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The Rack:

A-Designs REDDI Tube direct box
Wow!!!! I am so very lucky to have won this from this month's Studio Forums giveaway. I'm super-impressed with it's sound, so warm and clear. Beautiful! Amazing on bass! and equally amazing on guitar! I'm looking forward to using it with keyboards too. I'm going to use it on snare drum with an Audix I-5 real soon.

Phoenix Audio DRS-1
This is an excellent sounding preamp! Having this preamp is going to make a big difference that will shine through in our recordings. So far I've recorded an acoustic electric direct and it sounded great. I’m planning to use it on vocals and acoustic guitar, but it will be used on many things.

Safesound P1
The Safesound p1 is an excellent unit. It is implemented a lot on our recordings. It’s compressor works really well on bass, and on vocals.
I also use it for mic'ng amps during reamping. I purchased it through Front End Audio. They are very helpful, and recently started up their own forum. You should take a look when you have a chance.

Sebatron vmp-2000eVU
The Sebatron is an awesome unit as well. I have been daisy chaining from channel 1 to 2 on the Sebatron for guitar and vocals. I also daisy chain from ch. 1 to 2, then out of the Sebatron into the Safesound for compression for vocals. This signal chain is working out really well. The Sebatron sounds great on keyboards as well. It gives the keyboards a smoother and warmer sound.

Bass Recording
We are currently recording with a Sadowsky RV4 with vintage tone control, which sounds great. It sits really well in our mixes.
I'm also happy with Tom's new addition. An Elrick Gold Standard 5 string (ash body), and of course he is too!

We are going to run basses through the REDDI into the Fostex.

Re-amped Mic'd Track: I sometimes re-amp the recorded bass track:
• Out of the Fostex Vf16ex, into Soundcraft mixer
• Then into Radial JDI (reverse polarity on radial - xlr input (use female to female xlr cable)
• then connect the input of JDI into the input of the amp.
• I then mic up the amp with a Shure SM57 (dynamic mic) powered by the safesound, angled right up to the grill of the amp (Experiment with the placement of the mic) until I get the sound I like.

Also, experimenting with ambient mic'ng as well using a Condenser mic, a (Studio Projects B1) has worked well for this, but want to try using some of our other condenser mics for this to see how they sound on this application.
I have been using subtractive eq'ing (cutting the low end on other tracks to carve space for the lower bass frequencies). An example of this would be that I would take away some of the low-end frequencies of guitar, or keyboard instead of adding more low end to the bass track.

Acoustic Guitar Recording
I recently got 2 small-bodied guitars by J.P. Rushing. They are beautiful looking, and sounding instruments. I have a CR-3 (made off of the 5-size Martin pattern) and KR-5 (traveler sized guitar).

The J.P. Rushing Traveler sized guitar with and active element pickup installed in it. I ran this guitar through an LR Baggs Para acoustic di
into the Phoenix audio DRS-1 then into the Fostex vf16ex.

Mic'd Guitar tracks: J.P. Rushing KR-5.
I used a pair of Oktava mk-012's through channels 1 and 2 of the Sebatron and then went into 2 more tracks of the Fostex vf16ex.

I panned the Oktava tracks hard left and right, and had the direct track up the middle. I have never gotten a better acoustic guitar recording. It sounds so warm, clear on the highs and full on the lows. Nice balance.

Electric Guitar Recording
I have a Fano Partridge cutaway in progress. See photos: HERE.

I recently got a Timmy pedal, which sounds amazing! You can see my live gigging pedal board, as well as other pedals that I have and use in the studio in the photos section.

Different Recording Chain Options:
Direct
I have a few options here. The REDDI sounds amazing on guitar, so does the Phoenix Audio DRS-1, and the Sebatron too. They all have different sound qualities to them, so I will use whichever one I think will help me to achieve the sound I'm going for the particular song I am working on.
Sometimes, I'll run through a pedal or my pedalboard first, then into the preamp.

When using the Sebatron, I daisy chain the Sebatron ch. 1 to ch. 2. the go out of channel 2 on the Sebatron.

Mic'd Track 1
(dynamic mic) -Re-amplification I am re-amplifying the recorded track out of the Fostex Vf16ex. (You need an xlr female to female adapter.)
1. Vf16ex into a mixer.
2. Then connect from the xlr out of the mixer into the xlr "output" on the radial. In doing so, you reverse the polarity of the radial, and this makes the xlr "output" of the radial function as an xlr input- (you need to use a female to female adapter to do this).
3. Then I connect from the 1/4" "input" of the radial into blues jr. amp.
Or if I want to add any effect I plug into an effect pedal, then into the blues jr.
4. Connect Shure SM57 into the Safesound. Mic up the amp with a Shure SM57 (dynamic mic) angled right up to the grill of the amp. I experiment with the placement of the mic, until I get the sound I like.
5. Line output of the Safesound into another track (mic'd track) on the Fostex Vf16ex.

