What rack gear could you not live without in your mixes?

[MicMaven]

Essential! They are gifts from friends and family. They serve the studio by providing a healthy level of distraction and nostalgia.

Way cool with obviously good Karma and Feng Shui (seriously). The old mariner is perfect and surely steady at the wheel. The angle of the water in the photo comports with classic rules of composition, and nearly distracts one from seeing the ... BEAR! hanging out in the lower right corner. Excellent.

Similarly, my ersatz "studio" is festooned with various decorative and nostalgic tchotchkes bearing personal significance, equally essential to establishing its character and assuring good Karma. Thanks for the additional gloss about yours. I would wager most of our members have their own favorite tchotchkes lurking about their studios and, perhaps, those are the most essential items in the room - audio gear may come and go, but these things are likely permanent!

Cheers. James

 

[Whoops]

Not rack gear, but I couldn’t live without great microphones.

Here choosing the mic for the vocal sessions today and tomorrow (U67, U87 and U47 VF14) :

 

[soapy_goat]

Not rack gear, but I couldn’t live without great microphones.

Here choosing the mic for the vocal sessions today and tomorrow (U67, U87 and U47 VF14) :

I like the U87's mount, it looks like a mount NASA would use on a space rock. what is it?

 

[Whoops]

I like the U87's mount, it looks like a mount NASA would use on a space rock. what is it?

Sorry mate, we finish recording today and I was so tired that I forgot to see what brand it was.

 

[capacitor]

I've got one and it looks like it was made by EAW. I cannot find anything online at the present. I'll post a few photos.

 

[kags]

Mixing is all ITB, but my tracking rack for most of my sessions - except the tube preamps, which are not racked - not much DIY, except for the wiring and maintenance! Oh, my adjustable monitor arm is DIY bolted to the console by drilling through the top of the meter bridge and drilling through the aluminum frame. Faders are for display purposes only - not used in any actual tracking or mixing situation...

 

[soapy_goat]

Probably my beloved 83046, bought from a producer who used it on the two buss of some of my favorite records growing up!
Or my ATC speakers...

I like those DT150s you have on the shelf!

 

[vert_fonce]

I like the U87's mount, it looks like a mount NASA would use on a space rock. what is it?

The microphone mount is an Enhanced Audio. This is a very amazing mount. We use it in the studio. With this type of mount, you get tighter and wider bass, with more detail. A cheaper alternative is the Rycote Invision.

 

[Whoops]

With this type of mount, you get tighter and wider bass, with more detail.

I truly don't see any reason for that...
It's just a shockmount, nothing less, nothing more

 

[capacitor]

@vert_fonce thanks very much, I couldn't find any information via the usual methods (maybe I should have done a reverse image search) and kind of gave up. The one I have came used with a mic purchase. They said it was an EAW mount, but the logo didn't look like theirs & no product info was on their site of course.

Professional Microphones | Enhanced Audio | Microphone | M600 Mics goes into the tech, which sounds intriguing. The one I have here is definitely hefty, a nice piece of industrial art I haven't used it for the intended purpose (yet) so I cannot vouch for how it performs, but it seems legit.

Edit: three models starting at 180Eu including shipping. The build quality is top notch.

 

[cRiTza]

Overstayer Modular channel!
My best hardware purchase of late.

 

[michinger]

Overstayer Modular channel!
My best hardware purchase of late.

How is the stereo balance on different settings to use it for mixbus?

 

[cRiTza]

Oh havent thought about that, if you have the possibility you might need to go through a mixer after to adjust i guess, i havent seen any difference but i am no mastering engineer

 

[ASA]

It's no Neve or API, sadly, but I usually can't let a mix go without running at least something through my Ramsa WRS-4416 console. Just adds that little bit of electricity/texture that makes a song sound like a song to me.

 

[Mr. Moscode]

I truly don't see any reason for that...
It's just a shockmount, nothing less, nothing more

If you zoom in you can see it is a weight to add mass to the body of the mic, lowering the resonance point of the mic body and stand. Absolutely can tighten the bass. Nice idea!

 

[Whoops]

If you zoom in you can see it is a weight to add mass to the body of the mic, lowering the resonance point of the mic body and stand. Absolutely can tighten the bass. Nice idea!

An next to it you can even put some "Audiophile Rocks", those crystals next to the mic and close to that shock-mount will tighten the bass even further, provide extended silky smooth highs, clean all the harshness and make the sound 3D with a wider Stereo image.
The shock mount paired with the Rocks will finally make the U67 sound good and take it to it's best potential.
Who knew an U67 could sound good at all!

 

[Barry Hufker]

The microphone mount is an Enhanced Audio. This is a very amazing mount. We use it in the studio. With this type of mount, you get tighter and wider bass, with more detail. A cheaper alternative is the Rycote Invision.

This may sound as if I have a tie of some sort to the company, but I don't. I was hugely skeptical of the Enhanced Audio mount's ability to improve the sound from the microphone, but hearing is believing. Once convinced (and it wasn't subtle), I purchased several and use them regularly. I also prefer them to Rycote, maybe not for sonic reasons, as I haven't done a comparison, but for easy use and operation.

 

[Mr. Moscode]

An next to it you can even put some "Audiophile Rocks", those crystals next to the mic and close to that shock-mount will tighten the bass even further, provide extended silky smooth highs, clean all the harshness and make the sound 3D with a wider Stereo image.
The shock mount paired with the Rocks will finally make the U67 sound good and take it to it's best potential.
Who knew an U67 could sound good at all!

View attachment 115242

Here we go again. I don't appreciate what appears to me to be snarkiness and ridicule in response to my post and the original poster's.
My opinion post is based on my results obtained from the use of vibration control in audio electronics, vacuum tubes and transducers over 40 years of practice. What's evidence do you have to support your opinion, Whoops?

 

[Whoops]

Here we go again. I don't appreciate what appears to me to be snarkiness and ridicule in response to my post and the original poster's.

Humor only, and nothing personal

My opinion post is based on my results obtained from the use of vibration control in audio electronics, vacuum tubes and transducers over 40 years of practice.

I don't doubt your experience at all, but I really doubt that in real recording conditions, on the field, that there is any noticeable difference between that shock-mount or Neumanns shock-mount.

I don't doubt that in an anechoic chamber or in a lab that you can measure a difference, but measuring a difference doesn't mean that in a recording situation that it's not completely marginal and unnoticeable for the recording.

So yes, I recorded voice with it. The Voice sounded good and it always sounded that good when I used other shockmount.

What's evidence do you have to support your opinion, Whoops?

I have no evidence, besides that as an Engineer using that microphone in many sessions for 16 years that it doesn't sound different to me, different for studio usage, from the Nasa looking shockmount or a standard one.

If you have evidence yourself that in an recording situation, not in a lab, there's a noticeable different when using that shock mount please show us and I have no problems in removing my scepticism.

 

[Whoops]

I was hugely skeptical of the Enhanced Audio mount's ability to improve the sound from the microphone, but hearing is believing.

I totally agree that "hearing is believing".
I can do an A/B comparison of the same mic with the Enhance Audio mount against the Neumann's schockmount.
What instruments would you advise me to record so that the difference that you found is more revealing?