Share your workspace thread

[THW]

It’s not just you. I’m sure your vocals are more than okay. The 4033 has *never* been a microphone I enjoy on vocals. However, if you can find the sister mic, the AT4040, I LOVE it on male vocals. A severely underrated mic.

Not to further derail the thread -- but I have heard good things about that microphone! I want to give it a try...looks well priced too in the ballpark of the AT4033. I'm a hobbyist composer/producer, but have played instruments (violin most) for many years in orchestra and ensembles. Mostly classical music. I got into production music a few years back and that turned into a passion for writing trailer music and lately song writing. That to say -- recording is a whole new world for me outside of virtual instruments. I'd love to test out some microphones with my voice in mind and I'll add the AT4040 to the list. I don't want to break the bank and am increasingly aware that in the right hands, budget gear can go a long way! What I am considering is booking some time at a local studio and testing out some microphones and if the engineer is amenable, having a conversation about what would be a good addition to my little mic locker (currently: SM57, SM7B, Presonus PM2 (pair), Behringer B1 (my first mic!), and the trusty AT4033). I'll add that I had a pair of Line Audio CM4 on the list to add, mainly for violin and acoustic string recording, but so far the PM2's have been working well (all things considered tracking in my room)...especially when I add some Berlin Studio Reverb - I'm quit pleased how well it works when blending with virtual instruments.

Hey -- I greatly appreciate your insight! I'm always open for suggestions, this is such a fantastic forum to learn, share, and connect with good people way more knowledgeable and experienced than me!

 

[ianaeillo]

Not to further derail the thread -- but I have heard good things about that microphone! I want to give it a try...looks well priced too in the ballpark of the AT4033. I'm a hobbyist composer/producer, but have played instruments (violin most) for many years in orchestra and ensembles. Mostly classical music. I got into production music a few years back and that turned into a passion for writing trailer music and lately song writing. That to say -- recording is a whole new world for me outside of virtual instruments. I'd love to test out some microphones with my voice in mind and I'll add the AT4040 to the list. I don't want to break the bank and am increasingly aware that in the right hands, budget gear can go a long way! What I am considering is booking some time at a local studio and testing out some microphones and if the engineer is amenable, having a conversation about what would be a good addition to my little mic locker (currently: SM57, SM7B, Presonus PM2 (pair), Behringer B1 (my first mic!), and the trusty AT4033). I'll add that I had a pair of Line Audio CM4 on the list to add, mainly for violin and acoustic string recording, but so far the PM2's have been working well (all things considered tracking in my room)...especially when I add some Berlin Studio Reverb - I'm quit pleased how well it works when blending with virtual instruments.

Hey -- I greatly appreciate your insight! I'm always open for suggestions, this is such a fantastic forum to learn, share, and connect with good people way more knowledgeable and experienced than me!

If you want a little secret weapon microphone.

I freelance at a place that has two original Telefunken U47s, and original Sony C800G, tons of Neumanns, and just about every vocal mic you could want. And you know what I pick as a vocal mic on occasion?

The CAD M179. It has the same capsule as the original Equitek from the 80s and it’s a tad noisy, but holy cow is it good. It is my favorite sub $500 mic. Get it and try it out. It’s legit.

 

[THW]

If you want a little secret weapon microphone.

I freelance at a place that has two original Telefunken U47s, and original Sony C800G, tons of Neumanns, and just about every vocal mic you could want. And you know what I pick as a vocal mic on occasion?

The CAD M179. It has the same capsule as the original Equitek from the 80s and it’s a tad noisy, but holy cow is it good. It is my favorite sub $500 mic. Get it and try it out. It’s legit.

Thanks for the recommendation -- I haven't heard of that one. Much less expensive than the mics I've been looking at.

The number of mics and range of price is staggering and overwhelming.

I'm intrigued on the CAB M179 and will let you know if I pick it up...could be in the next couple days. Worst case scenario I take it back, but I've got a good feeling about it! Only way to really know is to try it out.

My voice leans to the upper registers and for this project I'm attempting to sing stylized in a way popularized by artists like Novo Amor and Bon Iver...more head voice/falsetto. I know that everyone's cup of tea.

Best results so far are with the sm57 and sm7b and stacking multiple takes.

Thanks again for the suggestion -- I get hyped on secret weapons gear, especially budget gear.

I'll add it to the list of the ones I'm looking (Roswell K47 and K87 (K67 is also on the list but on the fence about it). I know in the right hands and skills I'm sure the gear I already have is just fine...I'm just not there yet.

Since this is online forum, I'll note that I am mainly just having fun, enjoying GAS, and ideally want to capture takes I'm happy with right out of the gate... AND then unabashedly wash them out with flavorful compression reverb/delay/saturation lol. But hey -- maybe I'll like it so much, be bold and keep those vocals relatively clean if I like what I'm hearing!

 

[ianaeillo]

Nice.

 

[BCnSTL]

Here's my happy place:

And the back half:

Moved into our new house built in early 2024. I had my music room built with heavy spray-in insulation in all walls and ceiling, sound-isolating channels between the special sheet rock and studs, putty-pads behind all outlets and other sheetrock penetrations, no ductwork, HVAC via dedicated mini-split. It was painfully expensive but totally worth it.