Mic'd Track 2
(condenser mic) -Re-amplification I am now focusing on adding a second mic'd guitar track using further, ambient mic'ng.
1. Connect Studio Projects B1 (condenser mic) or another condensor mic into mixer, or preamp.
2. Place condensor mic about a foot in front of the amp, also experiment with placement until I get desired sound.
3. Output into a second (mic'd guitar track) on the Fostex Vf16ex. If I don't have enough tracks to have 2 mic'd tracks for guitar, I will use my Soundcraft Spirit E12 to mix both mic'd tracks into one.

Keyboard Recording
We are currently recording keyboards direct.
I like running keyboards through the Sebatron ch. 1 daisy chained to ch. 2. I will also be using the REDDI, and Phoenix Audio DRS-1 depending on the sound I want. I also like the Radial JDI for keyboards and drum machines too. It really helps to smooth things out. I usually just add a little reverb effect as needed during mixdown. If more tracks are open, I might reamp like we do for guitar and bass, but I would probably mic up our Barbetta amp or the Tannoy reveal monitors, instead of the blues jr. for this. But, if I am going for a certain sound, I may mic the blues jr. for this as well.
You can see from our gear list that we have a lot of sounds to work with. I like using vintage keyboard sounds like the moog, electric piano, box organ type sounds etc.

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Vocal Recording
We are using the Safesound as the mic preamp and for compression.
The Safesound is really a great unit. I love the way the compressor sounds, and the expander is very cool. I'm able to silence the noise of traffic from outside my window and only pick up my vocal. Really cool!

We are running mics into the Phoenix audio DRS-1, or the Sebatron into the Safesound's line in bypassing the preamp in the Safesound and only using it’s expander, and compressor.

We use different mics depending on the songs being recorded. I am using a Groove Tubes pop filter, and when recording vocals I hang some blankets up to help isolate the sound.

I'm loving the CAD M179 on vocals lately. It has a very clear, compact, tight kind of quality to it. I get excellent recordings without needing to mess around with any eq'ng afterwards. It's also very good for close mic'ng because it doesn't pick up a lot of the room around you, so it's really a great mic for a non-treated room. The M179 also works well on acoustic instruments and amps. I haven't tried them yet, but I have read that they are nice for drums toms too.

On recent recordings, I have liked the combination of the ADK Hamburg into the Sebatron, then into the Safesound on my voice. This mic is also really nice for background vocals, and on acoustic guitar too.

When there is a part with a lot of vocal tracks (layered, harmonies etc.), I have been dropping a little of the low end eq on the harmony vocals to make the lead vocal sound fuller and give it more presence in the mix. (same principal of subtractive eq'ng).

I adjust volumes and eq's of the vocal tracks in with other tracks in mono first. I then usually pan the lead vocal up the middle, and the backing vocals panned L+R to where they sit in nicely into the overall mix. I am always experimenting with different mic setups and mic placement.

Drum Recording
We now have a drummer in the band. Welcome Bill! The songs are sounding excellent with a real human drummer! We are going to record the drums for a few songs soon.

This is the way I'm planning to setup for recording the drums:
Drums:
Gretsch Catalina Elite drums
Zildjian cymbals:
ZBT 20" ride
18" crash
14" high-hats
8" K splash cymbal

Heads:
Evans hydraulic tom heads, rack tom and floor tom

Sticks:
Vic firth american jazz hickory drum sticks
Pro mark cool rods

Drum Microphone Setup:
Mic's will run through the Soundcraft E12 Spirit mixer, except for the snare which will be run through the REDDI box, then recorded into tracks 1-7 of Fostex VF16ex.

Kick: Sm57 above kick pedal:
Placement should be a an inch or two from the inside head over the pedal aiming slightly angled in and down (reverse phase from the outside head)

Audix D6 on outside head:
Placement should be a few inches from the outside head aiming slightly angled upwards for phase reversal. Adjust distance depending on how much room sound is desired vs. direct sound coming off of the head.

Snare: Audix i5, Placement should between high-hat and tom.
About 2 inches above the head and pointing towards the center of the drum. If you want more rim, aim less towards the center, more towards the rim.

Rack Tom: CAD M179 on top.
Put it in hypercardioid mode. Then float the mic about 2" above the head and maybe 2" inside the rim, pointed towards the center of the tom. You might have to play with placement a bit to find the sweet spot but that'll get you pretty close.

Floor Tom: ADK Hamburg on top.
Similar to floor tom, but look at diagram for the angle shown.
(diagram on page 5 of 8 of SAE college microphone placement pages)

Overheads:
Oktava MC-012 - Left
Oktava MC-012 - Right
Using "Recorderman" Technique:
Pretty much an variation of the Glyn John technique
Left mic over drummers forehead about 32, or 33" straight up from the center of the snare, pointing down.

