Like somebody else already commented, Mick’s solo is beautiful and melodic, and sounds amazing, a la Larry Carlton. The whole song sounds like a Steely Dan joint. Awesome job, Mick and Dan!
What Dan is saying near the end about practising is, for me one of the most important things playing the guitar has taught me. I’ve been playing for 25 years and the greatest takeaway from playing an instrument is learning how to listen to myself. If the hands stop co-operating, they are telling me a message: go away, it will not improve at this point. At those moments I either put the guitar down or strum an easy tune. After a break it will lock together in a totally new way. These same principles apply to almost everything: if something really difficult is occurring, walk away from it for a minute. New solutions will arise. Same thing with sleep: practise a difficult piece during the evening, sleep on it and in the morning you will have a much firmer grasp on it.
This guy gets it. In the end, the ONLY thing that matters is how listeners feel when they hear your music. That's it. People who think music it should only be made a certain way are just there to brag and showcase talent, and have totally lost the entire point of it.
"I thought using loops was cheating, so I programmed my own using samples. I then thought using samples was cheating, so I recorded real drums. I then thought that programming it was cheating, so I learned to play drums for real. I then thought using bought drums was cheating, so I learned to make my own. I then thought using premade skins was cheating, so I killed a goat and skinned it. I then thought that that was cheating too, so I grew my own goat from a baby goat. I also think that is cheating, but I’m not sure where to go from here. I haven’t made any music lately, what with the goat farming and all."
@@TheGgreen100 Incorrect, it definitely matters how the players feel when they create their music, as evidenced by the series of vlogs we're currently commenting on lmao. If the player can only get that feel by playing into a single mic through an analog signal path then that's the player's prerogative. I'm guessing you haven't spent as much time on the mixer's side of the glass as on the band's. We can *see* the differences you'd never even *hear.*
Thank you TPS for continuing on for us. We need your content. Your humor and knowledge is the best thing on the internet (and one of the best things in my life, in general). Cheers. Stay safe.
40 takes, and then the magic came. I think the magic is with you all of the time. This is a great vlog topic which most can relate. Two amps, two microphones and wet dry are just awesome.
Two things I'd like to add: 1 - Record EVERYTHING. Always be recording stuff. Even if it goes directly in the trash when you're done. You practice playing your instrument to get better at it, practice recording to get better at it. And any time you read or hear about a new production technique, record something that uses it, just to try it out. 2 - You stack pedals to get certain sounds, don't be afraid to stack plugins. If your reverb plugin doesn't have modulation or EQ, try putting a chorus in front of it, or an EQ after it. I see a lot of people who get into DAWs begin obsessively collecting plugins that achieve specific sounds or have specific features, but even basic stock plugins can be a lot more versatile than you think if you combine them creatively to achieve the sounds you're looking for.
I watch your channel fairly frequently and just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy you guys. It think one of the things that makes watching your show so much fun is that you seem to be two very nice guys with a good dose of humility, and you are such good players. Very rare these days. Thanks so much. From Boulder, Colorado, USA.
I have to admit that after 20+ years with guitar i learned a lot from you both but i've got a lot of knowledge from the play of dan's daughter. It was an ispiration onestly to try to sing more and more. She as a singer has put so much of her voice in the notes of the pentatonic. Thank you again guys.
A good way to think about the reverb on the bus technique is that it's literally just the wet/dry amp technique but in the digital world! It's blending a 100% dry track with a 100% wet track to get the best of both worlds
Guys. Thank you very much. I love you. I'm the rookie being blown away from the "simple" things you guys figured out. As millions around the world, I have found a love for writing, recording and mixing during this quarantine time. Stay safe and cool!
Very remarkable insights. I've recently come to take it for granted that I can play fairly loud at home in my own standalone house. By loud I mean as loud as my own hearing comfort level allows or takes me. That has led to louder levels than when I lived in an apartment, but gradually. I feel grateful not having this restriction.
I started with a Marshall & Les Paul found myself in that labyrinth of recording gear and tec! lost my magic, plonked the lot in storage.....back to amp a few pedals and guitar and feel totally inspired! Great great content from TPS! Just gets better and better!
Mick your point you made about a microphone and speaker sound is definitely me all day long! I have bought thousands in plug ins Ir’s and can honestly say it’s missing that analog mic bliss that you said you have listened to for 30 years! I totally agree!! Thank you and Dan for sharing.
Your comment on 335s in the studio versus the strat live was really really lovely Mick. Thank you. Because that has been a big contentious point for me lately. There is no guitar I'd rather play at home than my Sheraton. But live, I've actually quite liked my other solid body guitars. The process of reading what's going on just as it's happening just never stops. You guys are the best. Thank you so much.
30.00: I hadn’t touched my 335 for years until I started recording quietly at home, and it’s my absolute fave now for recording. The 335 has that extra girth (oo-er missus) and “air” that just sounds great. The PRS 594 also sounds fantastic for recording as well. For gigs I’m generally strat or tele.
Helix> Apollo twin> UA Neve plug in and I'm a happy boy. I get my main ideas down that way, then embelish everything with my pedalboard and AC15 miked. Im loving these shows on recording lads. It's really helping me work some things out in my home studio. Good stuff.
It was beautiful a show. Plays from Andy and joey and mick. Dan's been working hard taking the fears of editing. And the section with Liv, its every Dad's dream and watch her progress and enjoy it and just gallop through. Nice work there Dan. Great Solo Mick. Cheers guys!!
Just want to say thanks to both of you lads. I know these remote videos you`re both doing are not easy to pull off. I just discovered your channel around 4 weeks ago and have to say, its already one of my favorites. Appreciate all you guys do. Stay safe and keep up the good work.
Mick, you are so correct about body resonance. There are psycho-acoustic studies on the effect of physical vibrations going through the body. The acoustic is an example. You feel the frequencies moving through your body, and it helps us.
Interesting point Mick about how polarising the use of recording equipment. Was really helpful content to help the luddites amongst us understand more. Would definitely benefit from a series of this kind of stuff
Thanks Mick for the validation. I've never been disappointed with mic'd amps at a lower volume. It's more important to feel good about what I am hearing when I am playing it.
This is all so well done and I am so appreciative - as the comments show, we all are. IR's only (maybe, mostly) worked for some of us who at the time HAD NO OTHER OPTION. Now that I have the option of my amp via isobox (home made - and helped by being in a closet), there is no question about the difference and the ease of getting there fast. Both of you sound fantastic - and so melodic. Both of your methods are great: I think what is right about Mick's rig is that the low volume gives the amps nothing but headroom - and DAW's love low level input like that. Mick's is very expressive and dynamic (b/c he is as a player) - even with those killer drives. Dan - while subtle, clever and also as expressive and dynamic - has an immediacy and boldness-with-a-lovely-smile. You are both perfect and hold your own brilliantly and musically with those big guns you dragged into the fold for this.
Having not played live for years, I do all of my stuff in a room in a duplex. This is a very useful video, even after the thing... Such good playing by the both of you!
What a fabulously educational show. As someone who is yet to record myself playing guitar I have learnt so much from this one show. Thank you so much, great work TPS
Thanks so much for the show, more appreciated than usual, thank you Mick for comments at 40.32, very much trying to get my head around this tech, I hope you are ok, it's wonderful you talk about mental health. I imagine Friday TPS is something a lot of people look forward to.
Thank you Phil. We just have to talk about it and normalise it. Frankly, too many suicides in my family to not talk about. Mental health issues is a term we’ve come to see as abnormal. It’s so normal it’s thoroughly depressing. HahahH!!! It’s been normal since the dawn of time. Well, human time anyway. Let’s talk about it!
@@ThatPedalShow negative thoughts are likely to be highlighted during this time, having dan and mick continue to release great content most certainly helps, thanks again, no pressure but your efforts are appreciated 🙏☺️
Nearly headless Mick!! HA!! love it. I can just see a translucent John Cleese strapped into a blue strat, head flopping to one side, rocking out up and down the great hall. Great show guys. Thanks!
