The big news recording-wise is I’ve made some decisions about upgrading my recording studio. This is part of a program of improving my whole recording process. I learned alot from making the last record, and the next one will sound even better. I feel like on Face the Heat I really got it together singing-wise, and the playing, recording and arranging were strong. And of course my main strengths of Rhodes, sax and synths provide a solid foundation to the whole sound. Mixing it down with Erik was a great educational experience. Among the things I want to improve are my bass playing (see a previous post), my guitar playing (more on that later), and my drum sounds. And I want to get some kind of preamp or peak limiter/compressor for the way in when tracking. Had a bit of trouble with clipping on the last set of mixes.
For the next record I’m going to do a lot more of the mixing myself. I’ve been reading an excellent series of books on audio engineering by Bob Owsinski. There’s a volume for recording, mixing and mastering. They contain a wealth of info are an exactly at the level I need. I’m looking forward to applying it all.
The audio I/O box is the heart and soul of the studio, the main thing to upgrade. I’ve been using an original Mbox, which has served me admirably, but has its limitations. The main ones are I can only record two tracks at a time, and I can’t upgrade out of ProTools 7. I might mention that I’ve been using digiDesign hardware and software for almost twenty years now, going back to the original AudioMeda and SampleCell cards on my Mac Quadra. But my Mbox doesn’t work in ProTools 8 and I never got the whole system quite working on the MacOS, so when I’m recording I have to boot in Windows.
After a lot of research, I’ve got my mind set on an Mbox 3 Pro. Hardware-wise the Mbox3 Pro looks like it has a lot going for it. It has 4 XLR inputs and up to 6 line/instrument inputs, as well as 2 SPDIF inputs for a total of 8 simultaneous channels. It also has full-on aux send/return loops for outboard FX. Best of all, it has a built-in “soft peak limiter” on the inputs. This supposedly impart simulated analog warmth and tape saturation on the way in, and if it’s any good ought to save me from having to buy an outboard preamp.
Software-wise this would allow me to upgrade to PT8 (and now PT9), which would open up a whole lot of new drum software and samples and high-end effects. On the downside, I have to upgrade my OS to 10.6 and may have to get a new version of SampleTank. So all of this software updating is nontrivial. On top of that it remains to be seen whether I can use my current MOTU MIDI interface in the then system.
The main trouble is the Mbox 3 Pro is not available yet. It’s release has been pushed back twice, from early November to mid-November, and now to the end of November.
There’s more gear upgrades in the offing. I’m thinking of getting an 88-key piano-style keyboard controller. This has actually been on my list for a long time, but as with everything, finding the time to do the research is the main obstacle. Every few years the product space has completely changed. I’m currently using my old Roland Juno as my primary controller, but it only has 61 keys, and while it’s great as synth, it doesn’t really cut if for doing piano parts. On the other hand, I just finished Karn Evil 9, which is a big a piano song as I’m likely to do, and I got thru that alright by playing some of the more extreme passages in a different octave and then transposing in software.
At some point I’d like to get a drum kit too, but that’s probably a way off still. Every new piece of gear takes time to learn and integrate.
While I’m waiting for the new Mbox and PT 9 I’ve started looking at Reaper, a FOSS DAW. I downloaded and installed it, and was happy to see it discovered my MBox, my MOTU MIDI interface and my VST FX. I’m thinking of doing a quick, simple project to put it through its paces. I have a song in mind, a pop song cover that’s under 3 minutes long, but is one of my all-time favorites, one of those that just stays with you.
Next up: Rocket to the Moon with guitars!!!