Mic in normal room vs modellers

bates · #1 11-11-2012, 03:49 PM

Ok so i need some advise before spending money.

I have just bought a macbook pro i7 for recording and my initial intention was to buy the apogee duet 2 with breakout box and mic up either my f-50 or ht-5.........BUT......after a bit of reading i am starting to wonder if i would get a better result just using eleven rack. My practice room is just a normal small room with 4 walls and a door (not a real studio) so my question is......whats best - miced up amp in a normal room or eleven rack?????

This seems like quite an interesting predicament because i have no doubt at all that a miced up mesa is better than 11r in a studio but in a normal home.....i don't know?????

11racksfx · #2 11-11-2012, 07:15 PM

It would be cheaper to buy the Eleven Rack than getting a Apogee Duet 2, plus a good mic.
Also, you can buy a mic later and use the Eleven Rack as an IO. For home recording, where you won't be able to crank the the Mesa pass 2 o'clock, it would easier and sound better to go with the Eleven Rack. BTW, you can also record the wet and dry signal simultaneously with the Eleven Rack if you want to reamp later.

Wolfram · #3 11-11-2012, 11:58 PM

^What he said.....

-Wolfram

bates · #4 11-12-2012, 02:12 AM

Thanks for reply. I thought that may be the case. Bit gutted but am not willing to build a studio lol........would cost a fortune to get a good isolation room

Wolfram · #5 11-12-2012, 01:39 PM

You don't neccesarily need to build an isolation room to get a good sound. You would most likely be close miking the amp if you are running with one mic.

-Wolfram

Formerly Given To Fly · #6 11-12-2012, 02:12 PM

I have been using an Eleven Rack for 9 months now and I can definitely say you'll be able to do so much more with the Eleven Rack. It exposes you to so many different amps, pedals, effects, etc that are actually useful. There are also great sources on the internet where you can download presets that sound much better than the stock presets. The stock presets seem to be hit or miss with most people.

Having said that, I'm now interested in actually learning how to properly mic an amp and record acoustic guitar so I am looking into a Duet and a pair of mics. So just be aware, you may end up with both in the end.

Drew · #7 11-12-2012, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfram

You don't neccesarily need to build an isolation room to get a good sound. You would most likely be close miking the amp if you are running with one mic.

-Wolfram

This.

This isn't to say the room doesn't make a difference at all in a smaller room - it definitely does - but the amount of bleed or phrase cancellation from reflections you'll have in a typical bedroom studio on a close-mic'd Mesa combo is going to be reasonably small, and if you want to get really crazy you can definitely try doing things to isolate the reflections from the amp. I've never tred this, but I've heard guys claim that by covering an amp with heavy blankets after you mic it up you do get a somewhat purer room sound.

It WILL take you longer to get a good sound using a mic and an amp than a modeler, of course - there's a definite learning curve that comes with micing up. That said, IMO that's no reason not to do it.

11racksfx · #8 11-12-2012, 03:26 PM

Maybe just look in to getting an Isolation Cab. Randall and Jetcity are a few that make one.

http://www.randallamplifiers.com/Cab...Isolation.html

rty13ibz98 · #9 11-13-2012, 08:47 AM

i'm a firm believer in micing amps, but much more falls into that equation: room, preamp, mic, positioning, speakers, cab, etc. for ease, modellers can't be beat; especially if your room sucks or you have to record in your bedroom/house with family/distractions. i prefer to use modellers on the tracking stage to get performance and reamp the DI signal later into an amp to get tones during the mix process. so i'm for both practices. your situation will dictate your choice overall.

rich

bates · #10 11-13-2012, 04:30 PM

Thanks for the help. Is it true that i have to use pro-tools with 11r ???? I was quite looking forward to learning logic and don't want to run both daws together. I have heard pro-tools will use 20% cpu even when not used

11racksfx · #11 11-13-2012, 08:41 PM

You can use logic with Eleven Rack or any other DAW, the only benefit with Protools is that you can record the Dry track simultaneously.

bates · #12 11-14-2012, 05:51 AM

Oh i see. Ok well thanks for the help. I have decided to drive to a shop that sells 11r and try it through some powered monitors and if it can create something i can use then i will get it. If not i will stick with the old fashion way.

By the way......i have not recorded in years because my earlier experiences were so bad its taken me this long to try again. Back in 2004-5 i had a guitar port into windows xp and it was sooooooooo bad. bad sound, bad latency, bad operating system.......blah blah blah.

So with that in mind, anything should be an improvement.

satchmo72 · #13 11-14-2012, 12:38 PM

Remember too that the recorded sound by itself will sound completely different when mixed with the rest of the instruments you may be using. Mixing/Mastering will change it even more.

jb4674 · #14 11-16-2012, 08:37 AM

Another vote for the 11R. For the price and the features it offers, you can't find a better tool to get decent results.

Jimmy

bates · #15 11-19-2012, 02:41 AM

Gonna be trying the 11r today. Will be driving to andertons. I will buy it based on if it has a better dry amp tone than the ht-5. What do you guys think???........should it win against the ht-5's modest sound????......

If it can't sound better than the ht-5 i will prob give it a miss cause the ht-5 is usable but as low in tone quality as i'm willing to go.

Owning good big amps over the years and gigging them has kinda........not made me a snob but certainly raised my expectations of tone