dimensional and unexciting.
Jack Joseph Puigh did a video here on RUclips explaining about depth using a Fairchild on drums.
Thanks Erand!! Yea I don’t think we have choice but to fill the gaps with plugins, unless we are super wealthy lol. But plugins just keep getting better so we can’t complain too much.
How is the warm bus comp? I hear their Neve clones are pretty good but I guess their 1176 is kinda meh?
Yea JJP loves the Fairchild. Eric Valentine’s Unfairchild is supposed be stupid good if you’ve got the $10,000.
I really dig the waves rs124 on my drum bus (not trying to promote it) but it’s nice cuz I can go from “nice” to “crushed” in one click. Tis very cool 😎
@@EverythingMusicRecording the RS124 sounds really good really fattens things up.
The warm Audio bus comp sounds really good for the money and the fact that you can engage transformers is a nice touch. It also really brings the sides to glue with the center something I can't really find in plugins. You hear it in plugins but.. Well hard to describe.. It just glues front to back and mid to side in such a pleasing way.
When I win the lottery here in Europe I'll go 100 hybrid and not 30/70 as now. Haha..
Gonna sub. Great channel.. Thanks 👍
Oh sweet, thanks for subbing. Yea the rs124 is really good for sure. I’ll have to check the warm bus comp out one of these days. To be honest tho I’ve never been a big fan of SSL style bus compressors. I’ve had the PSP vintage warmer on my master bus for… shit like 12 years or so now and I’ve yet to find anything I like better. Everyone has their own tastes.
Well I’ll cross my fingers for your big lotto win lol. I’m not sure if I’d go 100 OTB but I’d have a Neve Genesys Black console REAL fast. EQ and comp on every channel for sure. Then add other hardware from there if I feel like it.
Thanks again for subbing. If you have any questions ever always feel free to ask away.
Use SSL SPC comp with Warm Audio G Comp
Now you got a $4000 sonding comp
Good one sir
Thanks lol. I try 🙂
plugins for now don't compare to analog true plugins save you money but even still some peoples budget may not allow them to buy some
I think plugins (not all) are pretty close at this point. It would be nice to have 10's or hundreds of thousands to spend on gear... but until that day, can't complain too much about using plugins 🙂
there are things that happen with analog that for now no plugin can duplicate maybe same day they will get it i mean if you plug your guitar in to ikmultimedia amp and they sound nice i use them but its not the same as a real amp same with all plugins that say they are analog so its not complaining just stating facts on the plugins that say they are analog. I agree on expensive real gear is and plugins are cheaper but there are still people out there who cant afford some of them and may have to save up
No for sure. I use real stuff as much as I can, especially guitar/bass amps.
Thing with plugins tho is to wait for sales. Makes it MUCH cheaper on a good sale. Same with gear, getting gear used or on sale can help as well.
We have a very expensive hobby. Gotta do what we can when we can and find work arounds and substitutes the rest of the time.
@@GILLISH But you are not stating any fact just opinion, this isn't fact at all.
@@Allious131 go do some research until then back at you
Spontinayyyatea .... yes. no? yes. :)
Right?!?! Is… is hooked on phonics still a thing…? I might need it lol
Your sound is slightly out of sync with the video. 😁
Oh. I wonder if i edited some of the video out after it was uploaded... I stopped doing that in RUclips studio because in many cases it would cause the audio to go out of sync. Not even necessarily right away either. Sometimes weeks or months after. Thanks tho, I'll have to check this one.
The big SECRET
IS.......
to put together an affordable rack such as
Warm Audio
Art or Dbx
And use reliable stable sounding plugins with your rack
I'll mostly agree with that John. I'd replace the word "affordable" with "buy the best you can afford that fits your needs" or save a little longer if possible. But luckily we can get really good gear without breaking the bank now a days.
I think the fear of home-studio taking over music and resulting to the closure of music studios that are paying taxes and also leading to the reduction of employments are the reason these people are trying to save the hardware markets. That's all.
Can a hardware EQ perform a dynamic purpose of a dynamic Eq?
For instrument or sounds, they were already hardware made, and using plugin doesn't stop you from playing life instruments if you have knowledge of music instruments.
For Compressor and EQ which are the main reasons of this hardware vs plugin: I wonder what hardware EQ and compressor can do right that Plugins can't if the Engineer knows what he/she is doing.
The same way they fighting over DAWs, this is crap and this is not, meanwhile the person making the judgment doesn't know how to professionally use the others but just one or two, and so he concluded the rest are craps, yet hardware or plugins and regardless of the DAWs, hits after hits are coming out everyday, it all depends on who is in charge because these whole thing can't use themselves