 

[THW]

Here's my happy place:

View attachment 2364

And the back half:

View attachment 2365

Moved into our new house built in early 2024. I had my music room built with heavy spray-in insulation in all walls and ceiling, sound-isolating channels between the special sheet rock and studs, putty-pads behind all outlets and other sheetrock penetrations, no ductwork, HVAC via dedicated mini-split. It was painfully expensive but totally worth it.

I love it!! Such a great space and kudos for taking all of the sound isolation steps!

 

[BCnSTL]

I love it!! Such a great space and kudos for taking all of the sound isolation steps!

Thank you! All done in the interest of keeping my musical meanderings within the 4 walls to appease my wife. Internal acoustic considerations were, well, not considered. However, the acoustic treatment keeps reflections down acceptably and the fabric couch turned out be a decent bass absorber. So, with the bass traps in the corners and IKM ARC room correction on my monitors it all sounds "Good Enough" for my purposes. I should put something on the ceiling. Maybe, someday.

 

[DanTompkins]

Thank you! All done in the interest of keeping my musical meanderings within the 4 walls to appease my wife. Internal acoustic considerations were, well, not considered. However, the acoustic treatment keeps reflections down acceptably and the fabric couch turned out be a decent bass absorber. So, with the bass traps in the corners and IKM ARC room correction on my monitors it all sounds "Good Enough" for my purposes. I should put something on the ceiling. Maybe, someday.

Wow, amazing setup. Those are some wonderful guitars!!!

 

[ianaeillo]

Gorgeous! Modern and

Here's my happy place:


Moved into our new house built in early 2024. I had my music room built with heavy spray-in insulation in all walls and ceiling, sound-isolating channels between the special sheet rock and studs, putty-pads behind all outlets and other sheetrock penetrations, no ductwork, HVAC via dedicated mini-split. It was painfully expensive but totally worth it.

Gorgeous. Modern yet comfy. Looks like an easy place to sit and work on music. Envious of that. I am also a HUGE sucker for rooms with natural light. Absolutely love what you've got going on there.

 

[ianaeillo]

Thank you! All done in the interest of keeping my musical meanderings within the 4 walls to appease my wife. Internal acoustic considerations were, well, not considered. However, the acoustic treatment keeps reflections down acceptably and the fabric couch turned out be a decent bass absorber. So, with the bass traps in the corners and IKM ARC room correction on my monitors it all sounds "Good Enough" for my purposes. I should put something on the ceiling. Maybe, someday.

I can't see if there is a partner, but do you have a stereo MixCube setup or just a mono? I LOVE the idea of a mono MixCube and always am jealous when I see people with them.

 

[THW]

Thank you! All done in the interest of keeping my musical meanderings within the 4 walls to appease my wife. Internal acoustic considerations were, well, not considered. However, the acoustic treatment keeps reflections down acceptably and the fabric couch turned out be a decent bass absorber. So, with the bass traps in the corners and IKM ARC room correction on my monitors it all sounds "Good Enough" for my purposes. I should put something on the ceiling. Maybe, someday.

Very considerate! When we built our home, unfortunately the builder was not amenable to my requests to use sound isolating insulation or take additional steps to soundproof the room. In our neighborhood, certain strict spec requirements. And it was a "pick your home layout/design " consistent with other homes in our community...very "cookie-cutter" vs. a custom build. Still, we are happy and everything works. My music space is on the ground floor so that helps the noise (and I turn off the subwoofer at night!)

 

[BCnSTL]

I can't see if there is a partner, but do you have a stereo MixCube setup or just a mono? I LOVE the idea of a mono MixCube and always am jealous when I see people with them.

Just the one on a mic stand off to the side. It’s a good mix sanity check.

 

[Jemusic]

If you are going to use a mix cube and I have one too then one is best and in mono. You just have to organise a L+R signal to feed it. I prefer having it right in front of you at low volume. I sit a foot away from it. Keep them down real low. You will hear more things about your mix that way.

 

[BCnSTL]

If you are going to use a mix cube and I have one too then one is best and in mono. You just have to organise a L+R signal to feed it. I prefer having it right in front of you at low volume. I sit a foot away from it. Keep them down real low. You will hear more things about your mix that way.

I'm sure I'm using it less-than-optimally. I use it like a "grotbox". How will this sound when played on a low-fidelity speaker positioned off in a corner somewhere kind-of-thing. But they are revealing.

 

[BCnSTL]

I loved reading through this thread and seeing the cool workspaces! I get so inspired by threads like this and happy to share my space.
....

Very cool vibe! I dig it. I use to have a small electronic drum kit. Why did I sell it? It would make my room a bit too cramped, I think but it would be fun!

 

[THW]

Very cool vibe! I dig it. I use to have a small electronic drum kit. Why did I sell it? It would make my room a bit too cramped, I think but it would be fun!

