Recording - November 2020 - 19

One of my favorite recent upgrades would be the Bettermaker Mastering EQ, Compressor, and Limiter. This trio of
analog devices can all be digitally controlled with a plugin.
Not only do they sound great and offer flexible options, but
thanks to scripting in my mastering DAW, I can automate
and change settings from song to song as I skip around and
dial things in. Then I can capture the songs back to digital in
one continuous pass while I take an ear break and get some
fresh air. - Justin Perkins

One of the best upgrades I've made for my studio was
purchasing an original Neumann U 47. The investment was
huge, but each time I hear one of the vocal tracks I've recorded with it, I know it was worth it. My Avid MTRX HD
Audio Interface was another piece of gear that greatly improved the sound quality of my productions. Lastly, sliding
hooks for mic and instrument cables. You can find them at
Home Depot. Inexpensive, and an essential part of my studio.
- Beto Hale (Editor At Large)

I would say that the most significant upgrade I've made
in the last few years has been adding the EZdrummer/EZbass line of products from Toontrack, and the Solo/Spotlight
Strings from Kirk Hunter Studios. I do a lot of arranging,
and I've saved a lot of time crafting believable rhythm section parts with the Toontrack products. Similarly, I've found
that simple string arrangements sound fairly convincing using the infinitely playable line of products from Kirk Hunter.
- John Czerwinski

The most significant thing I did this year was taking the time
to improve my soldering skills and modify several of my less expensive mics-eventually building a mic from parts (see Pages
10 and 46). I now have a much more rounded, higher quality
and better sounding collection of microphones. As a bonus,
I've gained a much deeper understanding of microphone capsules, circuit topologies and electronic components. I'm making
plans to build a preamp next. - Bill Stunt

Many changes have positively impacted my studio work over
the years-moving from 4-track tape to MIDI sequencing in
1986, to hard disk recording in 1991, and then going totally into
the box in 2003. Now, I'm moving back to physical hardware.
Not only has this impacted my live performances, it has also
drawn me back to my composition/production roots. Eurorack
modules, mono and poly analog synths, keyboard controllers...

and my mixer does triple duty as a mixer, USB interface, and fullon multitrack recorder. Hardware has reinvigorated my creative
workflow, and today's advanced software/hardware integration functionality is better than ever, making this the best change
I've experienced-so far... - Giles Reaves

Years ago, I was a maintenance intern at a large studio
with a Neve console. Back then, studios had Neve consoles
more for production features than for sonic reasons. I took
one of the spare sets of modules in the maintenance shop
and replaced all of those 'terrible' tantalum capacitors with
film capacitors throughout the signal path-it sounded so
much cleaner; you could even see the difference on a scope!
When the studio manager heard about what I did, I almost
got fired-so, it turns out that one man's upgrade is another
man's downgrade. - Scott Dorsey
RECORDING November 2020

Recording - November 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - November 2020