Gear that has made your work sound better?

[Jules]

OK, here's my 'little' list. It's kinda pricey......

I really feel the projects I have completed using this gear recently have seen a big jump in quality compaired to past work of mine.

1) (mixing) Dangerous 2 Bus (helps make my PT Mix + rig at 48k 24 bit sound better)
http://www.dangerousmusic.com/2bus.html
2) (mix A/D and tracking A/D) Cranesong Hedd A/D running at 96k 24 bit (the tape / pentode process are GREAT at 96k while mixing) + Gtr recording at 48/41 during tracking
http://www.cranesong.com/hedd192.html
3) Masterlink at 96k 24 bit (simply records it, plays it back & burns reference copies)
http://www.alesis.com/products/ml9600/
4) Benchmark DAC-1 D/A (lets you hear all the above clearly while mixing & tracking)
http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/digital/dac1/default.asp

What gear do you feel has brought YOUR work to a higher level?

List yours!

[jazzius]

1. My brain (experience)

2. My monitoring/room

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

API 3124

Phoenix DRS2

Al Smart C2

Neve 8024! fuuck

thas it for the moment but impending purchases od Benchmark ADC1 and mytek stereo AD should hopefully end my Ad/DA woes

cheers
Wiggy

[muddy]

speck electronics m72

lucid ad9624

smf 15 watter

jensen copper foil in oil caps in my guitars

ghs burnished nickels


ml

[Dave Martin]

Wurlitzer Model 200 electric piano
Hamond C-3 with Leslie cabinet
Ampeg B-15 bass amp
Pearl 13" and 16 inch toms (for when I want a bigger sound than my usual 10", 12" and 14" toms).

The various power saws that I've been using to build the treatments that make my room sound better.

[studjo]

My list:

Forums: GS and GM's place
Gear:
Daking comp and Daking Pre
Pendulum Quartet
Smart C2
D&R Orion Desk

Jo

[Fletcher]

The Littlelabs IBP... since I started using them on a regular basis I have found that they're pretty much the only tool I absolutely don't want to live without.

As always... YMMV.

[quasimodonyc]

Little Labs IBP - Coming with me to every session now and finding a use somewhere, usually as Bass DI. I need 3 more!

[quasimodonyc]

Woah! Simultaneous IBP postings.

[mwagener]

1. ADAM S3As
2. ADAM S3As
3. ADAM S3As
4. CraneSong HEDD
5. CraneSong Spider
6. CraneSong STC-8
7. IBPs
8. Soundelux E47

[heinz]

distressors
royer r121
chandler tg2
samplitude

[bassmac]

On the pricey side: PT|HD & 192i/o, FATSO.

On the cheap side: New strings and drum heads.

On the most bang for almost no bucks side of things: Moving my guitar cab into an iso room - so I can actually hear what I'm recording. And putting a wood floor under my drums - in my small dead room, it sounds much bigger.

[juniorhifikit]

Originally posted by muddy
speck electronics m72

lucid ad9624

smf 15 watter

jensen copper foil in oil caps in my guitars

ghs burnished nickels


ml

Being a guitar nerd and devout DIY'er, please tell me about the caps in your guitars!? Also, what is the smf 15 watter - I'm on a quest for more little amps.

Smart C2/SSL quad compressor has made the most significant improvement for me lately.

[De chromium cob]

Q-Tip....

[Rea]

My new 24 input Neve 5402
Cranesong Hedd
sm 57's...
Telefunken solid state mic pre's

[AudioGaff]

BA 1272
API 512C & 525
DSP4500 & DSP7000
Manley Vari-Mu & Massivo
dbx 160SL
LA2A
TC DBmax
Genelec 1031's

[robmix]

Without question the Cranesong HEDD used during tracking and mixing !!!!!

Rob

[Benjy King]

juniorhifikit wrote:"Also, what is the smf 15 watter - I'm on a quest for more little amps".