Then right mic over drummers right shoulder pointing to the center of the snare. Needs to be the same distance from the center point of the snare as the other mic was, os 32, or 33" depending on how you place the other mic. Mic's must be equidistant to the snare, and also should be equidistant to the the spot that the beater hits the kick.

Wearing headphones, panned hard left and right, as drummer hits the kick softly, you can adjust the mics until the kick sounds like it's in the center of the image.

Measuring tape, string, ears...
I am going to continue recording songs on my own to capture my ideas/. This will also help the other band members to learn and figure out how they will add their own style into them, prepare for live shows, and prepare for re-recording them as a full band.

We have recently picked up some sample loop libraries for drum programming. I am editing these wav. files in Cubase. Then burning the stereo drum track onto cd, and uploading it into the Fostex 16 track.

We also use drum machines.
When using drum machines, we go through the Sebatron 2 channels into the Fostex
• To warm up the drum machines and help them to have more depth (air) etc. in the mix, I have been re-amplifying (with radial) the drum machines into an amp/or tannoy reveals. Then mic'ng them up with the Studio Projects B1 (or another condenser mic) powered by the Safesound p1, or another preamp.

Mixing
I have been using Cubase for mixing more and more lately. I mix the instruments in the fostex, then I do an internal mixdown with the instruments only. I then put the mix into cubase, then burn the wav. files of the vocal tracks, and put them into cubase and edit them there.

I am cutting out punch outs, copying and pasting parts I like better, and also adding reverb with plugins. I can't wait to get started on the full band recordings. It's going to be a lot of fun to work with all live instruments. I am using passive Tannoy reveal nearfield monitors powered by a Hafler TA-1600 power amp for mixing.

Subtractive eq'ng and Volume: I am mixing the volume of the tracks in mono first, and cutting frequencies to achieve separation. The bass seems to be the hardest instrument to mix. I am cutting the low end on all the other tracks to make room for the bass. This way all instruments are heard clearly and they sit well together in the overall mix. I am also cutting the low end on harmony vocals to help the lead vocal sound fuller and prevent the mix from getting muddy.

Panning: Once I am finished mixing the volume and eq in mono, I then begin to work on the panning of the tracks. There are some basic ways that are commonly used as per panning, but it is always open to how you feel it works well. It depends on what I'm going for in the mix. I usually try to pan the drums the way they would sound if I were sitting behind the drum set. I usually pan the bass up the middle. Guitar left or right wherever it sounds good.
The keyboard panned opposite guitar where it sits well. I usually pan the lead vocal up the middle. Backing vocals panned L or R, wherever they sound good in the mix.

And, another thing I like to do is to listen to CD's that are similar to the style I am going for in the recording, and listen to it on headphones to try to pick it apart as per where the different tracks are panned.

Listening and Learning: I always pay attention to the way music is mixed and listen to a lot of different styles of music on many different systems, to see how they translate on different systems. I am trying to get really good at mixing on my monitors and understand how I need to mix on my monitors in order for the mix to sound good on other systems as well. I use headphones for referencing to make sure I cut out any unwanted noise on vocal tracks where there isn't any singing, punch ins, etc. And, also for checking how the panning sounds in the headphones, but I mainly mix through the monitors.
• Then I go out of the Safesound into another single (mono/mic'd) track of the Fostex, and then I mix the direct (stereo) tracks with the mic'd mono track. I usually only add a tiny bit of the mic'd track, and it sounds great. This technique has helped a lot! Many different drum machines are used. I often need to adjust the "quantize" function on the drum machines to loosen them up or get them the way I want them to sound for each song.
• I also eq the drums. When eq'ing I try to add only a little amount. I just add a little bit, and then try to mix them with the bass first, then the guitar, keyboards, lead vocals, backing vocals, and guitar lines, or solo/synth lines etc. When I am finished mixing everything in mono, I usually like to pan the drums 1 over 11L and 1R (clock), or right up the middle.

Mastering
After we finish recording our cd's we have been getting them mastered by
Fred Guarino of Tiiki Recording Studios.

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EVT's Wish List
I will never stop wanting more gear. There seems to always be something else I want. I am always reading up on equipment and deciding what I am planning to splurge on next.

These are just some of the things I am interested in attaining:
• A PC dedicated for mixing only.
• Lately, I've been into buying loop library sample cd's.
• Another J.P. Rushing, OM sized guitar would be a lovely thing to have!
• Mics….MXL V69ME or SP T-3 … or … there are many more mic's I would also love to have!
• Speck 5.0 eq.
• D-Tar Mama Bear

I am grateful for all the equipment I have already, and will continue to try
to learn how to improve our recordings with all the equipment we already
have.