06:42 I have a Demeter Iso Cab which I run a screaming 18 watt 6V6 amp into. There's NO WAY I could tolerate the volume if the speaker was in the room with me. But with the Iso Cab, it's in the next room, screaming it's head off but it's only at the same volume you'd hear a clock radio beside the bed from the next room. Very neighbour friendly.
I built a minture iso "room" to house my Bogner open-back 2X12 cab using 2X4 wall and floor cassesttes. Filled the voids with Owens Corning 703. Sealed the openings up with a layer of mass loaded vinyl, layering 1/4'' ply, and 1/2" quiet rock sheet rock...going in both directions (inside and outside the walls and floor). Decoupled whole box with rubber feet and leftover mass loaded vinyl, decoupled the cab by suspending inside the box using rubber tarp tie down straps and suspended the microphones after testing placemement and phase. Then put a lid made of all the same components and bolted down. Inside all the edges are sealed with acoustic caulk and all the cassettes have a layer of acoustic tape between before fastening together. Reduced volume levels in the room by 35 to 40 db and keeps the sometimes noisy road in front of the house from getting into my recording. Cost about $500 in materials or so (which would be about $650 now) To completely sound proof the room would have cost about 20 grand. So... I looked into the Grossmann cab and though, i have a cab, just build something. I was super worried about the sound being canny, but it turned out great with some tweaks on the mic placement. it was a great challenge. My wife complains she can't hear me playing downstairs anymore...lol
Guys I have finally built up my small pedal board, dusted off my DAW and guitar and gave this a shot. Haven’t played my electric for some time, probably more than a year, and only been tinkering with my acoustic but watching this and the video of Dans daughters fist solo gave me the boot up the ass I needed to try. I can only really say Thank you. Be well
Some friends and I are working on a diy ep and after years of micing loud amps in previous projects we’re trying a Strymon Iridium. It’s going much better than expected and Dan’s reverb bus trick made an immediate difference! Thanks again TPS! This blind squirrel just found another one of your nuts.
Mick's take on communal resonance was very interesting. Over the past forty-plus years of playing and recording - quieter and quieter with each passing year - I've gravitated from Strats to hollow-bodied Gretsch's; where now, my main guitars are White Falcons and Guild acoustics. Now, I'm wondering more about the physiological/psychological/emotional aspects of this shift in my own playing being deeply connected with life-changing events over the years. Hmmm. Nice.
What Mick said about resonating guitars matches completely with my experience. Being a Strat and Tele player when playing with my buddies in the rehearsal room, I struggle when playing and recording at home levels. However with my Reverend Manta Ray semi hollow I feel connected even when playing completly silent. It's not about the recorded sound. It's about yout feeling when playing.
Wow. What a treat we got this week. First of all, special shout out to Dan & his daughter on completing their 2 week challenges... nnnnnnnnNAILED IT! Everything this week has just been... spectacular! Secondly, at the end of this video you start talking about how to 'get the studio ready/perfect for you to come in and just... record' (In a home enviroment) Unfortunatly this is 'practicly' impossible... this is why Studios will never go out of style/use. Yes, they have all the equipment and location to do it ect ect, But what your really after is the knowledge, expertese and practicality of having professionals doing their part. So that the musician/creative can come in 'confident things are ready' (as Dan stated). On a positive note however, you have definatly showed us that we can do something worthy of being sold from a home studio, If you know what your doing, what you want and have the time/patience & to actually... DO IT. Anyway, Stay Safe! Stay Alert! With Love. Milton.
Props to the drummer for using an old Boss multitrack recorder. Also an easy way to deal with phase issues itb is Waves InPhase, has saved me many hours getting phase done quickly with drums, bass, and guitars. I've put it in my recording template so I don't even have to change anything if I leave everything setup the same.
As always your work is brilliant! Even after many years as a musician and recording engineer enthusiasts, you guys taught me some. And to Mick, I am understand dealing with depression and anxiety and I appreciate you bringing awareness to it, hats off to you. ❤️
Sounding great as ever guys, thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences, it’s such a great help facing this home recording learning curve to know that we’re all not alone!
Part 4. I've used a mic'ed cab and taken a direct signal, before the amp. The cab gives me the feel while performing and the DI allows monumental amounts of messing around with re-amping etc. Lots of fun.
Interesting. I play tube amps for +35 years, too. But recording always was something different. No need for me to "feel" the amp like Mick does. BTW, I built myself an iso cab 15 years ago (for the reasons Dan mentioned) and happily recorded my rock contributions. Until I got the Torpedo Live. That and the IR technology blew my mind. Half a year later, still owning my iso cab, I made another test. Comparing crunchy rhythm tones from the iso cab to the Torpedo. I couldn't hear a difference in feel, impact, you name it. The day after I disassebled my iso cab and never looked back.
The ES resonance is spot on. I’m just a living room player and I always play quietly. My Es-235 just gives back a lot more in those conditions compared to my solid body guitars.
I built my own iso cab from scratch a few years ago and it's been an absolute life saver for recording guitars. As Dan mentioned there is a stark lack of room ambience, but it's easily compensated for with reverb pedals or plugins in the DAW. In a mix I don't think many people would be able to distinguish between real room ambience and a room reverb emulation (if used properly), so it's never bothered me. It's so essential that I can record my amp at a high volume though, so I'd take an iso cab over recording quietly any day! One tip though is to use and EQ in the FX loop of the amp. In such a small space you're bound to get resonant frequencies so it's always useful to have an EQ to tame them. I use a full band graphic EQ rack unit in the loop of my amp as it gives me much finer control, but an EQ pedal can work too.
Great video! I got a lot out of this one. I have a comment on 'head space': a great way to get the best of all worlds is to quickly set up a sound that inspires you to play, but not necessarily the final sound for the record, and then also record a DI signal that you can use IRs on or Re-Amp later. That way you don't have to spend ages trying to get the sound just right and then start the actual recording process already a bit fatigued. You can just jump into it. Awesome work guys!
Hey guys, I just want to thank you for your hard work! This is perfect timing for me as I’m preparing to record at home. The psychological/physical/ artistic component is so hard at home, and I’m really glad you addressed it! You guys rock!
THanks Joe. We wish you well on your journey! Some extra advice - if you find yourself worrying about stuff and getting frustrated, imagine that worry and frustration is a little angry goblin. When you feel him coming into play, just use your mind to look at him. Don't judge him. Just look at him. Look at his anger and frustration. Silly goblin. Try it. Seriously. Mick here.
Nice to see an experienced guy saying he doesn't like IR. I never got good results with IR either and I thought the problem was with me. I am relieved.
Heh - I've gone the other way. This enforced quiet time has finally forced me to set up some IRs for clean and low gain that really work for me with a set of headphones and no sound in the room. Using a hardware IR box with low latency helps - trying to monitor your playing when the IR is being applied in the DAW adds too much latency for me. I still have a setup where I'm recording dry so I can tweak the IRs post-rec if needed, but I split the signal so I can also run it into my Torpedo CAB and monitor that for a low latency "in the room" sound (the CAB does room ambience as well). Finding what works for you is what it's all about - we all have different needs and parameters to work with. Love that all this varied tech is available :-)
VCQ Potential? Up to you if you think helpful. I may have said before, but everything changed for me when I separated actual playing/performing/recording from traveling down the labyrinth of IRs and digital learning curves. I would recommend to anyone it might help to do this. I avoid trying to capture ideas or making music at the same same as wading through plugin/IR/modeling options etc. I consider it like practicing to sit and go through sounds... I will during that time make presets or templates for when it is time to record... "I need that Marshall thing... oh, yeah, preset 10" Use it if it helps... take care gents... thanks as usual for all the content.
Great to follow your journey. Inspirational musically, technically and personally. You both seem to have taken great steps forward in so many areas. Your frankness has helped me, my friends and students as we walk through our challenges. Knowing that others are having similar issues is really helpful, especially when they talk frankly about things that have helped and hindered. Thanks guys. Great show.
Just like zoom chatting with old mates. Enjoyed this tremendously... as always. Thanks TPS for persevering and still delivering insightful, entertaining content. I record at home so this was so on the money for me. My rig is set so that one switch flicked means everything is on. The least amount of prep possible to keep out that middleman. However, my production skills always let me down no matter how great the guitar tone is ;)
Here's what's working great for me; taking a line from an attenuator on the amp into a 2 Notes speaker simulator plug-in. Monitor through the speaker, and VERY realistic mic'd speaker at the end of the amp chain in the computer.
