A good little video about D/I Bass recording at home. Since we’re discussing Direct Input we don’t have microphones and micing to worry about, keeping things relatively simple, but with nice gear.

Gear used in the video:

• Ibanez SR505 Active-Pickup Bass
• Groovetube supre (uses the built-in DI – notice this as a feature on many modern soundcards also, often an ‘instrument’ button)
• Vintec X73i preamp (neve 1073 clone) uses the built-in EQ
• Drummer 1968 mercenary edition tube compressor
• ProTools

The two beauties in this setup are the:

GrooveTube SuPRE:

and the Vintec X731:

Techniques and Tricks in the Video:

• General rule of thumb for recording is to use a passive bass for recording as opposed to an active bass (thinks that a passive bass sounds fatter and punchier)
• If using an active bass for recording (as he is in the video), then, using the on-bass EQ knobs,  roll off the low-end and the high-end just a tiny bit, leaving the mid-range where it is, keep the volume up (or backed off just a tiny bit). This trick will help it sound more like a passive bass
• Cheap D/I boxes can still give good results, he recommends Radial D/I Pro as an inexpensive good bass DI box
• There are three types of D/I boxes, tube, passive and active. You usually want to use a passive DI or a tube DI.
• Pre-amp used gives a big factor in the tone of the bass. The Neve 1073 (dude uses a clone, a Vintec)
• He likes a compressor on his bass (as many ppl do) because it makes it fit in better with the kick drum (Drummer 1968 mercenary edition)

This video producer is quite obviously experienced, and knows his stuff. While the gear he mentions in the video may be outside the price range of us home enthusiasts, the signal chain advice he gives is not, and there are a couple of gems of advice and gear recommendations in there, making it well worth a watch.

This is a really informative video on how to record acoustic guitar. The producer gives a comprehensive run-down of his signal chain, offers a lot of practical advice and tidbits, and gives a number of different sound samples based on mic position and guitar position.

Gear used in video:

• Neumann km-184 microphone
• Kirkland TX acoustic guitar
• B-bend pickup
• Avalon VT 737 preamp
• Focusrite Isa 828 preamp
• Mackie d8b mixer

Techniques & Tips in the Video:

• Get the best guitar you can get
• Use a combination of microphone and built-in pickup – mic is more natural, pickup is a more direct with better low-end sound
• A damp room with no reverb at all is the best
• Mic and position depends on how you choose to play (fingerpick vs chords vs picked) SO TRUE
• For mic check there’s just no standard way, put a mic in front of your guitar, test, move, test, try another mic, test, move, test, EVERY TIME
• Suggested adjusting volume of click track on headphones so it doesn’t get picked up by the mic (I’ve ruined good takes with that myself, great advice!)
• Suggests when recording acoustic guitar play on a carpet without shoes on to cut down on ambient noise

Signal Chain:

• Neumann km-184 mic to
• Aavalon VT 737 preamp
• Guitar pickup (b-bend) to Focusrite Isa 828 preamp
• Both preamps to A/D (analog to digital) converter/mixer: Mackie d8b mixer
• Mackie digital signal to recording software: Steinberg Cubase 4

What rocks about this video:

• Shows ENTIRE SIGNAL CHAIN
• Shows what each signal sounds like separately, and together
• Shows difference in sound between fingerpicking and playing chords with a pick
• Shows difference in acoustic recording sound with different mic positions
• Shows difference in sound when guitar moves, to illustrate why the musician should sit still
• Wikid accent dude

This how-to video for recording acoustic guitar is put out by ServeTheSong.net – it covers the basics of the X-Y mic pattern placement.

Gear in the Video:

• 2 Oktava condenser mics, model not mentioned
• Pro-tools
• Acoustic guitar model unknown
• Signal chain setup unknown

Techniques & Tips in Video:

• Using two mics to record in stereo and pick up more of the sound the acoustic is creating
• X-Y Mic Pattern – When using two condenser mics of this style try positioning them so that lines drawn out from the tip of each would cross at a 90 degree angle. The sweet-spot where these imaginary lines cross is the perfect place to pick up a stereo recording of your acoustic guitar
• Mic positioning – Suggested positioning the microphones five to six inches from the neck of the guitar, around the 12th fret.
• Staying stable during playing is important with this type of mic recording, as the sweet spot can be lost easily with some upper body movement
• Doubling up of tracks: playing the guitar bit twice to create a natural reverb/chorus effect, then panning one hard left and one hard right

Video Pros:

• There is a nice combination of video of the musician & mics, with screen capture of the pro-tools set-up
• Video audio cuts to pro-tools recording so you get to hear what the musician actually recorded, instead of just the video-cam mic

Video Cons:

• No explanation of the signal chain equipment used, the preamp gain, or any of that juicy stuff
• No links to high quality recordings for download, as Youtube is not the best way to review audio quality (this is more important when specific gear is mentioned, but always a big plus to an audio review or tips video)