Recording Direct - other options

Dale Rottacker · Post by **Dale Rottacker** » 22 Jun 2018 2:34 pm

Jack Stoner wrote:I like the direct sample. The mic’d sounds like the highs are cut and more lows.

Jack the more I listen and compare and some of the opinions I’ve gotten privately as I’m starting to warm up to the Direct more... My ear needed to adjust I guess.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 27 Jun 2018 1:55 am

Recording direct, seeking the tones that we like and desire, is a skill set that takes some time and maybe even some NEW gear. It's really no different than many people asking , which mic should I use ? Which now begs for the next question, what preamps do you have ?

The whole thing starts with our ears. Sometimes we like what we hear, sometimes we don't. It's not an argument , it's a process.

Whether it be a mic or direct, we still have to know what we are looking for with regard to tones .

For me personally I took the DIRECT route years ago as I do most of my tracking in the early mornings when the household may still be asleep. A few preamps later with some additional DAW education and I'm pretty much where I like to be, which is consistent. It was never about which process is better but rather which one can I execute without annoying the household.

Dale Rottacker · Post by **Dale Rottacker** » 28 Jun 2018 5:57 am

Tony Prior wrote: For me personally I took the DIRECT route years ago as I do most of my tracking in the early mornings when the household may still be asleep. A few preamps later with some additional DAW education and I'm pretty much where I like to be, which is consistent. It was never about which process is better but rather which one can I execute without annoying the household.

Tony, Iâ€™m â€œWarmingâ€ up to the Direct with the Quilter... Iâ€™ve had LONG-TIME, PP guys, tell me that it came very close to Emmonâ€™s for tone... Take that as you will, I think I wanted it a tad warmer, but wasnâ€™t too keen on doing so with a Mic and all the downsides that go with doing that, i.e., room noise and having to play so everyone can hear you. So Iâ€™m going to try putting the Revelation back in the mix and add just enough of it to warm the tone a little... Always a balancing act huh Tony?!?... One of these days Iâ€™ll land on what I want, be giddy with excitement, and NOT know what to do with it.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 29 Jun 2018 2:22 am

I finally got around to doing a recoding comparison of my Steelaire Rack. Direct and my EPS-15C miked with an SM57.

I was doing some steel tracking for some new songs recorded earlier in the day by Jimmy Peppers. The last song I did, I recorded a small miked sample of the same lick I originally did recording direct. The miked sample was a little "brighter" but the direct was clearer and more "pleasing" sound. Both my wife, who's also a musician, and I agreed the direct was better.

The hookup was my Franklin (with Lawrence 710 pickups) to a Hilton VP to the Steelaire amp. A very slight reverb using the built in reverb in the Steelaire then direct, using the XLR out on the Steelaire to a channel on my MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid. Recorded in Sonar (24 bit 44.1Khz) and then playback through the MOTU to JBL LSR308 studio monitors.

I don't have any way of hosting the clips so I can't post them.

Tim Harr · Post by **Tim Harr** » 29 Jan 2019 11:10 am

I have had great results with the Eleven Rack. Once you get it dialed in it is pretty great.

Ken Metcalf · Post by **Ken Metcalf** » 8 May 2019 5:36 am

Telonics amp out is very good.

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 8 May 2019 6:41 am

I majorly agree, Ken!

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 21 May 2019 1:16 am

while we have many ways to track a Steel I guess I should add that in my particular setup, it is NOT dedicated to tracking Steel Guitars. Voices, E Guitars, live mics for acoustic instruments, everything goes thru the preamps, as they should, as typical.

It is mentioned way above that perhaps the sound of the MIC'd instrument sits better in the mix. That could very well be a function of engineering ( EQ and placement in the track) and not how the tracking was performed .

In no way am I suggesting that direct is better than mic recording, if we have a good quiet sonic room and good gear, or even better, REAL good gear, thats what will make the difference. As I stated way above, in my case, the options are very limited. I don't have a quiet room and never will have a quiet room. My tracking is NOT retail. My goal was to find a consistent process that works all the time with very little set-up. Are my tracks retail quality ? No , but thats not what my intent is either.

mtulbert · Post by **mtulbert** » 21 May 2019 4:51 am

Are my tracks retail quality ? No

Tony, I respectfully disagree with you on that statement. From a purely technical viewpoint they are spot on, well balanced, and timbrelly (is that a word?) correct.

Where we may fall short is the talent aspect. We all want to sound like the best Nashville pickers in the business. For me that will never haqppen but that doesn't mean that the recording quality isn't on par with commercial releases.

In this day and age with the lack of people really wanting to hear high quality audio, to spend 1000's on high sampling gear to me is not smart. While there are still audiophiles out there, I believe in the younger generation that the number is quite small.

YMMV

Regards,

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 23 May 2019 2:34 am

double strike

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 23 May 2019 2:39 am

mtulbert wrote:Are my tracks retail quality ? No

Tony, I respectfully disagree with you on that statement. From a purely technical viewpoint they are spot on, well balanced, and timbrelly (is that a word?) correct.

Regards,

Yeh thats a word, I'm pretty sure, maybe !

Well thx ! I think what my comment refers to is that my home tracks are not polished and MASTERED for retail , which they are not. OF course I try to improve in all aspects, technically and musically. I don't settle for musical errors and hopefully get a bit better with each session. At least thats the plan.

even if "timbrelly" is not a real word we all know what it means !

THX !

tp

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 23 May 2019 6:00 am

I recorded my Telonics amp direct and via Shure SM-57 mic at the same time, left and right channels (see samples 18 and 19):

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Telonics%20A ... 20Amp.html

David Spires · Post by **David Spires** » 31 May 2019 11:14 am

Tony, give the Line 6 HX Stomp a try (Helix technology), and or the Helix Native plugin. It's become my steel rig on the road, and I've been loving it on recordings too.

All of the sims have gotten so much better... I don't know why I didn't go for a Kemper somewhere along the line before, but the HX Stomp is so small, relatively inexpensive, and just plain sounds great.

Sincerely,

David Spires

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 5 Jun 2019 1:09 am

David Spires wrote:Tony, give the Line 6 HX Stomp a try (Helix technology), and or the Helix Native plugin. It's become my steel rig on the road, and I've been loving it on recordings too.

All of the sims have gotten so much better... I don't know why I didn't go for a Kemper somewhere along the line before, but the HX Stomp is so small, relatively inexpensive, and just plain sounds great.

Sincerely,

David Spires

Hey David, hope life is good for you.

Thx , I'll take a look but these days I'm not tracking all that much, I'm playing a lot and prepping a lot . As I get older it seems I have to practice today what I thought I learned yesterday !

Its good to be busy !

stay well

tp