Recording chain?

[Pete Martin]

I asked this in the recording section, so you may want to answer there.

I'd like to hear from you who record, what is the chain you like to use? I have chains I like for acoustic instruments and electric mandolin, but am wanting to start trying some steel. I'm sure it will be a good bit before I'll share it with anyone, but listening to yourself is the fastest way to improve, right?


Thanks!

Pete

[Michael Kiese]

Hey Pete,

The simplest avenue to get good results the quickest: Mic the amp, and have good preamps on your recording interface. Simple. Even if you used an SM57 to mic the amp, it should produce acceptable results. It'll sound better if you had excellent mics and excellent preamps on your console.

I've always found that the better the mic and console you have, the better the result where live or in studio. Great gear makes it A LOT easier to achieve a pleasing sound.

You CAN go direct to the board with Steel, but I would only recommend that if you have a very high end board, with excellent high-end preamps.

Uncle Bobby has done a lot of recording dates and studio albums. Some of which have won awards. I think he recently got a Grammy for something. He told me that he always records his steel direct to the board. As evidenced by the amazing sound on his recordings, going direct also works.

If memory serves me correct, when he goes direct to the recording console, he'll play in the console room and listen through the studio monitors. That way he hears the exact same thing the Recording Engineer hears. He always politely insists on personally EQ'ing his steel channel at the board because "Engineers don't know how to EQ steel. They think they know, but they don't. They're not steel players. No one knows your sound better than you. Never let someone else control your sound, because that's you on that recording, and it's going to last forever. Make sure you get the sound you want on the recording."

He said out of all the many records that he recorded on, only ONE recording engineer knew how to get his steel sound. That was the only guy Uncle Bobby would trust.

That's probably great advice because Country steel players have a much different tone than Hawaiian Steel players. You wouldn't want someone with an ear for country steel to EQ Hawaiian steel. It'll be like an Italian putting their spin on Chinese food or vice versa. In the end, they're both noodles. But they're also different.

Just thought I'd pass that on.

All that said, do it any which way you can, and if it sounds good to you, then it's good. Don't overthink it. Keep it simple and use good gear.

Enjoy!

[Pete Martin]

Thanks as always Mike!

Anyone else???

[Mike Neer]

I almost always use a mic'd amp when I record, and I say "almost" because I have also used VST3 amps by Neural DSP and more recently the Tonex pedal. In that case, I use the same Audient interface that I use with my mics, which has very nice pres, but instead go in the Direct Inject input. It's all a matter of trial and error and the process of trying best to capture what I want from my sound. I think the most important thing is knowing how you want it to sound and finding ways to get there. I find that speakers are the most significant contributor to the sound. I like JBLs and especially Altecs, but the Roland JC amp speakers also work for me. The only issue with recording the JC is the hiss.

As far as mics, an AKG 414 captures the moving air pretty well, a Beyerdynamic M160 is a great ribbon mic, and of course the SM57. I have a few other AKG mics but mostly I use the above--or used, since I sold the M160. I also like to use a Cloudlifter with my dynamic mics for a little more umph.

Once I get the signal in my DAW, I have a lot of great plugins for really finetuning the sound, including all the FabFilter plugins, which are really great, as well as the Arouser, which is Empirical Labs' VST for the Distressor. I have a few other secret weapons too, like Modnetic, which is really great for emulating old tape delays. I could go on and on, but most important is knowing what you want and how to capture it barebones.

[Pete Martin]

Thank you so much Mike N, I very much appreciate every thing you do and especially your sound!

Another question, has anyone used a Sarno V8 going direct on non pedal steel? I see a lot of pedal players using it when searching the forum, but not any non pedal players. I’m very tempted to get one.