I am gonna use a Fender Deluxe Hotrod amp (40 watts tube), Boss RV3 (settings?), Boss volumepedal and my MSA Semi Classic psg

Frode

Good luck..sounds like fun.

I've even been asked not to use the volume pedal by an inexperienced engineer.

You need to explain nicely that the pedal is used for espression and sustain, and you can deliver a consistant level when using it.

I've practiced at home with a preamp that has a VU Meter. Work on not driving the VU meter into the red while you increase volume as your sound decays.

R. Randall is correct....anytime you can use your amp in the studio USE it!
If by chance you are told to go direct (God forbid),...use the POD XT.
I have had great luck with these units.

Best answer to going direct.

Nevertheless, going with the amp should always be your first thought.

U67, MD421 or 57 on your amp should work nicely.

I agree you should have the engineer put verb and delay on your playback tracks...so you can record with it in your ears..but it is tracking DRY.
You can add effects on mix down.

Rock ON!

b

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MSA Millennium D10, Walker Stereo Steel, Stone Tree Custom Tele, LINE 6 Vetta II and POD XT PRO

My band will have a website up soon, and we will put some of these songs out as Mp3’s when they are done. I’ll post the link as soon it’s up. Then you guys can hear what kind of steelguitar monster(?)you have created.... (95% of all I know about PSG is from this forum).

Please keep the good stuff coming at this thread!

Frode

Congrats on your first session ! I hope you have thousands more.

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Bob
intonation help

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 10 September 2004 at 11:41 AM.]

Steelers adjust to play in tune with the other instruments. Other instruments don't do that for us.

I insist on a Bass track already being down.
Once a producer said a scheduling conflict caused the Bass to not be available.

I did the Steel anyway. A week later I was called back because I sounded out of tune.
I did the retake for free, since that's my policy, but I reminded the producer of what I said the week before. I don't think he understood. Now my policy is firm.

A thing like that could damage your reputation.

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Bob
intonation help

I strongly disagree....

The amp is not for the player...it is for the TONE. Most studio engineers don't know how to set EQ for Steel ....so, that is the
reason you use the amp......TONE BABY!!!.
All the Engineer has to do is RECORD.
Add a little compression, a little sweet delay if needed.

Most Engineers if not all that I have worked with love it when the TONE for Steel is set for them....and all they have to do is leave the channel set FLAT (EQ).

Easier for mix-down as well.

b

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MSA Millennium D10, Walker Stereo Steel, Stone Tree Custom Tele, LINE 6 Vetta II and POD XT PRO

I record direct..

We have just completed our bands DEMO CD , I recorded direct but the Tele' was recorded LIVE with an amp / mic. being a small Peavey Backstage with an MXL 2000 Condensor. We actually preferred this final tone over the recording with a 57.

BUT..I have written several effects and EQ patches on my YAMAHA Aw2816 specifically for the Steel so it wasn't like I was searching for the desired tone. I do record thru a tube preamp before the digital input though.

One thing I do fully support is to laying down the final Steel tracks at the end...or at least after all other Instruments are FINISHED...The pitch thing can become a nightmare.

There is no right or wrong..just what works for you and what your ears hear at the end.

But one thing is for sure..recording anything without the rhythm section completed first is total amateur hour .Who in there right mind would start recording tracks without a Bass? Thats nuts..I'm with Joey in this one. How would the other Instrument players know when or when not to play and add fills or notes or anything without hearing what space the Bass is playing in ? Sounds like conflict City in my mind.

Another small tip..and this won't work if you have a band full of ego's..

Although we have 6 players in our band..only 3 of us played Instruments on our DEMO CD tracks. This made for very consistent even tracking with a very clear understanding of maintaining simplicity and space in the rhythm tracks . Not to mention that we got it done fairly quickly with minimal overdubs. It's not that each player cannot play..it just made more sense to have less activity per tune which in the end resulted in MORE on the tracks if you know what I mean.

t

[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 16 September 2004 at 06:05 AM.]

Bring a CD of the sound you are looking for to play the engineer, he WILL love you for it... IF your rig can give out something close to what your example shows.

Your volume pedal will give an inexpirenced engineer fits, but there are ways and there are ways.

Give him a pedal down, full strum, loudest level from your steel. C6 neck if your using it, E9 if not. Then he can set you for maxed out.
Then play a bit at normal SOLOING levels, which aproximates your real world loudest level,
then a bit of backing track comping level.
He should then have a good idea where to set your level for no distortion, but also minimal hiss.

If you amp sound is really great, or it's REALLY you, go with that and a High Quality mic or two.
I don't consider an SM57 in that catagory, it is a presencer boosted vocal mic, which will give a "certain sound", but not an acurate reproduction of your amp. If you want it's sound, fine, use one.

Open back cabs in a controled environment can really benifit from multi micing. But it depends on the song and style you're looking for.

If you can comfortably play dry through your amp, this is prefered, especially if you don't have precicely programmed recallable effects on the amp sound.
You could have the engineer patch your effects unit into his post recording chain if you want, thought this is less common. It would let you hear your sound, but AFTER the sound of your amp and speaker. A triffle different, but not far off.

Also go direct and dry. IF you want some effects like reverb and delay, the engineer can give you those in the headphones.
But if you lay tracks WITH effects, and have to do a punch later, after doing other songs for instance, you might not be able to duplicate the sound.

Same goes for your amp position vis a vis the room and the mics used, and even the air moisture content. 5 hours laterwith a storm rolling in, the sound might not be the same, but your dry /direct track will be the same.

If you're a new player, and sometimes aren't sure of your intonation,
try to play your lines, and leave a small space before the next line.
Then they can punch you in and out cleanly.
This can really be the difference between redoing most of the track and just the little part you botched.

Yes, do your steel part as late in the mix as possible. At least with the basic chord / bass harmonic base to play to. As Bob H. said, if you haven't got a pitch reference that will NOT be changed, you can never get properly intonated with the track.

I often use Protools Line6 Amp Farm or other amp / speaker emulators on the dry signal, AND use the amp sound too.
Like the Pod XT, but again AFTER the recorded signal.
If you use it before, then you must match to it for any dubs or replacement parts.

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 16 September 2004 at 08:10 AM.]

"THEY HAVE BIGGER EGOS THAN GUITAR PLAYERS)......AS FAR AS AMPS GO, THE AMP IS THERE ONLY FOR YOU! WHEN THE ENGINEER GETS DONE WITH THE EQ, YOU WON'T RECOGNIZE IT "