Whilst recording I have used IRs (Celestion Gold 2x10 open backed cab IR) with my Two Notes Captor and my amps (Dr Z and Victory Copper) also recording by micing a cab. Both without having to EQ afterwards. I can genuinely say that I can't tell the difference between micing and IRs and I use edge of break up tones. What IRs bring is consistency.
There's a great technique for finding the right blend between two mics on a guitar cab that I learned from watching one of Warren Huart's videos on Produce Like A Pro. I believe it was an interview with producer Bradley Cook. The idea is that you get your mics perfectly in phase and sounding good, then you flip the phase of one of the mics and adjust the level of that mic in relation to the other until you get the most phase cancelation (the signal sound the most thin and crappy), then filp the phase back inline and "voila" that's your optimal balance.
Nice work guys! As a new LUNA user (been learning it during the lockdown) my favourite trick is to use 'loop record' - as many takes as you want, without stopping, without wiping the previous takes. Amazing how I knew instinctively when I 'had' it with the ability remove the tech. No doubt other DAWs have this feature also but this one stands out for me. Please keep up the amazing work, so grateful for your efforts.
Mick, I'm totally with you regarding music being a trigger. My struggles with guitar can often send me down, lack of progress, not knowing which direction to go in etc. Great video though, I've been trying some recording recently so is relevant to me 👍
Dan, before you rush out (metaphorically speaking, in covid times!) and buy another isolation box, have you considered a re-amping device? I use a Radial x-amp, I split my signal when recording, one to amp (recorded live, with a mic) the other straight to the desk to record a dry line-in. The line recording can then be sent out and re-amped using the Radial box. With this technique you can do wet dry, audition as many different amp /effect combinations as you have available, change mics, layer multiple amps or use the same amp with different settings. I look on re-amping as an analogue undo button; so long as you have a well recorded take, you can go back and change amp settings or effects that maybe weren’t quite right on the initial live recording. This is particularly useful in home “studio” environments where live monitoring may not be ideal. Another handy benefit of re-amping as apposed to recording live wet dry, is that I only need one set of mics! Thinking about it, it could even be a way for people that only own one amp to record wet dry. The possibilities are endless (and relatively cheap)!
I've been attending the University of TPS for just a couple of months now but if I could convert every 'Oh, so that's what that is' into £'s I'd be setting up a studio on some tropical island once lockdown is over. You entertain, educate and inspire in every video you put out. I'm 58 and you guys get me as fired up about music as I was when I was a teenager. Thank you!
Loved Dan’s vlog and the song Adam Neely and co. This episode is perfect as I ordered an interface a week or two ago to start writing and recording music! Thank you guys! Greetings from Mossel Bay, South Africa!
I'll put in a word for John Lennon's direct tone on Revolution. It's a very specific sound, and a complete abuse of the mixing desk preamp, but it's ingenious and glorious.
As usual, a fantastic video that neither dumbs down nor condescends, and as usual, it's a delight to watch your journey. I'm sure it's been mentioned already, but it can also be really interesting to play with different aspects of the reverb bus. For example, you can play with the *placement* of individual instruments within the virtual room by increasing or decreasing the pre-delay of the reverb send for each instrument, which in essence moves it backwards and forwards in the room. Those are the types of things I read about randomly which had a big impact on my recordings. Also, don't be afraid to use a room reverb or hall reverb for instruments, and a different reverb for vocals. I particularly like the Abbey Road Plates from Waves for vocals, personally. Looking forward to the next installment!
Fascinating, guys. Very useful. For me, everything flows from what Mick voiced about performances, much preferring a great performance and okay recording, over a great recording of an okay performance. It's about the song in the end. One critical function of a great producer is to set the mood, the vibe and confidence to get that great performance. The artist in studio doesn't need to worry about all that. It's so much harder to achieve at home, recording oneself. That's the left brain/right brain conundrum of home recording. Technical frustrations can bleed a free and compelling performance. I guess preparation with gear and DAW create the necessary environment to promote confidence, limit worry and release a fun, undistracted performance. My iso-cab is a Morgan Chameleon, ordered immediately after your hilarious visit to Joe's "sauna" at NAMM in 2016 with Danish Pete for Anderton's. Highly recommended viewing, especially re iso-cabs, near the end. Question: what do you do with vocals? Run them straight into DAW? Is this the place to use Josh's Colour Box and its XLR inputs before tucking in to the DAW? I've just been going straight in and using plugins. (Totally understand Dan's enthusiasm for Ocean Way and Capital reverbs; my unapologetic pleasure is Waves' Abbey Road suite. Just for pure fun!) It's impossible to thank you both enough. Because Tone, yes, but also because fun! Cheers, guys. GB
Lots of great insights guys! I learned after doing home recordings for years and finally releasing an album where I let an "internet mixing guy" mix it, that : Don't be afraid to record your guitar sound with all pedals you want, so that it sounds awesome when you play/record it and brings the best performance out of you! Otherwise you will rely on the person mixing it to be a mind reader... When I did demos at home myself, I could record it kind of "dry" and playing knowing that I would add e.g. a tape delay to the sound in my DAW. The best mixes that the "Internet guy" did was the ones where the sound on the tracks already had a good sound with all important effects on. The worse mixes were the ones where I would know myself what is missing on the tracks, but it was not easy to explain it to someone on the other side of the world in another timezone...
@That Pedal Show - Brilliant as always! Don't mind the split screen episodes one bit. Mick - I LOVE LOVE LOVE your 335 tones on here! I 100% agree with you about feeling a physical connection with the resonance of your guitar. I'm becoming an almost exclusive semi-hollow or hollowbody player. My #1 guitar of the past year is a Thinline Deluxe Tele and I bought a PRS CE-24 semi-hollow last week that I'm obsessed with just playing open chords and feeling the sustain. I definitely feel like I can let myself go and not overthink with that body style. Cheers from Connecticut!
That Pedal Show hey Mick, agree very much with this. I’m lucky enough to play loud Aussie rock most weekends in cover bands through a tube amp. But practising at home through headphones with a totally different response from the instrument is not very inspiring. This video has encouraged me to keep looking at ways to make it work - thanks!
I can’t say how much I needed this. I’ve been working on recording an EP at home and yesterday I almost threw the whole thing out, including 3 tracks that have been mastered. I’m going to try getting back to miking an amp quietly because working with IRs is killing my soul. I was so down yesterday and this gave me some hope that I haven’t been wasting weeks of time.
Hey Michael, Mick here. From one self-loather to (maybe) another, i feel your pain. I stated off thinking that maybe I was looking for something to blame to mask my own shortcomings as a player. That might be a little bit true. What was more true is that I started playing better when I brought amps and speakers back in the room. :0)
I completely scrapped a track I was recording a few weeks back, thinking that it just wasn't going to come together. Felt a similar downness from it- and my regular career is a pretty creative one, so it felt rather unusual. I came back to recording it with a new perspective a few weeks later and while I'm still building it, taking a break is always a good idea!
Yah, we creatives are the worst for self beating. We have to get over it. It’s the same as massive egotists being arseholes outwardly. We’re arseholes inward. It’s the same thing: self obsession. We need to drop it and just be. Just be. Sounds so easy. Hahahah!!!
@@ThatPedalShow I keep meaning to write you a longer note on this front, but basically I have gotten so in my head over the last years that I have damaged what was great about my work before (I think, at least). Hearing you all talk about it has helped a lot!
Very very insightful video fellas. I hear ya on the Tech vs Performance thing...Boy oh boy, I just want to play sometimes but the tech drags me down. Keep up the great work guys. Cheers Marty from Melbourne
Hey Mick, was just chatting to a friend about your experience trying spidif out of the ox.. he had the same experience, but apparently it’s a clock issue.. his words “I think the sample rate you have to use is 44.5khz & you have to make sure your audio interface is the slave & the OX box is acting as the master clock”. You’re probably all over it but thought this might interest you!
