My DIY Mix

Been building quite a stockpile of DIY over the years so thought I'd share a mix which is was tracked, mixed and mastered almost exclusively with DIY gear.

First off all drums tracks API mic pre's (Bob Schwenkler,s) all other tracks modified JLM Audio Neve 1290 clone with Carnhill transformers.

Bass - Mnats D rev 1176, S800 EQ
Vocals - Mnats A rev 1176, racked SL502
Guitars - SA-3A (ruckus328), racked SL522
Brass - 33609 (Igor)
Hammond - PM670 (Analag)
Drums - Mnats Dual D rev 1176
Toms - GSSL
Kick - S800 EQ
Snare - S800 EQ

The only non DIY hardware was 2 Distressors (Kick and Snare).

Mastering with GSSL, Sontec (Igor), PM670 (Analag)

Also vocals were done through a modified U87. there was a thread here somewhere with suggested mods which I followed though later reversed one of the suggestions.

recorded on PT HD with 196 interface and a couple of plugins.

And here's the track.
http://soundcloud.com/davidwilson-1/captain-groove-disco

Gday Dave

That sounds fantastic mate!  Well done.

Shame I never got around to checking out your joint while you were in Geelong though!

Crap there's that elusive rocking snare sound!! Jealous and love it!!

Nice!
Bruno2000

Sounds Huge!
Congrats

It does sound nice, however, soundcloud f@¢k$ up the sound too much, making it difficult or straight impossible to judge on the subtle sonic qualities...
Maybe you (and other people showcasing their stuff!) could upload the track as uncompressed wav, or even 24bit wav?

Let me know how and I will organize it. Uncompressed .wav that is.

BTW thanks guy's for the comments. I can only listen to the soundcloud files on my imac speakers but can assure you the original files are good.

Well, there's loads of these "file share" services, you just upload your file, and share the link. Rapidshare is most popular, then there's
http://letitbit.net
http://www.filesonic.com
http://www.fileserve.com
http://bitshare.com
http://uploadbox.com
http://depositfiles.com
and probably more.
Some of them have more annoying advertising, I can't really tell which ones...

what u-87 mod?

Fan-fucking-tastic production!
And the guitar solo is amazing.

pucho812 said:

what u-87 mod?

Click to expand...

I did it a while ago so cannot remember the exact caps but at least a couple were removed and the FET changed to a different one with matching resistor. The sound is much clearer and brighter. there is a thread on this forum which shouldn't be to hard to find. Many suggestions were made in that thread.
I also remember there were pad resistors in the output as well as some have the impedance set for 50 ohms.

Apparently the original design had to comply with German broadcast requirements as well as mic's imported to the US by Gotham also required modifications to suit the consoles used at the time as they were not equipped the handle such high input.

Very funky, I dig it a lot!

Your kick is knocking the wind from my chest and I'm listening through pair of M50s  ;D.

Can I ask, what do the distressors do for you that you're not able to do with the REV A or REV D  (or is it just a limited resources issue?)

Taking a second listen, very refreshing and yet familiar.  I'm loving the chicka guitars in the beginning and the instrumental breakdown/buildup into the solo, very driving.  Album?

The distressor is probably adding a little sizzle to the snare.

The band name and track name led me to believe we were in for a very cheesy affair. But it turned out to be quite a kicking track. The production sounds like a mix of Nile Rogers, and then Alan Parsons on the chorus. Very impressive, and unlikely combination. I'd like to hear the whole album when it's done.

Ok well unfortunately there is no album as I now have relocated 6 hrs away but am working with a very cool band atm which are also a very different style. More heavy rock with some latin influence in parts.

As for the distresors. 5 db of gain reduction and they give a hard dynamic quality without destroying the integrity of the original sound. Maybe kick gets a bit midrangy but theres still enough there to EQ back too what it should sound like.

1176 while great on kick I find on snare not the same punch and tonally can get a little lost in the mix.
DBX 160 I find similar but looses too much quality.
GSSL a little too clean not the same balls.


love the comments my head is expanding at an alarming rate.  ;D

rrs said:

1176 while great on kick I find on snare not the same punch and tonally can get a little lost in the mix.
DBX 160 I find similar but looses too much quality.
GSSL a little too clean not the same balls.

Click to expand...

Your giving away all your secrets!!! Keep talking like this I'm going to have to put down my soldering iron, and mix some stuff!
;D

BTW I agree about 1176 being great on kick but squashing snare when not paralleled, works sometimes but most times gets lost in the mix.

Thats damn tight! Awesome job! ;D ;D ;D ;D

YEah, upload a wave file..!!

hey i digg the bass player Awesome!! work!!!
all of the cats playing there have some nice chops!!

just i wished that the vocals where a little more upfront as at the last parts the instruments buried  the vocals...
some riding on the vocal tracks will fix that
Great Job!
Rolo.