Thanks! I too was concerned about space, but the kit (Roland TD17KV) is quite portable, and it fits alright in the corner. Adding a monitor next to it has been great for learning with online classes, or tracking midi drums with daw displayed there...although practically speaking, I write most drum parts at the computer, so it is more for stress relief/fun instrument I enjoy playing. But sometimes I get motivated to hit record and track some midi drums. I am amazed at the quality of virtual drums and options these days!

 

[ianaeillo]

I'll snap some pictures this afternoon and post mine. I gotta clean up though. Been working too much in here and haven't had a chance to organize / clean up.

 

[ianaeillo]

I was gonna clean it but I just decided to post the messy photos. Top photos are Make Believe, the studio where I record out of. Bottom photos are my home workspace where I mix out of! Just grabbed that Summit Audio bus comp and it is the absolute best thing ever. No recording out of the sun room and I don't do any mixing at the studio despite those amazing ex machina monitors. Oh my *god* they're incredible.

 

[THW]

I was gonna clean it but I just decided to post the messy photos. Top photos are Make Believe, the studio where I record out of. Bottom photos are my home workspace where I mix out of! Just grabbed that Summit Audio bus comp and it is the absolute best thing ever. No recording out of the sun room and I don't do any mixing at the studio despite those amazing ex machina monitors. Oh my *god* they're incredible.

Wow - this is so cool! Thanks for sharing pics of your studio -- you know what, I'm glad you posted it w/o doing a deep clean -- I appreciate the authenticity. And honestly it looks pretty neat and clean to me!

Awesome to see 'Make Believe Studios'! I would love to someday spend some time behind a desk in a recording studio...hoping to make that happen soon at a nearby studio. Would be an incredible experience listening to monitors like those Ex Machinas...and to push buttons and faders on a console...API I think? (I'm taking a guess, not a pro or audio engineer, just a home studio guy with a passion, a dream, and a faderport8 )

That is one sweet home studio! I spot some impressive and top shelf gear there. You have a refined and discerning palate sir!

If time permits, I have a couple questions...no problem at all if you're unable to answer:

I’m curious how it all connects to your computer...multiple Quantum interfaces and the Ferrofish Pulse feeding the Metric Halo? There must be dozens (hundreds??? lol) of cables tying it all together. I don’t even have that much gear, yet I still hesitate to open the blinds all the way; anyone looking in would see a nightmarish tangle of cables behind my desk, which sits right in front of two long front-facing windows.

Is Studio One your main DAW for recording and mixing?

I'm still wrapping my head around routing outboard gear as I've spent years "in-the-box" and up until the past year or so only went as far as plugging in microphones, guitars, pedals, or line instruments direct to interface or with the occasional external preamp.

Routing can be a nightmare from my limited experience, and I think it's so impressive how you manage all that gear! I have technical questions about Presonus Universal Control I'm making in another post. I've had a very frustrating experience with Universal Control -- do you use it in your workflow?

TLDR: Awesome studio -- thanks again for posting! Love to see it -- very inspiring!

 

[ianaeillo]

I’m curious how it all connects to your computer...multiple Quantum interfaces and the Ferrofish Pulse feeding the Metric Halo? There must be dozens (hundreds??? lol) of cables tying it all together. I don’t even have that much gear, yet I still hesitate to open the blinds all the way; anyone looking in would see a nightmarish tangle of cables behind my desk, which sits right in front of two long front-facing windows.

Is Studio One your main DAW for recording and mixing?

I'm still wrapping my head around routing outboard gear as I've spent years "in-the-box" and up until the past year or so only went as far as plugging in microphones, guitars, pedals, or line instruments direct to interface or with the occasional external preamp.

Routing can be a nightmare from my limited experience, and I think it's so impressive how you manage all that gear! I have technical questions about Presonus Universal Control I'm making in another post. I've had a very frustrating experience with Universal Control -- do you use it in your workflow?

TLDR: Awesome studio -- thanks again for posting! Love to see it -- very inspiring!

Well hey thanks! So, in my home workspace, those aren't quantums in the pictures. I LOVE the original quantum boxes but I only use them for location recording. They're *so good though*. What you're seeing in the picture is my favorite hardware device that Presonus has ever made - the Digimax DP88. it's connected like this:

Metric Halo LIO-8mkIV
- Four stereo AES outs and four stereo AES ins
- connected to an AES patchbay
- 8 analog inputs 8 analog outputs
- connected to a tt bantam patchbay
- 32 ADAT inputs and 32 ADAT output
-connected to 16 Channels of Ferrofish Pulse
- 8 channels of DP88
- 8 channels connected to Zsystems ADAT /Spdif bridge
-those eight go to one of three places but that's boring stuff
All adat channels end up at patch bays which are connected to the gear

The multiple computers are connected at the same time through the metric halo which can work as an interface on two different computers at once. The Mac mini under the two screens in between the monitors is my main little guy. The old Mac Pro under the desk is a sample computer. It's complicated only until you sit and use it. People genuinely get around pretty easy in here once they get in here.

I use Studio One for recording, mixing, and production. I still mainly use Pro Tools for editing, but Studio One is the best for using outboard and therefore works best in my workflow.. I don't know of a daw that makes it easier to connect outboard as easily and cleanly as Studio One. I don't use Universal Control, but have messed with it with the Quantums. What seems to be happening with it?