Studio Recording

[Kevin Sowder]

In the studio, what is the preferred method of getting your signal to the mixer? (besides a cable...thought I'd beat you to it...) Do you use your own effects or do you process after you cut the track? Are you using a POD or special pre-amps? It would be great to know what the pros use in the studio and what the steel players recording setup is like. Thanks.

[chas smith R.I.P.]

From the ranks of the semi-pros, it varies. Steel guitar into:
Evans pre amp into the board.
Demeter Tube bass pre into the board.
Their favorite amplifier.
My favorite amplifier.
My full rack with effects, XLR out to them.
My "short" rack of effects, XLR out to them.
Their board, my effects.

What I try to do is always use my pre, regardless of what happens next, so that I at least resemble what I'm used to. It's also a good idea to practice without reverb for those times when you have to play without. The rational being, if you sound good without one, then you'll sound great with.

[Hook Moore]

Always use my own processor. Sometimes mic my amp and many times direct from my processor to the board,depending on the circumstances.

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HookMoore.com

[Kevin Sowder]

That's good information. My current setup for steel recording is: Steel>VP>POD>console. I've made patches that track pedal steel really well. When I get a really 'thin' sound which is crappy sounding going in, it comes out 3 times bigger. I really love this instrument.

[Joe E]

At my studio, the first choice for any player is using thier own amp/speaker setup. We then mic that to capture the feel of the track.

If we can not go to a live speaker/mic setup we go direct with whatever preamp the player uses. I will sometime go through a tube comp after the preamp just to get it warm and fuzzy, but not to really compress.

I use the pod for guitar sounds all the time, but nothing beats the real thing.

Joe