Thank's gentlemen for a great episode, and THANK YOU so much for basically re-affirming some of my beliefs, one of which is, a speaker and a couple of mics usually triumphs. I never had to go down the IR speaker rabbit hole. I personally always found the easiest part of recording any project was to record and capture a great guitar sound, and usually 2 mics and maybe a room mic or 2 did the job just fine. Maybe it was as simple as the foresight to have my rehearsal studio/studio in an industrial part of town so pure volume was never a big issue. Maybe it was me being absolutely oblivious to the chaos the rest of the world was subject to when I tracked a buddy of mine blazing through 2 100 watt plexi double stacks dimed, in the same room as us, and yes, I had baffles between the stacks and us, and we had to take the measure of monitoring with ear buds in and ears covered with gun muffs just to hear what was going on, but the tracks went down and everybody was hap,hap,happy with the guitar tracks. The volume didn't bother me, and I have never recorded s guitar player who complained he was too loud ever. So to me, ir speakers were a non issue. It was great to watch you two discover all the glory of the simple mic'ed up speaker, and we have not even covered the fun and tones involved in mic pre selection and their effect on the tones captured. Thank you for an epic episode that I wasn't expecting to see in these depressing Covid days.
I read an interview about 10-15 years ago, with some guitar players playing in a musical. The production forced them to play silently, so they used Pod xt. To get more resonance from the guitars, they attached headphones to the back of the headstock, coming straight out of the Pod xt. I guess taping a small speaker to the guitar would also work.
I found this extremely helpful .. really identified with your frustrations Mick with regard to feel! I think this is why I’ve gravitated to getting all my guitars in a semi hollow form. Les paul turned to a 335, tele turned into a thinline. Gretchen no f hole turned into a Duesenberg, without realising the issue til now. In addition I have also struggled with IRs bought so many. I think I will try record my amp quietly and see the results! Thanks all. Not sure if I can afford an iso cab but I also liked this approach. But I may get away with recording amps quietly. Loved the tips on mixing etc!
To be honest my technology problems went away when I got the Fender Tonemaster Deluxe reverb amp. No IR hassles, it just works and sounds fab straight from the amp. It's like a proper miced up amp. I'd love to see TPS try it. No techno paralysis.
I’ve had the grossman, a kemper, a suhr IR loader and an OX. SOLD em all and just went back to micing the amp with a good ribbon and a 57. Nothing beats the real thing, especially feel wise. Once you get the hang of it, you can really get a miriad of sounds, although it is a bit of a learning curve. The grossmann always gave me eq bumps to notch out, especially when playing louder which excites the cab and the room modes within more. Be aware although it does reduce the sound immensely, the vibrations still transfer to the surroundings enough to make your downstairs neighbors hear it. The ox was the next best thing to micing for me. But I’d still rather mic the cab on low volume above anything digital.
That Pedal Show Nope, I can’t play even half as good as you guys! 😂 Now that I’ve got your attention though, two things I’ve always wondered, why hasn’t thatpedalshow done a show about picks yet? Thickness and material can change the tone as much as anything imo. The day I got my first redbear pick my tone and especially playing enjoyment and speed noticeably improved! After that all plastic picks literally sound like plastic :) If you’re such a tone perfectionist like me, I’m sure it will surprise you quite a bit. Also, why haven’t you ever feature any Pete cornish pedals? You’ve done mythical expensive delays, perhaps do mythical expensive cornish pedals? Anyways, thanks a ton for doing these great shows. 🤘🏻
Thank you guys for posting this! I’ve been having such a hard time finding inspiration and creating while at home, but this video I think is reigniting the fire! How do you guys get inspiration to create music? Thank you again for continuing to make content for all us!
Thanks TPS some useful info there and I am looking at a lot of stuff at the moment as I have just ordered some equipment and am about to embark on this epic journey. Dan and Mick both your tracks sound great, if I can get anywhere near what you have got there I will be an extremely happy chap :)
Dan's speakers are perfectly in focus. :) Thank you for this, guys. I absolutely love watching your videos and have really come to respect your opinions. You're my go to channel for all things guitary.
yeah! happy to see a lot of similar conclusions drawn on my end as well. Like Mick ive been using my 335, low volume, wet dry, to great results. additionally ive found the Ocean way plugin to be indispensable, same with the API eq when needed. I did pre order a Captor X IR box because I work late night often. I feel my journey has been similar since prior to lockdown I had a studio space that has since been closed. This has been super informative, thanks for taking this journey with us!
Today’s Mick Magic: I need to buy a Gretsch/Eastman etc cos hollow bodies are better for the quiet room playing and to make the recording quicker so TV can go back on! Thanks Boss, I’ll tell the wife an expert said I had to!
Guys, credit to you. Another fab video - some great tips and insights - and that final point is seriously important! (Can totally relate atm) Well done for making such good content under the circumstances, cheers!
Performance vs sound - this is why some producers & engineers take direct, dry signal. Sometimes it takes a sound that doesn’t quite work to get the performance, and you have a backup signal you can reamp or use a direct solution to better fit the mix. Not an ideal situation to be sure, but definitely worth the consideration.
On dealing with the middle man, I find two things help. 1) recording on loop, so that I don’t have to be tape op in the moment. 2) stepping away, doing something completely different, and then coming back and record everything immediately - generally the first couple of takes will grab it.
Hey guys, great video! It's been cool following your separate home recording journeys over the past few months. Congrats on finding your own inspiring solutions! Thanks to this channel I've been (amateurly) recording through a wet/dry rig, mic'ing one quiet amp and going direct with IR's on the other. Time to see if I can use a bus with GarageBand now!
Build my own iso box about a year back.. Best thing ever! My one cost me about 100 pound to build and reduces 20 dB never had a complaint from anyone and it sounds good. Take a big rock sound down to talking volume.
Really interesting points chaps. There are some great learnings here. I particularly agree with one of the themes you mention a few times in different ways. Keeping the connect between you and the performance, not getting to the point where you’ve practised the part so much it’s lost the original fire, not having the tech taking you out of the headspace of making music, take a great performance over a great sound. My advice from 20 years of amateur recording is you will almost never get a perfect take. Get a good enough take before your love of the part drains away (especially true with vocals for me)
![Rick Beato At That Pedal Show! [Recording Guitar Tips, Producing & More]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9vefw_c2BRA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Rick Beato At That Pedal Show! [Recording Guitar Tips, Producing & More]](/img/tr.png)
Like somebody else already commented, Mick’s solo is beautiful and melodic, and sounds amazing, a la Larry Carlton. The whole song sounds like a Steely Dan joint. Awesome job, Mick and Dan!
Nobody, nobody can explain anything as clearly and gently as Dan... He really cares about his listener
🤓🙏
I appreciate this new format will feel weird, but fro my money it feels fresh, personal and intimate. It’s working chaps. It’s working.
S
What Dan is saying near the end about practising is, for me one of the most important things playing the guitar has taught me. I’ve been playing for 25 years and the greatest takeaway from playing an instrument is learning how to listen to myself. If the hands stop co-operating, they are telling me a message: go away, it will not improve at this point. At those moments I either put the guitar down or strum an easy tune. After a break it will lock together in a totally new way. These same principles apply to almost everything: if something really difficult is occurring, walk away from it for a minute. New solutions will arise. Same thing with sleep: practise a difficult piece during the evening, sleep on it and in the morning you will have a much firmer grasp on it.
Regarding cheating: frets are technically cheating! People need to knock off the nonsense about "cheating".
Randy Willcox My man, you articulated that perfectly.
This guy gets it. In the end, the ONLY thing that matters is how listeners feel when they hear your music. That's it.
People who think music it should only be made a certain way are just there to brag and showcase talent, and have totally lost the entire point of it.
Begs the question, "cheating who or what?"
"I thought using loops was cheating, so I programmed my own using samples. I then thought using samples was cheating, so I recorded real drums. I then thought that programming it was cheating, so I learned to play drums for real. I then thought using bought drums was cheating, so I learned to make my own. I then thought using premade skins was cheating, so I killed a goat and skinned it. I then thought that that was cheating too, so I grew my own goat from a baby goat. I also think that is cheating, but I’m not sure where to go from here. I haven’t made any music lately, what with the goat farming and all."
