Thanks for the comments all. Miko, before I had this booth built and upgraded all my gear, I was using a fairly cheap mic: an M-Audio Lunar, which you can get for around $200. When I did sessions in studios in London, I found that the mics were either the TLM 103 or the U87. When it came to splashing the cash, I found a great deal on a U87. £2000 worth of mic for £1300, so I went for it!
As for the pre-amp, I did a hell of a lot of research and found that they were either seriously expensive (such as the Avalon) or had a lot of bells and whistles that I really don't need, such as "a classic vintage sound" or "a copy of a classic Neve mic pre". After chatting to a couple of friends who are music producers and audio engineers, that spend their days in recording studios recording albums, I made the decision that what was really needed was a pre amp that would give a nice, clean, honest, true replication of my voice and that's it! The Apogee Duet was mentioned several times and I decided to go for it.
When I do ISDN sessions, the producer simply wants my voice sent to him, as clean as possible and he will do the production his end, so why spend money on expensive fancy gear that will colour my voice and turn it into something it isn't? When I sel-f produce, I never EQ, I simply add just a hint of compression and that's it! I have never had a single complaint regarding the quality of my audio and I'm thrilled with the set-up I have.
The Prima LT is great. The manual is as thick as the Bible and daunting!! But get this, once I turn it on, I NEVER TOUCH IT!! The producer dials in, I see the two lights frame and hear them in my cans. We do the session, they hang up and the lights go out... and that's it!! I don't press a single button. I love it!
The booth itself is made with a wooden frame, then plaster-baord, then compressed rockwool. An airgap, then hanging Tecsound T50, which is a heavy acoustic mineral, another airgap, then hanging underlay, a final gap, then the blue curtain. All these layers are also in the floor and ceiling.
Nice studio and video tour! I'll bet that Apogee mic-pre really makes that U-87 pop. Nice combo. I also have a Prima LT for ISDN, and I love mine. Happy voicing!
Comments
Darren,
You have a wonderful setup & obviously have what it takes to be working all the time.
All the Best.............Cheers
As for the pre-amp, I did a hell of a lot of research and found that they were either seriously expensive (such as the Avalon) or had a lot of bells and whistles that I really don't need, such as "a classic vintage sound" or "a copy of a classic Neve mic pre". After chatting to a couple of friends who are music producers and audio engineers, that spend their days in recording studios recording albums, I made the decision that what was really needed was a pre amp that would give a nice, clean, honest, true replication of my voice and that's it! The Apogee Duet was mentioned several times and I decided to go for it.
When I do ISDN sessions, the producer simply wants my voice sent to him, as clean as possible and he will do the production his end, so why spend money on expensive fancy gear that will colour my voice and turn it into something it isn't? When I sel-f produce, I never EQ, I simply add just a hint of compression and that's it! I have never had a single complaint regarding the quality of my audio and I'm thrilled with the set-up I have.
The Prima LT is great. The manual is as thick as the Bible and daunting!! But get this, once I turn it on, I NEVER TOUCH IT!! The producer dials in, I see the two lights frame and hear them in my cans. We do the session, they hang up and the lights go out... and that's it!! I don't press a single button. I love it!
The booth itself is made with a wooden frame, then plaster-baord, then compressed rockwool. An airgap, then hanging Tecsound T50, which is a heavy acoustic mineral, another airgap, then hanging underlay, a final gap, then the blue curtain. All these layers are also in the floor and ceiling.
Nice set up.
How did you go about choosing your mic and codec?
How does the flat panels of absorption compare to the foam.
Thanks
Nice tour Darren and studio! Best of luck to you!
Jeff
Really nice Darren! Clean layout, all the way up the mic chain. Many happy recordings!
Darren,
Nice studio and video tour! I'll bet that Apogee mic-pre really makes that U-87 pop. Nice combo. I also have a Prima LT for ISDN, and I love mine. Happy voicing!
Bobby
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