Check it out.

http://www.smfamps.com/amp_info.htm

[Meriphew]

1. Soundelux Elux 251
2. GT Vipre
3. Vox AC30 TBX
4. Elektron Machinedrum

[e-cue]

Mine:
pair Royer 122's
Little Labs PCP
Little Labs IBP
My fortress of Z Vex pedals (Fuzz Factory, Woolley Mammoth, Machine, Ohh Wah, etc)
Forat F16
A Design's MP-2 Mic pre
A Design's Reddi Tube DI
Desper Spatializer (8 Channel)
Soundreplacer, VocAlign,
Nightpro EQ3D

Not mine:
SSL 9000J
1' ATR 2 track instead of 1/2' Studer
DW Drum kits tuned to the key of the song we are working on
(depends on the style I'm working on, but even then DW kits are very versitile for my needs)
I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

[jagarinec]

TAB V76
UREI 1178
QUANTEC QRS

013 flatwounds on my ES-335

[PlugHead]

Royer mics
Soundelux mics
Mogami/Belden cabling
Hardy/Buzz/Ward Beck pre's
Apogee convertors (compared to digi's dfegad)
Nanosyncs clock
Blue Sky 2.1 and PMC monitors
O/B EQ's
O/B comps
O/B reverbs
2 mix through quality analog stage = NICE!!!

[Bob Olhsson]

First was one of the very first LA-3a limiters that I had to sneak into work at Motown. The next increment was when I bought a pair of Rogers LS3/5a mini monitors to use at home in 1976. For the first time I KNEW what sounded like dfegad and what didn't. The next big jump was when I got the Duntech Sovereign speakers. Latest is the Benchmark DAC-1.

[Bang]

I'd say my summing console, the RMS Folcrom, my Trident S20 mic pre, Ramsa and Lynx Convterters, but most of all listening for about 3,000 hours to mixes by Andy Wallace Jay Baumgardner Terry Date and Jack Joseph Puig have really made my mixes sound a ton better.
Steve
www.blacklinerock.com

[chessparov]

Can't imagine being without...

1) The new "love", an Electro-Voice EV 666, for that vintage
ribbon style sound, for crooning a tune.
It's smooooth.

2) Beyer M88TG, as my vocal "all-rounder".

3) Newly acquired KRK V4 monitor to mix acapella and simple
vocal/guitar (or keyboard) recordings on good 'ol mono.

Looking to pick up a nice used Nagra analog recorder, down the line, too.

Chris

[muddy]

Originally posted by juniorhifikit
Being a guitar nerd and devout DIY'er, please tell me about the caps in your guitars!? Also, what is the smf 15 watter - I'm on a quest for more little amps.

the caps give my guitars (especially humbuckered ones) an almost silky like sound, very creamy. even with the tone pots on 10. the jensen's are very smooth through the frequencies, as opposed to bumblebees, which get kinda grainy mids. mine originally had the little ceramic caps. i gotta tell ya, at $12-13 a pop, this is one of the most reasonable & significant upgrades you can make to a guitar! unless you use no-load pots, the signal is always going through the caps, so the improvement is across the board. and the "woman tone" never sounded so good! i got them from partsconnexion.com i'm actually cosidering tryin' out the relcap tft teflon caps. they're pricey, but they are sopposedly the shite. rich was the word used to describe them.

the smf 15 watter is gorgeous sounding, btw. i swapped out all the tubes for mullards, which was expensive, but SO-O-O worth it! i could never go back to the jj's, sovtek's, whatevahs...


ml

[thethrillfactor]

Manley Massive Passive
Manley Vari-MU(mastering version)
GML8200(hardware)
Focusrite Blue 230
My insane racks of effects,dynamics and EQ's.
Dunlavy SM1's studio monitors
ProTools HD rig

[Jay Kahrs]

I guess we're talking about stuff you can't live without right? I guess that would be just about everything in the room but these hold a special place for me.

Studer A80MkIIRC 1/4" 2-track
UA1176 (pair)
Summit EQP-200B
Telefunken V672's
Daking 52270 (pair)

[DrFrankencopter]

A few that I can think of right now:

1) ATC SCM-50a active triamp monitors...killer imaging from anywhere in the room, they really let me 'hear' a mix.

2) Schoeps KFM-6 sphere mic...this thing is sooo much fun. It sounds ridiculously good (especially through headphones, but the imaging still works well through speakers), and it's great to just bring out and just set it up in the room where everything sounds about right. Its great as a room mic, very cool as an acoustic guitar mic, eerie on choir or groups of background vocals. I'm looking forward to trying it out on piano.

3) Universal Audio UAD-1....finally a software compressor(s) that
doesn't suck.

hmmmm, gonna have to pick up a benchmark DAC-1....

Cheers,

Kris

PS: Muddy, I'm guessing you've talking about a les paul. I just got a 2001 R8 with (barf) ceramic caps in it. Do you know what value they are supposed to be (I'm guessing 22pF, but I'm not sure)?

[ozraves]

Stedman pop filters, Blue Kiwi mic cables, Extreme Isolation Headphones...

Steve
www.mojopie.com