@@TheGgreen100 Incorrect, it definitely matters how the players feel when they create their music, as evidenced by the series of vlogs we're currently commenting on lmao. If the player can only get that feel by playing into a single mic through an analog signal path then that's the player's prerogative. I'm guessing you haven't spent as much time on the mixer's side of the glass as on the band's. We can *see* the differences you'd never even *hear.*
Thank you TPS for continuing on for us. We need your content. Your humor and knowledge is the best thing on the internet (and one of the best things in my life, in general). Cheers. Stay safe.
Thank you! Glad it’s of use to you Trem!
40 takes, and then the magic came. I think the magic is with you all of the time. This is a great vlog topic which most can relate. Two amps, two microphones and wet dry are just awesome.
Two things I'd like to add:
1 - Record EVERYTHING. Always be recording stuff. Even if it goes directly in the trash when you're done. You practice playing your instrument to get better at it, practice recording to get better at it. And any time you read or hear about a new production technique, record something that uses it, just to try it out.
2 - You stack pedals to get certain sounds, don't be afraid to stack plugins. If your reverb plugin doesn't have modulation or EQ, try putting a chorus in front of it, or an EQ after it. I see a lot of people who get into DAWs begin obsessively collecting plugins that achieve specific sounds or have specific features, but even basic stock plugins can be a lot more versatile than you think if you combine them creatively to achieve the sounds you're looking for.
This episode was such a treat! Thank you for this labour of love. The musical joy and relief radiated through enormously.
I watch your channel fairly frequently and just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy you guys. It think one of the things that makes watching your show so much fun is that you seem to be two very nice guys with a good dose of humility, and you are such good players. Very rare these days. Thanks so much. From Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Ah, that’s very kind, thanks Gary 🤓🙏
I have to admit that after 20+ years with guitar i learned a lot from you both but i've got a lot of knowledge from the play of dan's daughter. It was an ispiration onestly to try to sing more and more. She as a singer has put so much of her voice in the notes of the pentatonic. Thank you again guys.
A good way to think about the reverb on the bus technique is that it's literally just the wet/dry amp technique but in the digital world! It's blending a 100% dry track with a 100% wet track to get the best of both worlds
Exactly that!
And then you can treat the wet track without it changing the dry tone in any way.
Guys. Thank you very much. I love you. I'm the rookie being blown away from the "simple" things you guys figured out. As millions around the world, I have found a love for writing, recording and mixing during this quarantine time. Stay safe and cool!
Cheers Ricardo 🤓👍
Very remarkable insights. I've recently come to take it for granted that I can play fairly loud at home in my own standalone house. By loud I mean as loud as my own hearing comfort level allows or takes me. That has led to louder levels than when I lived in an apartment, but gradually. I feel grateful not having this restriction.
I started with a Marshall & Les Paul found myself in that labyrinth of recording gear and tec! lost my magic, plonked the lot in storage.....back to amp a few pedals and guitar and feel totally inspired! Great great content from TPS! Just gets better and better!
I’d really love to see another video like this again. Absolutely a joy to watch and learn.
Mick your point you made about a microphone and speaker sound is definitely me all day long! I have bought thousands in plug ins Ir’s and can honestly say it’s missing that analog mic bliss that you said you have listened to for 30 years! I totally agree!! Thank you and Dan for sharing.
Your comment on 335s in the studio versus the strat live was really really lovely Mick. Thank you. Because that has been a big contentious point for me lately. There is no guitar I'd rather play at home than my Sheraton. But live, I've actually quite liked my other solid body guitars. The process of reading what's going on just as it's happening just never stops. You guys are the best. Thank you so much.
Wow. I am lost and have never recorded. I am going to go play my acoustic guitar in my garden. Fascinating but beyond me for the moment. Thanks
30.00: I hadn’t touched my 335 for years until I started recording quietly at home, and it’s my absolute fave now for recording. The 335 has that extra girth (oo-er missus) and “air” that just sounds great. The PRS 594 also sounds fantastic for recording as well. For gigs I’m generally strat or tele.
Helix> Apollo twin> UA Neve plug in and I'm a happy boy.
I get my main ideas down that way, then embelish everything with my pedalboard and AC15 miked.
Im loving these shows on recording lads. It's really helping me work some things out in my home studio.
Good stuff.
It was beautiful a show. Plays from Andy and joey and mick. Dan's been working hard taking the fears of editing. And the section with Liv, its every Dad's dream and watch her progress and enjoy it and just gallop through. Nice work there Dan. Great Solo Mick. Cheers guys!!
Just want to say thanks to both of you lads. I know these remote videos you`re both doing are not easy to pull off. I just discovered your channel around 4 weeks ago and have to say, its already one of my favorites. Appreciate all you guys do. Stay safe and keep up the good work.
Cheers Ernest and welcome!
Mick, you are so correct about body resonance. There are psycho-acoustic studies on the effect of physical vibrations going through the body. The acoustic is an example. You feel the frequencies moving through your body, and it helps us.
Interesting point Mick about how polarising the use of recording equipment. Was really helpful content to help the luddites amongst us understand more. Would definitely benefit from a series of this kind of stuff
Thanks Mick for the validation. I've never been disappointed with mic'd amps at a lower volume. It's more important to feel good about what I am hearing when I am playing it.
This is all so well done and I am so appreciative - as the comments show, we all are. IR's only (maybe, mostly) worked for some of us who at the time HAD NO OTHER OPTION. Now that I have the option of my amp via isobox (home made - and helped by being in a closet), there is no question about the difference and the ease of getting there fast. Both of you sound fantastic - and so melodic. Both of your methods are great: I think what is right about Mick's rig is that the low volume gives the amps nothing but headroom - and DAW's love low level input like that. Mick's is very expressive and dynamic (b/c he is as a player) - even with those killer drives. Dan - while subtle, clever and also as expressive and dynamic - has an immediacy and boldness-with-a-lovely-smile. You are both perfect and hold your own brilliantly and musically with those big guns you dragged into the fold for this.
Thank you sir! And congrats on the ISO box! Have to say I’m tempted...... Mick here. ;0)
Having not played live for years, I do all of my stuff in a room in a duplex. This is a very useful video, even after the thing...
Such good playing by the both of you!
What a fabulously educational show. As someone who is yet to record myself playing guitar I have learnt so much from this one show. Thank you so much, great work TPS
Thanks so much for the show, more appreciated than usual, thank you Mick for comments at 40.32, very much trying to get my head around this tech, I hope you are ok, it's wonderful you talk about mental health. I imagine Friday TPS is something a lot of people look forward to.
Thank you Phil. We just have to talk about it and normalise it. Frankly, too many suicides in my family to not talk about. Mental health issues is a term we’ve come to see as abnormal. It’s so normal it’s thoroughly depressing. HahahH!!! It’s been normal since the dawn of time. Well, human time anyway. Let’s talk about it!
@@ThatPedalShow negative thoughts are likely to be highlighted during this time, having dan and mick continue to release great content most certainly helps, thanks again, no pressure but your efforts are appreciated 🙏☺️
Nearly headless Mick!! HA!! love it. I can just see a translucent John Cleese strapped into a blue strat, head flopping to one side, rocking out up and down the great hall. Great show guys. Thanks!
06:42 I have a Demeter Iso Cab which I run a screaming 18 watt 6V6 amp into. There's NO WAY I could tolerate the volume if the speaker was in the room with me. But with the Iso Cab, it's in the next room, screaming it's head off but it's only at the same volume you'd hear a clock radio beside the bed from the next room. Very neighbour friendly.
I built a minture iso "room" to house my Bogner open-back 2X12 cab using 2X4 wall and floor cassesttes. Filled the voids with Owens Corning 703. Sealed the openings up with a layer of mass loaded vinyl, layering 1/4'' ply, and 1/2" quiet rock sheet rock...going in both directions (inside and outside the walls and floor). Decoupled whole box with rubber feet and leftover mass loaded vinyl, decoupled the cab by suspending inside the box using rubber tarp tie down straps and suspended the microphones after testing placemement and phase. Then put a lid made of all the same components and bolted down. Inside all the edges are sealed with acoustic caulk and all the cassettes have a layer of acoustic tape between before fastening together. Reduced volume levels in the room by 35 to 40 db and keeps the sometimes noisy road in front of the house from getting into my recording. Cost about $500 in materials or so (which would be about $650 now) To completely sound proof the room would have cost about 20 grand. So...
