Equipment that Gives the Biggest Bang for the Fewest Dollars
Occasionally I discover some equipment that in my opinion provides a lot of bang for the buck. The following list contains equipment that I think is a great value for both the home recordist and the club musician. Check back often becauseI’m always adding new stuff as I make discoveries.
The RNC (Or Really Nice Compressor
The FMR Audio RNC-1773. Also known as the “really nice compressor”, this unit rocks! This is a great compressor for either using on the front-end while recording or as a 2-track compressor.The “super-nice” setting permits you to some major compressing and limiting without any audible artifacts, but if you want it to “pump and breathe” you can get it to do so as well. The manufacturer includes setting examples that will get you started without messing up your tracks. Now how much do you think this compressor costs? Only $200! Believe it’s difficult to find another compressor that delivers the same quality for under $2000, let alone $1000.
Some Fantastic Mics:
You can’t go wrong with the Shure SM-57. You can find one for 80 dollars. It’s not sexy but if I had to make do with only one microphone, this would it. However, that you do need a fairly decent preamp. This can easily offset any cost savings over some other more expensive microphones, but I believe everyone should own at least one.If you’re looking for a condenser mic here are some that are good:
More Great Mics
One of my favorites is the Rode NTK. This is a large diaphragm tube (valve) condenser mic. Any sound source you pick, it will sound great. On many tracks, such as a male baritone vocal, hand drums (and I record a lot of them), and percussion instruments (I record a lot of them too), this microphone sounds out of this world. It costs about 500 dollars for the mic and a shock mount it’s a steal.I find that I use it more often than some microphones that cost more than a thousand dollars.Sometimes it’s a little bright for some applications, however overall I love this mic.
Studio projects has two excellent condenser mics, the C1 and C3 models. The C1 has a cardioid pattern only but the C3 offers cardioid, figure 8 and omni. Both mics sound very good - low noise and clear, pleasing tones. They are not as good as the NTK nevertheless at their prices (about $229 for the C1 and $349 for the C3) they are great deal for home. You won’t be disappointed with the sounds you get from these mics.Note: Studio Project makes a tube condenser mic (the T3) that is supposed to sound great but I haven’t had a chance to audition one yet. Regarding smaller diaphragm condenser microphones I like the new Rode models..
Preamps
If you’re in the market for a top quality tube preamp at a good price I’d go with the Peavey VMP-2 (yes, that Peavey, but this thing sounds great). This is the only vacuum tube preamplifier that you’ll find for under a grand (street price around $700). It’s a tiny bit noisier (very little) than most of the more expensive vacuum tube preamplifier, but at less than half the cost you won’t be let down. Tip: to get the most out of this preamp don’t record all your tracks through it. Use it on percussion, bass, or vocals and use a transistor preamp for the rest of the tracks. Don’t use it on each and every track or you add mud to your mix.
Thinking about making do with a transistor amplifier? Four hundred dollars gets you a 1202 VLZ with four channels- that’s one hundred dollars a channel, plus you get a mixer thrown in for free. Some people say that they can sound a little brittle.That happens if you crank them too much. Try to keep the trim pads below the 1 o’clock position and you’ll be rewarded with some nice, clean tones.
If you can spend some more dollars on a preamp and you don’t need a many channels try the Grace 101. For about $600 for one channel you get a no frills, clean and open preamp. The Gracehas a very musical sound and I love it on percussion (shakers and stuff) and instruments like acoustic guitar. One thing however: If you want “warm” this preamp isn’t the best out there for that. The Grace preamp will reproduce the sound source just like the original. So position your microphones properly. As soon as you get the hang of placing your microphones and getting a good source sound,
The Vintech 1272 can give you Neve sound without the three thousand dollar price tag. For half price, you get two channels that will let you play classic Neve.
Tags: guitar amplifier, mesa boogie, preamp, tube amplifier
