Wade in the water...

[dervishmusic]

No, it can't be. Another newbie is posting about what to buy. Idiot. How are we supposed to know what he needs? He should read the boards before he comes here asking such a dumb question. Yes. It's all true. But I have been wading through the info here and have some general ideas thanks to all of you. But since you are the experts and I'm just a doublebassist I implore you to take a moment and consider my pleas.

I am a professional double bassist who makes my living playing bass in NYC. I have a small rehearsal space in my basement. It's a decent sounding room. What I would like to do is this: record my own music and lay bass tracks over other peoples music. I get quite a bit of work going into other studios to lay down bass tracks over music that has already been recorded. Most of these are mid-level artists, excellent talents but not household names. It would be excellent if I could do this kind of thing from my home. I also compose and record myself in solos, duets and trios, small groups.

I am coming into a little bit of money. Let's just put it around 6K or so although there will be access to more. I don't like the idea of buying crap or spending my time wishing I had bought better so I tend towards good equipment that sounds great right off the bat. I have been looking at imacs, I have been looking at Apogee Duet2/Babyface. I have been looking at Peluso 2247 or Lawson 47's. I have been looking at AEA (cheaper stuff) and Royer. I just bought the Equator D5's (cheap but very capable but may end up being traded up to Adam A7X's). I'm oblivious of Pre's and, to be foolishly naive, not even totally sure if I need that or not? I know nothing of EQ's. In short, I basically know near-ass-nothing. I can get around protools alright.

So, if you have the slightest inkling, and I don't blame you if you don't, build me a little studio. Give me the straight talk. Be aware that I'm a pro musician and my ears are extremely well tuned and I need quality sounds. I will be recording mostly acoustic musicians of a very high caliber. I would likely have help mixing anything I plan on releasing by a more competent engineer. Don't get crazy hung up on the cash, I could start with some equipment and slowly add as I go... Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have been asking around at studios I record in but most of them are huge multi-million dollar studios (the last one was Sirrius XM radio) so, beyond mics, there's not much overlap. Cheers.

[dasnub]

If you are tracking and not necessarily mixing, I would research acoustically treating a tracking room as best you can. The treatment requirements are quite different than those in a mixing environment.

The duet is a nice choice for recording one source at a time. Nice converters and pres for the money. I would highly suggest the metric halo uln 2, though, as it is an extremely pro grade interface with great pres and great converters, as well as outstanding product support, drivers, and software.

I can't steer you in any direction on mics, as I don't record double bass. I'd probably avoid dynamic mics as they lack some of the high end condensers have. That decision is really more about your own taste in the sound.

Get nice monitors. You need to hear what you're recording. If you're not spending $1000 a pair, you're not into the "high end" yet. Popular choices are Adam, Focal, Genelec, Dynaudio in the 1k-2k range per pair.

Nice headphones help too. Sennheiser HD600/650/800 are very well spoken of for mixing, but you may prefer a closed back headphone for tracking duties to avoid mic bleed.

In order of importance, I'd say 1. Player 2. Instrument 3. Room 4. Mics 5. Monitors and distant 6- converters/pres. Sounds like you already have 1 and 2, and that's 95% of the sound.

[dervishmusic]

Thanks. This is exactly the kind of info I'm looking for...prioritizing based in my needs. Manufacturers and models of any suggestions help immensely. I know the metric halo is great...

[vcs3]

Acoustic instruments, good musicians and decent rooms. Good start.

I'd want to start with very accurate mics and very clean mic pres' My initial thought would be Earthworks mics or maybe DPA - they start at around £400 and go up to a couple of thousand. The cheaper ones may be a tad noisy for you - depends what music you're doing, best if you audition but I've used DPA4090's on acc gtr and not found a problem. Other good mics include AGK's 480 series or Neumann 18x, then theres excellent and a bit expensive like Schoeps, Sanken, and the like. No one can tell you which is the best for you.

Mic pre's? Grace 101 are about as clean and transparent as you get, but there's also the Audient Mico and the Focusrite One. All excellent, will all do a job for you. Any combination of the above will get you excellent results and won't break the bank.

[Sanchez]

Before even deciding what to buy I'd say spend slow and spend well. Avoid overwhelming yourself with this-and-that and focus on your real needs and how to progressively fulfill them without the need for back-pedalling and re-buying. Start with the bare essentials to do the job, work on your room, your workflow and the basics of the gear, see what's working out and what isn't then make the next informed purchase. Saying this partly from personal experience as I've spent hours and months selling off a slew of stuff and weeding things out myself and realising that that stuff not only cost me money but time too.
For example, the metric halo uln2 is a stellar box in it's class, the pres are great and the character plugs very well regarded. Get one of these, a mic, monitors and some room treatment and you're off to a great start and you have a sharp focus and maybe some change for cables, cans etc.
K.I.S.S. -keep it simple stupid, and stay true to your instrument. You're very lucky to have such focussed needs without having to try and cover all kinds of eventualities. It's absolutely possible to make great recordings with a smart, minimal setup. Be a musician who makes great recordings of himself, not an engineer who plays bass.

What kind of slut am I? Sorry, showing myself the door now....

[dervishmusic]

@vcs3: bassist extraordinaire Edgar Meyer recorded one of my favorite albums (Bach Cello Suites) using DPA, 3-4 feet in front of the bridge.

@Sanchez: so you are a reformed slut? (or just in remission)

[dervishmusic]

Any other sage advice?

[slaphappy]

Hey Dervish,

First of all I love upright bass.

Second, I really like the idea of great musicians with home studios that can lay down tracks for other artists at an affordable rate. So you're on the right track all the way around (IMO).

So about gear:

Interface: if you're on a mac, the metric halo uln-2 is a keeper and well worth the investment.

Microphones: I'd get 2 condensers. 1 small diaphragm (for up by the fingerboard), and 1 large (or medium) condenser for down by the bridge.

Specifically, on the small front, I'd look at Neumann km 84 or 184, Shure ksm 137 or 141, Beyerdynamic mc 930, audio technica 4051 or 4021

On the large/medium end, I'd look at Neumann tlm 102, Shure ksm 32, Audio Technica 4050

Your mic placement and room treatment will perhaps be the most important part of the equation. Use your ears.

Good luck.

[dervishmusic]

Would you think bumping up to a Peluso or Pearlman a worthwhile investment or just mic lust?

[slaphappy]

I've played in a session with the Peluso on upright and the results sounded great. I've also used the tlm 102 on bass and it too was very nice.

My experience is that you have to get and use the gear to really know what fits your aesthetic. Oh, and maybe a sdc at the fingerboard is not your cup of tea.

If you're buying new, find a dealer that will work with you on returns. And dig in- no time like the present. It will be summer before you know it and you won't want to be inside. Besides, I may want to send you some tracks to play on.