I looked into the Grossmann cab and though, i have a cab, just build something. I was super worried about the sound being canny, but it turned out great with some tweaks on the mic placement. it was a great challenge. My wife complains she can't hear me playing downstairs anymore...lol
Guys I have finally built up my small pedal board, dusted off my DAW and guitar and gave this a shot. Haven’t played my electric for some time, probably more than a year, and only been tinkering with my acoustic but watching this and the video of Dans daughters fist solo gave me the boot up the ass I needed to try. I can only really say Thank you. Be well
Some friends and I are working on a diy ep and after years of micing loud amps in previous projects we’re trying a Strymon Iridium. It’s going much better than expected and Dan’s reverb bus trick made an immediate difference! Thanks again TPS! This blind squirrel just found another one of your nuts.
That’s awesome Gordon 🤓👍
Mick's take on communal resonance was very interesting. Over the past forty-plus years of playing and recording - quieter and quieter with each passing year - I've gravitated from Strats to hollow-bodied Gretsch's; where now, my main guitars are White Falcons and Guild acoustics. Now, I'm wondering more about the physiological/psychological/emotional aspects of this shift in my own playing being deeply connected with life-changing events over the years. Hmmm. Nice.
You guys are really helping people flatten their learning curves. Outstanding.
Thank you Scot. Please can we hear one of your voiceovers!? I’m fascinated by that world! Mick here
@@ThatPedalShow Of course! It may take a couple of hours. I have an idea ...
@@ThatPedalShow I've messaged you will audio links
What Mick said about resonating guitars matches completely with my experience. Being a Strat and Tele player when playing with my buddies in the rehearsal room, I struggle when playing and recording at home levels. However with my Reverend Manta Ray semi hollow I feel connected even when playing completly silent. It's not about the recorded sound. It's about yout feeling when playing.
Humbuckers...Cracking noise...Real 335 sound...Well done Mick!
Thank you. I’m glad you get it!
Wow. What a treat we got this week.
First of all, special shout out to Dan & his daughter on completing their 2 week challenges... nnnnnnnnNAILED IT!
Everything this week has just been... spectacular!
Secondly, at the end of this video you start talking about how to 'get the studio ready/perfect for you to come in and just... record' (In a home enviroment)
Unfortunatly this is 'practicly' impossible... this is why Studios will never go out of style/use.
Yes, they have all the equipment and location to do it ect ect,
But what your really after is the knowledge, expertese and practicality of having professionals doing their part.
So that the musician/creative can come in 'confident things are ready' (as Dan stated).
On a positive note however, you have definatly showed us that we can do something worthy of being sold from a home studio,
If you know what your doing, what you want and have the time/patience & to actually... DO IT.
Anyway, Stay Safe! Stay Alert!
With Love.
Milton.
Props to the drummer for using an old Boss multitrack recorder. Also an easy way to deal with phase issues itb is Waves InPhase, has saved me many hours getting phase done quickly with drums, bass, and guitars. I've put it in my recording template so I don't even have to change anything if I leave everything setup the same.
Great show doing some home recording myself for the first time in years and this really helps. And lovely to see the Huber Dan always sounds huge!!!
As always your work is brilliant! Even after many years as a musician and recording engineer enthusiasts, you guys taught me some. And to Mick, I am understand dealing with depression and anxiety and I appreciate you bringing awareness to it, hats off to you. ❤️
Sounding great as ever guys, thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences, it’s such a great help facing this home recording learning curve to know that we’re all not alone!
Mick's part of Dan's piece is the best of the whole song. Loved it.
Part 4. I've used a mic'ed cab and taken a direct signal, before the amp. The cab gives me the feel while performing and the DI allows monumental amounts of messing around with re-amping etc. Lots of fun.
Interesting. I play tube amps for +35 years, too. But recording always was something different. No need for me to "feel" the amp like Mick does. BTW, I built myself an iso cab 15 years ago (for the reasons Dan mentioned) and happily recorded my rock contributions. Until I got the Torpedo Live. That and the IR technology blew my mind. Half a year later, still owning my iso cab, I made another test. Comparing crunchy rhythm tones from the iso cab to the Torpedo. I couldn't hear a difference in feel, impact, you name it. The day after I disassebled my iso cab and never looked back.
The ES resonance is spot on. I’m just a living room player and I always play quietly. My Es-235 just gives back a lot more in those conditions compared to my solid body guitars.
That’s the sound of the first few Van Halen albums: Eddie’s ‘dry’ guitar panned hard left with a dripping wet dry-killed reverb hard right.
Aha! That’s what Mr Beato was talking about!
@@ThatPedalShow ua-cam.com/video/r3E_m7IhSfY/v-deo.html
I built my own iso cab from scratch a few years ago and it's been an absolute life saver for recording guitars. As Dan mentioned there is a stark lack of room ambience, but it's easily compensated for with reverb pedals or plugins in the DAW. In a mix I don't think many people would be able to distinguish between real room ambience and a room reverb emulation (if used properly), so it's never bothered me. It's so essential that I can record my amp at a high volume though, so I'd take an iso cab over recording quietly any day!
One tip though is to use and EQ in the FX loop of the amp. In such a small space you're bound to get resonant frequencies so it's always useful to have an EQ to tame them. I use a full band graphic EQ rack unit in the loop of my amp as it gives me much finer control, but an EQ pedal can work too.
Great video! I got a lot out of this one. I have a comment on 'head space': a great way to get the best of all worlds is to quickly set up a sound that inspires you to play, but not necessarily the final sound for the record, and then also record a DI signal that you can use IRs on or Re-Amp later. That way you don't have to spend ages trying to get the sound just right and then start the actual recording process already a bit fatigued. You can just jump into it. Awesome work guys!
So true about what you were saying about how the body of the 335 resonates Mick, very interesting!
Hey guys,
I just want to thank you for your hard work! This is perfect timing for me as I’m preparing to record at home. The psychological/physical/ artistic component is so hard at home, and I’m really glad you addressed it! You guys rock!
THanks Joe. We wish you well on your journey! Some extra advice - if you find yourself worrying about stuff and getting frustrated, imagine that worry and frustration is a little angry goblin. When you feel him coming into play, just use your mind to look at him. Don't judge him. Just look at him. Look at his anger and frustration. Silly goblin. Try it. Seriously. Mick here.
That’s great! I will acknowledge the goblin, but he will have no power! Thanks again, and keep up the great work. I love your channel!
Nice to see an experienced guy saying he doesn't like IR. I never got good results with IR either and I thought the problem was with me. I am relieved.
Heh - I've gone the other way. This enforced quiet time has finally forced me to set up some IRs for clean and low gain that really work for me with a set of headphones and no sound in the room. Using a hardware IR box with low latency helps - trying to monitor your playing when the IR is being applied in the DAW adds too much latency for me. I still have a setup where I'm recording dry so I can tweak the IRs post-rec if needed, but I split the signal so I can also run it into my Torpedo CAB and monitor that for a low latency "in the room" sound (the CAB does room ambience as well). Finding what works for you is what it's all about - we all have different needs and parameters to work with. Love that all this varied tech is available :-)
VCQ Potential? Up to you if you think helpful. I may have said before, but everything changed for me when I separated actual playing/performing/recording from traveling down the labyrinth of IRs and digital learning curves. I would recommend to anyone it might help to do this. I avoid trying to capture ideas or making music at the same same as wading through plugin/IR/modeling options etc. I consider it like practicing to sit and go through sounds... I will during that time make presets or templates for when it is time to record... "I need that Marshall thing... oh, yeah, preset 10" Use it if it helps... take care gents... thanks as usual for all the content.
Great idea
Great to follow your journey. Inspirational musically, technically and personally. You both seem to have taken great steps forward in so many areas. Your frankness has helped me, my friends and students as we walk through our challenges. Knowing that others are having similar issues is really helpful, especially when they talk frankly about things that have helped and hindered. Thanks guys. Great show.
Mick channeling Larry Carlton on the 335
Yeah, but also channeling himself, I felt!! 👍👏
Just like zoom chatting with old mates. Enjoyed this tremendously... as always. Thanks TPS for persevering and still delivering insightful, entertaining content. I record at home so this was so on the money for me. My rig is set so that one switch flicked means everything is on. The least amount of prep possible to keep out that middleman. However, my production skills always let me down no matter how great the guitar tone is ;)
Here's what's working great for me; taking a line from an attenuator on the amp into a 2 Notes speaker simulator plug-in. Monitor through the speaker, and VERY realistic mic'd speaker at the end of the amp chain in the computer.
Whilst recording I have used IRs (Celestion Gold 2x10 open backed cab IR) with my Two Notes Captor and my amps (Dr Z and Victory Copper) also recording by micing a cab. Both without having to EQ afterwards. I can genuinely say that I can't tell the difference between micing and IRs and I use edge of break up tones. What IRs bring is consistency.
If it works for you and you’re happy with the sound and feel Nick, that is the happy place. Congrats!
Yes I must say that I reacted to Mick's performance with the 335 - great playing and great sound!
There's a great technique for finding the right blend between two mics on a guitar cab that I learned from watching one of Warren Huart's videos on Produce Like A Pro. I believe it was an interview with producer Bradley Cook. The idea is that you get your mics perfectly in phase and sounding good, then you flip the phase of one of the mics and adjust the level of that mic in relation to the other until you get the most phase cancelation (the signal sound the most thin and crappy), then filp the phase back inline and "voila" that's your optimal balance.
Nice work guys! As a new LUNA user (been learning it during the lockdown) my favourite trick is to use 'loop record' - as many takes as you want, without stopping, without wiping the previous takes. Amazing how I knew instinctively when I 'had' it with the ability remove the tech. No doubt other DAWs have this feature also but this one stands out for me. Please keep up the amazing work, so grateful for your efforts.
Indeed they do, but it’s particularly instinctive in Luna. Mucho fun!
Mick, I'm totally with you regarding music being a trigger. My struggles with guitar can often send me down, lack of progress, not knowing which direction to go in etc. Great video though, I've been trying some recording recently so is relevant to me 👍
Loved this vid! Thank you guys! Cheers from Brazil!
Good to see and hear from you guys 👍
Dan, before you rush out (metaphorically speaking, in covid times!) and buy another isolation box, have you considered a re-amping device? I use a Radial x-amp, I split my signal when recording, one to amp (recorded live, with a mic) the other straight to the desk to record a dry line-in. The line recording can then be sent out and re-amped using the Radial box.
With this technique you can do wet dry, audition as many different amp /effect combinations as you have available, change mics, layer multiple amps or use the same amp with different settings.
I look on re-amping as an analogue undo button; so long as you have a well recorded take, you can go back and change amp settings or effects that maybe weren’t quite right on the initial live recording. This is particularly useful in home “studio” environments where live monitoring may not be ideal. Another handy benefit of re-amping as apposed to recording live wet dry, is that I only need one set of mics! Thinking about it, it could even be a way for people that only own one amp to record wet dry. The possibilities are endless (and relatively cheap)!
I've been attending the University of TPS for just a couple of months now but if I could convert every 'Oh, so that's what that is' into £'s I'd be setting up a studio on some tropical island once lockdown is over. You entertain, educate and inspire in every video you put out. I'm 58 and you guys get me as fired up about music as I was when I was a teenager. Thank you!
Ah that is fantastic to hear. Thank you TC!
Loved Dan’s vlog and the song Adam Neely and co. This episode is perfect as I ordered an interface a week or two ago to start writing and recording music! Thank you guys! Greetings from Mossel Bay, South Africa!
I'll put in a word for John Lennon's direct tone on Revolution. It's a very specific sound, and a complete abuse of the mixing desk preamp, but it's ingenious and glorious.
Awesome! Using the gear to break rules, instead of trying to re-make them less well. ;0)
I thought of that too!
As usual, a fantastic video that neither dumbs down nor condescends, and as usual, it's a delight to watch your journey. I'm sure it's been mentioned already, but it can also be really interesting to play with different aspects of the reverb bus. For example, you can play with the *placement* of individual instruments within the virtual room by increasing or decreasing the pre-delay of the reverb send for each instrument, which in essence moves it backwards and forwards in the room. Those are the types of things I read about randomly which had a big impact on my recordings. Also, don't be afraid to use a room reverb or hall reverb for instruments, and a different reverb for vocals. I particularly like the Abbey Road Plates from Waves for vocals, personally.
Looking forward to the next installment!
Oh that’s a GREAT suggestion. Never even thought of that. Thank you!
Fascinating, guys. Very useful. For me, everything flows from what Mick voiced about performances, much preferring a great performance and okay recording, over a great recording of an okay performance. It's about the song in the end. One critical function of a great producer is to set the mood, the vibe and confidence to get that great performance. The artist in studio doesn't need to worry about all that. It's so much harder to achieve at home, recording oneself. That's the left brain/right brain conundrum of home recording. Technical frustrations can bleed a free and compelling performance. I guess preparation with gear and DAW create the necessary environment to promote confidence, limit worry and release a fun, undistracted performance.
My iso-cab is a Morgan Chameleon, ordered immediately after your hilarious visit to Joe's "sauna" at NAMM in 2016 with Danish Pete for Anderton's. Highly recommended viewing, especially re iso-cabs, near the end. Question: what do you do with vocals? Run them straight into DAW? Is this the place to use Josh's Colour Box and its XLR inputs before tucking in to the DAW? I've just been going straight in and using plugins. (Totally understand Dan's enthusiasm for Ocean Way and Capital reverbs; my unapologetic pleasure is Waves' Abbey Road suite. Just for pure fun!)
It's impossible to thank you both enough. Because Tone, yes, but also because fun! Cheers, guys. GB
Dan, I couldn’t be more happy you mentioned Jeff Buckley, he is so so so underrated and not very well known, your daughter has amazing taste!
Lots of great insights guys! I learned after doing home recordings for years and finally releasing an album where I let an "internet mixing guy" mix it, that : Don't be afraid to record your guitar sound with all pedals you want, so that it sounds awesome when you play/record it and brings the best performance out of you! Otherwise you will rely on the person mixing it to be a mind reader... When I did demos at home myself, I could record it kind of "dry" and playing knowing that I would add e.g. a tape delay to the sound in my DAW. The best mixes that the "Internet guy" did was the ones where the sound on the tracks already had a good sound with all important effects on. The worse mixes were the ones where I would know myself what is missing on the tracks, but it was not easy to explain it to someone on the other side of the world in another timezone...
@That Pedal Show - Brilliant as always! Don't mind the split screen episodes one bit. Mick - I LOVE LOVE LOVE your 335 tones on here! I 100% agree with you about feeling a physical connection with the resonance of your guitar. I'm becoming an almost exclusive semi-hollow or hollowbody player. My #1 guitar of the past year is a Thinline Deluxe Tele and I bought a PRS CE-24 semi-hollow last week that I'm obsessed with just playing open chords and feeling the sustain. I definitely feel like I can let myself go and not overthink with that body style. Cheers from Connecticut!
Thanks Zack. I’m really digging the semi guitars at the mo. Hooray!
Great stuff! Glad you guys are both finding tones you can FEEL as well as hear. So important as you always preach.
To me guitar tone is sound plus feel. Maybe 30 per cent sound, 70 per cent feel, controversially. Mick here. :0)
That Pedal Show hey Mick, agree very much with this. I’m lucky enough to play loud Aussie rock most weekends in cover bands through a tube amp. But practising at home through headphones with a totally different response from the instrument is not very inspiring. This video has encouraged me to keep looking at ways to make it work - thanks!
I can’t say how much I needed this. I’ve been working on recording an EP at home and yesterday I almost threw the whole thing out, including 3 tracks that have been mastered. I’m going to try getting back to miking an amp quietly because working with IRs is killing my soul. I was so down yesterday and this gave me some hope that I haven’t been wasting weeks of time.
Hey Michael, Mick here. From one self-loather to (maybe) another, i feel your pain. I stated off thinking that maybe I was looking for something to blame to mask my own shortcomings as a player. That might be a little bit true. What was more true is that I started playing better when I brought amps and speakers back in the room. :0)
I completely scrapped a track I was recording a few weeks back, thinking that it just wasn't going to come together. Felt a similar downness from it- and my regular career is a pretty creative one, so it felt rather unusual. I came back to recording it with a new perspective a few weeks later and while I'm still building it, taking a break is always a good idea!
Yah, we creatives are the worst for self beating. We have to get over it. It’s the same as massive egotists being arseholes outwardly. We’re arseholes inward. It’s the same thing: self obsession. We need to drop it and just be. Just be. Sounds so easy. Hahahah!!!
@@ThatPedalShow I keep meaning to write you a longer note on this front, but basically I have gotten so in my head over the last years that I have damaged what was great about my work before (I think, at least). Hearing you all talk about it has helped a lot!
Super helpful! Especially what you are doing in the DAW, we can all relate to that in the home environment
Very very insightful video fellas. I hear ya on the Tech vs Performance thing...Boy oh boy, I just want to play sometimes but the tech drags me down. Keep up the great work guys. Cheers Marty from Melbourne
Hey Mick, was just chatting to a friend about your experience trying spidif out of the ox.. he had the same experience, but apparently it’s a clock issue.. his words “I think the sample rate you have to use is 44.5khz & you have to make sure your audio interface is the slave & the OX box is acting as the master clock”. You’re probably all over it but thought this might interest you!
Thank's gentlemen for a great episode, and THANK YOU so much for basically re-affirming some of my beliefs, one of which is, a speaker and a couple of mics usually triumphs. I never had to go down the IR speaker rabbit hole. I personally always found the easiest part of recording any project was to record and capture a great guitar sound, and usually 2 mics and maybe a room mic or 2 did the job just fine. Maybe it was as simple as the foresight to have my rehearsal studio/studio in an industrial part of town so pure volume was never a big issue. Maybe it was me being absolutely oblivious to the chaos the rest of the world was subject to when I tracked a buddy of mine blazing through 2 100 watt plexi double stacks dimed, in the same room as us, and yes, I had baffles between the stacks and us, and we had to take the measure of monitoring with ear buds in and ears covered with gun muffs just to hear what was going on, but the tracks went down and everybody was hap,hap,happy with the guitar tracks. The volume didn't bother me, and I have never recorded s guitar player who complained he was too loud ever. So to me, ir speakers were a non issue. It was great to watch you two discover all the glory of the simple mic'ed up speaker, and we have not even covered the fun and tones involved in mic pre selection and their effect on the tones captured. Thank you for an epic episode that I wasn't expecting to see in these depressing Covid days.
I read an interview about 10-15 years ago, with some guitar players playing in a musical. The production forced them to play silently, so they used Pod xt. To get more resonance from the guitars, they attached headphones to the back of the headstock, coming straight out of the Pod xt. I guess taping a small speaker to the guitar would also work.
I found this extremely helpful .. really identified with your frustrations Mick with regard to feel! I think this is why I’ve gravitated to getting all my guitars in a semi hollow form. Les paul turned to a 335, tele turned into a thinline. Gretchen no f hole turned into a Duesenberg, without realising the issue til now. In addition I have also struggled with IRs bought so many. I think I will try record my amp quietly and see the results! Thanks all. Not sure if I can afford an iso cab but I also liked this approach. But I may get away with recording amps quietly. Loved the tips on mixing etc!
To be honest my technology problems went away when I got the Fender Tonemaster Deluxe reverb amp. No IR hassles, it just works and sounds fab straight from the amp. It's like a proper miced up amp. I'd love to see TPS try it. No techno paralysis.
I’ve had the grossman, a kemper, a suhr IR loader and an OX. SOLD em all and just went back to micing the amp with a good ribbon and a 57. Nothing beats the real thing, especially feel wise. Once you get the hang of it, you can really get a miriad of sounds, although it is a bit of a learning curve. The grossmann always gave me eq bumps to notch out, especially when playing louder which excites the cab and the room modes within more. Be aware although it does reduce the sound immensely, the vibrations still transfer to the surroundings enough to make your downstairs neighbors hear it. The ox was the next best thing to micing for me. But I’d still rather mic the cab on low volume above anything digital.
Are you me Nicolas? Mick here.
That Pedal Show Nope, I can’t play even half as good as you guys! 😂 Now that I’ve got your attention though, two things I’ve always wondered, why hasn’t thatpedalshow done a show about picks yet? Thickness and material can change the tone as much as anything imo. The day I got my first redbear pick my tone and especially playing enjoyment and speed noticeably improved! After that all plastic picks literally sound like plastic :) If you’re such a tone perfectionist like me, I’m sure it will surprise you quite a bit. Also, why haven’t you ever feature any Pete cornish pedals? You’ve done mythical expensive delays, perhaps do mythical expensive cornish pedals? Anyways, thanks a ton for doing these great shows. 🤘🏻
Thank you guys for posting this! I’ve been having such a hard time finding inspiration and creating while at home, but this video I think is reigniting the fire! How do you guys get inspiration to create music? Thank you again for continuing to make content for all us!
Thanks TPS some useful info there and I am looking at a lot of stuff at the moment as I have just ordered some equipment and am about to embark on this epic journey. Dan and Mick both your tracks sound great, if I can get anywhere near what you have got there I will be an extremely happy chap :)
Dan's speakers are perfectly in focus. :) Thank you for this, guys. I absolutely love watching your videos and have really come to respect your opinions. You're my go to channel for all things guitary.
Yep, Dan here, my bad
@@ThatPedalShow Dan, incorrect! You're very, very good.
yeah! happy to see a lot of similar conclusions drawn on my end as well. Like Mick ive been using my 335, low volume, wet dry, to great results. additionally ive found the Ocean way plugin to be indispensable, same with the API eq when needed. I did pre order a Captor X IR box because I work late night often. I feel my journey has been similar since prior to lockdown I had a studio space that has since been closed. This has been super informative, thanks for taking this journey with us!
Today’s Mick Magic: I need to buy a Gretsch/Eastman etc cos hollow bodies are better for the quiet room playing and to make the recording quicker so TV can go back on! Thanks Boss, I’ll tell the wife an expert said I had to!
Guys, credit to you. Another fab video - some great tips and insights - and that final point is seriously important! (Can totally relate atm) Well done for making such good content under the circumstances, cheers!
Performance vs sound - this is why some producers & engineers take direct, dry signal. Sometimes it takes a sound that doesn’t quite work to get the performance, and you have a backup signal you can reamp or use a direct solution to better fit the mix. Not an ideal situation to be sure, but definitely worth the consideration.
On dealing with the middle man, I find two things help. 1) recording on loop, so that I don’t have to be tape op in the moment. 2) stepping away, doing something completely different, and then coming back and record everything immediately - generally the first couple of takes will grab it.
Number 2 is what they should teach every guitar player, every day. It soooooo works! :0)
Thank you for putting out another musician in her heart into the world 👍💯🎸🧬🌹🎶, BRAVO MY FRIEND ❤️💯
Hey guys, great video! It's been cool following your separate home recording journeys over the past few months. Congrats on finding your own inspiring solutions! Thanks to this channel I've been (amateurly) recording through a wet/dry rig, mic'ing one quiet amp and going direct with IR's on the other. Time to see if I can use a bus with GarageBand now!
Cool! So great to hear that you’re doing stuff Adam. Happy days!
The panning on Mick's track is something I'll come back to a lot.
Build my own iso box about a year back.. Best thing ever! My one cost me about 100 pound to build and reduces 20 dB never had a complaint from anyone and it sounds good. Take a big rock sound down to talking volume.
Really interesting points chaps. There are some great learnings here. I particularly agree with one of the themes you mention a few times in different ways. Keeping the connect between you and the performance, not getting to the point where you’ve practised the part so much it’s lost the original fire, not having the tech taking you out of the headspace of making music, take a great performance over a great sound. My advice from 20 years of amateur recording is you will almost never get a perfect take. Get a good enough take before your love of the part drains away (especially true with vocals for me)